A team of filmmakers spent nearly two weeks hiding in camouflaged tents on an unnamed west coast beach on Vancouver Island last year — waiting for a glimpse of coastal wolves.
They weren’t disappointed and recorded some stunning videography for their mini-documentary called Call of the Coastal Wolves.
“You know this pack of wolves and their pups were coming and sitting almost next to our blinds and we were just getting these incredible experiences,” said filmmaker Maxwel Hohn, who is well known for his award-winning mini-documentary Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration.
They watched and learned a lot about the coastal wolf, or sea wolf as it is sometimes called, is one of only a handful of mammals that derive most of their diet from the ocean.
“Twice a day they get delivered protein from the ocean in the tides so they’re feeding on crabs, abalone, all of this wonderful stuff that just gets washed up so actually they don’t hunt that much,” said photographer Steve Woods.
They also recorded the wolves eating a dead Sperm Whale that had washed up on the beach.
Photographer Steve Woods moved to Vancouver from England in 2019 and regards Canadian wolves as almost mythical.
It’s part of the message he hopes to relay to viewers.
“They’re kind of mythical creatures over here all endangered you know? It doesn’t make any sense to me, these are almost mascots for you guys and they’re endangered and it’s like why, why does everyone want to kill their mascots,” he said.
“You know a lot of hunters will target these coastal wolves because they want a trophy out of it,” added Hohn. “There’s nothing of use to them, their furs aren’t of use, there’s no meat on them so they’re simply a trophy for someone’s wall.”
Dean Stoltz
