• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Wolf In The Forest Of Dean?

Paul_Exeter

Paul_Exeter

Justified & Ancient
Joined
Jan 9, 2012
Messages
4,897
Alerted to this sighting on the CFZ blog https://cfz.org.uk (after reading the harrowing tale of @lordmongrove and the jam-less dodger). When I saw the headline I wasn't expecting much and immediately thought "Huskie-type dog" but her description was quite compelling:

"April Collier was walking her dog in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, when she saw a herd of deer being chased by what she is convinced was a wolf - she says it was a sight she'll never forget"

"April described: "The wolf was bigger than the deer, and its colours really stood out. The fur of the wolf was grey and it had dark flecks towards it lower back and its tail was so bushy,"

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/wolf-spotted-chasing-deer-through-33086889

Not the first report:

"Man froze when he encountered 'well built' wolf in the Forest of Dean"

"A man has spoken of his shock after a chilling encounter with a wolf in Gloucestershire. Chris Howard, from Yorkley, in the Forest of Dean, is convinced by what he saw which left him frozen in fear."

man-frozen-encountered-well-built-6815244

and:

Wolf spotted in the Forest of Dean 'near Coleford'​


Frank said: “So I have been called to reports of wolves now living around Coleford. I met with a chap that had seen one and also his work colleague on a different day had also seen a wolf as well.

"He was describing to me how he had been out walking his dog and all of a sudden a wolf had appeared on the track in front of him. I wanted to be sure that he had not confused a wolf with a husky dog so I sent him a picture.

https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/wolf-spotted-forest-dean-near-1595397
 
Last edited:
More Forest of Dean wolf reports:

Frank said: "In November 2021, a man driving between Coleford and Speech House. Frank said: "A man reported seeing a grey coloured wolf, with black highlights, eating a roadkill roe deer on the grass verge of the road between the re-cycling depot and the garden centre.

"The man had worked in rural Canada for a few years, and had been out wolf tracking with the locals. He had seen and heard wolves, so he knew what he was looking at."

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/grey-wolf...lS3RODm8juXtClURtSEgQ7YLsIBn8EOdLzgbrnZY3WbpV
 
Paul_Exeter said:
Alerted to this sighting on the CFZ blog https://cfz.org.uk (after reading the harrowing tale of @lordmongrove and the jam-less dodger). When I saw the headline I wasn't expecting much and immediately thought "Huskie-type dog" but her description was quite compelling:
Click to expand...

I've spoken to him. He has recovered.

As to the wolves, there are rumours of illegal releases in Scotland, I've never been to the Forest of Dean, how extensive/dense is it?
 
I think this person was mistaken if they think they 'wolf' was bigger than the deer. And if they are mistaken about size, then they are very likely mistaken about appearance too. I had a GSD who was big and people used to ask me if she was a wolf - she looked like a typical German Shepherd, black and tan, pricked up ears - so I am not confident of the ability of most of the human race to spot a wolf.

Of course this one could be a wolf hybrid - popular I understand in the US but bloody nearly impossible to deal with. Certainly not a pet. So someone could have brought one or two over and realised that they couldn't keep them in the typical British environment and turned them loose to fend for themselves?
 
"There are three species of deer to look out for in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley: the fallow, roe and muntjac. The fallow, introduced during the Norman times, is the most commonly seen. It is a large deer often in small groups and with a distinctive black and white v-shaped tail and bottom."

deer in the forest of dean

So there are muntjac but as @maximus otter states they do not herd

The bit I am struggling with is that the 'wolf' was "in amongst the herd":

"The speed and endurance of both deer and wolves can vary depending on a number of factors, such as the age and health of the individuals involved, the terrain, and the presence of other obstacles. However, as a general rule, deer are faster runners than wolves, and can often outrun wolves for short distances."

However, wolves are known for their endurance and can run for much longer distances than deer, and they are also skilled hunters who can use their intelligence and teamwork to outmaneuver their prey. In a chase, a wolf may eventually tire a deer out and catch it, but it is also possible for the deer to escape if it can find a place to hide or if it can outrun the wolf for long enough."

https://www.quora.com/How-far-can-a-deer-run-from-a-wolf#:~:text=The speed and endurance of,outrun wolves for short distances.

I wasn't there to witness this but my understanding is that a wolf would have targeted the youngest, oldest or slowest member of the herd rather than chase all of them and frankly if it was "amongst the herd" surely it would have made a kill?

As much as I love the idea of a wild wolf or wolves somehow being released into the forest this does sound like either a 'pet' wolf that has never been learnt to hunt from the pack, a wolf hybrid or a domestic dog. But even a 'pet' wolf on the loose is of huge cryptozoological significance.
 
catseye said:
Of course this one could be a wolf hybrid - popular I understand in the US but bloody nearly impossible to deal with. Certainly not a pet. So someone could have brought one or two over and realised that they couldn't keep them in the typical British environment and turned them loose to fend for themselves?
Click to expand...

Interesting idea, but the initial cost of the dog - $1K to $3K - plus the cost of flying a dog US to UK - £1,400 to £8K - suggests to me that a potential owner would have given much thought to the scheme, and would have been unlikely simply to kick Fido out of the door.

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
Interesting idea, but the initial cost of the dog - $1K to $3K - plus the cost of flying a dog US to UK - £1,400 to £8K - suggests to me that a potential owner would have given much thought to the scheme, and would have been unlikely simply to kick Fido out of the door.

maximus otter
Click to expand...
Although there are certain individuals in the import/export business who are extremely cash rich and have assets to protect, such as:

"24 Hours in Police Custody: The stupid mistake that brought down drugs boss Robert Brooks and landed him in jail​

He had spearheaded a £58million drugs cartel"

https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co...e-news/24-hours-police-custody-stupid-4684910

Which incidentally is by far the best factual documentary I have watched, the sums of money they were making for themselves was staggering
 
PeteS said:
Was it not proposed at one time to release wolves into the wild to control the boar population?
Click to expand...
I can imagine the lawyers' thought process as they considered this:
Wolf eats pet dog - well, we did have signs up all around the forest that there are wolves and to keep dogs under close control. No liability.
Wolf eats sheep - well, we did notify the local farmers that there would be wolves in the area (we put a leaflet through the door). If they still decided to farm sheep, that's their fault. No liability.
Wolf eats small child. Government lawyer breaks out into a sweat. Maybe we shouldn't do this...
 
SimonBurchell said:
I can imagine the lawyers' thought process as they considered this:
Wolf eats pet dog - well, we did have signs up all around the forest that there are wolves and to keep dogs under close control. No liability.
Wolf eats sheep - well, we did notify the local farmers that there would be wolves in the area (we put a leaflet through the door). If they still decided to farm sheep, that's their fault. No liability.
Wolf eats small child. Government lawyer breaks out into a sweat. Maybe we shouldn't do this...
Click to expand...
It's probably just a sheep in Wolf's clothing! :meh:
 
SimonBurchell said:
I can imagine the lawyers' thought process as they considered this:
Wolf eats pet dog - well, we did have signs up all around the forest that there are wolves and to keep dogs under close control. No liability.
Click to expand...
I think one of the bigger dangers might be 'wolf mates with pet bitch on heat who escapes her family, turns back up at home, is eventually realised to be pregnant, gives birth to an adorable litter of cute puppies - that subsequently turn out not to be what everyone assumed.'

It happened round here - only it wasn't a wolf it was a local husky* that found a sheepdog bitch in heat absolutely irresistable.

*This is what was presumed to have happened. Mother isn't talking and putative dad looks the other way. But the pups look suspiciously like him.
 
catseye said:
I think one of the bigger dangers might be 'wolf mates with pet bitch on heat who escapes her family, turns back up at home, is eventually realised to be pregnant, gives birth to an adorable litter of cute puppies - that subsequently turn out not to be what everyone assumed.'

It happened round here - only it wasn't a wolf it was a local husky* that found a sheepdog bitch in heat absolutely irresistable.

*This is what was presumed to have happened. Mother isn't talking and putative dad looks the other way. But the pups look suspiciously like him.
Click to expand...
Is the Dad making maintenance payments?
 
Mythopoeika said:
Is the Dad making maintenance payments?
Click to expand...
He is pretending it's nothing to do with him. Of course, he may yet be innocent, although the puppies do look very much like him, their parentage will continue to be a matter of conjecture as puppies look like practically EVERYTHING at some point in their maturation. Even, if my dog is anything to go by, sharks.

All we know is that the pups are only half sheepdog - and all other male dogs are still in the frame, but the husky is favourite because he's most often running loose.
 
Well, will be interesting to see what the CFZ find, they have a couple of guys involved in active research in the forest
 
maximus otter said:
Interesting idea, but the initial cost of the dog - $1K to $3K - plus the cost of flying a dog US to UK - £1,400 to £8K - suggests to me that a potential owner would have given much thought to the scheme, and would have been unlikely simply to kick Fido out of the door.

maximus otter
Click to expand...
But if you were the sort of person to bring a wolf-dog over (and it's vanishingly unlikely to be a pure wolf) then the Forest of Dean is the kind of place you might choose to live - there's a lot of money around! And a couple of grand to bring your pet to live with you? MOST people would pay that if they loved their animal - hell, I'd even pay that to take my dog abroad if I were moving there to live, and she's vile.

Plus, of course, there is such a thing as artificial insemination, and wolf dogs may be being bred over here to replace the XL Bullies as the next 'must have' accessory.
 
Cryptozoologist Jon Downes of the CFZ voices his thoughts on wolves in the UK, including a wolf killed by a train in 1905:


He mentions Dartmoor again and have previously posted on here that a friend from the fringes of north-west Dartmoor who had a wolf encounter. He had no interest in anything Fortean and told me in all seriousness that in about 2010 he snuck out of the house for a walk (and an illicit cigarette as he was under-16 at the time) and ended up in some nearby woodlands. Completely alone and not having been a soul, he suddenly came face-to-face with a wolf that stared him down "as wolves do". I challenged him on this, suggesting it was a husky dog or such-like but in response he told me he had family in the US and had seen captive wolves in the flesh.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top