Sandpoint Gazette, Feb 12, 2002
(Jennifer Brabham)
Sandpoint youth Josh Russel was attacked by a gray wolf while snowboarding at the popular Schweitzer ski resort on Tuesday.
'It just came out of the trees while I was standing there waiting for my friends. I thought it was a dog at first.'
One witness saw the attack and immediately called for help on his cellular phone, while Josh was struggling with the animal. Another couple who was skiing nearby also came to Josh's aide, and eventually scared the wolf away by yelling at it and throwing ski poles. Grey wolves are common in Northern Idaho after restoration efforts brought their numbers back up from endangered status over the past two decades, but they are seldom seen, and rarely attack.
Russel was taken to an emergency room in Sandpoint, where he was treated for lacerations on his arm and neck. He was not injured badly, but he was visibly shaken by the event.
'I really got scared when it kept coming at me, and I could see it snarling like it was really mad. It grabbed my arm before I could take off, I tried to hit it but it knocked me over, and both my feet were on my snowboard, so I couldn't really move.'
Local authorities staged a search for the animal, but were stopped by nightfall after two hours of fruitless efforts. Two area teens were attacked last year as they traversed a popular backcountry route, east of the ski area, leaving one in critical condition. Bob Martinson, a professor of biology at Idaho State University in Pocatello suggests that humans are encountering wolves more often due to habitat destruction.
'It makes perfect sense, really. As logging and development are taking away these animal's habitat, it pushes them into newer areas, and sometimes that means into cities and communities where people aren't used to dealing with them. Its our fault really- I mean, I feel sorry for the young man who was attacked, but I also feel sorry for the wolves.'
Josh says he plans on returning to snowboard at Schweitzer as soon as he is able.
