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Man holding a can of bear spray next to a snarling wolf
Yellowstone National Park is filled with wild animals that can ruin your visit if you attract their attention. One man recently found himself being trailed by a wolf while roaming it, and he thankfully emerged from the encounter unscathed after multiple bursts of bear spray failed to scare it away.
Upwards of five million people make the trek to the nearly 3,500 square miles that comprise Yellowstone National Park each year. The massive expanse is filled with stunning natural wonders visitors can soak in, but there are also plenty of ways your trip can take a turn for the worse if you’re not careful.
Far too many people have a tendency to ignore the signs plastered with rules designed for their protection, as you run the risk of injury and death if you decide to get too close to the hot springs that can literally dissolve a body and the many animals that won’t think twice about going after people.
Bison are probably the first species to spring to mind when it comes to the wildlife with the potential to do the most damage, but you also want to keep an eye out for bears, elk, and wolves.
The last one on that list was at the center of a recent incident, which involved a man who was armed with the right equipment but still had to endure an unnerving encounter.
A wolf at Yellowstone resisted multiple bursts of bear spray while stalking a visitor
Yellowstone became America’s first national park when Ulysses S. Grant signed the act responsible for its protected status all the way back in 1872. It boasted a sizable population of grey wolves at the time, but they were hunted into extinction within its borders by 1926.
In 1995, 14 wolves that were captured outside of Jasper National Park in Canada were used to reintroduce the species to Yellowstone, and as of earlier this year, their population had grown to eight distinct packs that collectively boast at least 84 of the apex predators.
According to Cowboy State Daily, that includes one that turned its attention to Ignazio Zanin, a tourist from Texas who was taking a stroll through Lamar Valley on Sunday.
Another visitor, a Missouri man named Deric Smith, filmed an encounter that lasted for around 10 minutes through a scope and captured Zanin deploying two clouds of bear spray that seemingly had no effect on the animal.
Zanin said he was “scared, but not super afraid,” and the wolf eventually wandered off.
He subsequently relayed the encounter to a park ranger, who said that kind of behavior is normal for adolescent members of the species, a sentiment the representative echoed in a statement, saying, “It is not unusual for a sub-adult wolf to be curious towards people, and the aversive use of bear spray was appropriate.’