Wolf attack

[jparrucci]

Hot off the presses...

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says it's investigating a rare apparent wolf attack on a teenager.The DNR says it happened early Saturday morning at the West Winnie Campground on Lake Winnibigoshish in north-central Minnesota.It says the 16-year-old boy suffered multiple puncture wounds and a laceration on his head about 4 inches long. The wolf ran into the woods after the boy kicked it.After receiving local first aid, the boy was taken to a Bemidji hospital. The wound required multiple staples to close, but was not life-threatening.The DNR says a serious injury or fatal attack on a human had never been documented in Minnesota before. The only two recorded wolf attack fatalities in North America in the last decade were in northern Canada and Alaska.

[zepman]

They know they're being hunted....

In all seriousness, I'm glad the boy is o.k.

[ozzie]

wow that is a bad way to end your summer and have quite the story to tell when school starts.

[eyeguy 54]

copied from online

Authorities are investigating an "apparent wolf attack on a teenager" in a north-central Minnesota campground.

The incident occurred near Lake Winnibigoshish, a popular vacation lake west of Grand Rapids in the Chippewa National Forest, and other campers at the U.S. Forest Service campground reported an animal -- perhaps the same wolf -- tearing through tents, including puncturing an air mattress.

The 16-year-old boy sustained "non-life-threatening injuries, according to the DNR.

The DNR has scheduled a 4 p.m. news briefing to discuss the incident.

Wolf attacks on people are extremely rare.

Until a few years ago, the number of documented wolf killings of people in the history of North America was zero, according to the most authoritative research on the topic, "A Case History of Wolf-Human Encounters in Alaska and Canada," published in 2002 by Mark E. McKay of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

In his examination of 80 instances where wolves showed a lack of fear around people -- and in some cases did attack -- McKay found three cases where wolves appeared to see humans as prey. All involved small children, and two involved wolves that had been habituated to people.

Since his report was published, two adults in Canada have been killed by wolves, although the conclusion that a wolf killed one of the people was reached by a judge, while the coroner ruled the death inconclusive.

Shortly before the briefing, the DNR issued a statement, including the following:

The boy sustained multiple puncture wounds and a laceration to his head of about 11 centimeters long. The wolf ran into the woods after the boy kicked it.

After receiving local first-aid, the boy was transported to a hospital in Bemidji. The wound required multiple staples to close, but was not life-threatening.

Officers from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, U.S. Forest Service and the DNR collected reports from the boy and the boy's father, as well as others at the camp.

Statements from other campers indicated there were other incidents at the U.S. Forest Service campground where an animal bit through tents, one resulting in the puncturing of an air mattress. Another camper indicated that he witnessed a wolf near his campsite with coloration and markings matching the description of the animal involved in the attack on the boy.

"This is an extremely rare incident and not normal wolf behavior," said Tom Provost, regional manager of the DNR's Enforcement Division. "Because wolf bites or attacks on humans are so rare, they are poorly understood. These rare incidents have usually involved food-habituated wolves and have led to minor injuries, but no fatalities."

Before this incident, a serious injury or fatal attack on a human had never been documented in Minnesota. There have been two wolf attack fatalities in North America in the last decade. One was in northern Canada and another was in Alaska.

Enforcement officers from the U.S. Forest Service, Leech Lake and the DNR briefly located the animal matching the description in the wooded area adjacent to the campground, but were unable to immediately kill it. U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services was called for assistance in locating and capturing the wolf.

On early Monday morning, an average-sized male wolf of about 75 pounds, matching the description of the wolf in the attack, was trapped and killed in the campground.

The wolf is being taken to the University of Minnesota veterinary diagnostic lab to be tested for rabies. Also, the lab will collect samples for DNA analyses and complete a thorough medical examination to determine the health of the animal.

Traps will be left in place for one more night to be sure another wolf is not present in the area. The Forest Service has closed the campground until further notice.

[Jameson]

Never happened before hunting. Must be caused by hunting.

.

[HunterLee]

I am glad the kid is alright, but would like more wolves to bite some wolf lovers. That wolf never ran into a hunter last year and was in need of an attitude adjustment

[PurpleFloyd]

If they would put a pink ribbon on it's neck it would become perfectly harmless and they could study it.

[RumRiverRat]

They obviously have eaten all the deer and now are attacking humans.

[Random guy]

Wolf forgot he was supposed to be running under a full moon, the north star, northern lights and a bonsai tree while howling a song and not biting people like a big K9...oh wait he is a big K9.

[LindellProStaf]

Hey great posts. All of the things I was thinking and more!!! Wolf and Bears and Deer are getting used to us and obviously there will be more problems. Thanks to us hunters hopefully we can keep things in check. AND I hope the kid is ok and sees it as a great experience that no one else can say has happened to them. Easy for me to say sitting in my safe environment. Very brave kid also to kick the wolf.

[Col. Hoggiebun]

Thers no wolves in MN, no thats cougars sorry. Yup I agree their running out of deer

[Random guy]

The young, man was lucky or dang tough, maybe both. As part of my job I get to see the handy work of wolves or even a single wolf more often than I should and it is not pretty. Unlike cats or raptors they do not kill swiftly and cleanly, often time packs rely on drawing and quartering their prey...if they actually kill it before they begin consuming it.

I vote the young man gets a wolf tag, no questions asked.

[TylerS]

UPDATED WITH QUOTES FROM BOY:

MN Teen Fights off Wolf Attack; First Ever Documented in State

BEMIDJI — Noah Graham, after waking up to find his skull in the jaws of a wolf, fought off the animal and lived to tell the tale.

Read that sentence again.

Graham is 16-years-old and he has a story to tell the rest of his life; thankfully, a story about an incident that Chris Niskanen of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources called “extremely rare and unusual.” Despite an 11-centimeter wide gash on his scalp, 17 staples to close the wound and “the worst pain of his life,” the Solway teen was nonchalant about the attack, which occurred Saturday morning.

“I had to reach behind me and jerk my head out of its mouth,” he said, mimicking the life-saving and meal-spoiling act. “After I got up, I was kicking at it and screaming at it and it wouldn’t leave. But then after awhile I got it to run away.”

Graham was camping at the West Winnie Campground at Lake Winnibigoshish with five of his friends that night. The attack, and subsequent defeat, of the wolf came just before 4 a.m. Saturday. The ordeal may be the first documented wolf attack on a human in Minnesota, according to Tom Provost, a DNR regional manager.

“It’s the first one that I’m aware of,” he said.

There have been two wolf attack fatalities in North America in the last decade, according to the DNR. One was in northern Canada and another was in Alaska.

The wolf suspected of carrying out the attack was captured and killed Monday, Provost said. A necropsy and DNA testing should prove whether the animal authorities have in their possession is the same one that took a bite out of Graham’s scalp.

The campground is closed until further notice, and traps will remain set up in the area Monday night. When the DNR and officers with Leech Lake Tribal Police arrived after the attack they set up a perimeter in an attempt to capture the creature. At one point, a DNR officer blasted a pistol shot at the wolf, but missed. Traps were set and in one, Graham’s alleged attacker was found.

There are a few possible explanations for the wolf’s attack on a human: It occurred at a campground, where wild animals may be used to retrieving food from lazy campers; the wolf had a misaligned jaw and was missing a K9 tooth, making it harder to go after larger prey, Provost said; and finally, Graham’s head, with his straight auburn hair, may have resembled smaller prey.

“I won’t be sleeping outside again any time soon,” he said.

Graham was talking with his girlfriend just before the wolf chomped. The bite came without warning.

“There was no sound at all. Didn’t hear it. It was just all of a sudden there,” he said. Graham defeated the wolf alone. His girlfriend fled (“she ran and got in her Jeep right away,” he said), and two members of the camping party “slept through” the screaming, kicking and fighting.

Then, the 16-year-old called his dad, Scott Graham. All parents dread the 4 a.m. phone call, but very seldom does a conversation go like it did Saturday morning.

“Dad, I just got attacked by a wolf.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Just make sure you call 911 cause you need to alert the authorities.”

Graham is skinny and tall, and didn’t seemed phased by his encounter with the animal. Nor did he seem shaken by the needle that pierced his wound to deliver a rabies shot following the attack. When Scott and his wife, Amy, reached the hospital in Bemidji, their son asked if his parents were alright. Scott laughed Monday afternoon, remembering the absurd question.

“I thought it was a big coyote, but I guess it’s a wolf. Not a full size wolf, but...”

But nothing. The wolf weighed 75 lbs. In a land of tall tales involving massive bear, 12-point bucks and 100-pound fish, Graham just fought of an animal that had his brain folds dead to rights.

Take some credit, kid.

[EBass]

WOW! Glad he's alright.

[leech~~]

I wonder why they had to give him a rabies shot if they had the animal to test for it?

[kkahmann]

It doesn't count as a wolf attack unless the person dies!

If you think I'm kidding ask Dr David L Mech