Pack of Wolves kill, eat teacher who was jogging in Alaska

[Capt. Slo-mo]

He may have had a Dirty Harry moment, and lost track of rounds fired.

There are several folks in the comments section following the article who discuss how these large caliber revolvers will occasionally have the cartridges creep backwards under rapid, heavy recoil, and block the rotation of the cylinder.

[EldRick]

Re. lynx/bobcats/cougars - I've seen a lynx in suburban Portland, a cougar in Mill Valley just north of S.F., and nearly ran over a bobcat on my bicycle once. They are not that rare.

Fortunately, they are not usually hungry...

[Inquartata]

There are no mountain lions in Alaska

http://www.wildlifenews.alaska.gov/i...26&issue_id=11

http://kenai.fws.gov/overview/notebo...1march2005.htm

But instead, I should take your word for it, I guess?

I've never actually seen a lynx in the wild

Well, gee, I've lived all my life in Arizona and never seen a mountain lion or bear in the wild. Never seen a jaguar here, either. That must mean there aren't any of any of those creatures here, I daresay!

Maybe you should watch more National Geographic.

[Allen Evans]

Yikes! Well, I stand corrected on the Mountain Lion issue, though one cat (for sure) and another cat (maybe) plus "sightings" (like Bigfoot?) is a very thin population, and not one I would think about carrying a gun for. Bears, on the other hand, I've seen.

I think my point about lynx was two fold: they are unlikely to attack a Human (since they are not very big), and very rare (my point about having never seen one in the wild). Again, not something I would worry about jogging enough to carry a gun.

When it comes to seeing animals in their native habitat in Arizona, I suppose it might depend on whether you've spent your time in Arizona outside of city limits, or, in, say downtown Tempe (where I doubt you have little to fear from wild animals that don't have greek letters).

A

[occasionalfencer]

I suspect that Alaska will increase wolf culls this year because of this.

Down here in the lower 48 there is a lot of pressure to cull the wolves that come outside of Yellowstone because the elk herds have been reduced by a significant amount. Not politically popular among some circles but I suppose the death of a teacher may be reasonable justification for a substantial wolf cull.

I think it would make as much sense to kill wolves due to 1 (one) human death as it would to destroy cars if a person were ever to be killed by a car.

[Bayou Bum]

I think it would make as much sense to kill wolves due to 1 (one) human death as it would to destroy cars if a person were ever to be killed by a car.

Or to ban guns because one person was ever killed by a gun!

[Fencergrl]

Most wildlife leaves you alone unless it feels threatened or you have food (either bad campsite habits or have been hunting/fishing).

Very few wild cats are spotted. If you do, they're usually the last thing you see. I've only had one encounter, where a cougar stalked me & my husband was able to scare it off (so he saw it & I didn't). Wolves also tend to be shy. I've only seen them a few times. I've seen a few foxes, lots of coyotes (mostly in urban areas). Bears are commonly seen (I've seen perhaps 50-75) but most leave you alone (I've never had one attack, but my husband & his father both had encounters). Moose, elk, deer, caribou, mountain goat, mountain sheep, wild horses are all common in certain areas, most run but can turn on you if you give them a reason to attack.

I think the jogger incidence isn't common. While running is prey behaviour, and a smallish woman might be the right prey size for several wolves. If there are too many wolves in an area, then their usual prey will be in short supply & would naturally look to other sources of food. So yeah... I could see how this developed into the right set of circumstances for this to occur even though wolves don't normally attack grown adults, and generally shy away from people.

I've also heard of a bobcat taking a cyclist... again the behaviour of prey (moving quickly) might have helped trigger the attack. Animals run on instincts.

Personally, I think these stories (while tragic) have a positive affect... less yahoos in the bush this summer!

[Fencergrl]

As for the firearms... this is the one time I envy the Americans. Something smaller than a rifle would be much more convenient in the bush. Other than that... you can keep your gun laws. I like ours better.

[PeterGustafsson]

Hi!


While the whole thing is tragic, I strongly doubt that a firearm would have done all that much.

She was running, and possibly was using earplugs to listen to music. Most likely she was thinking about something else rather than to be on the lookout for predators. The wolves, OTOH, had their mind precisely on stalking prey. The were probably hiding before they pounced, and they have vastly better sense of smell that she had. All in all, I strongly believe that the element of surprise was totally on the side of the wolves.

What if she would have carried a loaded weapon? She probably would have noticed the wolves with only seconds left until they strike her, giving very little time to pull the weapon and aim at moving targets. The fear, surprise, and the fact that she probably had a high heart rate from running would have degraded her aim quite a bit. Even if she would have hit the first target, they were probably a pack, and then she has to take out more targets, with the (depending on weapon type) extra time needed to reload. If the wolves are hungry enough to hunt people, I somehow doubt that killing one of them would scare off the rest.

All speculation on my part.


Peter Gustafsson

[Fencergrl]

I agree. Even when you are keenly aware of your environment, wild animals are often silent and can be nearly invisible in the bush. Wolves (or coyotes) are intelligent, organized hunters that work together. It is nearly impossible to survive something like that, armed or not. Wolves make me far more nervous than bears when I'm processing our kill in the bush. There is nothing more sickening than hearing them howl, knowing they smell a fresh kill.

[Inquartata]

a very thin population, and not one I would think about carrying a gun for.

Indeed, although of course there are relatively few environments with only a single predator and that one rare. A multiplicity of them in one area should be enough to prompt caution...

And of course there's one predator that's to be found everywhere and is not timid of human beings: Man.

I think my point about lynx was two fold: they are unlikely to attack a Human (since they are not very big), and very rare (my point about having never seen one in the wild). Again, not something I would worry about jogging enough to carry a gun.

OK. I was just responding to the assertion that "nothing else could have done it" because there's nothing else around.

Not too long ago we had a guy here in AZ who was attacked by a lynx and killed it barehanded by using his greater weight. This teacher seems to have been rather more petite than that...

I suppose it might depend on whether you've spent your time in Arizona outside of city limits, or, in, say downtown Tempe (where I doubt you have little to fear from wild animals that don't have greek letters).

A

I grew up on a cattle feedlot west of Gila Bend, which is to say, out in the desert. Oddly enough, we saw the same wildlife that can be seen in Tempe, coyotes being the largest of them. ( Yes, coyotes flourish in the heart of the Phoenix metro area. )

We had a local hunter who claimed to have stalked, and been stalked by, a black panther over several years worth of hunts. Maybe a tall tale, maybe not---the Southwestern US is within the historical range of the jaguar...

Anyway, these days I'd be more inclined to carry a gun out in the desert because of a different sort of coyote, but I'd certainly be inclined to carry one.

Most wildlife leaves you alone unless it feels threatened or you have food (either bad campsite habits or have been hunting/fishing).

Or unless it's rabid...

She was running, and possibly was using earplugs to listen to music.

A naif, in other words. Possibly.

I guess I am too old to understand the modern insistence that there MUST be music everywhere, ALL the time, including in circumstances where it might be prudent to be a bit alert...

What if she would have carried a loaded weapon? She probably would have noticed the wolves with only seconds left until they strike her, giving very little time to pull the weapon and aim at moving targets. The fear, surprise, and the fact that she probably had a high heart rate from running would have degraded her aim quite a bit.

Meh, how much marksmanship is needed when the target is attached to your leg?

Even if she would have hit the first target, they were probably a pack, and then she has to take out more targets, with the (depending on weapon type) extra time needed to reload. If the wolves are hungry enough to hunt people, I somehow doubt that killing one of them would scare off the rest.

IMO the noise of a shot alone might have sufficed, especially close up. But in any case, it would have evened the odds a bit.

[jeff]

I grew up on a cattle feedlot west of Gila Bend

It all becomes clear now!

... Yes, coyotes flourish in the heart of the Phoenix metro area.

Absolutely true. I don't think this is a good area for leaving small children or pets in the back. "Snacks"

[JacoKierkegaard]

Now that's what I call motivation.