Grizzly kills wolf at Grouse sanctuary

A grizzly bear that had been placed with a grey wolf in a wildlife refuge atop Grouse Mountain last week killed the wolf while fighting over a bone on Tuesday night.

Grouse spokesperson Chris Dagenais says the bear killed the wolf with one swipe in front of a group of people.

"It happened very suddenly, sort of out of the blue. We're not exactly sure what prompted this aggressive behaviour between the two species, but needless to say it ended very sadly for one of our grey wolves."

• INTERVIEW: The Early Edition's Rick Cluff speaks with Chris Dagenais.

Grouse has two grizzly bears and a small pack of wolves living in its five-acre refuge. But the two species had been kept in separate enclosures until last week.

Grouse has plans to double the size of the sanctuary to 10 acres with the bears and wolves living together.

Dagenais says by all accounts, the experiment had been going smoothly, and the animals appearing to get along well.

• LINK: Background on Grouse grizzly bears

The three remaining grey wolves and two grizzly bears have now been separated again, as researchers try to figure out what prompted the attack by the four-year-old bear.

The two grizzlies, Grinder and Coola, were orphans the sanctuary adopted four years ago. The four grey wolves had worked in the film industry before moving to Grouse.