Teen Survives First-Confirmed Wolf Attack in Minnesota - East Idaho News
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Teen Survives First-Confirmed Wolf Attack in Minnesota

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Getty 082813 GrayWolf?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1377700451149Ken Canning / Getty Images(LAKE WINNIBIGOSHISH, Minn.) — A wolf bit 16-year-old Noah Graham in the head while the teen was in a sleeping bag at a Minnesota camp ground on Sunday.

Officials said it’s the first documented attack by a gray wolf in the state.

The teen had to use his hands to pry the animal off his head, and said the attack came “out of the blue.”

“I was scared when it first happened,” Graham said. “Once I got up I knew I was fine. I was just afraid it was going to come back and try to attack me again…”

Graham suffered a laceration on the back of his skull, which required 17 staples to close.

Federal wildlife officials captured and killed the wolf Monday morning, and its body was taken to the University of Minnesota veterinary school to be dissected. The animal will also be tested for rabies, said Colonel Ken Soring of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

“It’s too early to speculate as far as the condition or the causes of this animal, but it is not characteristic of wolves to approach people,” he said.

The wolf had a deformed jaw, officials said, which could have made it difficult for the animal to capture prey.

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