Wolf Attack

Alsikepike · May 2, 2017

I'm writing a story that involves a group of 4 people stuck in the wilderness being ambushed by a pack of wolves. The group manages to kill enough to scare the rest of the pack off, but not without serious injuries being sustained. The main problem I'm having is trying to describe the injuries involved, but I can't find any pictures or descriptions of wolf bites online that I can use as reference. All I'm getting from the internet is the song Wolf Bite, wolf spider bites, and makeup effects that are impressive, but hardly an accurate source of information. It's getting quite frustrating. I know that I can't just use a picture of dog bites and make it deeper because a wolf has an average bite force of 400 pounds, nearly twice that of a German Shepherd. And the maximum bite force recorded was around 1200 pounds, triple the average. That's a huge range of possibilities to consider, but the main idea is clear: wolves can fuck you up royally if they're hungry enough to attack a human. I'm a bit concerned that the reason I can't find any data is because few people survive such harsh attacks to tell the tale. Of course, there's suspension of disbelief, but I'm already pushing it with the whole, 'surviving a wolf ambush' thing. Does anybody have any advice or knowledge? Even a picture to help me get an idea would be of great help. General facts about a wolf ambush would be nice too, as I only could find reports from the 1800s, when newspapers tended to exaggerate and people had a more biased opinion of wolves.

veinglory · May 2, 2017

There were a spate of wolf attacks in Siberia throughout 2013, the news reports for that might have something you can use.

cornflake · May 2, 2017

Alsikepike said:
I'm writing a story that involves a group stuck in the wilderness being ambushed by a pack of wolves. The group manages to kill enough to scare the rest of the pack off, but not without serious injuries being sustained. The main problem I'm having is trying to describe the injuries involved, but I can't find any pictures or descriptions of wolf bites online that I can use as reference. All I'm getting from the internet is the song Wolf Bite, wolf spider bites, and makeup effects that are impressive, but hardly an accurate source of information. It's getting quite frustrating. I know that I can't just use a picture of dog bites and make it deeper because a wolf has an average bite force of 400 pounds, nearly twice that of a German Shepherd. And the maximum bite force recorded was around 1200 pounds, triple the average. That's a huge range of possibilities to consider, but the main idea is clear: wolves can fuck you up royally if they're hungry enough to attack a human. I'm a bit concerned that the reason I can't find any data is because few people survive to tell the tale. Of course, there's suspension of disbelief, but I'm already pushing it with the whole, 'surviving a wolf ambush' thing. Does anybody have any advice or knowledge? Even a picture to help me get an idea would be of great help. General facts about a wolf ambush would be nice too, as I only could find reports from the 1800s, when people had a much more biased view of wolves.

I think your problem is more that you're describing a thing that doesn't really happen. I don't think wolves attack groups of adult humans -- wolves aren't dumb? I also don't think hungry wolves generally attack adult humans. Wolf attacks on people are really rare to begin with, unless there's something amiss, like rabies, or, like some bears in national park areas, their territory has been taken over and they've gotten very used to being fed by humans.

Some wolves may attack a single adult, in some rare circumstances, or a wolf or a few might grab an infant or small child but wolves "ambushing" a group of adults? I don't think that's a thing?

Cyia · May 2, 2017

Have you seen The Grey? You might google it to see what resources they used, or you might try calling a zoo and explaining the reason you need the information.

MaeZe · May 2, 2017

In this case the Wiki entry, Wolf attacks on humans, looks to be packed with resources you can use to pursue this subject.

I don't think there is anything special about wolf bites. They are going to go for the throat if they can. They will go for a leg if they are trying to catch prey running, try to pull the person down. They hunt in packs so more than one animal will attack at the same time with one or more knocking the prey down and another going for the throat. They aim to crush the windpipe, suffocating prey is typically how they kill.

I'd suggesting watching them hunt any prey. Hunting a human would be similar.

Alsikepike · May 2, 2017

It happened a lot more in the 13-1500s because during the plague, there was nobody to bury all the dead, so they were just left on the edge of town in random ditches. Wolves were more pressured by humans and food was scarce, so the dead bodies were sometimes preyed upon, and eventually they began to view humans as prey items. This tended to happen when wolf packs grew to much larger sizes, and they were desperate enough to attempt an attack. There are reports from as recent as 1911:
http://article.archive.nytimes.com/...743056&Signature=7YOvZSAkjTej//IZY91ZIGN5dqE=
I'm aware that it's a very rare occurrence, but even still, individual wolf attacks do happen, and exotic pet owners have been known to be attacked or even killed by pet wolves. Bottom line, somebody had sustain injuries from one at some point. A firsthand account from someone attacked by a single wolf would still be more than I had before.

veinglory · May 2, 2017

The Siberia attack show a set of circumstances that can make wolves desperate enough to attack humans. Solo attacks are normally single animals too injured to take down their normal prey. I don't see a problem using a wolf attack in the plot if you frame it to give some reason for the behavior.

Brightdreamer · May 2, 2017

veinglory said:
The Siberia attack show a set of circumstances that can make wolves desperate enough to attack humans. Solo attacks are normally single animals too injured to take down their normal prey. I don't see a problem using a wolf attack in the plot if you frame it to give some reason for the behavior.

+1

Beware the "big bad wolf" just for the sake of it - make sure there's a reason other than "they're wolves." (This is one of my bones to pick with Disney; I know they're drawing on old fairy tales, but still...)

MaeZe · May 2, 2017

Brightdreamer said:
+1

Beware the "big bad wolf" just for the sake of it - make sure there's a reason other than "they're wolves." (This is one of my bones to pick with Disney; I know they're drawing on old fairy tales, but still...)

Years ago I was hiking alone around Jasper, Alberta, Canada, way away from any sign of civilization when a lone wolf walked right past me on the trail. He looked up but never stopped or broke his stride. That was a wow moment to be sure.

cornflake · May 2, 2017

MaeZe said:
Years ago I was hiking alone around Jasper, Alberta, Canada, way away from any sign of civilization when a lone wolf walked right past me on the trail. He looked up but never stopped or broke his stride. That was a wow moment to be sure.

Yeah exactly -- not saying it doesn't ever happen. People have been killed by wolves, but it's rare and I'd give the side eye to wolves going after a group of adult humans, in general. They tend to not attack humans without good cause, and even then an adult is going to be the last choice. Almost anything can be explained but the OP was asking about bites and the scenario itself seemed wonky to me.

Also -- WOO Jasper!

Alsikepike · May 2, 2017

That's the plan, I'm going to have an explanation for the circumstances. The important part is the degree of injuries I should be expecting. Not the probability of the situation happening.

lonestarlibrarian · May 2, 2017

You might see if you can get a copy of a 1999 article by Wong, Blenkinsop, Sweet, and Wood, published in the Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology faxed to your local library through Interlibrary Loan.

1999 Jun;17(1):10-5.
A comparison of bitemark injuries between fatal wolf and domestic dog attacks.

The article abstract is in the link.

blacbird · May 2, 2017

cornflake said:
I think your problem is more that you're describing a thing that doesn't really happen. I don't think wolves attack groups of adult humans -- wolves aren't dumb?

In this, you are almost certainly correct. Saki (H.H. Munro) wrote a famous short story called "The Interlopers" about two trapped men being threatened by a pack of wolves, but a large number of humans? Wolves most certainly aren't dumb. Farley Mowat wrote a very fine book about living among wolves in Canada.

cornflake said:
I also don't think hungry wolves generally attack adult humans.

Generally, no. But we do have one single case here in Alaska of a woman out jogging in a remote area who was killed by wolves. This happened five or six years ago. Rare, but possible. And there's a reason why the wolf got to be so feared in olden times in Europe. Lots of legends and stories remain.

caw

Alsikepike · May 2, 2017

I should clarify, the group consists of only four people. I probably should've said ,"party."

Cyia · May 2, 2017

Is it possible to have one of your human characters in possession of food a wolf might smell, spurring the attack? One of my relatives took in a baby coyote, hand fed it, trained it like a puppy. Everything was fine until someone came inside with a chicken leg in their hand and the coyote went after the drumstick, freaking the previous owner of said drumstick out.

If your wolves are hungry and they get into a scuffle over food, then it might lead to the kind of scenario you want. Likewise, if you're dealing with animals driven down from their natural habitat by fire or something that might leave them out of their normal hunting ground or even wounded enough to be dangerous.

Alsikepike · May 2, 2017

That actually was the plan, the scene takes place in a kind of, "No-man's land," between two civilizations. The location was actually going to be near an abandoned encampment that had been burned down along with a good portion of the forest.

Friendly Frog · May 3, 2017

I too have reservations about the plot. Aside from what the others have said I have trouble imagining a wolf-pack continuing to attack after the death of more than one wolf without some really good reason. But that's not what you're asking where.

I have no immediate recollection of a human-wolf conflict ending in injury of the human but where the human survived. But you might want to check out the TV series Maneater Manhunt. There's an episode with wolves, presented by wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan. While the wolf-attack-case in the programme deals with a death, it might show you other paths of inquiry you can pursue for the info you want. (Gordon Buchanan has done a lot of wolf-filming, including the two-parter documentary Snow Wolf Family and Me, which will be less useful for your research, but may offer some handy clues as to wolf-human interaction when the wolves have never or rarely seen a human.)

grandma2isaac · May 3, 2017

I could see a few scenarios in which (for the sake of writing to thrill) a group of people would be attacked by wolves. If perhaps they were young wolves, perhaps second or third generation, after some humans had tested and tortured some wolves. If a few of those wolves were to escape, they would generally teach their offspring to hate humans. Say, they came upon an encampment of humans and were in the midst of attacking, when the only remaining elder showed up and made them leave off with only injuries to the people. It still wouldn't give a description of severity of wounds sustained. I would think, that like dogs, they may shake their heads while biting, which would elongate and lengthen the marks.

Wolf Attack

Alsikepike

veinglory

volitare nequeo

cornflake

practical experience, FTW

Cyia

Rewriting My Destiny

MaeZe

Alsikepike

veinglory

volitare nequeo

Brightdreamer

Just Another Lazy Perfectionist

MaeZe

cornflake

practical experience, FTW

Alsikepike

lonestarlibrarian

senior bean supervisor

blacbird

Alsikepike

Cyia

Rewriting My Destiny

Alsikepike

Friendly Frog

Snarkenfaugister

grandma2isaac