There are few animals on the planet that strike fear into people’s hearts quite like wolves do. These powerful predators have wolfed down their fair share of children, women, old folks, and livestock over the centuries. Even today, wolf attacks are far from rare occurrences in many parts of the world.
A wolf attack is both devastating to families who have lost a loved one or valuable property to these savage predators as well as being potentially dangerous for wolf populations themselves due to retaliatory killings by humans. Every year there are worldwide run-ins between people and wolf packs which result in injuries…or worse! So what makes these animals so deadly? And what can we do about wolf attacks?
Wolves are natural born killers, bred by nature for the sole purpose of hunting and bringing down prey. In the wild, their diet consists mostly of meat from large animals such as elk, caribou, moose, white-tailed deer , mule deer , bison, mountain goats , polar bears and musk oxen . They will also eat smaller animals like rabbits , beavers and other wolf cubs when they have a chance. They have been known to feed on livestock if they come across it unprotected in the wild.
This appetite for large amounts of food has made wolves one of the most widespread species on earth today since they need a lot of calories to keep them going. They are found on every continent except Antarctica, with the notable exception of Australia, where wolf packs were exterminated long ago. As well as being able to adapt to a huge range of habitats, wolf populations have thrived across Eurasia since the beginning of recorded history and now number between 250,000 and 500,000 worldwide.
However, their success is something wolf haters despise. Almost everywhere they go wolves face persecution because people believe that they pose a threat to humans or livestock. This belief has caused wolf populations in much of the world to fall dramatically over the last two centuries due to extermination campaigns by farmers and hunters alike.
Wolves have a reputation of being wild and wicked animals, but not all wolf-kind are bloodthirsty killers. In fact, the wolf is one of the earth’s most cowardly and fearful animals. A wolf pack consists only of the wolf’s family members from past to present generations. They don’t welcome any outsiders. This family wolf pack is led by the wolf with the most experience in hunting, and defense against other animals.
Wolves form strong family bonds with each wolf in their particular wolf pack. They would even die to protect another wolf in their wolf pack. Being solitary hunters, wolves are very cautious animals who avoid fighting whenever possible because fighting uses up energy they need for hunting. And it often leads to injuries that reduce a wolf’s ability to catch prey later on.
Almost every animal above them (except humans) consider wolves as dangerous enemies; however, when faced with an enemy or an obstacle, instead of facing it head-on like other animals do (like moose, bison wisent), wolves chose to dodge the obstacle and go around it instead. During a wolf’s first year, wolf pups learn their fear response from their parents. If they show any signs of not being afraid of anything at all, then that wolf pup would be killed by its parents as it would grow up to be a rogue wolf that will kill and steal food from other wolf packs and animals.
Wolves are the only animals whose prey consists of cheetahs and tigers – two big cats known for being solitary hunters – but even so, this does not mean wolves aren’t scared of these animals; they just know how to avoid them well enough to catch prey without conflict or injuries. Not many animals can do that with such large predators like cheetahs and tigers. No matter how cowardly wolf-kind is, they are very intelligent animals, to the point that humans have created wolf hunting dogs – dogs which can be an animal’s deadliest enemy.
The wolf is possibly one of the most feared animals on the planet. They have been blamed for a large number of deaths and injuries to humans, livestock, and big game. In turn, they have been hunted down nearly to extinction in many countries around the world. While wolf attacks on humans are not common, they can occasionally occur when wolf populations get out of control or wolves have become “habituated” to people through prior feeding or other human disturbance.
Wolf followers claim that these wolf attacks are generally overblown in severity and occur in only the rarest cases; wolf researchers claim that wolf aggression has been exaggerated in order to promote wolf hunts. However, where wolf populations do exist (and even when they don’t), there are certain precautions that can be taken to avoid wolf attack.
1. Keep your distance
The only thing you should do in wolf country is keep your distance from them! If they see, hear, or smell you they will most likely run away. However, if you get too close and they feel threatened, or if there are multiple wolves in the pack, their wolf instincts will kick in and they may feel the need to act on these instinctual impulses by attacking humans. Researchers estimate that wolf attacks occur when people come within about 10 meters of a wolf when it’s feeding or protecting its young pups.
2 . Don’t run!
Wolves are ambush predators; this means that they like to sneak up on prey animals in order to catch them by surprise. While wolf attacks are rare, running away may trigger wolf predatory behavior. If you are attacked, you should fight back with anything available to you (sticks, rocks, etc.).
3 . Make yourself look bigger
Wolves are smaller than humans in stature but they can still be quite intimidating when they attack. One way to intimidate a wolf is to make yourself look bigger than them so that they know not to mess with you! You can do this by raising your arms and/or coat above your head and waving them around while yelling and screaming at the wolf. Your goal is for it to recognize that you’re too big of a force for it to handle!
4 . Be prepared
Wolves and wolf packs usually attack in winter time when prey animals are scarce. If you know that wolf attacks have been occurring in your area, make sure to stay aware of your surroundings. If you do encounter a wolf, remain calm and try not to alarm it by making sudden movements or loud noises. Make yourself look bigger if necessary and then slowly back away from the wolf while facing it at all times. Do not turn your back on it no matter what! Keep these tips in mind when traveling through wolf country and you should be fine!