Close Call with Teanaway Pack

[ian_padron]

Hiked Miller Peak on Saturday, appeared to be the first person to summit the ridge this year as there were no tracks on the way up.

After the pup and I headed back towards the truck, we discovered a couple sets of wolf tracks right on top of the tracks we laid down just hours earlier.

Pretty freaky feeling, especially with a 4 month old puppy tagging along.



For reference, my hands are exactly 8 inches from wrist to the tip of my middle finger.

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[greenhead_killer]

That's why I pack heat. No match for a pack of those dogs and they have no trained fear of people. I get trail cams pics every year in a number of drainages of those guys

[Tbar]

How common are wolf attacks on humans?

[JimmyHoffa]

How common are wolf attacks on humans?

probably safe to say a little more than the quoted "confirmed wolf attack" stats tossed out by huggers.

[bradslam]

How common are wolf attacks on humans?

From Wikipedia, so take it for what it's worth:

North America[edit]
There were no written records of wolf attacks on humans prior to the European colonization of the Americas, though the oral history of some Indigenous American tribes confirms that wolves occasionally did kill humans. Tribes living in woodlands feared wolves more than their tundra-dwelling counterparts, as they could encounter wolves suddenly and at close quarters.[34] Skepticism among North American scientists over the alleged ferocity of wolves began when Canadian biologist Doug Clark investigated historical wolf attacks in Europe and, based on his own experiences with the relatively timid wolves of the Canadian wilderness, concluded that all historical attacks were perpetrated by rabid animals, and that healthy wolves posed no threat to humans.[35] Although his findings were later criticized for failing to distinguish between rabid and predatory attacks, and the fact that the historical literature contained instances of people surviving the attacks at a time when there was no rabies vaccine, his conclusions were nonetheless adopted by other North American biologists. This view subsequently gained popularity among laypeople with the publication of Farley Mowat's semi-fictional 1963 book Never Cry Wolf,[28] with the language barrier hindering the collection of further data on wolf attacks elsewhere.[36] Although some North American biologists were aware of wolf attacks in Eurasia, they dismissed them as irrelevant to North American wolves.[7]

By the 1970s, the fear of wolves was largely counteracted by the emergence of a pro-wolf lobby aiming to change public attitudes towards wolves, with the phrase “there has never been a documented case of a healthy wild wolf attacking a human in North America” (or variations thereof[a]) becoming a slogan for people seeking to create a more positive image for the wolf. Although several non-fatal attacks had been reported since 1985, it was not until April 26, 2000 when a 6-year-old boy survived an attack by a wolf in Icy Bay, Alaska that the assumption that healthy wild wolves were harmless became seriously challenged. The event was considered so unusual that it was reported in newspapers throughout the entire United States.[18][40] Following the Icy Bay incident, biologist Mark E. McNay compiled a record of wolf-human encounters in Canada and Alaska from 1915-2001. Of the 80 described encounters, 39 involved aggressive behavior from apparently healthy wolves and 12 from animals confirmed to be rabid.[41]

The first fatal attack in the 21st century occurred on November 8, 2005, when a young man was killed by wolves that had been habituated to people in Points North Landing, Saskatchewan, Canada[42] while on March 8, 2010, a young woman was killed while jogging near Chignik, Alaska.[43]

Obviously, wolf attacks are very rare in North America, but I still wouldn't want to be one of the outliers.  Interestingly, wolf attacks in Europe were not so uncommon back in the day.

[ian_padron]

People run into the Teanaway pack pretty frequently, especially hikers and ranchers. Both the Alpha male and female are collared, so the pack is pretty well understood.

Almost all reports I've read say these specific wolves tend to just keep going about their business. They run all over the Teanaway River drainage and occasionally make their way up into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to hunt. They'll stay up high way after the snow comes, which is pretty crazy.

Last November they were tearing up the Navaho Pass area (close to 7000 feet) just South of the Enchantments, and scared some hikers pretty good a couple days in a row with their howling haha.

Last year, a ranch hand from the Martinez sheep operation moved the flock over towards Iron Peak, only to have the wolves show up the next day, some 32 miles from where they had been hanging out previously!

The only trouble this pack has caused involves livestock in the area, plus an attack on one of a flock's collies around Red Top a few years ago.

Still, it's a weird feeling to know they are cruising the same trails we are! I don't care how many positive run-ins people have had, I'd still be nervous seeing one up close and personal with a pup in tow!

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[Russ McDonald]

I was turkey hunting and two came into my decoys.  Both collared one was a young one the other was pretty big.  They didn't even know we were there.  They decided to not eat my decoys and veered off behind us.  The young one stopped at about 30 yards amd started sniffing.  That is when I stood up and hissed at it.  Off like a streak.  Granted I had my .45 on me and my shotgun was ready.

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[HighlandLofts]

I'm sure every one agrees, Seeing wolf packs is more important then actually seeing huntable game.

[pianoman9701]

Be careful out there. You don't want to be one of the statistics.

[timberfaller]

"How common..."

Tons of Russian history of wolf eating Russians during "runs" to town to get away from the packs.  FYI; guns had been confiscated by then.

My falling partner from years ago, great uncle was killed in Minnesota while tending his trap line.  Didn't return home so search party went looking, followed dead wolves until they found big disturbed area covered in blood and shreds of clothing and his gun.  Nothing else.

[villageidiot]

It's safe to say that no human that shot and killed a wolf was killed by that wolf.

[Skyvalhunter]

Or was even shot by that wolf

[nwwanderer]

The great uncle did not carry enough ammo, in moose and buff country packs get pretty large to be efficent

[trophyhunt]

It's safe to say that no human that shot and killed a wolf was killed by that wolf.

Keep that kind of common sense up and your going to have to change your name!! 

[pianoman9701]

One more note of caution to the OP: keep that pup away from their scat. Echinococcus granulosus is no joke; not for the dog or your family. According to one study done by IDFG, as much as 65% of these eaters are infected with the disease and it's a zoonosis - transferable to humans. Bad news, man.