A gray wolf chasing a white-tailed deer at Lakeland Provincial Park in northeastern Alberta. Courtesy: David Smith/ILEP Photography
An Edmonton-area photographer captured a dramatic predator vs. prey chase while on a backcountry canoe and camping trip in northeastern Alberta this past weekend.
David Smith, 39, was on the trip at Lakeland Provincial Park with some friends and their kids when he witnessed a gray wolf chase a white-tailed deer into the water.
A gray wolf chasing a white-tailed deer at Lakeland Provincial Park in northeastern Alberta. Sept. 9, 2017. Courtesy: David Smith/ILEP Photography
He said they could hear wolves howling around 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. Saturday. About an hour and a half later as the group was having breakfast, they heard a big splash about 15 metres from the campsite. He didn’t know what it was at first.
“I grabbed my DSLR camera and zoomed in, only to realize it was a wolf chasing/swimming after a buck,” explained the Sherwood Park-based photographer.
A gray wolf chasing a white-tailed deer at Lakeland Provincial Park in northeastern Alberta. Sept. 9, 2017. Courtesy: David Smith/ILEP Photography
He quickly snapped several photos as the deer struggled to keep away from the hungry wolf.
“[The] wolf slowly caught up with him and bit the deer in the hind,” Smith said.
A gray wolf chasing a white-tailed deer at Lakeland Provincial Park in northeastern Alberta. Sept. 9, 2017. Courtesy: David Smith/ILEP Photography
He isn’t sure if the wolf got kicked by the buck, spooked by the humans nearby, or just realized his predicament — but after one or two minutes the wolf gave up the chase and turned around, while the buck continued swimming to the peninsula the group was camping on.
A gray wolf chasing a white-tailed deer at Lakeland Provincial Park in northeastern Alberta. Sept. 9, 2017. Courtesy: David Smith/ILEP Photography
“Not sure if he had injuries but our campsite was between him and the wolf/wolves, so there was no way they could get him without cutting through where we were.”
The group heard more wolves howling the following morning and canoed around the peninsula to try to spot the deer, but they didn’t see any of the animals.
“It wasn’t a very large piece of land he came up on, so we thought he must be lying low or tried to swim back.”
A gray wolf chasing a white-tailed deer at Lakeland Provincial Park in northeastern Alberta. Sept. 9, 2017. Courtesy: David Smith/ILEP Photography
Smith, who is originally from the U.K. but came to Canada in 2009, said the chase wasn’t a moment many people would have the luck of seeing, let alone documenting.
“Nervous to make sure [the photos] were in focus and capturing the moment,” he explained. “Luckily my camera was in the right settings to shoot right away — I’m a big critic of my own shots.”