Pepper Spray lacking when wolf attacking

[David Olsen]

"This same scenario would happen to me 4 separate times, with my desperation growing with each car that passed me by. Every time the wolf would begin to close on me again, I would shoot a quick blast of bear spray behind me to slow him down.

As I came around the corner, to my horror I saw a quick incline, and knew that I would not be able to stay in front of this wolf for much longer. I just kept thinking about all the shows I have seen where wolves simply run their prey until they tire and then finish them. It was a surreal moment to realize that I was that prey, and this hill was that moment. "

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2013/jul/09/sandpoint-cyclist-survives-tense-wolf-encounter-alcan-highway/

[Dena Kelley]

A similar event happened to a couple of ladies walking their dogs in Eagle River, Alaska, a few years back. Pepper spray will drive the wolf back but they continue to follow, waiting for an opportunity.

[Tanner M]

thanks for the link

[Daryl and Daryl]

Wow! What a story.

I saw a wolf in the woods once and it ran from me. This encounter sounds terrifying.

[d k]

I remember you commenting on the women and their dogs, Dena. Sobering to know that pepper spray does not faze them nearly enough.

[Jerry Adams]

has anyone ever been attacked by a wolf?

I hate anti wolf hysteria because they've been so decimated by humans in the past

[Michael Gillenwater]

Wolf attacks are pretty darn rare.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_attacks_on_humans

If you are to be rational, probably one of your least likely causes of injury or death in the backcountry.

[michael levi]

I had a close encounter with coyotes a while ago, I didn't use spray. Just howled and tried to fit in.

[M B]

If it doesnt work, it may have been used too far away, or was a poor hit.
Yeah, it may have a 30 ft range, but 8 ft square in the face is a whole lot more concentrated.

[David Olsen]

"has anyone ever been attacked by a wolf?"
Relatives?
Father and son, family name Olson March 7, 1888 New Rockford, North Dakota. The two men started towards a haystack a few yards from the house to shovel a path around the stack when they were surrounded by a pack and devoured alive.[53]

This fellow needed a Assault weapon as his lever action rifle ran out of ammo.
James Smith March 4, 1910 near Springfield, MO.[58] Wolves attacked him while he was alone in the woods, waiting for the return of his brother. When the sibling returned he found his brother's bones. In the center of a circle of five dead wolves, was an empty repeating rifle, showing that he had been overpowered before he could reload his gun.[59]

Get this one

1445 people 1870–1887 European sector of Russian Empire.[5
That's one every 4 days.

or this
721 people 1875 North-Western Province and Bihar State, British India.[62
2 a day

I saw a wolf once, it checked out our lab pup and then disappeared into the trees. Abercrombie Mtn. 1974.

[Jerry Adams]

Good link Michael, from wiki article:

in 2013 someone in Turkey was killed by wolf, rabies suspected

in 2012 someone killed by tame wolves in enclosure, someone killed by wild wolf in China

nothing in 2011

in 2010 someone killed by wild wolf in Alaska, another one in Georgia (in Russia)

nothing in 2007, 2008, or 2009

etc.

I don't think we have to worry about wolves

[Jerry Adams]

ha, ha, ha David

people killed in 1888, 1910, 1875?

"I saw a wolf once, it checked out our lab pup and then disappeared into the trees. Abercrombie Mtn. 1974."

Okay, now I think you're just making my point : )

It really bugs me that now there are a few wolves that have returned from extinction we're now going to freak out and kill them

[David Olsen]

'I don't think we have to worry about wolves"

I think that's because we got rid of them.

Given that lots of deaths are caused by dogs, if there are more wolves, we can expect more problems from them too.

Probably worth the problems overall tho. It is pretty cool to see a wolf, and they have done good work in national parks at balancing the ecology where human means of game management if limited.

I am a bit of a NIMBY when it comes to dangerous animals around my house.

[Jerry Adams]

yeah, if I thought a wolf was threatening me I'de probably want it exterminated : )

[Rob E]

I think your title should be edited to read, "Pepper Spray lacking when wolf attacking and you are spraying from a moving platform at a moving target".

From reading the story it is not clear to me that he ever managed to give the wolf a solid spray in the face. Sounds like he was moving at a fair clip on his bike and trying to spray behind, with both cyclist and wolf moving, not a scenario that plays to the strengths of pepper spray.

Definitely a crazy story, and he was lucky the RV driver figured out the situation.

[Ken Strayer]

I would bet some good money this guy failed to make an actual good solid hit with the pepper/bear spray.

I have seen some tough dogs(military working dogs and police k9s) hit with pepper spray and they have a pretty strong reaction to it.

Gotta stick by the saying "Don't fire until you can see the whites of their eyes!"

[Zorg Zumo]

http://naturalunseenhazards.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/alaska-report-confirms-wolves-killed-32-year-old-jogger-candice-berner-last-year/

Wolves ARE NOT cuddly doggies.

[Galen Benson]

Don't forget that the number of wolves has increased dramatically in the last few years. Encounters will increase as people don't take it seriously and they won't be positive encounters.

[d k]

It sounds like some think that this article, or the responses here, indicate a hysterical fear of wolves and a desire to exterminate them – maybe not intended, but that's what it sounds like to me. Maybe you're talking about a segment of the population "out there"? and I misread your intent. Anyway, I don't think anyone here has expressed anything like that, just that it does sound like a frightening incident. We talk about bear incidents too, and for the most part we don't have bear phobias, and nobody here is calling for mass grizzly exterminations.

Good point about both the biker and the wolf being in motion – even if the aim *was* good, the wolf probably moved past the area of most concentration pretty quickly and may not have gotten a full dose. I do find a few other references on the web to pepper spray not being fully effective but it's hard to tell just how direct the hits were. It sounds like the biker was close when he shot the spray (the wolf "dropped back" to a distance of 20 feet) but it would be hard to get an accurate hit when you're pedaling like crazy.

[James holden]

cute furry animals will never attack you here … they wouldnt want you to carry copious amounts of spray or other more lethal devices

i mean really what self respecting BPL critter would force you to carry an extra few oz … and bump you out of that XUL base weight

;)

[michael levi]

The grey was an awesome movie!

[David Ure]

Indeed. Loved it.

[Stuart .]

Maybe it's because I watched the movie on a flight, but I didn't enjoy it all that much.

Regardless, I'd like to know how long Liam Neeson's character could survive wearing what he was, after a dunk in the river. He didn't seem to have too many resources to hand in the final scene, unless he happened to empty those minibottles right onto a small pile of twigs.

[Daryl and Daryl]

We need to be careful here that we don't generalize to all wolves from the behavior of this one wolf. The type of wolf matters.

This wolf, for example, was a road wolf.

[BlackHatGuy]

NM

[Author]

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