Wolf that attacked two people on Alaska highway still at large

Two people were bitten by a wolf in Alaska’s interior on Monday, according to Alaska Wildlife Troopers. The attack occurred on the side of the Dalton Highway at mile marker 37 around 3 p.m. Officials say the two people were standing outside their vehicle in a construction zone when the wolf bit them both in the legs. The victims were taken to a Fairbanks hospital for treatment of stab wounds, and their current conditions are unknown.

According to officers, another unknown motorist who witnessed the attack shot the wolf, but they believe they missed him. The wolf fled into nearby woods. Officers attempted to locate the wolf later that day, but were unable to do so. AWT is now working with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack.

“We have personnel out there today to assess the situation and talk to everyone who is out there,” said Lincoln Parrett, ADFG regional supervisor. Outdoor living. “If we had the opportunity, we would capture the wolf, primarily because of the rabies issue. We don’t necessarily believe it was rabies … but just from a public safety standpoint, it’s something we’re looking at.”

Parrett and AWT officials say the most likely explanation for the attack is that the wolf had become habituated to humans and possibly food conditioned. AWT explains in a press release that the wolf behaved as if it had been driven onto the highway by other motorists in the past.

Parrett clarifies that these theories are purely speculative at this point. He says he has seen video of the wolf in question approaching vehicles along the Dalton Highway, but that ADFG does not have that video in its possession. He also says they do not know the source of the video or have any evidence that it was recorded on the same day as the attack. He described the wolf in that video as “looking like a puppy” that was born earlier this year.

“Certainly, in this video of the wolf, it looked like it was habituated,” Parrett said. “Just based on its general behavior and the way it was looking at people’s doors.”

AWT spokesman Austin McDaniel appeared to allude to that video when speaking about the attack Alaska Public Mediabut it is unclear whether McDaniel was referring to the same images. AWT did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

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“The wolf would stop at vehicles and act as if expecting food or some sort of handout from the vehicle before moving on to the next vehicle,” McDaniel told the news outlet.

Regardless, Parrett says he doubts the wolf attack was predatory in nature, calling these types of attacks “extremely rare.”

There have been only two fatal attacks by wild, healthy wolves in North America in recent history. A university student was killed by a pack of wolves while walking alone near a mining camp in Saskatchewan in 2005. The other fatal attack occurred in Alaska in 2010 and was about a school teacher who was bitten to death by wolves while she was jogging.