Taken from Wolf Island
Apart from the calling of gulls, there wasn't a sound. I checked the time. The assistant falconer's half hour was long past, so the hounds must have been loose. If indeed an entire pack of wolves were living on the island – which was just seven kilometres long – I knew they'd soon have one on the move.
My attention was drawn to the shore where about two hundred metres away the local gulls were holding a mass meeting – and making an appropriate racket. I tried to listen for the hounds but against the noise it was impossible.
Two ravens flew by, calling loudly. They circled over the gulls, then landed on an enormous boulder to join the dozen or so already there.
‘There's something going on over there,' I thought. ‘Ravens wouldn't bother getting involved for just a few dead fish. The boulder must be hiding something much more interesting.'
I decided to make my way over and strode out briskly. Now Louhi became very excited and was desperate to fly, but all I could make out was what appeared to be a dead seal. I let her fly anyway.
She'd hardly left the perch when the seal suddenly gained a companion. Standing over it was a wolf! It looked sharply at me, hesitated for a couple of seconds, then took off.
Louhi seemed to be in no great hurry. It was as if she wanted to fully savour the open terrain: there were no trees or cover to hinder her attack, nor any forest for the wolf to escape into; where and how the quarry would be tackled was totally up to her.
Almost as if not taking the pursuit seriously, she gained more and more height. She then suddenly stooped, applied the brakes, and began to follow the fleeing wolf at a height of about fifteen metres. Then she committed herself, braking briefly as the wolf hinted at retaliation before throwing both feet forwards to take it. I was able to observe the entire sequence right to the finish.
The distance to Louhi was perhaps six hundred metres and I arrived exhausted to find the wolf already dead. As soon as I got to within ten paces, Louhi assumed a defensive stance. I quickly pulled on another glove so that both hands were protected and approached with great caution. She immediately leapt from the dead wolf but then remained where she was, turning her head to stare intently at something. On my run to her I'd heard the hounds telling of a second wolf, and now there it was, heading west and not fifty metres away! Louhi was on the wing in an instant. And she meant business. Approaching the wolf side-on, she could have immediately taken hold of it by its left flank. But this would have been too risky. Instead, she flew a small circle to put the wolf in front of her, then stooped with full force to bind to its back. What took place next I can't say, everything happened too quickly.
I arrived to find her on the largest male European wolf I'd ever seen. It was quite dead. That a bird of just five kilograms can subdue and kill in seconds an animal eight times its own weight is truly an astonishing achievement.