DELINDA
Delinda was one of Banff’s most beloved and famous wolves. She roamed the Bow Valley between Banff and Lake Louise from 2004-08 and successfully raised four consecutive litters of pups with her mate Nanuk in the heart of Canada’s busiest national park. Her untimely death on the Trans-Canada Highway in August 2008 captivated the nation and was covered by media outlets across the country and internationally.
John spent 140 days in the field over the 2007-08 winter following and photographing Delinda and her wolf family. He described his experiences with Delinda in his book, Tall Tales, Long Lenses:
“She was the first wild wolf I had ever really known, the first wolf I ever got good photographs of. And she was certainly the first wolf I had ever truly cared for.
Delinda had been a perfect fit for the Bow Valley. She had learned to live with people without getting into trouble with them. She had bridged that fine line between being a wild wolf and being a wolf that could deal with most of what the Bow Valley placed in her way, including all the tourists and towns and transportation corridors.”
In December 2009, this photo of Delinda was selected for the cover of Canadian Geographic’s first annual Wildlife issue, which later became the magazine’s best-selling issue of all time. Her memory also lives on in the form of her life-sized image on the back of one of the original four ROAM transit buses that have become a staple of local transportation in the Bow Valley.
