A Wolf, in Toronto?

[TravelerZero]

Hey, this sighting is not quite paranormal, but still quite strange. I'll start with what I believe to be an encounter with a wolf. The sighting occured in the North York region, on the cusp of the more "urban centre" of the city. There is an small ecosystem that thrives in the various connected ravines that are scattered throughout Toronto. Many of these are wooded parkland, fairly dense. Anyway, I live in an apartment complex that has around 30 acres of parkland surrounding it. I have seen deer in the area on a couple of occasions, at one point about four of them together. A walk into the forest reveals frequent deer tracks and trails.

So one night I am walking through the back exit of the building, a 5 minute walk on a road with wooded parkland on either side. I caught movement in my perifery. I see a large four legged figure about 2 or 3 car lengths away with its head down in some foliage. It was shadowy due to the sparsely placed street lights. First reaction was something like "wow, small deer, pretty close to the road, awesome". I know for a fact I was talking to myself in a half whisper, which probably caused it to look up. When it raised it head, I just remember the size of its neck; this thick hairy neck and large "dog" like head. Like a husky type. And then we froze staring for a moment and I thought "holy s**t, that not a freakin deer". I kept walking and I guess it didn't follow.

I would be more inclined to say it was a large stray dog, as supposed to a coyote. My cousin had an "Akita" when I was a kid, this thing was bigger. Long thin-ish legs, quite hairy, and big enough that I mistook it for a deer while its head was lowered...I am about 6'4 and I am not used to seeing dogs that size, even large breeds. I've heard wolves are big, but that was a real shock.

Any thoughts? I will be investigating the area abit more, will post other developments.

[Marks_Thoughts]

I would be one of the first to believe you. I've encountered some very wild creatures in the strangest places, but upon reflection it is not all that strange. A documentary I saw once had Arctic wolves eating dozens of mice and voles, literally jumping from spot to spot to grab a quick mouthful. The rodents were hugely plentiful and there was little, if any, risk to the wolves - as opposed to running down caribou.

Of course, wolves or half-breed dog and wolf mixes living wild in the city makes it really hard on the 'domestic' cats and smaller breeds of dogs.

[_Only]

I've experienced deer in the most suburban of areas, and heard of packs of wild turkeys appearing in the same type of place. Of course those would be a lot less of a spook if you suddenly come face to face with them in the least likely of places.

[Paracelse]

Wolves are following the food source and if those parks offert a study source of food they will relocate. Later they can create problems if the pack grows to large and more people will see them.

[Oppono Astos]

Why assume it was/is a wolf purely down to its perceived size?

[TravelerZero]

Why assume it was/is a wolf purely down to its perceived size?

It was more than the size. I've seen documentaries and shows on wolves. It looked like a wolf, or wolf like. I did say I have concidered the possibility of a stray dog, but the build and snout shape does not match any domestic canine of that size that I have ever heard of. The size of the neck was also quite unnerving, I read that wolves have thicker, and slightly longer, necks than most canines. Its head was massive. I told my mother about it, she said she saw a wolf like animal run accross an intersection nearby in broad daylight. She described it as being so swift it didn't even look like it was touching the ground, and very large. It crossed a four lane street in two bounds. This occured about a 15 min walk from another protected area.

This is a good example size and shape wise, don't forget that I initially mistook its shape for that of a deer.

http://www.skinnymoose.com/bbb/2011/09/28/idaho-woman-attacked-by-wolf/#ixzz1kodzKsNa

Lastly, I forgot to mention that I found a paw print beside a river nearby. Bout a 25 min walk from the sighting. It was about four inches wide, discovered away from human trails (was following what looked like a deer trail). It looked wolf like.

I will be investigating further, I am hoping for some photo evidence of a paw print.

[TravelerZero]

I would be one of the first to believe you. I've encountered some very wild creatures in the strangest places, but upon reflection it is not all that strange. A documentary I saw once had Arctic wolves eating dozens of mice and voles, literally jumping from spot to spot to grab a quick mouthful. The rodents were hugely plentiful and there was little, if any, risk to the wolves - as opposed to running down caribou.

Of course, wolves or half-breed dog and wolf mixes living wild in the city makes it really hard on the 'domestic' cats and smaller breeds of dogs.

I have concidered this as well. I speculate that there are very few predators in the area, other than coyotes and maybe foxes. Game is plentiful, and ambush is made easier since animals must follow the river to migrate between wooded patches of parkland. The suburbs are quite close to the patches; you never completely lose sight of the houses that back onto the parkland, yet there is enough for even some bigger game to survive. This seems a plausible senario for a lone wolf. I couldn't imagine a pack of more than two or three going completely unnoticed. Urbanization throughout the province throughs many ecosystems out of wack, which may open the way for strange circumstances.

[NatureBoff]

Hey, this sighting is not quite paranormal, but still quite strange. I'll start with what I believe to be an encounter with a wolf. The sighting occured in the North York region, on the cusp of the more "urban centre" of the city. There is an small ecosystem that thrives in the various connected ravines that are scattered throughout Toronto. Many of these are wooded parkland, fairly dense. Anyway, I live in an apartment complex that has around 30 acres of parkland surrounding it. I have seen deer in the area on a couple of occasions, at one point about four of them together. A walk into the forest reveals frequent deer tracks and trails.

So one night I am walking through the back exit of the building, a 5 minute walk on a road with wooded parkland on either side. I caught movement in my perifery. I see a large four legged figure about 2 or 3 car lengths away with its head down in some foliage. It was shadowy due to the sparsely placed street lights. First reaction was something like "wow, small deer, pretty close to the road, awesome". I know for a fact I was talking to myself in a half whisper, which probably caused it to look up. When it raised it head, I just remember the size of its neck; this thick hairy neck and large "dog" like head. Like a husky type. And then we froze staring for a moment and I thought "holy s**t, that not a freakin deer". I kept walking and I guess it didn't follow.

I would be more inclined to say it was a large stray dog, as supposed to a coyote. My cousin had an "Akita" when I was a kid, this thing was bigger. Long thin-ish legs, quite hairy, and big enough that I mistook it for a deer while its head was lowered...I am about 6'4 and I am not used to seeing dogs that size, even large breeds. I've heard wolves are big, but that was a real shock.

Any thoughts? I will be investigating the area abit more, will post other developments.

Thanks for sharing. It's another classic case. A male.

[sarah_444]

Reading this reminded me of an article I read a few years ago about "Coywolves", a Coyote/Wolf hybrid showing up places in southern Ontario. I found it online, here.

Do you think it's possible this was what you saw? I've seen Coyotes a few years back around here too, but no wolves..

[TravelerZero]

Thanks for sharing. It's another classic case. A male.

Thanks for the input, but I'm not quite clear, do you think it was a wolf or a hybrid? In either case, could you elaborate on your hypothesis? It would be much appreciated.

[TravelerZero]

Reading this reminded me of an article I read a few years ago about "Coywolves", a Coyote/Wolf hybrid showing up places in southern Ontario. I found it online, here.

Do you think it's possible this was what you saw? I've seen Coyotes a few years back around here too, but no wolves..

Yeah, I'm starting to lean toward a Coywolf. Did somemore research on behavior and it seems that, unlike coyotes, wolves just don't mesh well with civilization. I know this much though; it was not a coyote. This thing was easily bigger than a german sheppard. It was tall enough that (with its head down) I thought "deer" until it looked up.

Granted, my mind was probably trying to make things fit my expectations (that tall and on four legs = deer), hence my recollection will inflate its size (due to shock). Yet that fact, that it was large enough for me to jump to such an assumption, speaks volumes to me. Definatley bigger than a husky or german sheppard, else my first impression would have been "its a dog".

[NatureBoff]

Thanks for the input, but I'm not quite clear, do you think it was a wolf or a hybrid? In either case, could you elaborate on your hypothesis? It would be much appreciated.

Yes, sure, but you're going to find it hard to accept at face value to begin with at least. They are the same thing as the Michigan Dogman and the Dartmoor beast. Recent evidence from Extreme Expeditions to investigate the Sumatran Orang Pendek shows that the cryptids are in fact *giant hyrax* that mimmick other animals in order to stay aloof and undetected. Check out the Feb 4th entry. It's a long story, but that's the nub of it. Thanks for the extra info on crossing the road. Very familiar story.

P.S. They leave three toed prints, or four on the front.

Edited March 9, 2012 by tailormaneinafog

[TravelerZero]

Yes, sure, but you're going to find it hard to accept at face value to begin with at least. They are the same thing as the Michigan Dogman and the Dartmoor beast. Recent evidence from Extreme Expeditions to investigate the Sumatran Orang Pendek shows that the cryptids are in fact *giant hyrax* that mimmick other animals in order to stay aloof and undetected. Check out the Feb 4th entry. It's a long story, but that's the nub of it. Thanks for the extra info on crossing the road. Very familiar story.

P.S. They leave three toed prints, or four on the front.

Im not disbelieving out of principle, but from what Ive seen this beast has been described as looking bear like, and the hyrax does not look wolf like. Whatever it was, it was distinctly canine. I checked out your facebook though, looks like some good "myth" hunting! (myth in the sense of "the unknown", not "the made up", as with the silverback gorrilla if memory serves).

[trancelikestate]

obviously it was a werewolf in it's wolf form

[ZaraKitty]

Could have been a large spitz breed of dog, they are bred to look like wolves.

[NatureBoff]

Im not disbelieving out of principle, but from what Ive seen this beast has been described as looking bear like, and the hyrax does not look wolf like. Whatever it was, it was distinctly canine. I checked out your facebook though, looks like some good "myth" hunting! (myth in the sense of "the unknown", not "the made up", as with the silverback gorrilla if memory serves).

It can only takes a few thousand years for a species to go either giant of dwarf when isolated or islandised remember. If the females select the males based on their mimmicking ability then physical features of the males will quickly change. Take the example of the breeds of the domestic dog. Selective breeding has changed their physical appearance drastically depending on their specific requirement in a relatively short time. Edited March 10, 2012 by tailormaneinafog

[TravelerZero]

It can only takes a few thousand years for a species to go either giant of dwarf when isolated or islandised remember. If the females select the males based on their mimmicking ability then physical features of the males will quickly change. Take the example of the breeds of the domestic dog. Selective breeding has changed their physical appearance drastically depending on their specific requirement in a relatively short time.

You may be right, I have just come accross an excellent example of such. My cousin's grandparents have a farm in ontario, apperently there has been a strange giant "bull" jumping the fences and breeding with the female cows. The bull has caused problems for the farmers. Many of the offspring are strange looking, they have less fat than cows and produce a number of infertile offspring. After some research I am convinced it was a rare case of a wild (or stray) "Wood Bison" (Canadian Buffalo). It is estimated that less than 5% of the population live in Ontario. Apperently, this Bull may well have been a hybrid itself.

Two aspects here are significant:

Hybrids tend to have probems with fertility (especially in males) during their first cycles of breeding. But the buffalos have been breeding successfully with domestic cattle for some time now. This hybrid (most wood buffalo are thought to have at least a small degree of domestic cattle in their genes) Is a male that is able to impregnat females, thus a successful hybrid or pure blood.

Thus, It is possible for a hybrid male to pass on the genes (and certain traits) of a full blooded anscestor (there are other example of this in the animal world). Thus it is possible that coyowolfs may give birth to offspring that are as big as wolves (especially if it a first breed generation, wolf with coyote, or even coyote with dog).

Secondly, there is evidence that some become bigger than their ancestor. The bison-cattle hybrid is an example; they almost always grow to be the size of bisons, significantly bigger than cattle. The "Liger" (not classified as a crypid, it is well documented) is another example, a lion/tiger hybrid that surpasses the size of both anscestors and begins to resemble the "pre-historic lion" in terms of size (which is quite terrifying )

http://www.myinterestingfiles.com/2007/04/world-largest-liger.html

More to come!

[NatureBoff]

Wow, fantastic photo! I'm glad you've taken interest and perhaps you're right about the stray 'wood bison' but I'm not convinced that a hybrid is the reason behind your giant 'wolf' sighting. I read too many similar encounters which all feature the large size, thick maned neck and long thin legs. They also have huge eyes which can shine red or orange at night. Did your animal have penetrating large eyes by any chance?

Edit: Take a look at this posting! Up till now I had assumed that the beasts were non-carnivorous. Maybe omnivorous then http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?app=forums&module=post&section=post&do=reply_post&f=56&t=223703&qpid=4229481:

We had our brights on because the road was dark and winding. A few houses but not many. As we came around the corner in the head lights on the road was a lot of blood. Fresh blood. And on the side of the road was this six or seven foot tall light like a deer . But on its hind legs hunched over a dead deer eating it. It did not look up. Not even when my head lights hit it. It was using its arms like a human eating the deer. It had a very muscular body pointing ears. And long mussel. If you ever saw a werewolf this was it. Skinner lower body but used arms and hands just like a human. If it looked up I would have died. I looked over at my daughter we were both seeing the same thing at the same tinme. Tears came to my eyes instantly and at the same time we both said "werewolf". I sped up, I was scared it would run jump on my trailer and kill my dogs.As we got about a mile away my heart was beating so hard. My daughter and I were so freaked out. It was a werewolf. I have never been a believer in a werewolf I dont watch and movies or have any reason to make this up. And as a matter of fact til today I have only told a handful of people. There is a werewolf in florida.Not sure of exact town or road. But I wish I did know so I could find out if we were the only ones to have seen this thing. I will live my life wondering. If you have any idea or know anyone who has seen this thing please write me *Snip*. It was between alabama to Florida along the pan handle. I will never forget this night ever,

P.S. I even think that this male might have been *pretending* to be eating the deer carcass in order to seem more terrifying to us intrusive humans onto his territory. He would have looked up otherwise..

Edited March 12, 2012 by tailormaneinafog