The following is an excerpt from an article that I wrote, the full text of which can be read at: http://EzineArticles.com/

I was 150 meters from the crest of the trail when I looked up from my task of pushing my bike, just in time to see the wolf step onto the trail from the undergrowth. Like a street raptor who had just cornered an innocent victim lost in the wrong neighborhood, the animal appeared to purposefully block my path as it stood across the trail eying me. It appeared to have known I was there, as if it had been waiting for me to draw closer before springing a trap.

There I stopped, dead in my tracks. The beast lowered its' ears and took a step towered me. I picked up my bike and held it over my head to appear larger than I was. I had heard this worked with some wild animals. This one however took it as a sign to charge! It was coming fast. I dropped the bike and reached for my knife and at that same moment knew I would never reach it in time. The only thought I had as the animal closed was; 'so this is how I'm going to die'. There was no time to get religion, and no time to see my life pass before my eyes. It all happened too fast.

I watched the powerfully muscled animal close the gap between us in what seemed like slow-motion, but was far faster than I could move. As it reached me it started to skid slightly as it saw I wasn't fleeing, adjusting its trajectory to intercept me… There was nothing to do about it, this was going to hurt.

 It was then that I glimpsed the black collar buried under the fur around its neck. It was not a wolf, but a kind of German Shepherd, with coloring much like the wolves I had seen in a wild animal sanctuary in New Mexico.

 The dog ran into me knocking me over with my bike on top and it began sniffing, then licking me. That was when I heard the voice of its' master up the trail in the distance. They were hiking in the wilderness and it seemed the dog had run off. Lucky me! And I only peed myself a little.

 Lesson learned, I now carry a can of super hot Bear Spray in a holster. I never enter the forest without it attached to the shoulder harness of my pack. Even close to populated areas one can run into mountain lions, bears or now increasingly, wild boar. An encounter with one of these could be disastrous and without a viable defense you are in their world, to be dispatched as a threat or merely prey.

When it comes to safety in the wild, it is simply a matter of being prepared and carrying an effective form of defense with you. Remember, it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.