Canadian soldiers cry wolf, alarming residents

Armed forces also mounted speakers that broadcast growling in the woods

The warnings showed up more than a week ago in mailboxes in western Nova Scotia. Wolves were seen nearby, the letters said. “If a Gray Wolf is encountered, do not provoke, engage or feed the animal. Back away slowly while remaining calm- donot turn and run.”

Other residents of the area evidently heard growling coming from the woods.

But there were no wolves. It was all a psychological training exercise gone wrong.

The goal was to train a brigade of reservists on methods for defending against a disinformation campaign by a foreign adversary. The soldiers who organised it created a campaign of their own: printed flyers warning that the wolves had been seen in the valley.

They also broadcast the sounds of growling wolves from speakers, according to The Ottawa Citizen, which reported on the incident.

Only members of the military were supposed to see the flyers and hear the broadcasts, but the warning letter somehow got out to nearby residents.

Soon the phones started ringing at the Department of Lands and Forestry’s office in Kentville. The letter had said that the department and other government agencies had deliberately reintroduced gray wolves into the forests of Nova Scotia.

The fake disinformation programme had become a real one.

“This letter initially came to our attention by a member of the public,” Jill McKenzie, a spokeswoman for the forestry office in Nova Scotia, said.

Daniel Le Bouthillier, chief spokesman for the Canadian Armed Forces, called the incident a “regrettable and completely unintentional error” and said Thursday that the unit responsible had “unreservedly apologised” to the people of Nova Scotia for the “mock letter” about the wolves.

His office said this part of the exercise did not follow established rules and regulations and was under investigation.

Canadian Armed Forces called the incident a “regrettable and completely unintentional error” adding that the unit responsible for it had “unreservedly apologised.”