Tim Bartlett, a mechanic from Alberta, Canada, was enjoying a long motorcycle ride down British Columbia's scenic Highway 93 when he spotted something unusual emerging from the woods: a massive wolf. And the wolf didn't just stand there – it chased Bartlett for nearly a mile, at times coming within ten feet of the mechanic.
“It was coming at me. It probably got to within a couple meters, easy, maybe a meter,” Bartlett told the National Post.
After the initial encounter, during which the wolf darted into the road, Bartlett slowed, took out his camera, and turned back for a closer look.
When [the wolf] heard me coming, it jumped back over a [roadside] barrier and it started running. I sped up a little bit, it got in nice and close and I was driving with my right hand and clicking pictures with my left. When I first came back around, it came in really close; probably a bit too close. It would have been a real bad time to run out of gas.
According to Bartlett, the wolf continued the chase for roughly a kilometer, at speeds of 30 to 40 km/h.
"It was bigger than the biggest dog I’ve ever seen," he said to the National Post. “Even over the motor, I could hear it. I could hear its feet on the road."
The chase ended after other cars pulled up behind Bartlett and the wolf. "The last I saw it was running into the trees," he said.
[Images via AP/Tim Bartlett]