“Right now the people who have dogs in their yards are very concerned. This is happening at night when it’s dark, so everybody is on edge.” - Tanana First Chief

A decline in caribou abundance is causing coyotes and wolves to come closer to the community of Quinhagak. When a rabid coyote attacked a local dog, it forced the village to bring in a veterinarian from outside the village - and temporarily lift the Southwest community's travel ban.

Officers received four separate calls in 48 hours from Sunday to Monday. The wolves were quite active, quite brazen, coming out in the daylight hours right in residential areas. One resident had a dog encounter with one of the wolves but was not harmed.

Wolves don't typically linger around the community, they're hungry because the caribou are all in Alaska right now. There's also little snow around Old Crow so it may be harder for wolves to hunt moose. About ten dogs have been killed.

Lynx have attacked five dogs in Inuvik since late November, a trend a local wildlife officer calls surprising. The behaviour is unusual since lynx are typically reclusive animals and don't usually come into inhabited areas.