A rather unusual survival story with a good outcome. This person made some mistakes of not being prepared but used some very good judgement to ward off a wolf that stalked her for 12 hours.

What's the best way to fend off a wolf that's stalking you? Bait it with a bear cub, of course.

It sounds incredible, but that's exactly what Joanne Barnaby did when she got into a terrifying situation while out picking morel mushrooms near Fort Smith, N.W.T., last Friday.

Barnaby and her friend Tammy Caudron headed out to an area burned by wildfires to spend an hour or two searching for the elusive morels. They soon became separated, leaving Barnaby alone with her loyal dog, Joey.

Once her pail was full of mushrooms, she turned to head back toward her truck.

Fort Smith Yellowknife map
Joanne Barnaby was mushroom picking when she got separated from her friend near Fort Smith, N.W.T. (CBC)

"I heard this growl behind me. There was a long, tall, very, very skinny wolf. A black wolf. And his legs were spread and his hair was standing, and he was growling, and baring his teeth."

Complete story here

Holy, bear poop! What a tale! I'm not sure I'd even think of that, nevermind consider trying it. Not getting getting mama bear and her cubs is the usual wisdom. Thank goodness it worked, but wow!

I wonder if she will just bring a beer next time too, or add a little more equipment other than her gun and bullets...

Wow, that's quite the story. Interesting how she describes the effects of extended stress, dehydration, and mass-formation mosquito attacks -- almost a delirium state, ending with a strong determination to live.

The takeaway, of course, is "bring more beer and guns when picking mushrooms."

No danged way I would be going unarmed in that area! I don't even go unarmed in the relatively mild forests of my own area, and we don't have much in the way of dangerous four legged animals (although mountain lions aren't unheard of in the western part of the state).

A gun would certainly be way better than nothing, but a can of bear spray would be my first choice (that, and some mosquito repellent). I dare say bear spray would work on a wolf as well.

Up there, a gun means a rifle or shotgun, which is darn awkward when you're bushwhacking. I can understand the decision to leave it behind. Bear spray would be a reasonable compromise -- certainly better than nothing.

Aside: In the more populated (southern) areas of Canada, the RCMP are concerned when people carry rifles/shotguns in their vehicles (though it's legal if you are licensed and they are properly secured). As you go north, into the unpopulated reaches, I've been told that the RCMP are more concerned if you don't have a rifle/shotgun.

Bear spray to deter wolves- not so much.

"At least seven wolves surrounded the three women and their dogs as they jogged on Artillery Road. The lead wolves came within feet, circling the women as they tried to get away. They were only slightly deterred by pepper spray.

“I was rainbowing my pepper spray, and they fell back a little bit,” said Camas Barkemeyer. “But as soon as we would turn our backs to try to go, they would run up on us, and we would turn around and start screaming again, and I would spray my pepper spray."

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...near-anchorage/

The dog attacked was an American Bulldog. They can run 115 lbs.

This story has too many useful insights to derail into the endless bear spray debate. We've done that one to death.

Mushroom picking is an important economic activity in many regions. You need to bushwhack to do it, and you need both hands to harvest properly.

Pistols are not part of the equation here. The options are bushwhacking in dense northern scrub with a full-length rifle/shotgun, carrying bear spray / bear bangers, or taking nothing at all.

I recently picked up a Kel-Tec Sub2000 9mm carbine. Very lightweight, folds up into a small package for storage or carry, and I understand it's unrestricted in Canada. While 9mm is not ideal for larger critters it's a big improvement over harsh language.

That is surprising. I had understood that semi-autos are tightly restricted in Canada. Guess I haven't kept up much on their gun laws.

Is that due to legal issues? Are handguns verboten there? There are several wheelguns with power that rival rifles and shotguns. A .500 S&W or .454 Casull will flatten even pretty big bears.

Since you asked, the laws north of the Medicine Line are indeed quite different from what our American cousins are used to. (Please, let's stay away from politics.)

A license is required to own firearms and purchase ammunition.

Firearms with barrels shorter than approx. 18.5" and overall length less than 26" are restricted. This includes handguns and shorter carbines/shotguns, and the process for applying for the restricted class license is quite involved. Transporting them anywhere is heavily limited (typically home to gun club range only). It is possible for someone to apply for a license to carry a restricted firearm, but only for their work (e.g., armoured car guard, bear biologist).

Semi-autos are permitted, but are limited to 5-round magazines (except rimfires).

Realistically, someone supplementing their income by picking mushrooms won't be spending money on fancy guns. They would take, if anything, the common centre-fire hunting rifle or shotgun.

I'll just bring a guard bear. That worked for the mushroom picking woman. Moreover, if we have the right to bear arms, perhaps we also have the right to arm bears...

Back to the OP -- I can't help but think of "moving between mama bear and cub with a dog at your side" as a pretty desperate gambit. It could have gone the other way -- injured by angry bear, dog dead, finished by starving wolf. But I wasn't there.

Anyway, glad she made it out okay.

Maybe those who know more about wildlife behavior can answer the question: do wolves not know about bears??? Or maybe the wolf was just so hungry that it was willing to risk the wrath of a much bigger animal?

Wolf and bear? Um, exactly what kind of mushrooms were they?

Inside voice, Jeff! Inside voice! (Kidding!) The internet commentariat are way ahead of you.

Harvesting morels and chanterelles is a big seasonal industry. If the animals were wearing Hawaiian shirts and communicating telepathically, then there might be more "magic" involved.

Thanks, Doug. Stateside the laws are a crazy-quilt patchwork of wildly varying regulations. In my home state of SD you can have virtually anything and carry it almost everywhere. But outside of the Black Hills there are very few dangerous wild animals, and almost no big ones. Plenty of rattlesnakes but they're best dealt with by leaving them alone. Having been around black bears quite a bit (mostly during my fishing trips to Canada and seeing them in SD) I would feel relatively confident with just a 9mm. But obviously if Grizzly Bears are involved that isn't very much gun. I would have little fear of facing a wolf with a 9mm.

It does seem to me that bear spray is quite effective against bears but not very effective against canines. IIRC they have different receptors and many dogs and wild canines aren't deterred by OC (which seems to have been the case in some stories referenced).

So, is there some chemical means which is effective against canines?

I'm not sure. It does seem like some OC spray works on some dogs, if it's really strong. But aggressive dogs will sometimes become even more aggressive when sprayed. An experiment with police dogs showed that some of them will bite and fight even harder after half a can of spray hits them!

The beer can always catches my eye, though she drank raw water from it (not good). I find that even in some pretty remote places, tossed beer cans seem to turn up -- giving the means to boil water if you're in a dicey situation.

Not really unexpected, this women's story has its doubters and social media is showing their fangs over it.

After terrifying wolf encounter, N.W.T. woman faces media storm and naysayers

No surprise at all. We are all wisest when sitting in armchairs.