What to Do if a Dangerous Animal Attacks You

There’s always a chance you’ll encounter a wild animal or a group of wild animals when roaming the countryside or swimming in the sea. And in some cases, these things may attack you. To learn how to prevent getting into such trouble and protect yourself if worse comes to worst, read through 5-Minute Crafts’ guide on how to survive if a dangerous animal attacks you.

❗ This article is for information purposes only and doesn’t replace professional advice. So, first and foremost, try staying out of the dangerous situations explained in the article.

A. Basic precautions to prevent attracting dangerous animals

There’s a saying that prevention is the best defense. And here’s what you can do to prevent attracting dangerous animals when in the countryside:

• Keep your camp clean. Stash uneaten food and leftovers in airtight containers.
• Keep food or clothes you cooked in away from your tent. Avoiding sleeping in these clothes is also important.
• Keep your distance and avoid feeding any wild animal, especially those that are the prey of large predators.
• Just in case, have something to defend yourself with on hand at all times. Also, deterrents like pepper spray can come in handy if an animal attacks you.
• If you are in the sea where sharks are present, don’t swim away from the shore and remain on the ground around dawn, dusk, and nighttime. Also, don’t splash while in the water, and take off shiny jewelry before entering the water.

B. What to do if a dangerous wild animal attacks you

Now, let’s see what your best course of action is if the wild animal comes after you.

1. Bear

If a bear attacks you, here’s what you should keep in mind:

1. Don’t run because the bear is likely to hunt you, and you can’t outrun them.
2. Lie down on your stomach while keeping a pack on, clasp your hands behind your neck, and play dead. Also, spread your legs to make it harder for the animal to turn you over. If the attacks continue, fight with all your strength with anything you have or can find, and go for the animal’s eyes and nose.

Note: Playing dead if a black bear attacks you is useless, so try to find some cover, if possible. If not, fight back as hard as you can and aim for the bear’s eyes and muzzle.

2. Wolf

If you see a wolf, there’s a big chance that some others are also nearby since they travel and hunt in packs. In that regard, here’s what you should do if attacked:

1. Resist the urge to run because wolves are way faster than you.
2. Yell as loudly as you can. Be careful not to trip and fall down because they won’t hesitate to attack you in that case.
3. If you’re surrounded, stand with your back against a tree or something else and do anything you can to keep the wolves away. If you happen to be in a surrounded group, don’t turn your back on them, but position yourselves back to back in a circle to face the animals and fight them off.

3. Lion

If you face an attacking lion, this is what you need to do:

1. First of all, don’t turn your back on this dangerous animal. Retreat slowly and make noise by clapping your hands or yelling, and look the lion in the eyes.
2. Try to appear bigger by raising your arms, a jacket, or anything else. If the animal persists in its attack, which usually isn’t the case since lion charges are mock charges most often, aim for its head or eyes in particular, and pound with your hands or anything you have.

4. Bull

If a territorial, raging bull charges you while you are crossing its pasture, do this:

1. If there’s any fence or cover nearby, such as a tree or a large rock, run for it as fast as you can. Moreover, run in a zig-zag line to disrupt the animal’s charging momentum if you can’t reach the safe zone before the bull gets you.
2. Throw something at the bull when it comes near. This may distract it until you get to safety.
3. In case you can’t get to shelter before the bull catches up with you, turn around and confront the animal. Yell as loudly as possible and keep the bull at a distance with anything you have until it leaves you alone.

5. Shark

While sharks usually aren’t interested in humans, shark attacks tend to occur from time to time. And here’s how to act if you’re a shark attack victim:

1. Never turn your back on the shark in an escape attempt because you’ll seem like prey.
2. Make sudden movements to scare it off while facing it. If you have a surfboard, fishing or diving equipment, or anything else, use it to fend off the attack. If you have nothing, go for the shark’s eyes, grills, and nose with your hands to defend yourself.

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