On August 24, 2013, Noah Graham went camping with his girlfriend and four others at Camp Winnibigoshish in Minnesota. The group had set up their tents and were hanging out until about 3 a.m., when everyone but Noah and his girlfriend decided to get some rest.
Just like the Delventhal family, the couple opted to sleep outside without a tent. Hmm, I’m starting to think that camping without a tent is a bad idea.
Gazing at the stars, they talked for over an hour when, mid sentence, Noah felt something bite down onto his head. “I didn’t hear the wolf coming, I didn’t see it. Just no sense at all that it was there until it was actually on my head.”
Whether it was instinct or desperation, Graham reached back and squeezed the wolf’s face, pulling its head out and away from its mouth. He was now free, but the danger of a potentially rabid wolf was only a few feet from him and his girlfriend.
“I thought for sure it was going to come back at me, and that’s the scary part.” Coming from a family of hunters, Graham knew he needed to do his best to intimidate the predator.
He started kicking and screaming while calling for help, which thankfully was enough to scare away the wolf. Nevertheless, the damage was severe, and the 16 year old needed to get to a hospital immediately.
After a 45 minute drive to the ER, Graham received 17 staples in his head and rabies shots to be safe. The wolf was caught and a rabies test fortunately came back negative.
However, the park rangers were also interested in something else: the wolf’s jaw. Investigators said the wolf had an unusual jaw, possibly making it hard for the animal to hunt.
“It basically kept it from acting as a normal wolf would.” This could be why this particular wolf was acting so aggressively.
Following the incident, Graham said he’ll still go camping, but likely won’t be sleeping outside of his tent anymore.
