Hiking - Where the Wild Things Are

In the North American woods you must always concern yourself about where the wild things are while you are hiking. We are not talking about animals you surprise or those defending their young which all animals would do. This is about unprovoked attacks which are uncommon but do occur.

So what sort of wild things must you concern yourself with while hiking?

Coyotes - they live in urban areas as well as in the wilds and the good thing is they rarely attack a human. In the past decade there is only one reported death from a coyote. A woman was attacked in Cape Breton National Park while hiking in 2009.

Wolves - again despite the reputation of the big bad wolf, they are afraid of humans and will flee. There has never been a recorded attack of a healthy wolf on a human, although a few attacks have come from wolves that were rabid.

Bears - attacks are rare but they do occur so when hiking in the back country always carry bear spray that is accessible at all times. All bears can be dangerous but the grizzly seems to be more temperamental than the black bear.

Moose - surprisingly moose attacks are more common than those from bears. Due to their huge size they can be dangerous. Most moose attacks occur in the fall mating season.

Snakes - in North America most snakes are shy creatures and will not attack unless provoked. It is usually a case of the hiker not watching where they are walking in areas where there are poisonous snakes live.

Birds - again not common but bird attacks can occur. Get too close to Canada geese and they do bit. In 2009 a bird believed to be a hawk protecting its nest attacked 3 hikers on separate occasions in Fundy National Park in New Brunswick causing closure of the trail..

Mountain lions - are at home in the mountains of the west and have been known to attack hikers and joggers on occasion. The difficulty is they tend to stalk their prey and attacks can be sudden.

Do not be alarmed by these rare threats while hiking. As you always do just keep you eyes open, hike safe and watch where the wild things are. The only other wild things on the hiking trails are other people and fortunately most hikers are friendly.

By : Tom_Oxby