Coming from Africa, I'm used to reports of predatory wildlife targeting humans. Thousands of Africans die every year in such attacks, most of them unreported and unknown outside their immediate area. It's not the sort of thing one expects in the USA . . . but they happen here, too.
You can read more about the incident here.
I know there are very few documented, verified wolf attacks on humans - but if the wildlife authorities continue to reintroduce them into the wild, when that same wild is a lot less wild and more cramped by pressure of human population, there are going to be more.
Peter
Did you post the story about the cyclist who was chased by a wolf on the Al-Can highway? Apparently most of the passing vehicles thought it was his dog because nobody stopped to help him until he had used up all his bear spray and was coming up to a hill.
ReplyDeleteI'd say it was time to cry wolf! I read the other story in the first comment and it was even more amazing.
ReplyDeleteWolves are much bigger than dogs, and run in predatory packs. Once ten or eleven of them decide you are lunch, there would be no resisting them if you were alone and unarmed. That guy is very lucky.
ReplyDeleteIf I recall correctly, there was also a teacher in Alaska who was out jogging, and was run down and eaten by a pack of wolves. Not Disney creatures at all.
it would be interesting to hear from our Native Americans about wolves-
ReplyDeleteHistorically,in Europe, they were feared- by the time the Anglo's got to North America, we had firearms.
Our ancestors hated the wolves and grizzly bears- they worked to eradicate them for 100 years-we may well come to a time when we regret re introducing them.
Wolf attacks are indeed rare in north America but they are pretty common in other countries. There are many recorded instance in Russia, for instance:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_attacks_on_humans
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/9783783/Wolf-attacks-lead-to-state-of-emergency-in-Russias-Siberia-region.html
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/423480/20130112/russia-wolves-siberia-yakutia-wwf.htm
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F5071FF6385517738DDDA00994DB405B818DF1D3
There are, of course, more but the point is that wolves are not the angels that wolf lovers would portray them as.
There has been some speculation about why wolf attacks on humans are pretty common in Russia and uncommon in the US. There is one powerful difference. Americans often carry guns and Russians don't.
Wolves learn fast.
The attack here indicates that many more Americans are going gunless and the wolves are learning again.
I was raised in northern Minnesota close to a small town called Kettle River. We had a dairy farm about 50 miles from where this attack occurred. In 1958 there was a bounty of $50.00 for a dead wolf.
ReplyDeleteEvery year we would lose 2-3 heifers to wolf predation. It stands to reason we shot every wolf we saw, and the wolves had a very strong fear of man.
I notice the increase in cougar attacks (where they are protected)
Alligator attacks (where they are protected) and now, possibly wolves.
Could there be a common denominator causing these animals to lose their fear of humans?
Paul in Texas
In all due seriousness, wilderness ought to belong to
ReplyDeletea) you know, wildlife
b) people who are not complete tools
Wolves rarely attack people and aren't particularly dangerous unless plain starving.
Cramped? Come on. USA has a very low population density.
There are wolves in eastern Europe - all of which is as densely populated as the eastern seaboard. Slovakia, which
Romanians (93 people / km2), Ukrainins - do you hear them complaining? If they were a US state they'd be the 11th most densely populated state..
And as to them eating cattle, in Europe cattle eaten by wolves is first verified as such by a vet and then the farmer is reimbursed.
Wolves are much bigger than dogs, and run in predatory packs. Once ten or eleven of them decide you are lunch, there would be no resisting them if you were alone and unarmed. That guy is very lucky.
If I recall correctly, there was also a teacher in Alaska who was out jogging, and was run down and eaten by a pack of wolves. Not Disney creatures at all.
So.. wolves ate... a dozen people in the last 25 years? Or was it last century?
More people choked on pretzels.
You ought to warn people against high places. More people snuff it after falling off a cliff than have been eaten by wolves in a century..
http://www.eatliver.com/i.php?n=3143
Our ancestors hated the wolves and grizzly bears- they worked to eradicate them for 100 years-we may well come to a time when we regret re introducing them.
I have only one word for you: pussy. You have a fucking huge country full with giant wilderness areas, the world's number one civilian gun arsenal.. and you're fearful of .. wolves? What about cars?
Three fucking million dead people in 20th century. Three million. More dead than in the Civil War.
You're fine with that - though it's entirely possible to do without cars. Streetcars, buses, trains, bikes.. all of those far less lethal options.
Wolves eat 20 people per century and you claim .. their reintroduction might cause 'regrets' later..
(facepalm)