Good Samaritan saves New Jersey family from wolf attack during camping trip in Canada
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A New Jersey family of four camping in Canada last week was saved from a wolf attack after a neighboring camper jumped into action.
The attack unfolded at Banff National Park in Alberta last Friday, according to a report by the federal agency Parks Canada. Around 1 a.m., while the family slept, a wolf tore through the foursome's tent.
The father, Matthew, threw himself in front of his wife and their two boys. The mother, Elisa, wrote on Facebook that Matthew “pinned the Wolf to the ground and held open its jaw with his hands.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The wolf clamped onto Matthew’s arm and started to drag him away, Elisa said, adding, “I was pulling on his legs trying to get him back.”
“We were screaming for help as he was fighting and trying to save us, for what felt like an eternity,” Elisa wrote.
A nearby camper, Russ Fee, heard the family’s screams and sprang into action. Fee told CBC he kicked the wolf in the “back hip area,” causing the animal to release Matthew and get out of the tent.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The men screamed and threw rocks at the wolf until it left the campsite altogether. Elisa and the boys ran to Fee’s minivan for safety.
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The family took Matthew to a local hospital, where he was treated for his puncture wounds and lacerations, Elisa said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I could have been so, so much worse, and we are just feeling so thankful that we are all still sitting here as a complete family,” she wrote.
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The campsite was closed over the weekend while park officials tracked down and killed the wolf, NJ.com reported. It was unclear why the wolf attacked the family, and such encounters are said to be rare. Lesley Matheson, a spokeswoman for Parks Canada, said the wolf was about 20 pounds below the average weight.