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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think being scared by wolves is normal?

94 replies

PokeAndyInTheEye · 08/12/2023 15:30

Just that really, you’re hiking and up ahead you see a big dog - then another big dog - then you realise they’re not dogs. AIBU to think it’s pretty normal to panic at this point? Or is it worthy of ridiculing someone over?

OP posts:
wiseoldcat · 08/12/2023 17:04

Wolves are predators and they can and do attack humans so no, of course it's not strange to feel fear if you see them on a hike.

DiscoDragon · 08/12/2023 17:10

I'd be scared if I saw wolves. I'm also scared of cows having been chased by them on numerous occasions. I also still get taken the piss out of for getting traumatised by a horrible goose who jumped out from behind a bush and honked at me in the dark one night.

Nowherenew · 08/12/2023 17:14

I’d be scared of any large predators (wolves, sharks, bears etc).
I think it’s natural and normal.

I probably wouldn’t start screaming and crying, especially if they were far off in the distance but I’d be aware that I was in their territory and they have the right to defend it and so I’d be scared and very wary.

StasisMom · 08/12/2023 17:17

I would probably try to befriend them and might not come off too well.

StasisMom · 08/12/2023 17:17

Wolfiefan · 08/12/2023 15:37

Nah. I walk with two wolfhounds. Wolves aren’t a problem!

I would looooove a wolfhound.

therealcookiemonster · 08/12/2023 17:21

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 08/12/2023 15:52

I’ve actually met wolves in a sanctuary (can’t recall if we were allowed to stroke them). Very similar to dogs and in fact more scared of us than we were of them.

omg where was this? I would love to cuddle wolves. People sometimes keep them as pets.

Fairyliz · 08/12/2023 17:21

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 08/12/2023 15:40

I am of the opinion that, unless starving - so during high winter - wolves will almost always avoid any contact with humans. Practically any other animal is better prey than a human; they fight back, don't have much meat on them and aren't a good utilisation of calories in chasing, killing and eating. So a wolf on its own (possibly injured, in pain and starving) may be a danger, a pack together are less likely to attack and can almost always be routed with a lot of noise and disruption on your part.

I live outside York, and realise that I may be abnormal for my concentration on wild animal behaviour when a stoat is the biggest threat I am likely to encounter.

Yes I learned this as well.
Thought it might come in handy if I run into a pack of wolves in the Midlands.
Off now to google how to tackle a great white. We have some big puddles around at the moment so you never know.

DuckbilledSplatterPuff · 08/12/2023 17:29

Who has been ridiculing you for years?

Is it just the wolves? Or other things too.

What makes them think they'd be any braver faced with a large predator?

Tell them to F off.

N0TMYIDEA · 08/12/2023 17:36

HavfrueDenizKisi · 08/12/2023 16:19

Yes I hate walking through a field of cows and DH thinks I'm ridiculous. Until, unfortunately, someone we know had their BIL and dog trampled to death on a normal walking route for them. He doesn't tease me now.

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Yes you are wise to stay away from cows, especially if they have calves and you have a dog. Most members of the public who are killed by cows have dogs with them.

I believe that more people are killed by deer in the Uk, due to causing road accidents. deer are remarkably stupid and will run in front of your car at every opportunity.

But the biggest killer animals in the Uk are tiny - ticks, bees and wasps.

topnoddy · 08/12/2023 17:52

BoohooWoohoo · 08/12/2023 15:43

I agree with you.
I am not a fan of dogs anyway but would be wary of wild animals like wolves, coyote and even small bears.

It's the squirrels you need to be scared of !

vodkaredbullgirl · 08/12/2023 17:59

topnoddy · 08/12/2023 17:52

It's the squirrels you need to be scared of !

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Oh yes especially when you pinch their nuts.

Greenpolkadot · 08/12/2023 18:16

What if it's a sloth ?
I find them quite creepy

MooseBeTimeForSnow · 08/12/2023 18:23

Less worried about wolves than I would be about a grizzly, hungry black bear, cougar or pissed off elk.

Yes. I live in Canada.

BitOutOfPractice · 08/12/2023 18:26

They are definitely the most fearsome football team around 🧡🖤

WhenLoveIsDone · 08/12/2023 18:28

Gorgeous creatures. I'd probably die of happiness, then they could nibble my carcass.

P.S. Am a Wolves fan, too!

Devilsmommy · 08/12/2023 18:30

HeraSyndulla · 08/12/2023 15:38

Benelli M4, not cheap though.

😁😁😁😁

Devilsmommy · 08/12/2023 18:33

DiscoDragon · 08/12/2023 17:10

I'd be scared if I saw wolves. I'm also scared of cows having been chased by them on numerous occasions. I also still get taken the piss out of for getting traumatised by a horrible goose who jumped out from behind a bush and honked at me in the dark one night.

Geese are fucking evil devils 👿

vodkaredbullgirl · 08/12/2023 18:34

I got chased by geese when I was about 4, still don't like them.

BitOutOfPractice · 08/12/2023 18:34

@WhenLoveIsDone WAW

Saschka · 08/12/2023 18:45

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 08/12/2023 15:54

I wouldn’t agree with you but add cougars to your list. They can be savage beasts.

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Yep I would be far more worried about a mountain lion than a wolf. Mountain lions do genuinely eat hikers and cross country skiers on a semi-regular basis, have never heard of a fatal wolf attack. Stalking hikers yes, attacking them no.

Girasoli · 08/12/2023 18:50

I've never seen a wolf but we were all very wary when we bumped into a bunch of cows and a couple of baby bulls near the ridge of a mountain in Italy. Mainly because there was no way to go around them.
My cousin had a staring contest with a wild boar once, also scary.

MrsCarson · 08/12/2023 19:11

PokeAndyInTheEye · 08/12/2023 15:36

Montana

a few years ago now but the ridicule continues. They just ran off in the end

You're not unreasonable.
We lived in Northern California. I never hiked alone. We had a bobcat that used to nap under the oak tree across from my house and I sneezed and scared the shit out of it and me. Plus a mountain lion that sat in a tree over the school bus stop. I refused to camp higher uphill where there were bears as they did get into cars looking for food even when people were careful. It's their home and we should respect that.
Wild animals are just that wild. It's ok saying, Oh you'll be fine, until it's you coming face to face with them.

furtivetussling · 08/12/2023 19:16

It's a primeval instinct to be scared of a large predator, and with good reason. Humans are still animals at the end of the day.

Lots of horses are scared of hose pipes on the ground because their instinct tells them 'long thin thing on ground = snake - run!'

LoobyDop · 08/12/2023 19:26

To be fair, this 5kg monster has drawn blood from me on many, many occasions. My life was never at risk, but it fucking hurts and I wouldn’t mind it not happening again. So being scared of something 10x the size with no experience whatsoever of being domesticated isn’t really stupid.

To think being scared by wolves is normal?
ANightingale · 08/12/2023 19:28

Apparently, if you meet a wolf, you should back away slowly, facing the wolf, rather than try to run, because the wolf will always be faster.

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