Hero Dad Fights Off Wolf That Attacked Family While Camping

The hero father who took down a wolf in the Canadian wilderness is showing off his bite marks. 

Matt Rispoli, a New Jersey police officer, was camping with his wife, Eliza, and their two young sons in Banff National Park. The family had just settled in for the night when terror struck. 

“The whole tent wall came in at us pretty violently,” he told Inside Edition.

“I remember the whole tent shaking, the whole thing moving," his wife added. 

At first, he thought it was a bear, saying, “I tried to hit it, push back. When my hand hit the tent, something snapped down on my hand.”

The tent was ripped apart and they came face to face with a wolf.

“I could see the whole outline of its face, it was maybe 3 or 4 feet in front of me, staring right at me,” he recalled. 

Eliza grabbed their two boys and lay on top of them while Matt battled the beast.

"It bit down, basically grabbing my entire arm,” he said. 

He said he tried punching the wolf in its face and neck, but nothing worked. The wolf dragged him out of the tent.

“It started pulling backward and pulled me through the tent,” he recalled.

“I grabbed his ankle and held on for dear life," Eliza added. 

Another camper, Russ Fee, heard their screams and came running to help. He said he kicked the wolf as hard as he could. 

The wolf released Matt and they managed to kept it at bay while the family ran to a nearby car for safety.

The family are back home in New Jersey and are still in shock after the event.

“A lot of people may have covered their heads and he didn’t,” his wife said. “He's always been my hero but now more than ever.”

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