He had traveled about 1,200 yards from his truck, generally going north to south. He was wearing blue jeans, a black T-shirt, combat boots and a camouflage cap. He also had a .38-caliber pistol on his hip.
Nellessen said he was following deer trails on a ridge covered with small pines. At about 5 p.m., he turned down a trail and moved east, into the light wind and through a densely-vegetated pocket.
"All of a sudden I was facing wolves," Nellessen said. "I think I stumbled into their bedroom. They were only 30 feet away and they started coming at me."
Nellessen, who served in the U.S. Army from 2002-'04 and 2006-'13, said his firearms and self-defense training kicked into gear. He pulled out his pistol.
"I kicked the wolf coming from my right, and when the closest one on the left was about five feet away, I fired and hit it," Nellessen said.
At the sound of the gunshot, all three wolves moved off. The wounded wolf "hunched up," Nellessen said, before disappearing from sight.
He retreated in the direction of his truck, with pistol ready, he said. He phoned his wife when he made it about halfway to the road.
"I thought if I was going to get attacked again, at least she'd know where I was and what was happening," Nellessen said.
When he made it home, he called the Department of Natural Resources hotline to report the incident. The next day he visited the site at Colburn with a DNR and U.S. Department of Agriculture employee, Nellessen said.
Nellessen said they found a blood trail where the wolf had been shot, but the trail vanished after a while and no wolf was recovered.
"I hope it's all right," Nellessen said. "The thing is, I love wolves. I wouldn't ever shoot one if I didn't feel like I was in danger."
Officials with the DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are investigating the incident. When contacted Wednesday, both agencies declined to release any information until the investigation is complete.
Good thing Mr. Nellessen had a sidearm. This encounter might not have ended in his favor had he been unarmed.
Wolves aren't small. Imagine three - or fifteen - of these coming at you (picture for comparison purposes, that's not Mr. Nellessen).
Other than evidence that there are too many people working at DNR and Fish and Wildife, what is the point of an "investigation"? Did anyone file a complaint against him?
ReplyDeleteVery unusual. Wolf attacks on humans in North America are almost unknown. Feral dogs are far more dangerous, based on actual statistics.
ReplyDeleteI think he disturbed them by walking up to where they were bedded down for the day, but who really knows. Coyotes are also occasionally known to attack people, strangely. I have no doubt a pack of wolves could decide to hunt you down if you were wandering alone in the woods. There are simply too few of them to see that happen.
DeleteIdaho has had several attacks since the large wolves were introduced.
DeleteDave
We need to send Hillary (unarmed) up there as the social justice warrior that she is, to give succor to the wolves. I'm sure that they'd offer her grudging professional courtesy.
ReplyDeleteIt is the responsible thing to do, why there would be enough there to keep a pack in vittals for quite some time.
DeleteWolves consider the canckles to be a delicacy! The fatter and more swollen, the better.
DeleteI considered sending Sharpton, but who would want to poison a perfectly healthy pack of wolves.
DeleteI love wolves too and I hope the one that u shot for self defense is ok. Also was the wolf hurt you did not say? Or who ever wrote this.
ReplyDelete