Wolf Attack

Sixteen-year-old Noah Graham suddenly found himself in the jaws of a wolf. 

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reports that this is thought to be the first actual documented wolf attack on a human in their state. 

Graham and five of his friends were camping near Lake Winnebigoshish when the attack took place. One minute Graham was sitting peacefully talking with his girlfriend, and the next minute he was fighting for his life.

The wolf apparently came up behind Graham and chomped down on the back of the teenager's head. Graham said he had to reach back and jerk his head out of the wolf's mouth. Then he kicked and screamed at the animal, causing it to leave, but it left only reluctantly.

There is a persistent undercurrent of denial among some alleged "nature lovers" that claim wolves don't attack humans. Well, here's one more case to disprove that theory.

Graham was ambushed by the wolf. He never saw it coming, and never even knew wolves were in the area. To his credit, he did the right thing by fighting, screaming, kicking, and generally presenting himself as a target not to be messed with.

If you are confronted by wolves, face the animal head-on, stand tall and make yourself look bigger than life by raising both arms overhead while waving your jacket. Raise a ruckus, yell and scream. That will probably do the trick. But if the wolf, or a pack of them, continue to close in around you, prepare to fight with anything you can get your hands on — rocks, sticks, hiking poles, a knife, a firearm.

As wolves become more plentiful and more habituated to humans, they will lose their natural fear of man, and close encounters will undoubtedly become more frequently reported.

Do not believe that wolves are harmless to humans. These are top-of-the-stack predators who will do whatever it takes to feed themselves and their young.

They know how to survive, so if you're in their territory, you need to know how to survive an encounter with them.