This Yellowstone tourist had an unexpected visitor join him on his hike, and things got so tense at one point that he had no choice but to deploy the bear spray he had on hand.
The National Park Service says that Yellowstone National Park is home to the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states. Most notably, there’s a whole lot of prey (bison, elk, moose, mule deer, etc.), and a healthy amount of predators (black bears, lynx, mountain lions, wolves, etc.).
And because Yellowstone is home to so many different animals, and millions of visitors traverse through the park each and every year, there’s bound to be situations where humans and wildlife cross paths. With only 90 to 120 wolves living in Yellowstone National Park, and their tendency to keep their distance from human, it’s rare to see them have close encounters with tourists.
But as you’ll see in this video below, it does happen from time to time.
A man named Deric Smith who was visiting the park saw the whole thing play out from a distance, and he just so happened to be equipped with a camera and a spotting scope, which allowed for him to get everything on video. Ignazio Zanin was hiking the Lamar River Trail, and at some point, a young wolf also joined the trail… and stayed very close to him.
In the video, you can hear how surprised Smith and others around him were watching the wolf be so bold and approach the man on the trail. Smith even pointed out that it looked like the wolf was Zanin’s dog at certain points, just because it appeared to be so comfortable walking right alongside the human:
“It’s right with him. It’s like it’s his dog. Dude, he’s got to be scared.”
Fortunately, the Yellowstone hiker came prepared, and had a can of bear spray with him.
Let this be a lesson that bear spray works on other animals besides bears, and can be a life saving tool out in the wild. Though it probably would have been unlikely for the black wolf to pounce on the man, you never know what’s going through the mind of a wild animal (just ask the grandpa who got flipped up in the air by a bison earlier this summer).
When the wolf started to really crowd the hiker, he utilized the bear spray to deter the wild canine. As soon as he did, the wolf retreated a bit… then kept following. Those watching from afar could barely believe what they were watching:
“He just sprayed him. That’s crazy. And (the wolf) keeps going. This wolf has been following this guy for what, five minutes? That’s insane.”
After a couple of more seconds of pursuit, the young wolf did give up on Zanin, and the hiker was able to get away without even a scratch. Still though… it made for quite the scary scene, and goes to show that having bear spray on you is a must when you venture into the outdoors and share space with predators like wolves and bears.
Check out the wild footage below:
