wolf story

Friend of mine who is an RCMP officer just took a posting in a very Northern town for two years. He just sent me the following email........

Last night I went out for a run. I headed out on the old air strip to the far end of the reserve and headed up a trail that follows a low ridge above the reserve. It's a bit short, but a very nice up and down run. Maybe like you'd find in Kenya.

On the trail I thought I felt some animal nip at my heel. I didn't even bother to turn around and check, since I figured it might have been this little reserve dog that follows me around. It's really annoying and I didn't want to encourage it.

The trail descends steeply down to the flats in front of the detachment. The area used to be open, but it's starting to grow over with grass and low shrubs. As I get down to the flats I start to run and I sense this stupid dog is behind me again. I turn around and "holy crap a wolf!!"

It's coming right at me, so I bend down, pick up a rock, and nail it some where on it's left side. It moves off, but comes back at me. When wild animals attack, it's not like a rottweiler, police dog, or pit bull. They have a sense of self preservation so they don't go ballistic. And wolves don't bark.

This wolf was baring it's teeth and moving in, testing how close it could get. I picked up a big boulder, heaved it over my head, waited until exactly the wrong moment, and missed it. Now it's getting pretty brave, and coming right up to me. I look down for another rock, not wanting to run or show any fear, I'm out of rocks.

I broke off a stick from a spindly bush and start stabbing at it. He's moving in, then jumping back, just like those nature shows on wolves trying to take down a caribou or elk. The thought crossed my mind that he's seen this move from prey before. I start yelling hoping someone driving by will have a rifle, but of course it's Telegraph Creek and there is no-one.

This little battle goes on for a while. I actually stab it in the nose a few times, but it doesn't seem to care and is getting braver and braver. All the while I was backing up looking for help or more rocks. I back over some perfect sized rocks....maybe 2-3lbs and the size of two fists. After one of his lunges, I bend down and pick up a rock I've kicked loose. I let the animal get to me, and as it was about to take a bite out of me I came down with that rock with everything I had on his head.

Well, that did the trick. He ran off. I doubt the blow was fatal, but who knows. I ran across the road to the detachment, grabbed a shot gun and wandered around pointlessly hoping I could find it again, which of course I didn't

Btw, I created a file for the encounter. Gotta keep those stats up.

There's a reason they were hunted to extinction in large parts of the ConUS.

Yikes.

Woah.

Scary E36 M3.

Luckily it wasn't a Stark wolf, those things are big and mean

In reply to Cone_Junky:

And people wonder why I carry a rifle, handgun, and extra ammo when I go out after coyotes. Never underestimate wild animals.

Your friend is extremely lucky the rest of the pack wasn't in on it.....as he probably couldn't have written that to you.

yamaha wrote: In reply to Cone_Junky: And people wonder why I carry a rifle, handgun, and extra ammo when I go out after coyotes. Never underestimate wild animals. Your friend is extremely lucky the rest of the pack wasn't in on it.....as he probably couldn't have written that to you.

Yeah - from what I know of wolves, if you see one, you stand a chance of fighting it off. If you see more than one - and you're unarmed - you're done.

Good for your bud - most people probably would have gotten torn apart by the sounds of how aggressive it was. It must have been hungry to be that belligerent with a human like that.

There's a good chance the wolf was rabid, or ill. Good thing he didn't get bit. Wolves generally stay far away from humans. They are smart animals.

Humans=death

Datsun1500 wrote: There shoulda been a fence to keep him out.......

No but if he would have been eaten it would have been his own fault since everyone knows running outside is dangerous. He should have used a treadmill instead. Especially since he could have seen the woods through a window.

moparman76_69 wrote:

Datsun1500 wrote: There shoulda been a fence to keep him out.......

No but if he would have been eaten it would have been his own fault since everyone knows running outside is dangerous.

Well, yeah . Running outside at night in the wilderness is dangerous. If something happened, it would have been his fault. Sounds like he took care of himself and learned a life lesson. *That's how this is supposed to work. *

My dad had 6 wolves surround him. He was deer hunting and sitting on a stool in some ground cover. The wolves came out of the swamp my dad was sitting above in single file formation and when they hit the ridge he was sitting on, they fanned out and stopped. He had one wolf to one side about 10' away and the rest on the other side (closest one was about 15'). The wolves were staring out over the flats behind the ridge. My dad stood up and clicked the safety off on his 6.8 AR-15. One wolf looked at him and went back to looking out over the flats. It wasn't until my dad spoke "Hey", that they took off all asses and elbows.

Cone_Junky wrote: Scary E36 M3. Luckily it wasn't a Stark wolf, those things are big and mean

Sucks there is one less of those around these days, too.

I think that if I was going up against 6 wolves, a 6.8 AR would be pretty high on my list of things to want. Maybe right after an AKM.

I always carry a weapon when walking around my property. Sure it's just under 50 acres, but you never know. Rattle snake, coyote, wild hog, etc. are all dangerous. Usually I carry a .22 or 12 gauge with buckshot, bird shot, and slugs. I'd much rather have it and not need it than the other way around.

In reply to Conquest351:

Our yote packs are normally in the double digits here, and they are surprisingly bold in the larger numbers. And its about 650 acres right off my doorstep, mostly open farm ground with 3 of our woods within about 700yds.

I am thankful we don't have wolves here. Coyotes are bad enough.

From what I know of wolves...

I don't know anything about wolves except that are faster than people and that they don't "nibble". I do know if I'm running and something nips my ankle I don't have a little thought process where I totally dismiss it because it's probably a dog I've seen around before. I look down.

I call bullshat.

yamaha wrote: In reply to Conquest351: Our yote packs are normally in the double digits here, and they are surprisingly bold in the larger numbers. And its about 650 acres right off my doorstep, mostly open farm ground with 3 of our woods within about 700yds. I am thankful we don't have wolves here. Coyotes are bad enough.

Ones near me are getting more and more ambitious. Two were standing less than 50 yards from me on my property with my 2 barking and raising hell at them and me shining a light on them. Not a bit phased. They finally meandered off when they got ready.

I have got to get me a coyote gun. We've seen them 3 times since then.

In reply to Bobzilla:

They're trying to lure your pets away from your house to become dinner.....there were 2 doing that out by me a month or so ago. One met the -06 one evening.

So is he gonna sue for the enclosure being improperly designed/built?

My first pet was a wolf and I have run into them multiple times when in the mountains. Heck I have had them come into my camp while I was out camping before and sit and watch me. They have never bothered me a lick. I worry more about bear, mountain lions and two legged varmints out where I live. I never go out into the woods without a handgun on my hip and a rifle. These days it is normally my Single Action Army .45 and my Marlin 1895.45-70.

Back when I worked on the ranch I never once lost any livestock to wolves or coyotes. However we did lose a couple head to wild dogs. One day I was mending a fence when a wild dog chased some cattle over the top of me. Saw the same dog chasing calves the next week and I dropped it with my bosses Winchester .30-30. Damn thing was a huge German Shepherd cross that had obviously been wild for quite some time. Tossed the body on the burn pile.

On a side note back in January I took the geology class out for a field trip. When we were at one of our stops I saw the remains of a fairly recent kill and some fairly large wolf tracks in the mud nearby.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: From what I know of wolves... I don't know anything about wolves except that are faster than people and that they don't "nibble". I do know if I'm running and something nips my ankle I don't have a little thought process where I totally dismiss it because it's probably a dog I've seen around before. I look down. I call bullshat.

I have known him all my life. I a confidant that story is 100 per cent true.

I really dig wolves, but I'm fair minded about them. Like any creature in the wild, they cannot fully be trusted. Black Bears are common here in PA and generally avoid humans, but I'm certainly not about to walk up to one.

If you're out running in the Canadian wilderness, you'd best be packing heat. A little surprising a RCMP officer didn't have his sidearm.

Interesting data on wolf attacks if anyone is interested: Wolf Attacks On Humans

And, for those who don't take anything seriously: Wolf Attacks Still Leading Cause of Death In U.S.

Quick question, did the wolf apologize? If not it must have just been a tourist.

So, we have like several billion humans on the planet and that data reaching back over a hundred years can only come up with a handful of humans killed by wolves? And how many have we killed, either directly or indirectly over the last couple of centuries? I've encountered them a couple of times while riding, as well as coyotes and black bears. They all run like hell.

I won't call shenanigans.. but I do think there was something wrong with that wolf. We have had wold hybrids long before they were trendy, they are -very- smart critters and I am sure that pure wolves quickly can figure out that humans are bad news