A coastal wolf stands chest-deep in a tide pool, photographed by Ian McAllister with the camera half under the water. The view shows both the animal and the seaweed-filled shallows where it finds much of its food.
The "sea wolves" of British Columbia are gray wolves that live along the Pacific coast and its islands and get most of their food from the ocean. Studies of their diet suggest roughly 75 to 90 percent comes from marine sources, including salmon, seals, shellfish and whatever the tide leaves behind. They swim between islands, some reportedly crossing up to 12 kilometres of open water, and genetic research shows they differ from wolves living farther inland.
Few people have photographed them as closely as Ian McAllister, a Canadian conservationist and photographer who has spent decades in the Great Bear Rainforest on the central and northern BC coast. His pictures, taken half above and half below the waterline, show wolves wading among kelp and rockweed in a way that surprises most viewers. Below are nine of those images with the science behind them, followed by the myths and threats worth knowing about.
What makes coastal wolves different
Coastal wolves belong to the same species as other gray wolves, Canis lupus. Along this stretch of coast they are often classed as the Vancouver Coastal sea wolf, Canis lupus crassodon, although some researchers propose grouping several coastal subspecies together. What is clearer is that they are distinct. Mitochondrial DNA studies, and a 2016 study using about 42,000 genetic markers, found coastal wolves to be genetically and physically different from wolves of the interior, forming one of several North American wolf "ecotypes".
They are also smaller. Coastal wolves typically weigh about 29 to 40 kilograms, compared with roughly 36 to 68 kilograms for wolves on the BC mainland. Coat colours range from reddish brown and grey to beige and white.
The big difference is behaviour. Instead of following elk or caribou herds across open country, these wolves patrol beaches and estuaries, swim from island to island and time their movements to salmon runs. Researchers such as Chris Darimont have used hair and scat samples to show how strongly their diet tilts toward the sea.
Ian McAllister and the wolves at the waterline
McAllister co-founded the Raincoast Conservation Society in 1991 and, with his wife Karen, the conservation group Pacific Wild in 2007. His books include The Last Wild Wolves: Ghosts of the Great Bear Rainforest (2007) and The Sea Wolves: Living Wild in the Great Bear Rainforest (2010, with Nicholas Read), and he directed the IMAX film Great Bear Rainforest: Land of the Spirit Bear (2019). Several of his photos have appeared on the cover of National Geographic.
His split-level images are made by lying or floating in shallow water with a camera in an underwater housing, so that the lens sits right at the surface. In a 2016 interview with National Geographic, he reportedly described wolves approaching close enough that he could hear them through his snorkel as he lay still in the water. Getting such pictures takes enormous patience, and it depends on wolves that are not used to being fed or chased by people.
The sea wolves in nine photographs
A wolf peers straight into the lens as it stands in a tide pool, its legs visible beneath the surface among golden rockweed. A second, lighter-coloured wolf can be seen on the rocks behind, a reminder that these animals usually live and forage in family packs.
This over-under shot keeps the wolf's head above the waterline and its legs below. Shallow intertidal zones like this are pantries for coastal wolves, which turn over seaweed and rocks looking for crabs, clams and small fish.
A wolf stands on boulders in a misty river as a raven lands nearby. Ravens often follow wolves to scavenge leftovers, and on salmon streams both species are drawn by the same seasonal feast.
Resting on a moss-covered outcrop, a wolf pauses to scratch itself. Images like this show the quiet hours that make up most of a wild wolf's day, between bursts of travel and hunting.
Mid-leap, a wolf bounds from one rock to the next across shallow water. Coastal wolves move comfortably through tidal flats and channels, and longer swims between islands are part of their normal range.
Another split view shows a wolf wading at the edge of a forested island. The thick coastal rainforest behind it is part of the Great Bear Rainforest, one of the largest remaining tracts of temperate rainforest on Earth.
A wolf feeds on a fish on the rocks, probably a salmon. Research suggests coastal wolves often eat mainly the heads of salmon, possibly because the rest of the fish can carry a parasite-borne disease that is dangerous to canines.
A lone wolf crosses a rushing, mist-filled stream. In autumn, when salmon return to spawn, rivers like this become key feeding grounds and wolves shift their movements to match the runs.
Common myths about sea wolves
- "They are pescatarians." Not quite. Marine food makes up most of their diet, but that includes seals and other marine mammals, and they also hunt deer and, in winter, beaver. Fish are important, especially salmon in season, yet they are only part of the picture.
- "Exactly 90 percent of their food comes from the sea." Estimates range from about 75 to 90 percent and vary with location, island and season. Any single figure describes particular groups studied over a particular period.
- "They are a separate species." They are gray wolves. Their genetic and physical differences are real, and scientists debate how best to classify them, but they are not a different species.
- "They are rare and endangered." The IUCN lists the gray wolf as Least Concern, and coastal wolves are not formally listed as endangered. They are, however, a small and specialised population that depends on healthy salmon runs and intact forest.
Threats and protection
Wolf hunting in British Columbia is regulated by the province, with seasons and limits set by region, and some wolf removals are targeted at areas where wolves threaten endangered caribou. Conservation groups, including Pacific Wild, campaign for stronger protection on the coast. The death of Takaya, a solitary wolf who lived for years on islands near Victoria and was shot by a hunter in March 2020, drew wide public attention to the issue.
Habituation is another risk. When tourists feed wolves, as happened on Vargas Island in 2000, animals can lose their fear of people, which rarely ends well for the wolves. Logging can also change the food available along the coast. If you visit wolf country, keep your distance, never leave food out and follow local guidance.
Wolves can surprise people in many ways; for another unusual encounter, read about Romeo the Wolf and an Unusual Alaska Encounter.
Sources: Photos by Ian McAllister; Wikipedia: Ian McAllister; Wikipedia: Vancouver Coastal sea wolf.
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