A local resident had gone out for a morning run between Kryoneri and Tatoi when he was attacked by a wolf on Mount Parnitha and managed to escape. “It bit me a little on my back” he said among other things while describing his ordeal.
Read: Alert at Tatoi: Wolf attacks group of hikers between Kryoneri and royal estates
Wolf attack on Mount Parnitha: Hiker’s shocking account of the encounter, “I escaped with torn clothes”
The incident occurred at 8:30 in the morning, with the victim telling ERTnews how he escaped from the wolf’s jaws on Mount Parnitha. As he said: “While I had started on a basic forest trail, I encountered two wolves that made movements towards me. I waited because I didn’t know how I should react. One didn’t bother with me and went up towards the mountain, but the other approached close to me to smell me and made a move towards me. I took steps back, turned my back without knowing if it was right or wrong and slowly, so as not to frighten it, I moved away. It followed me and started attacking me. It bit me a little on my back but because I was dodging it tore my clothes and scratched my back. This continued for 500 meters and then it stopped, remained motionless and watched me leave.”
Municipality of Acharnes guidelines for potential wolf attack
This is not an isolated incident, as other hikers in the area of the Royal Estates at Tatoi have also reported being in danger. The Municipality of Acharnes is asking those who visit Mount Parnitha on Clean Monday to be particularly careful and provides guidelines through a social media post. As it emphasizes among other things: “The Municipality of Acharnes was informed about an incident that occurred in the wider area of the Royal Estates and within the administrative boundaries of the Municipality of Dionysus (route between Kryoneri and the Estates). “During the three-day period we are experiencing, as every weekend, many visitors are expected to be on Mount Parnitha and it is recommended that they move with particular caution.”
The guidelines
- If we spot a wolf, we do not run. If it is at a great distance we do not approach it and we maintain constant visual contact. If it approaches we display aggressive behavior by making loud noise with any means, shouting and shaking objects.
- We avoid walks in suburban areas and within the forest with our dog. In any case, we always keep our dog tied with a leash.
- We avoid being in these areas during the day when there is limited natural light, that is early in the morning but mainly at dusk, just before dark.
- We do not provide food – inadvertently or deliberately – to all wildlife animals for any reason.
- We do not leave food remains outside bins in all suburban areas
- We inform the Forest Service or other authorities about the location where the sighting occurred.
