Face to face with the coastal wolf

The wolf was by far the most impressive experience. But I also found it really fascinating to get to know the rhythms of nature. Living in tune with the tides, for example, and watching how the animals react to them. I’d often spot the mink coming along again, or see the roe deer coming down to the beach in the mornings. It was pretty cool just to be there as a silent observer. The animals aren’t the sort to spot a person and then run off in a panic. If you keep quiet, they just carry on with their own business – that’s the real wilderness.

It was a relaxed trip, really. But at the start, I had to get my bearings first. It was quite a shock when I was left on a rock and the boat just took off. On the first evening, it took me a while to get my bearings, to find a good place to camp and some clean drinking water. I do spend a lot of time on my own in the countryside, but not to the extent that I camp alone. It was the first time I’d been completely on my own so far away from everything.

Calm and patience. As David (MacDonald) always says, you first need to find peace in nature, to sit back and relax. I’ve learnt to live in tune with the rhythm of nature. And to notice all the little things, the rhythm of the animals. The minks were my secret favourites on the island. They’re just so cute, hunting for crabs completely undisturbed. I saw several of them on different stretches of beach. Every cove has its own little mink that comes out at low tide. But I was also really pleased when your boat emerged from the mist and I could have a chat with someone, even if you did arrive a bit too early and interrupt me whilst I was having a swim.

I was woken up every morning by the bald eagles. They slept in the huge cedar tree above my tent and always called out in the mornings. It was rather lovely to be woken up by them every morning. And the minks kept me well entertained. And, of course, the search for the wolf: looking for tracks and for dead animals that had been washed ashore. Then the hours of waiting. And then, suddenly, the wolf was just there. I was sitting there in my camouflage jumper behind the camera, the hood pulled over my head. And when I looked up, I saw him. He wasn’t afraid at all, just completely curious, and you could tell that we were both a bit confused. He came out of the woods, then headed straight towards me and came very close; he was there for maybe a minute and then carried on walking along the beach.

No, I wasn’t scared. But it was definitely pure adrenaline – I was excited, my heart was racing. The animal wasn’t aggressive at all; you could tell straight away that it posed no threat.

No, that was my very first wolf. I’d already found tracks and heard them howling in other parts of the world, but I’d never actually seen one before. But that was definitely the best first encounter you could hope for.

Well, I think it’s particularly special because humans have had this millennia-old history with the big bad wolf. Almost every culture has a story like that. That’s why it’s already been wiped out in most areas. Even in Canada, you’re allowed to shoot them; there isn’t even a quota. In British Columbia, they now even want to cull 80 per cent of the wolves. Supposedly to protect the caribou, but in my opinion that’s complete nonsense. So the wolf still has a really bad reputation. Wolves and humans have always had such a close relationship – that’s fascinating. It was seen as a rival – and in some cases still is. Few animals hold such a status; usually they’re prey or livestock, but to view an animal as an equal rival is, in my opinion, extremely rare. And then you come across a wolf in the middle of the wilderness, and it’s just so sweet.

Although wolves do prey on these rare reindeer, the reason why the reindeer are so rare is habitat destruction and the fragmentation of their habitats. Forest reindeer depend on the old-growth forests, which are full of lichen – they need this to survive. Because the forests are being cleared and are no longer connected, meaning the reindeer cannot move from one good patch of woodland to another, this is why the reindeer are so rare. Killing the wolves now won’t help either. Instead, we simply need to reconnect the habitats and stop destroying good habitats. That is the reason why reindeer are so rare, and not because wolves eat them.

Yes, it was really great, for example, to discover the sundew, a carnivorous plant that grows there in the special habitat of the moor. I found it particularly amazing that it’s the same species as the one we have in Germany. You can simply go to the Harz Mountains and find the same round-leaved sundew there. There’s also the long-leaved sundew, but that’s extremely rare in Germany. This is mainly because the moors are being destroyed, and they’re its specific habitat. Carnivorous plants like the sundew obtain extra nutrients from insects. This is because moors are extremely nutrient-poor habitats, so the carnivorous plant has to feed on insects to obtain the nutrients that aren’t present in the soil. The sundew is therefore also an important indicator that the habitat is still present and in good condition. If the bogs disappear, it will be an extreme disaster, because they are a particularly important CO₂ sink for the global climate. That’s why I always find it so alarming when you go to a DIY store and almost every potting compost contains peat. It grows in moors and takes centuries or even millennia to form. To produce it, vast areas of moorland have to be destroyed.

In the south, of course, the trees are larger and taller, even though they are the same species as those found a few hundred kilometres further north. Then there are even fewer deciduous trees in the north; in Toba, there are loads of hornbeams. A particular feature of Porcher Island is its varied moorland landscape, where the forest alternates with treeless moors. Of course, there are no grizzly or black bears on the island, although they do occur further north; they simply don’t make it over to the island. That said, black bears have actually been spotted swimming from island to island. Instead, I spotted loads of otters and minks, which are more elusive in the Toba. You simply have to love otters. The North American otter mainly eats fish and crabs. But there are also sea otters – they’re the ones that swim on their backs, cracking open mussels or hunting sea urchins. That’s why both species can coexist in the same habitat – because they have different food sources. Whilst on a walk along the tidal rocks, we spotted a fish otter that had caught a plaice or flounder and was eating it right there.

That’s down to the otters. They hunt in the sea and sometimes eat there too. But when it comes to meals such as mussels and snails – which are a bit harder to crack open and eat – the otters take them back into the woods, because that’s where their setts are. These ‘otter castles’, as they’re also known, are often home to many otters and are passed down from generation to generation. The otters hunt in the sea, then dash quickly across the beach into the shelter of the forest, because on the coast they are, of course, easy prey for wolves, and in the safety of the forest’s thicket they can then enjoy their seafood in peace.

Because this is a very special, unique habitat – not just Porcher, but the islands off the coast in general. It is an ecosystem that is unique in the world. Coastal wolves, for example, are found only on this particular stretch of coastline. And then, even as we were flying into Prince Rupert, you could see the clear-cut areas – evidence that old-growth forests are being felled across the board there.

I don’t go there just for fun, but to document nature – and to capture its aesthetic beauty too. So that people don’t just see the trees, but can also see all the many living creatures that inhabit this ecosystem. I want my photographs to help convince people that what we’re doing there is worthwhile – to show how so many animals are still able to live completely undisturbed by humans in the wilderness. I’d like to showcase this ‘corner of the wilderness’ to people in Germany and elsewhere.

Extremely valuable. On the one hand, because of the moors. And because these are primary habitats – completely undisturbed habitats with very little or no human impact. This is an ecosystem that has developed over thousands of years. You cannot get a higher ecological value than this. As soon as human influence comes into play, species disappear. At the moment, these areas have the highest ecological value possible. They would lose that immediately if disturbed. If we do not protect nature there, things can only go downhill.