Wolf! Wolf!

Volume 13, October 1947

Reports frequently come to the office about wolves being seen within the boundaries of Crater Lake National Park. These are always subject to skepticism and questioning, so no effort is spared if there is opportunity to authenticate, confirm, or disprove the observation.

On Friday, January 10, Assistant Superintendent Parker reported that he had seen a huge timber wolf along the road near the old south boundary. The description passed on to me averred that his estimate of the size of the animal included: 125 pounds of weight and 18 inches high at the shoulder. On Saturday, January 11, I went down to the site of the observation to investigate. There were tracts of a canine animal which measured 3-/12 inches long, exclusive of the claw marks; the distance between tracks was 10-1/2 inches. A very light snow had fallen, so they could not be described as "fresh" tracks.

It is worthy to mention that I assisted in making a survey for a park waterline near this site last October. At that time the caretaker of Crater Lake Lodge, William E. Armstrong, told the naturalist that he and George Hopper, surveyor and former park engineer, had seen a large police dog within the park which apparently had gone wild. The location of this observation was not far to the south from the old boundary. It is possible that the animals in the two instances are identical.