Hiker Rescues Alaskan Timber Wolf From Certain Death. 4 Years Later She Leaves Him Speechless

What would you do if you saw an injured wild animal waiting to be rescued? Would you ignore the wild animal’s plea or dare to near it, hoping that it wouldn’t tear you apart? Meet this unknown hiker, who was searching for gold along Alaska’s Coho Creek, when he came across a huge Alaskan timber wolf trapped in one of Trapper George’s traps. For simplicity, and because we don’t know the hiker’s name, we’ll call him Joe.

Naturally, Joe was afraid but somewhat relieved that he found the frightened and injured wolf before anyone else did. When he looked closer, he realized that the wolf a female, and her teats were full of milk, which meant that she had just given birth. Joe knew he had to free the wolf so she could go back to her hungry pups, but how? Wouldn’t the wolf break his neck or arm with her mighty jaws if he approached her? Wouldn’t she become aggressive and tear him into pieces? All kinds of bloodcurdling questions raced his mind as he tried to figure out how to win the wolf’s trust in order to set her free. That’s when an idea hit his mind.

He started looking for her hungry pups by retracing her paw marks, which led him half a mile into the forest, straight to her den at the base of a huge spruce tree. So after spotting the den, he began mimicking the piercing squeak of a mother wolf calling her pups and after multiple tries, four tiny pups came out of their den and eventually began suckling at Joe’s fingers. He immediately placed the pups in a bag and carried them to their trapped mother, who let out an ear-piercing whine when she spotted him. The mother wolf had naturally picked up the scent of her hungry young pups and was afraid of what Joe might do to them.

The hiker released the pups and within moments they latched on to their mother, busy nursing and satisfying their hunger. Would that be enough to let the mother wolf know that Joe meant no harm and was only willing to set her free? Apparently, not because every time Joe approached her, she let out an intimidating growl – she still didn’t trust him. Joe had to come up with another way to win her trust, but what could he do next? He saw that she was constantly nursing her pups, and that’s when he realized that she needed nourishment. Joe had to find food for the mother wolf to keep her healthy while she fed her young.

The hiker returned with a leg of a dead deer and tossed chunks of meat in her direction. In a soothing tone, he assured the mother that he was there to help her return to her pack. The hungry mother wolf sniffed the chunks and quickly ate them, still keeping an eye on Joe. It wasn’t long before Joe won over the four pups that he had rescued from starvation, but mother wolf was still apprehensive. It took Joe five days of serving her food on time to playing with her pups before she finally let him approach her. As Joe approached the mother wolf, he saw that two of her toes were caught in the trap and if he didn’t free her, she might lose the paw.

Without thinking about the consequences, he opened the trap and finally freed her from the steel jaws that would have otherwise killed her. The hiker thought she and her pups would disappear into the woods, but he was wrong. Instead of walking away, she began closing in on him. With his heart in his throat, Joe froze in his tracks. Mother wolf approached Joe, sniffed his hands and arms, and signaled him to follow her. Together they hiked Coho Creek and climbed ­Kupreanof Mountain until they reached a meadow where he spotted a wolf pack consisting of nine adult wolves and four pups. Joe wasn’t afraid, after all, he was the mother wolf’s guest. So he set up camp near the wolf pack and called it a night.

The next morning, he decided to leave the mother wolf to her pack and return to civilization. After walking a few miles, when Joe looked back, he saw mother wolf and her pups watching him so he waved them goodbye. Almost immediately the mother wolf let out a long, sad howl as if bidding him a sad goodbye. Joe was humbled, but he had to go.

Four years later Joe, who had served in World War II, returned to Coho Creek and found himself staring at the rusted steel trap that had once caught the mother wolf. The sight brought back bittersweet memories and so he decided to pay her a visit. He climbed Kupreanof Mountain, reached the alpine meadow where he last saw her and mimicked a long, low wolf call, something he had done before. Every time he howled, a howl echoed from the far distance and within a short period of time, the mother wolf emerged from the shadows, with her tail wagging slightly.

A chill ran down Joe’s spine as he tried to understand the beauty of nature and the ripples of kindness. The mother wolf, who he rescued four years ago, remembered the hiker and after paying her respects from a few yards away, she disappeared into the woods and was never seen again. A speechless Joe was left with nothing but a beautiful memory that he will likely never forget.

What would you do if you came across a trapped wild animal? Let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to share this article with your friends!