You’ve just set up camp and made a fire at Glacier National Park in Montana. As the sun sets, the temperature lowers, and the wind speeds up and begins to howl. You realize, on second thought, that you’ve never heard the wind howl and snarl. Looking into the darkness, you discover ten pairs of bright eyes following your every step. What are your options?
Will a wolf attack a human?
Wolves, like nearly all wildlife, distrust humans and avoid human interaction, therefore assaults are extremely unusual, to say the least. A deadly wolf attack in Alaska in 2010 was the state’s first, and just the second in North America. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game Wildlife(opens in new tab) (ADFG) discovered 80 wolf/human contacts in a 60-year span, just 25 of which included unprovoked assaults by a healthy wolf, according to a 2002 report. As with other wildlife such as bobcats and coyotes, wolves attack when they feel threatened, are infected with rabies, or when humans have been feeding or putting rubbish out.
In short, the chances of being attacked by a wolf are significantly lower than the chances of being attacked by a cow, shark, or geese. In reality, the chances of ever sighting a wolf are slim.
What to do if you encounter a wolf?
Because there are so few wolves in the wild, and you’ll only discover one wolf pack over an area of more than a thousand square miles, your odds of seeing one are very remote. In the extremely improbable event that you come into a wolf in the wild, here are some precautions you should take.
1. enlarge yourself
You may have heard this advise previously for interactions with animals such as mountain lions, and it is also vital for wolves. Stand up straight, even extend your arms or bag over your head, and make yourself look as large as possible.
2. Do not flee
Remember that wolves hunt. Don’t even turn your back on the wolf, let alone flee, which makes you appear prey to a wolf. Wolves have the ability to run faster than you! Continue to face the wolf and back away gently.
3. Keep your dog safe
If you’re walking a dog, keep it on a leash and close by. This will not definitely stop the wolf from attacking your dog, but stepping between the wolf and the dog may assist. If the wolf does attack your dog, do not attempt to interfere physically.
4. Make a noise
If the wolf does not appear to be backing down, or if it is acting aggressively toward you, clap your hands, blast your whistle, shout, and throw items at it – water bottles, stones, whatever you can grab without turning your back or increasing your vulnerability.
What to do if a wolf attacks you?
If the wolf catches you before you can flee, it is advised that you curl into a foetal posture, hiding your face and covering your neck as fully as possible with your arms. When wolves attack, they go for the neck and throat. You will be bitten, but your chances of survival are substantially greater. As soon as you are able, attempt to get back on your feet and fight the wolf again.
1. Fight back
If the wolf isn’t backing down and you don’t have any other options, attack the monster with anything you have on hand. Aim target the animal’s face and nose in particular, as they are particularly sensitive and a well-placed strike might shock it. You’re trying to show the animal that you’re a threat and not an easy kill. It is still feasible that the wolf will flee if you can illustrate this convincingly enough. In 2005, a Saskatchewan man called Fred Desjarlais was assaulted in a headlock by a wolf, which was chased away by a group of his coworkers.To prevent a wolf from biting, some biologists propose forming a fist and putting it down the wolf’s throat; if a wolf can’t breathe, it should determine that attacking you isn’t worth the effort.
2. Make use of bear spray.
If you have bear spray, keep it with you in wolf country since you can use it on wolves. Learn more about how to use bear spray in this post.
3. Scale a tree
Wolves are not cats, but dogs, and they cannot climb trees. Though you won’t have much time, if you’re near a tree and can scale it, go to safety until the wolf leaves.
Conclusion
Wolves normally avoid humans and are not violent towards them. In the few cases when wolves have attacked people, it has been due to dog owners attempting to separate a wolf from a pet. However, wolves, like other big predators, may attack any prospective food source, including humans, when their food supply runs low. This is where things may turn dicey.
Wolf attacks creatures much larger than themselves since they are well coordinated group hunters, which is bad news for you. The most common prey of wolves is ungulates, which are huge, hooved animals such as deer, elk, and bison.
Wolves are opportunistic hunters, targeting young, sick, or handicapped animals first to incapacitate them, then to kill them by attacking the throat or face. They are also voracious scavengers, hunting down other predators and devouring their prey.
When seeing wolves in the wild, it is critical to stay cool, stand tall, and keep eye contact. Wolves in a pack are extremely sensitive to the behavior of the alpha (dominant) wolf, which can be male or female but is usually the biggest individual; the other pack members are the alpha wolves’ pups. The acts of the alpha wolf will have an impact on the rest of the pack.
Baring teeth, snarling, barking, howling, and raising its hackles are all signs that a wolf is going to attack – behavior similar to that of an angry dog.
If you detect this conduct, back away gently but do not turn your back, and do not flee. While backing up, keep a close eye on the wolves. If they continue to be hostile and approach, the next step is to demonstrate to the alpha wolf that you are no helpless ungulate: you mean business. Throwing boulders or other adjacent objects may show the wolves that you are not easy prey, and they will most likely go on.
Finally, if the wolves approach, fight back forcefully, defending your neck and face at all costs, until the animals surrender.
Another word of caution: Wolves can carry rabies, so even a quick contact with a wolf that results in merely a minor scrape or bite should be treated as a medical emergency.