Man Saves Family Of 4 From Wolf Attack During Camping Trip

August 16, 2019

A family from New Jersey was sleeping in their tent in Canada's Banff National Park when a wolf suddenly attacked.

A nearby camper rushed to the family's aid and was able to scare the animal away.

man saves family from wolf attack
The Rispoli family

Elisa Rispoli, whose husband, Matt, was injured in the attack, shared the story on Facebook.

"This is a hard thing to post, since I haven't fully comprehended that it happened yet. Last night, while sleeping in our tent in Banff National Park, we were attacked by a wolf.

It was like something out of a horror movie. Matt literally threw his body in front of me and the boys, and fought the Wolf as it ripped apart our tent and his arms and hands. We were screaming for help as he was fighting it and trying to save us, for what felt like an eternity (but I think was anywhere from 1-3 minutes). I laid my body on top of the kids and Matt pinned the Wolf to the ground and held open its jaw with his hands, and the Wolf started to drag Matt away, while I was pulling on his legs trying to get him back. I cannot and don't think I'll ever be able to properly describe the terror.

A guardian angel from the tent site next to us, who we later found out was named Russ, heard our screams and came over to our site and kicked the Wolf and it finally let go of Matt. They had to continue to throw huge rocks at the Wolf while we ran as fast as we could to Russ' mini van to safety. It continued to follow Matt.

The rest of the night is a blur of EMTs, good Samaritans, waiting for treatment, no phone service and crying. But here we are in Banff hospital, where Matt's puncture wounds, and lacerations on his hands and arms have been treated and he's ok. We are pretty traumatized but ok. They evacuated the campground and Parks Canada killed the wolf in the early morning today.

It could have been so so much worse, and we are just feeling so thankful that we are all still sitting here as a complete family. Matt is our absolute hero (I mean, way more than he normally was) and we are forever grateful to Russ who came to our aid and likely saved Matt's life."

Watch the interview with Russ below.