Wolf Chases Motorcycle, Biker Bartlett Snaps Photos To Prove It

If a wolf was chasing your motorcycle, would you take the time to turn around and grab a few photos to prove it? Tim Bartlett, a Banff, Alberta man who was riding down Canada’s scenic Hwy 93 in Kootenay National Park on Saturday afternoon did exactly that.

Don’t believe me? You don’t have to take my word for it. A tweet that includes one of Tim Bartlett’s wolf photos is posted down below.

Hmm. That’s a pretty feisty wolf.

All six of the photos were posted by Canada’s CBC News to prove that Bartlett’s story of a wolf chasing a motorcycle was more than a wild outdoor yarn.

According to their report, Bartlett was meters (yards, if you must) away from being caught by the fleet-footed animal. The wolf was able to keep up for about a kilometer — rough six-tenths of a mile.

Parks Canada said that wolf chases are rare. Most wolves are afraid of humans and avoid them, so Parks spokeswoman Michelle Macullo said that Bartlett did the right thing when he reported the encounter:

“It’s likely that…this animal has lost some of its natural fear of humans — so it’s definitely cause for concern.”

In the United States, wolves have been at the center of a very different controversy. Last Friday, the federal authorities announced a plan to remove most wolves from the Endangered Species List, arousing public outcry from environmentalists who believe the relatively rare animals still need protection.

Wolf chases biker, biker takes great photo http://t.co/0SNEuyuNPJ

— msnNOW (@msnNOW) June 14, 2013

Well, I think “great” is an exaggeration. Blurry might be a more accurate description.

But let’s get real. The photographer was in the process of being chased down by a wolf on a busy highway.

I certainly never expect to take a better photo of a wolf chasing a motorcycle than Tim Bartlett did.

[top running red wolf photo by Carley Curtis, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, via Wikimedia Commons]