"Don't run away"

How do you react when you meet a wolf?

In Windhaag near Freistadt, a girl came across two wolves.(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

A 13-year-old girl in Upper Austria had a frightening encounter with two wolves. Frightened to death, she ran away from the animals, but that's exactly what you shouldn't do in such a situation. Expert Christopher Böck explains how to deal with such a situation.

"In the initial shock, she stopped, spotted a second wolf directly behind her and began to run for her life in panic and fear for her life towards home," say the shocked parents Anita and Leo Affenzeller after their 13-year-old daughter encountered two wolves in Windhaag near Freistadt.

Otherwise hunting instincts are awakened
But what is the right way to react if you are suddenly confronted by a wild animal in the forest? "You should try to make yourself as big as possible and be loud. That sounds easy, but it's not in a situation like this. Running away is always the worst thing to do, as it awakens the animals' hunting instincts," explains Christopher Böck, Managing Director of the National Hunting Association.

In general, the expert recommends that hikers stay on paths and routes and talk to each other as normal. Many animals will flee before they are seen by us humans. "It is also important not to feed the animals, otherwise they will assume that there is something for them to eat where there are people," emphasizes Böck.