This story gave me chills!! Many years ago, a man was prospecting for gold on Alaska's Kupreanof Island, just along Coho Creek. He was walking through the woods when he noticed a strange creature near a bog. When he got a better look, he realized it was a massive Alaskan timber wolf that had been caught in a trap and had become injured and immobile.
The man was at first terrified to come face to face with the large beast, but he quickly realized she was weak and exhausted from being stranded for days without food. While he was still wary of her, he noticed that her teats were full of milk. This could only mean one thing: she had babies who needed her to survive. The man was well aware that approaching the predator to assist it would be dangerous, but he still felt sorry for her and her cubs. So, he went back to her previous pawmarks and ventured deeper into the wilderness to see if he could find her younglings. Sure enough, he discovered a den about half a mile away.
When the man imitated howling a wolf, four cubs appeared from hiding. They were so hungry that they started sucking on the man's fingers. The man carefully carried them in his bag and returned them to their mother, who embraced them with deep emotional whimpers! Despite the man's good intentions and kind gesture, the protective mama refused to let him near her. However, the man was well aware that at this rate, she would starve to death. So, to satisfy her hunger, he thoughtfully brought her the remains of a freshly killed deer. The man camped near the still-bound mama wolf and her cubs for the next few days. He spent his time prospecting and searching for food for the wolf. He even formed a bond with the cubs! The mama began wagging her tail slightly while he prepared her supper one day out of the blue! The man took a leap of faith and approached the wolf in an attempt to free it. She eventually licked his hands and let him free her from the nasty trap that had badly injured her paw. She started limping home once she was free. However, she came to an abrupt halt and persuaded her savior to follow her! He was introduced to her pack by the mama wolf, who took him to a mountain meadow. It was a life-changing experience for the man as he interacted with so many wolves who treated him as if he were a pack member. The mama sobbed as the man bid her farewell, unawares that they would meet again many years later.
Four years later, the man returned to Coho Creek in search of new adventures. As he returned to the now-rusted steel trap near the bog, nostalgia hit him hard. But then he was pursued by a bear, and he had nowhere to flee in that life-threatening situation. As the bear was closing in on him, he climbed up a tree in a panic. In his desperation, the man let out loud "wolf cries" in the heat of the moment. A shiver ran down his spine as an eerie, familiar shape appeared before his eyes, just when he thought he'd reached the end of his rope! Keep watching until the end to find out what the man saw and how it changed his life!