Fatal wolf attack

[#juan]

I grew up in wolf country and wolves always avoided contact with humans

Probably to a wolf we don't smell very appetizing. Somewhere along the lines of mildew

My parents owned a little resort on Tsinket Lake. (about 14 miles long and 3 miles wide) We had cabins, a store, later a restaurant, and boats to rent. In the winter the lake froze over and we would often see the wolves cross the lake on the ice. Towards the middle of winter the ice was well over two feet thick and full grown moose would cross the lake as well. I don't know how they could tell it was thick enough.

 

[Tyr]

My parents owned a little resort on Tsinket Lake. (about 14 miles long and 3 miles wide) We had cabins, a store, later a restaurant, and boats to rent. In the winter the lake froze over and we would often see the wolves cross the lake on the ice. Towards the middle of winter the ice was well over two feet thick and full grown moose would cross the lake as well. I don't know how they could tell it was thick enough.

moose augers

 

[Tyr]

Breaking the rules is why people get killed... Look at all the recent deaths of skiers in BC. skiing out of bounds...

skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers. There should be legal recourse that they have to pay for the rescue if they are "out-of-bounds"

(and get a "stupid" tattoo, just for effect)

 

[lone wolf]

I had a little place much farther into the bush than I am now. Several times, I caught sight of one or more wolves - always at respectful distances. Those were the times Roche would stay right with me. Many evenings I would stand at the edge of the lake and trade howls with them. The dog was never too happy about it.

 

[Unforgiven]

I certainly think fear of wolves is unnecessary, wolf attacks are rare in the first place, and fatal ones even more rare.........but the blanket statement "wolves don't hunt people for food" is misleading..........first of all, how do you know?
I have read a couple of accounts of wolves doing exactly that.

Fear of wolves, as in the past has shown to be a very bad thing indeed. Respect the nature of wild animals and you will be fine. There are laws that govern wild animals just as there are laws that cover everything else. Outside of illness or injury, we can predict pretty well how an animal will react. That we tend to ignore that, refuse to acknowledge it, and get down right mad about it because it puts the responsibility square on our shoulders makes us look stupid when we fail to understand those laws and someone gets themselves killed.

The unreasoning terror wolves seem to strike in some of us is undoubtedly NOT without a foundation in reality.........silly, but still......

Of course it is. We make that up and bring it with us. For the most part humans are a walking talking DIY disaster on the verge. People tote a lot of fear around with them. While we may think we hide it, to an animal you might as well be wearing fraidy cat yellow for all the good it does to try and hide it. That's a big problem.

Secondly, I don't much care why a wolf attacks a person. It is not a trial. Wolves don't have to be considered innocent until proven guilty. Wolf attacks are uncommon, but not unheard of....they are wild animals, predators, they don't give a rat's ass for mankind, except as a threat....or maybe dinner.....please treat them with respect, is the point.

Seems to be a bit of an oxymoron that. To respect something, you should know all about it. Knowing what motivates a wild animal to do something is of paramount importance if you expect to encounter that animal in it's own territory. If you act the way you should act in that creature's domain, you will not have any problems. It's stepping outside those laws I mentioned that gets people in trouble.

The wild is wild........things get killed by other things.....we don't control, nor do we even understand it anymore, unfortunately.

Me?

I'd love to see a wolf in the wild. and no, I wouldn't shoot it.

Well maybe you don't understand it. I understand it well enough. I have to question though this suggestion that you wouldn't shoot it.
How do you know that? I mean you say you don't understand why animals kill animals, so how can you understand yourself interacting with animals and the results of that interaction?

 

[earth_as_one]

I suspect the wolves smelled blood and fear. I've never had any problems with wolves. I usually just see tracks. But once in a while I've gotten close.

 

[petros]

Wolves aren't the problem. Morons who don't follow rules or use common sense is the problem in this case. A week of safety orientation on the employer's dime wasn't enough? Anyone with the slightest wilderness experience knows never leave camp alone especially without a firearm and if you do, stay the hell away from watering holes at dusk. Jeepers H Crackers!

 

[Colpy]

Well maybe you don't understand it. I understand it well enough. I have to question though this suggestion that you wouldn't shoot it.
How do you know that? I mean you say you don't understand why animals kill animals, so how can you understand yourself interacting with animals and the results of that interaction?

I've done a nose-to-nose with an adult black bear at a range well inside of 10 feet. For some reason he wanted to go where I was and he showed no fear of me whatsoever, waving my arms and whistling didn't deter him a bit as he approached.......at the end I was close enough to be damned near touching him with the muzzle of my rifle.......and I didn't shoot him. Mind you, what stopped him at that range seemed to be the sound of me flicking the safety to the "off" position.... .

He stopped, I looked at him over the top of my rifle, politely told him to FO, and he unconcernedly turned and walked back the way he had come.

I like seeing wild animals close up, but that one was slightly unnerving.

 

[earth_as_one]

I guess I've been lucky.

I've never had any problems with any wild animals except with those darn chipmunks.

 

[earth_as_one]

YouTube - Momma Bear with her cubs

BTW, I took these photos and videos near Thunder Bay

 

[petros]

Every Autumn there is at least one incident of a hunter being "mounted" by an elk. Ruminants kill and have killed far more people than wolves ever will.

 

[lone wolf]

I've done a nose-to-nose with an adult black bear at a range well inside of 10 feet. For some reason he wanted to go where I was and he showed no fear of me whatsoever, waving my arms and whistling didn't deter him a bit as he approached.......at the end I was close enough to be damned near touching him with the muzzle of my rifle.......and I didn't shoot him. Mind you, what stopped him at that range seemed to be the sound of me flicking the safety to the "off" position.... .

He stopped, I looked at him over the top of my rifle, politely told him to FO, and he unconcernedly turned and walked back the way he had come.

I like seeing wild animals close up, but that one was slightly unnerving.

A neat little trick is to grip the bottom of your jacket then raise your arms - slowly - up over your head. Stand your ground, then slowly back away. Fast moves are aggressive moves ... that have been known to back-fire. Bears are near-sighted and if you look bigger, he'll not be so brave.

A cub?... Get outa there.

 

[#juan]

I had a little place much farther into the bush than I am now. Several times, I caught sight of one or more wolves - always at respectful distances. Those were the times Roche would stay right with me. Many evenings I would stand at the edge of the lake and trade howls with them. The dog was never too happy about it.

Any dog I ever had would get nervous as hell if the wolves were howling. Sometimes you would swear they were talking to each other. I had a friend who was a member of the Broman Lake Indian Band who would listen to the wolves and tell me what was going on. He knew if the wolves were starting out on a kill. He knew if they were killing and where. The next day he would take me across the lake and show me the fresh kill. It made me a believer at the time. Later, when I was older I wondered how long a fresh kill would stay fresh looking. I mean, a bunch of bones and red blood on the snow would likely last until the next snowfall. What I'm saying is that he could have seen that kill three days before he took me across the lake but I would like to think he worked everything out from the sounds of the pack. Makes a better story.;-):smile:

 

[petros]

swear they were talking to each other

Pssssst. They ARE talking to each other.

 

[lone wolf]

He probably was dead on, Wayne. Ravens can clean up leftovers fast.

 

[Colpy]

A neat little trick is to grip the bottom of your jacket then raise your arms - slowly - up over your head. Stand your ground, then slowly back away. Fast moves are aggressive moves ... that have been known to back-fire. Bears are near-sighted and if you look bigger, he'll not be so brave.

A cub?... Get outa there.

Yeah...I did wrong, I know that. I was deer hunting, sitting almost on the ground behind some low firs on a log watching a deer trail, and I was, of course upwind. I should have stood up much sooner than I did.......I did wave my arms around and whistle, but quietly, as I didn't want to spook other game. I'm sure he knew I was there, but he didn't know what I was..he was just been coming over to investigate.......your method would work, I'm sure......except I'd have had to put the rifle down...



And I was already in his "zone", if you know what I mean.

 

[Unforgiven]

Yeah...I did wrong, I know that. I was deer hunting, sitting almost on the ground behind some low firs on a log watching a deer trail, and I was, of course upwind. I should have stood up much sooner than I did.......I did wave my arms around and whistle, but quietly, as I didn't want to spook other game. I'm sure he knew I was there, but he didn't know what I was..he was just been coming over to investigate.......your method would work, I'm sure......except I'd have had to put the rifle down...
And I was already in his "zone", if you know what I mean.

Know you were there? The Black Bear has a sense of smell that would allow it to know you were there a few miles a way. They don't see well but the nose is far more sensitive than anything you can imagine.

You were there with a gun hunting, so you were the top preditor in that area. Think of it like walking through a grocery store, without your gun, though I'm sure you would never go shopping without a sidearm, and finding a Black Bear in the cereal isle. Would you feel more comfortable and less threatened, If it just sat there aknowledging you were there but remained eating Honey Comb, or if it stood up and jumped up and down barking at you?

To put a finer point on it, you have probably walked past someone and just known there was something wrong there. They were messed up in a way but you really got a bad feeling from of them. It's like that. Everyone gives off some kind of vibe. If you give off a calm but assertive sense and go about your business, you won't have much to worry about.

It's when you give off a scared or unstable sense that animals really get upset. And that is what they attack.

 

[Colpy]

Unforgiven, I'm going to argue with some of that......

Scent is airborne.....the best nose in the world can't smell what is upwind in a decent breeze.........
I know bears have lousy eyesight....I should have stood up to show I was a man long before he got so close to me (my bad).........animals have a fight-or-flight "zone" within which it is very unwise to startle them........
I am convinced he had no idea what was there, and was coming to investigate my flailing arms .........
I was not that alarmed, obviously, or I would have shot the thing.

I had a more dangerous confrontation in fall with a LARGE bull moose, obviously in rut.........talk about unpredictable! In a heavy rain I got far too close, and he behaved agressively, rolling his antlers at me, lowering them, taking steps towards me......then head back, nostrils flaring.........probably 1600 lbs of testosterone-charged muscle.....antlers looked like a twisted snow plow......wow! I didn't shoot him either .

I stood my ground and spoke to him........rifle on the shoulder, mind you. If he charged, my plan was to snap off one, and run around the large fir tree on my right He was probably 10 yards off........and he backed down.

Gotta love the bush. I'm hardly there anymore.......

 

[earth_as_one]

A bear's eye sight is comparable to humans. But their sense of smell is as good as a dog's. I've seen a black bear walk through the bush past a person walking down a trail and the person never knew it was there. They passed within ten meters. I'm sure I've had many close encounters with a bear and was unaware. Black bears are very risk adverse. That's why most avoid humans. Same with wolves. They don't know us and we are big enough that we are not worth the risk. That's why we are safe with black bears and wolves. Every time I've seen a wolf, they saw me and ran away.

BTW, you cannot out run or out climb a black bear. If you encounter a bear, and feel unsafe, face the bear, back away and don't make eye contact. Make yourself look big, make noise, grab a stick and wave it around. Stay in a group or in the water. A boat or canoe is safe.

A bull moose during the rut is a powerful animal with a small brain. That's why they are the third most dangerous animal in Canada. Elk are number four.

The most dangerous animal in North America is a polar bear. They will stalk humans. A grizzly is second. They have more caution. Cougars would rank number five.

I've had close encounters with Polar bears, Bull moose, elk, black bears and wolves. I've never seen a grizzly bear or a cougar. I have no doubt that most polar bears would test a human if given a chance. If you encounter one and you aren't armed, you are in mortal danger. But I know people who have bluffed polar bears. I've had many close encounters with Black bears and in all cases they've backed off as soon as I stood up, made an assertive move or loud noises.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

Gotta love the bush. I'm hardly there anymore.......

Oh yeah, I hear ya. I haven't been out hunting for a long time. I think I've told my wolf story here before, but it seems worth repeating in the context of this thread. I was out with a couple of buddies hunting upland game birds in the kind of habitat they prefer (obviously; no point in looking for them where they aren't), the prairie zone called the park lands, a mix of brush and light forest and open spaces on a rolling terrain. (All you people who think the prairies are flat and treeless need to get off the #1 highway and go north a bit.) I kept seeing flickers of movement in the brush out of the corner of my eye but couldn't identify what I was seeing, until I pushed through a bit of forest and came out near the edge of a small pond. At the water's edge, less than 10 meters away, was a wolf looking at me. A BIG one. And all I've got is a 12 gauge loaded with three rounds of #7 shot, which wouldn't be much better than shooting dust at a critter the size of that one. He must have known I was coming long before I saw him, his senses are much better than mine, and I'm convinced he chose to show himself to me. I think there must have been a pack in the area, and he'd been shadowing us to find out if we were a threat or not. Wolves aren't stupid, they know how dangerous humans can be to them, I'm sure that's why they rarely attack us, and where there's one, there are others. Motionless, we stood there inspecting each other for a few minutes. I made no move, no noise, just stood there with my shotgun cradled in my arms with the safety on. I'm pretty sure wolves know the difference between a man with a gun and a man without one too. Eventually he must have decided I was no threat, he loped off into the forest showing no fear of me at all. I saw no further sign.

There it is: mutual respect between the top predators. I'd have been a good deal less sanguine with a bear, bears are unpredictable and stupid and unsociable, but that wolf seemed to be smart enough to give me a message: we're watching you, don't mess with us.

I concede I may be confabulating that experience into something it really wasn't, but at the time it certainly seemed to me the wolf was trying to tell me something. If he hadn't wanted me to see him, I wouldn't have seen him, he was downwind of me and he'd certainly have heard me crashing around in the bushes, he could easily have avoided me. I can't understand that experience in any other way except that he must have chosen not to.

We underestimate wildlife at our peril.