The wolf cull in northern B.C. may be creating changes in the Okanagan, says a UBCO researcher.

Over the past decade, local hunters have been reporting more sightings of wolves in nearby hunting ranges.

sa国际传媒淲e may be seeing something that is not really about the Okanagan, but it might be (from) wolves coming in from another place that theysa国际传媒檙e leaving,sa国际传媒� said Adam Ford, an associate professor of biology and Canada research chair in wildlife restoration ecology at UBCO.

In an attempt to recover caribou populations, wolves have been killed and that may be causing packs to split up and move on.

sa国际传媒淥nly some animals in the pack are breeding, the alpha male and alpha female. If one of them dies you might get some animals moving around more even though yousa国际传媒檙e trying to reduce movement,sa国际传媒� Ford said.

READ MORE: Environmental groups criticize new mountain caribou recovery proposals

Jesse Zeman, with the BC Wildlife Federation, said around 10,000 resident hunters have been seeing wolves in the wilderness around the Okanagan Valley, more recently on the Westside and near Peachland.

sa国际传媒淎ll indications are is that wesa国际传媒檙e seeing more wolves and in parts more grizzly bears as well,sa国际传媒� he said.

He said part of it could because of the recolonization of wolves across western North America, after they were eradicated in the USA.

sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e recolonizing these areas that historically they could have occupied,sa国际传媒� he said.

Packs have a home range, but the size of the range varies depending on habitat and prey.

Wesa国际传媒檝e had wolves travel from B.C. down into Montana and Idaho in a matter of weeks, so the young dispersers cover a lot of ground,sa国际传媒� Zeman said.

He said with more cut blocks and more roads built due to the pine beetle devastation, wolf sightings could have increased because wolves utilize roads for faster travel.

Ford said there are a few reasons why hunters are seeing more wolves in the Okanagan, which fall in line with Zemansa国际传媒檚 theory.

RELATED: Letter: Wolves decimate herds; donsa国际传媒檛 drive economy

sa国际传媒淥ne is theysa国际传媒檙e not in the same spots and maybe itsa国际传媒檚 easier to see them for some reason because theysa国际传媒檙e using roads or open habitat. Another is that theysa国际传媒檙e increasing, wolves like every wildlife species have cycles,sa国际传媒� Ford said.

Ford is currently part of an ongoing study in the Kootenays, driven by concern of the number of wolves in the area.

Using special listening devices, the team monitors wolf calls to determine where the wolves are and how many are in the area.

But the animals remain elusive creatures, as Ford said theresa国际传媒檚 a lot we donsa国际传媒檛 know about them.

sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 definitely a stigma around them,sa国际传媒� he said, adding people tend to sit on either side of whether to control the population or not. sa国际传媒淚t probably makes it harder to do good wolf science.sa国际传媒�

Zeman said itsa国际传媒檚 hard to predict whether people will start seeing them in the urban areas.

sa国际传媒淚t revolves around more of peoplesa国际传媒檚 cats and dogs and cattle getting attacked,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚f you have high quality habitat and yousa国际传媒檙e taking care of the habitat, then predation isnsa国际传媒檛 a huge factor.sa国际传媒�

Typically there isnsa国际传媒檛 a concern for human safety with wolves, Zeman said, and he recommends to keep a yard and property clean so they donsa国际传媒檛 get habituated.

sa国际传媒淚f they get into the garbage chances are they are going to be dead,sa国际传媒� he said.

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