That's because hungry wolves have been wandering into town in search of food, sneaking into yards and snatching dogs and cats.
More evidence of that was found Tuesday morning. A pool of blood was discovered on a village road, and Anderson said you could see where wolves dragged the animal away.
Another dog had been killed.
It is hunger that is bringing the wolves to this town of about 100 people. While wolves have sneaked into Port Heiden for food before, it is usually just one or two of the animals, and they arrive at night.
This is different. These wolves are bold and hard to scare off. Sometimes they just sit and stare.
Now, the wolves are showing up during the day. And residents are scared.
The wolves could be descending on Port Heiden for several reasons. Perhaps it's because the dwindling number of caribou in the area tend to gather near the town to find protection from predators. It could be because now that the bears are gone, wolves are feeding on the carcasses of walrus and other marine mammals that wash ashore near Port Heiden.
At least three packs of wolves have been bothering the town. The largest pack is made up of about 20 animals; the others have between seven and 15 wolves.
Immediate action needs to be taken, Anderson said. The town about 425 miles southwest of Anchorage wants the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to allow aircraft to be used to track and kill the aggressive wolves.
A Fish and Game area biologist held a town meeting in Port Heiden on Monday.
"The strange thing is the number of wolves they are reporting," said region supervisor Bruce Dale. He said Fish and Game is coming up with an action plan.
In the meantime, everyone in Port Heiden is armed - even the mayor, who travels the town on a four-wheeler with a rifle strapped on the back.
"You won't see anybody walking around without a gun around here," said lifelong Port Heiden resident James Christensen, 45. "You could open any car door in this town and you will see a rifle sitting on the seat."
Wolves coming into Port Heiden has residents thinking about what occurred in the village of Chignik Lake last March: A teacher out jogging was killed by two hungry wolves.
Port Heiden residents in recent weeks have killed about six wolves, and they were skinny animals with sucked-in stomachs, Christensen said.
He said his dogs were barking Monday night so looked outside his house and found one of his dogs cowering in the corner of the door, wanting in.
There were wolf tracks all around his home in the new snow, he said.
"They came about 15 feet from the front door and then they went all around the outbuildings outside the house," Christensen said.
He said the wolves are visiting just about every house in Port Heiden.
"I guess mainly they must be looking for dogs because they have eaten quite a few already," Christensen said. "They got my friend's dog here a couple of days ago. They dragged him right out from underneath his porch."
Every person in town should be packing heat. And infants and elders should be watched closely. Wolves are pretty clever, and really good hunters.
I know when I'm out in the woods that I carry 357 good reasons for the wolves to keep their distance.
This is affected by many things, including weather conditions and food source.
The bottom of the food chain in Alaska is the snowshoe hare, which has roughly a 7 year cycle. They are now at a low population, which affects all other wildlife, even if they don't feed on the hare.
The shortage of snowshoe hare causes predators that normally feed exclusivly on them to find other food. This creates a food shortage for other predators, and it works its way up the food chain.
This has been going on for thousands of years, and will continue long after we are gone.
What many don't realize is that humans (and their pets) are just as important a link in the food chain as any other animal.
If this town doesn't want their animals (or children) killed by wolves, they will do what needs to be done to protect them until the cycle swings back in the other direction- it's all part of this fantastic world we live in.
According to the Alaska Census website, in 1960 there were about 132,000 people living in rural Alaska, and in 1990 there were 178,808. That is an increase of 46,808 people in rural Alaska over a 30 year period .....and the salmon, caribou and moose are declining.....hmmmm, could it be related or is it those darn predators? I believe that federal and state $$ pumped into rural Alaska is the problem. In the past, if there was a low salmon run or a decrease in the caribou herd, the local people either died off or moved away. Presently, we just send them money or fly some salmon in so they can feed their dogs. Don't get me wrong, I don't think anyone in this day and age should "die off", but if we continue to support rural Alaska with medical care, subsidies etc. beyond what the surrounding food sources can feed, well, there is an obvious imbalance. The local wildlife can no longer support the hunting and fishing pressure of the growing rural populations, so if people choose to live out in the bush, they will need to find a way to feed themselves, their families and their dog teams that is beyond just hunting and fishing.
Predator control will work in the short run, but we need to address the real problem before anything will be remedied. Rural Alaskans need to be limited in the amount of fish and game that they can harvest and they need to be educated about the repercussions of over harvesting. There is no way we can have a wildlife trooper in every rural settlement. It would be fiscally and logistically impossible, so the rural people are going to have to limit their harvests willingly, or the state will have to limit the number of people that can live in rural areas.
You have brought some more commons sense to this discussion.
It get dark at night in Port Heiden just like any other place, wolves are elusive and pretty smart, it not like they are in full view of locals most of the time.
Tied up sled dogs with 'box' houses will retreat and not make noise most of the time when wolves are near. In our village 8 dogs were pulled out of their boxes and eaten off their chains with hardly any noise being made.
Obviously these wolves are on the verge of starving, and don't 'live' in town 24/7. Thats why a helicopter would help eliminate this problem.
I don't what type of person would want starving wolves around their community and homes.
Wolves are known for luring dogs out to be attacked by the pack- they are very smart, and very vicious.
Not every dog can be brought in for the evening, and most folks won't have motion detectors, or fences- this is not California.
I still think (as I have for many years), that any state that thinks their wolf population is not what it should be, needs to come collect as many as they want- on their dime, of course.
Yes, we can co-exist, but sometimes we need to go by wolf rules, and not human rules.
And oldowl- you are certainly a credit to your species.
It does if you don't want the FinNFir Cops to confiscate your firearms and the other stuff you use to hunt or run traplines. Better to ask first, then given the go-ahead later.
The public at large would have a more accurate perception of what wolves are really like if
Hollywood would use mangy, snarling, lice-ridden wolves in their movies, instead of fluffy tail-
wagging Malamutes provided by professional animal trainers.
Wolves have teeth, claws, and packs.
People have guns.
Survival of the fittest.
I don't advocate senseless killing.
But I also don't advocate not protecting ones self against predators.
It's a fact of life here.
At least I'd like to think that's it.