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A4 checklist with all illustrated steps. Tick the boxes on paper as you go.

FeatherSticks · Skills

Wildlife Encounters: What to Do If You Meet a Wild Boar, Wolf, Deer or Bear

Boar in front of you? Do not run. Do this instead.

Quick facts

Core rule
Stop, stay calm, keep distance, back away slowly – never run
Difficulty
Easy: it is mostly calm behaviour and a clean camp
Best for
Hikers, wild campers, dog owners, families
You need
Dog lead, sealed food container, headlamp, phone, first aid kit

What you need

  • Dog lead (short, sturdy) and a way to tie the dog at camp
  • Odour-tight bag or hard-sided food container with a secure lid
  • Cord for hanging a food bag
  • Headlamp with fresh batteries
  • Sturdy boots and long trousers
  • Charged phone with emergency numbers and an offline map
  • First aid kit with wound disinfectant and dressings
  • Something bright to wear in the hunting season

Step by step

  1. Be heard on the trail

    1 Be heard on the trail

    Talk, walk normally and do not creep through thick cover. Most animals hear you early and move off long before you ever see them.

  2. Stop and keep your distance

    2 Stop and keep your distance

    See an animal? Stop. Do not approach for a photo. If it changes its behaviour because of you, you are already too close.

  3. Dog on a short lead

    3 Dog on a short lead

    Bring the dog to heel on a short lead and keep your group together. A loose dog is the most common trigger for trouble.

  4. Back away slowly, do not run

    4 Back away slowly, do not run

    Leave the animal a clear way out, speak calmly and walk back the way you came. Do not turn and run.

  5. Keep a clean camp

    5 Keep a clean camp

    Cook and wash up away from your bed, seal food and rubbish and store them away from the tent. Never feed wild animals.

  6. Leave young animals, treat bites

    6 Leave young animals, treat bites

    A young animal alone is not abandoned: do not touch it. Any bite from a wild mammal means cleaning the wound and seeing a doctor the same day.

Common mistakes

  • Running away. You cannot outrun a boar, wolf, bear or cow, and running makes you unpredictable – back away slowly instead.
  • Believing that playing dead works for wild boar or wolves. It is specific advice for defensive brown bear attacks; with other animals you create distance and put solid cover between you.
  • Relying on climbing a tree. There is rarely time or a suitable tree, and bears climb; stepping behind a thick trunk or other solid cover is the realistic option.
  • Walking closer for a photo or to "see what it does", especially with young animals.
  • Letting the dog off the lead in spring, at dusk or in areas with boar, wolves or cattle.
  • Keeping food, rubbish or toothpaste in the tent, or leaving scraps "for the animals".
  • Picking up a fawn, leveret or fledgling that looks abandoned.