I would take a look at bushmeat/carcasses, as with my own similar playstyle (icy spawn, modded) I encountered wolves and bears, and was not using those two mods in particular (albeit a slew of others).
If you haven't already attempted to move away from spawn, I would suggest that too, I find that if something is not currently in the area, it can appear later on if I am not directly in the area. I would kill some wolves along a path for example, take the path south, return in a few weeks, and some more wolves have decided to move in.
Hope you can figure it out! Wishing you and your father the best of luck!