An exhaustive investigation into the killing of beloved Discovery Island wolf Takaya has found the hunters who killed the animal did so legally.
The Conservation Officer Service did not find any evidence of any regulation violation in the hunt of Takaya and concluded the investigation.
READ ALSO: Victoria artist commemorates Discovery Island wolf Takaya with mural
After spending about eight years on Discovery Island – an islet off the eastern coast of Greater Victoria – Takaya was spotted around Victoria’s James Bay neighbourhood. The famed wolf was captured Jan. 26 and released in a coastal habitat on the west side of Vancouver Island.
Takaya was killed on March 24, near Shawnigan Lake about 50 kilometres away from where he was released.
READ ALSO: Beloved Discovery Island wolf Takaya shot and killed
According to the Ministry of Environment, Takaya was not taken back to Discovery Island as he “left for a reason” and may have been looking for food or other resources.
“It was exciting that he was surviving, so it’s devastating that his life is ended in this senseless way,” Cheryl Alexander, a wildlife photographer who tracked Takaya for seven years, said after his death. “He wasn’t doing anything wrong, he wasn’t attacking livestock, he was just trying to make his way in the wilderness. To be shot for no reason other than the fact that he was a wolf, is just tragic.”
kendra.crighton@blackpress.ca
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