RCMP saw potential wolf-human ‘conflict,’ zoo declared no risk: B.C. escape documents

Internal RCMP documents show police saw potential for human-wolf “conflict” after the animals escaped their enclosure at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in August, despite the facility announcing there was no danger to the public.

The zoo in Aldergrove was shut for three days while workers and conservation officers searched for the wolves, which Langley RCMP said got loose when someone deliberately cut a hole in their enclosure.

Documents provided to The Canadian Press under a freedom of information request reveal discussions between conservation officers, government officials and zoo staff over safety risks and what to tell the public, deciding who responsible for the capture, and confusion over how many animals escaped.

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In one email chain dated Aug. 16, a government spokesman describes the matter as a public safety issue once a wolf is deemed outside the confines of the facility, while another urges colleagues not to “downplay public risk.”

A separate internal report from Langley RCMP the same day lists as a strategic consideration the potential for conflict between human or domestic animals with one wolf if it had escaped the zoo grounds.

The zoo, which said that day that there was “no danger to the public,” did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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A three-year-old female wolf called Chia was later found dead on a roadside outside the zoo and all the other animals were recovered.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2022.

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press