And Again

Keith Rogan · October 10, 2000, 01:53 PM

http://adn.com/metro/story/0,2633,202300,00.html

Anchorage Daily News

Bear mauls man
Worker was on lookout

By Peter Porco
Daily News Reporter

(Published October 10, 2000)
A 53-year-old man who had been on bear watch at a federal clean-up site on Kodiak Island over the weekend was mauled by a large grizzly, Alaska State Troopers said.

Charles Brent Hudson of Houston was in Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center on Monday recovering from a laceration to his neck, a broken rib, a crushed thumb and puncture wounds to his shoulder and buttocks, troopers said.

His condition was stable, a nursing supervisor said.

Reached at the hospital, Hudson said he had gotten pretty beat up during an attack Sunday afternoon that lasted all of 30 to 45 seconds. He declined to talk further about the incident.

Hudson, the health and safety officer for Jacob's Engineering, was working as a "bear guard" at an Army Corps of Engineers cleanup site near the east side of Lake Catherine outside the city of Kodiak, troopers said.

The location, about four miles north of the U.S. Coast Guard's Kodiak Air Station, is an old World War II site, Guard spokesman Keith Alholm said.

Besides keeping an eye out for bears, Hudson was looking for silt in the water downstream from the work site, troopers said, and carried no firearm.

Hudson was alone in a wooded area not more than half a mile from other workers on heavy equipment, said Fish and Wildlife Protection Troopers Sgt. Joanna Roop.

"He heard something come up behind him," Roop said. "He thinks the bear was bedded down in the timber and within about 20 feet of where he initially heard him, and the victim tried to run for some dense trees, and the bear came up behind him."

He said the grizzly "ran me down and bowled me over," Roop said.

Hudson curled into a ball on the ground, facedown, with his hands covering his head in the classic play-dead posture sometimes recommended by bear experts. The bear, which he described as a dark boar, rolled him over twice and then ran off, Roop said.

Hudson called for help on his radio and was eventually airlifted to the hospital in a Coast Guard helicopter.

The bear did not return to the area, Roop said. Investigators determined the bear did not stalk Hudson, nor did Hudson have any food on him, she said. The bear apparently had not been wounded in any way. So authorities did not pursue it.

------------------
Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

Keith Rogan · October 10, 2000, 02:06 PM

This happened right here at the edge of town, no more than a mile from my house. Here's a "Bear Guard" at a federal site (hhhmmm) with no gun, no pepper spray, no nuttin.
I can't help but wonder if Federal "Safety" regulations prohibit employee's from being armed... I'm not sure what an unarmed Bear Guard is supposed to do except fall down and hope for the best - exactly what he did.

I don't think it specifies in this article, but the place where he was mauled is a tiny stream running into a small lake - Lake Genevieve. It's choked with silver salmon right now and the bears are in there thick and bedded down in the alders all around that stream. This guy was sent down there to see if there was silt in the stream from the work they were doing - I think I smell a lawsuit.

------------------
Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

Thibault · October 10, 2000, 03:44 PM

Makes one think....
I live in black bear heaven, and have been carrying my faithful can of Bear Guard for the last two years since a too-close-for-comfort meeting with a big curious fella while fishing...
Your site is at the top of my "favorites" pull-down menu...

[This message has been edited by Thibault (edited October 10, 2000).]

M1911 · October 10, 2000, 03:51 PM

Bear "guard" with no gun? Sounds more like bearbait to me :P

m1911

Art Eatman · October 10, 2000, 04:03 PM

I won't, won't, won't make any comments about federal employees!!! Or federal regulations! I won't! I won't!

Nothing about the shallow end of the gene pool. Nothing along the lines of, "This employee has hit bottom and begun to dig." or , "This employee should not be allowed to breed." or, "His men follow him, but only out of morbid curiosity."

, Art

Field-dressed · October 10, 2000, 04:58 PM

Art, How could you!?

Besides being an unarmed bear guard, the only other mistakes he made were running away from a charging bear,walking a salmon stream loaded with bears ALONE, and doing what he was told to do like a good little fed. Glad the guy wasn't hurt more seriously or killed but what an idiot! Bears will be bears, glad that brownie didn't get shot for defending his feeding hole.

Thanks for the post, Keith

BadMedicine · October 10, 2000, 05:24 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Besides keeping an eye out for bears, [/quote]

Least he's good at what he does, he found one

Yeah, I heard about tthis attack on the news yesterday, however, they failed to mention he was "looking for trouble" (ie grizzlies), near a salmon stream, without protection, alone, 1/2 a mile from camp.

Anyways, so goes the world

Keith Rogan · October 10, 2000, 07:04 PM

Yeah, the browny was the only one who acted in a sane manner.
I should mention that Sunday was an extremely windy day - 40 mph winds. It's likely that our man walked up on the bedding area without the bear being able to hear him (or smell him), due to the wind. It's not surprising the bear reacted that way when surprised in his bed. I concur with the state boys decision to not hunt this critter down.
This may be the same bear I ran into on August 1st (opening day of deer season) on the mountain above this site. We spotted each other at a 100 yards or so and he circled around to get our wind and then took off out of the area. A "good" bear

.

------------------
Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

rr41mag · October 10, 2000, 08:40 PM

OK since you won't make any comments about federal workers, since I'm one I will.

figures! tipical government

------------------
A son is the best friend you'll ever have!

**Bud Helms** · October 11, 2000, 03:24 AM

What's Bear Guard? Pepper spray?

Thibault · October 11, 2000, 06:13 AM

Yeah, "capscium"(?) or something like that... far more powerful than pepper spray, still barely legal in Canada (for how long?)
And, yes me carry gun on top, But if I can control the situation without buckshot, I won't shoot, unless dear wife and kid are around.

[This message has been edited by Thibault (edited October 11, 2000).]

dZ · October 11, 2000, 10:22 AM

sounds like someone needs a Mark V bear attack suit for a work uniform!

dZ

Paul B. · October 11, 2000, 12:45 PM

I don't know if this will clear up any confusion on why the gentleman was on "bear guard" unarmed, but when I was working for the National Weather Service, a job opening for a person to go into wilderness country complete with bears, to service and maintain remote weather and rain measuring devices. As I qualified for the postion, and the thought of a bi-yearly three month pack trip into into really pristine country turned me on, I applied for the job. After being selected, I found out that GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS forbad me to have any firearms in my possession while on the pack trip.
Here I am, being sent into grizzly country without any means of protection. I declined the position.
I am willing to bet some serious money, that the man mauled by that bear was under the same STUPID government regulations. If I understand the situation, he was on a government owned facility. They have regs forbidding guns on those too. I mean let's face it. The guy might have gone "postal" and shot that innocent bear. Sorry. The weather has been too bad to go to the range for the last 5 days, and now it's raining. I have to rant about something.
Paul B.

Keith Rogan · October 11, 2000, 04:22 PM

It's actually not Federal land. It IS however, a federal cleanup of what was during WWII, an army base. This is one of those Superfund sites where the government is cleaning up old drums of fuel, etc. that were left to decay after the base shut down 50 years ago.
I'm sure you're right about some stupid regulation forbidding the use of a firearm. This isn't a particularly dangerous area for bears (on the edge of town) but poking around the thickets of a salmon stream anywhere on this island is not a good idea.

------------------
Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

J. Parker · October 11, 2000, 09:17 PM

Art; Air Traffic Controllers are Federal employees too. Think about that next time you go flyin'. No flames please. I retired after 30 years as a controller. I guess we're just the exception! Best Regards, J. Parker

October 10, 2000, 01:53 PM	#1
Keith Rogan Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 1999 Location: Kodiak, Alaska Posts: 1,014	http://adn.com/metro/story/0,2633,202300,00.html Anchorage Daily News Bear mauls man Worker was on lookout By Peter Porco Daily News Reporter (Published October 10, 2000) A 53-year-old man who had been on bear watch at a federal clean-up site on Kodiak Island over the weekend was mauled by a large grizzly, Alaska State Troopers said. Charles Brent Hudson of Houston was in Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center on Monday recovering from a laceration to his neck, a broken rib, a crushed thumb and puncture wounds to his shoulder and buttocks, troopers said. His condition was stable, a nursing supervisor said. Reached at the hospital, Hudson said he had gotten pretty beat up during an attack Sunday afternoon that lasted all of 30 to 45 seconds. He declined to talk further about the incident. Hudson, the health and safety officer for Jacob's Engineering, was working as a "bear guard" at an Army Corps of Engineers cleanup site near the east side of Lake Catherine outside the city of Kodiak, troopers said. The location, about four miles north of the U.S. Coast Guard's Kodiak Air Station, is an old World War II site, Guard spokesman Keith Alholm said. Besides keeping an eye out for bears, Hudson was looking for silt in the water downstream from the work site, troopers said, and carried no firearm. Hudson was alone in a wooded area not more than half a mile from other workers on heavy equipment, said Fish and Wildlife Protection Troopers Sgt. Joanna Roop. "He heard something come up behind him," Roop said. "He thinks the bear was bedded down in the timber and within about 20 feet of where he initially heard him, and the victim tried to run for some dense trees, and the bear came up behind him." He said the grizzly "ran me down and bowled me over," Roop said. Hudson curled into a ball on the ground, facedown, with his hands covering his head in the classic play-dead posture sometimes recommended by bear experts. The bear, which he described as a dark boar, rolled him over twice and then ran off, Roop said. Hudson called for help on his radio and was eventually airlifted to the hospital in a Coast Guard helicopter. The bear did not return to the area, Roop said. Investigators determined the bear did not stalk Hudson, nor did Hudson have any food on him, she said. The bear apparently had not been wounded in any way. So authorities did not pursue it. ------------------ Keith The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

October 10, 2000, 02:06 PM	#2
Keith Rogan Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 1999 Location: Kodiak, Alaska Posts: 1,014	This happened right here at the edge of town, no more than a mile from my house. Here's a "Bear Guard" at a federal site (hhhmmm) with no gun, no pepper spray, no nuttin. I can't help but wonder if Federal "Safety" regulations prohibit employee's from being armed... I'm not sure what an unarmed Bear Guard is supposed to do except fall down and hope for the best - exactly what he did. I don't think it specifies in this article, but the place where he was mauled is a tiny stream running into a small lake - Lake Genevieve. It's choked with silver salmon right now and the bears are in there thick and bedded down in the alders all around that stream. This guy was sent down there to see if there was silt in the stream from the work they were doing - I think I smell a lawsuit. ------------------ Keith The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

October 10, 2000, 03:44 PM	#3
Thibault Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2000 Location: Middle of nowhere, Northern Quebec Posts: 336	Makes one think.... I live in black bear heaven, and have been carrying my faithful can of Bear Guard for the last two years since a too-close-for-comfort meeting with a big curious fella while fishing... Your site is at the top of my "favorites" pull-down menu... [This message has been edited by Thibault (edited October 10, 2000).]

October 10, 2000, 03:51 PM	#4
M1911 Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 2000 Posts: 4,055	Bear "guard" with no gun? Sounds more like bearbait to me :P m1911

October 10, 2000, 04:03 PM	#5
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	I won't, won't, won't make any comments about federal employees!!! Or federal regulations! I won't! I won't! Nothing about the shallow end of the gene pool. Nothing along the lines of, "This employee has hit bottom and begun to dig." or , "This employee should not be allowed to breed." or, "His men follow him, but only out of morbid curiosity." , Art

October 10, 2000, 04:58 PM	#6
Field-dressed Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2000 Location: Alaska Posts: 148	Art, How could you!? Besides being an unarmed bear guard, the only other mistakes he made were running away from a charging bear,walking a salmon stream loaded with bears ALONE, and doing what he was told to do like a good little fed. Glad the guy wasn't hurt more seriously or killed but what an idiot! Bears will be bears, glad that brownie didn't get shot for defending his feeding hole. Thanks for the post, Keith

October 10, 2000, 05:24 PM	#7
BadMedicine Junior member Join Date: July 7, 2000 Location: Anchorage Posts: 863	<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> Besides keeping an eye out for bears, [/quote] Least he's good at what he does, he found one Yeah, I heard about tthis attack on the news yesterday, however, they failed to mention he was "looking for trouble" (ie grizzlies), near a salmon stream, without protection, alone, 1/2 a mile from camp. Anyways, so goes the world

October 10, 2000, 07:04 PM	#8
Keith Rogan Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 1999 Location: Kodiak, Alaska Posts: 1,014	Yeah, the browny was the only one who acted in a sane manner. I should mention that Sunday was an extremely windy day - 40 mph winds. It's likely that our man walked up on the bedding area without the bear being able to hear him (or smell him), due to the wind. It's not surprising the bear reacted that way when surprised in his bed. I concur with the state boys decision to not hunt this critter down. This may be the same bear I ran into on August 1st (opening day of deer season) on the mountain above this site. We spotted each other at a 100 yards or so and he circled around to get our wind and then took off out of the area. A "good" bear . ------------------ Keith The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

October 10, 2000, 08:40 PM	#9
rr41mag Senior Member Join Date: June 25, 2000 Location: Biloxi, Miss. Posts: 180	OK since you won't make any comments about federal workers, since I'm one I will. figures! tipical government ------------------ A son is the best friend you'll ever have!

October 11, 2000, 03:24 AM	#10
Bud Helms Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 1999 Location: Middle Georgia, USA Posts: 13,198	What's Bear Guard? Pepper spray?

October 11, 2000, 06:13 AM	#11
Thibault Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2000 Location: Middle of nowhere, Northern Quebec Posts: 336	Yeah, "capscium"(?) or something like that... far more powerful than pepper spray, still barely legal in Canada (for how long?) And, yes me carry gun on top, But if I can control the situation without buckshot, I won't shoot, unless dear wife and kid are around. [This message has been edited by Thibault (edited October 11, 2000).]

October 11, 2000, 10:22 AM	#12
dZ Senior Member Join Date: May 31, 1999 Location: Exiled, Fetid Swamp, DC Posts: 7,548	sounds like someone needs a Mark V bear attack suit for a work uniform! dZ

October 11, 2000, 12:45 PM	#13
Paul B. Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 1999 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,802	I don't know if this will clear up any confusion on why the gentleman was on "bear guard" unarmed, but when I was working for the National Weather Service, a job opening for a person to go into wilderness country complete with bears, to service and maintain remote weather and rain measuring devices. As I qualified for the postion, and the thought of a bi-yearly three month pack trip into into really pristine country turned me on, I applied for the job. After being selected, I found out that GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS forbad me to have any firearms in my possession while on the pack trip. Here I am, being sent into grizzly country without any means of protection. I declined the position. I am willing to bet some serious money, that the man mauled by that bear was under the same STUPID government regulations. If I understand the situation, he was on a government owned facility. They have regs forbidding guns on those too. I mean let's face it. The guy might have gone "postal" and shot that innocent bear. Sorry. The weather has been too bad to go to the range for the last 5 days, and now it's raining. I have to rant about something. Paul B.

October 11, 2000, 04:22 PM	#14
Keith Rogan Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 1999 Location: Kodiak, Alaska Posts: 1,014	It's actually not Federal land. It IS however, a federal cleanup of what was during WWII, an army base. This is one of those Superfund sites where the government is cleaning up old drums of fuel, etc. that were left to decay after the base shut down 50 years ago. I'm sure you're right about some stupid regulation forbidding the use of a firearm. This isn't a particularly dangerous area for bears (on the edge of town) but poking around the thickets of a salmon stream anywhere on this island is not a good idea. ------------------ Keith The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

October 11, 2000, 09:17 PM	#15
J. Parker Senior Member Join Date: May 12, 2000 Location: Ephrata, wa. USA Posts: 1,338	Art; Air Traffic Controllers are Federal employees too. Think about that next time you go flyin'. No flames please. I retired after 30 years as a controller. I guess we're just the exception! Best Regards, J. Parker