Grizzly Bears Attack Hunters in Alaska, Canada and Montana

[Alaska444]

The hunt this year has been one of added danger from several grizzly bear attacks. In the last week, hunters in Alaska, Canada and Montana have had to defend themselves against three separate grizzly bear attacks. The first one was in Girdwood Alaska. My dad had an A-Frame cabin he built all by himself while we were up there. It is close to the Alyeska ski resort.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/articl...grizzly-attack

The next attack occurred in British Colombia. The hunter was able to escape injury.

A hunter was forced to shoot and kill a grizzly bear that charged him and his dog near Lumby. The man was hunting deer last Wednesday when he spotted the large bruin going after his dog. When the hunter yelled the bear turned on him. The man managed to fire at the bear from about a 10 metre distance and the wounded animal ran away. The animal died of its injury and was discovered the next day. It was a 550 pound male, about 7 to 9 years old.

http://cfjctv.com/story.php?id=5132

The last attack in less than a one week period of time was a couple of hours away from us in Kalispell Montana. An elk hunter was rescued by his hunting partner after a sow grizzly attacked over an elk kill that that hunters were returning to recover.

KALISPELL, Mont. — Officials say a grizzly bear with two cubs attacked and injured an elk hunter in northwestern Montana before being killed by the hunter’s partner. Bruce Auchley of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks says the hunters from Kalispell were returning to get more meat from the carcass of a bull elk they killed earlier on Saturday about 40 miles east of Kalispell when the bear attacked. Auchley says the hunters shot the bear once before it bit 31-year-old Anthony Willits on the lower left leg. Auchley says 29-year-old Gregory Louden shot three more times, killing the grizzly. The men hiked out and Willits was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center where he underwent surgery. Auchley says officials on Sunday planned to go to the area where the bear was reported killed.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/201...rizzly-attack/

Three attacks in less than one week just points out how dangerous grizzly country really is.

[FrankenMauser]

There are hundreds of thousands of hunters in "Grizzly Country" right now.

Three attacks isn't even statistically relevant.


I still don't understand why you hate bears so much.
Ever been charged by one? I have... twice. And I'm still on their side.

[Alaska444]

FrankenMauser
Senior Member

Join Date: August 25, 2008
Location: Mormonville
Posts: 3,539
There are hundreds of thousands of hunters in "Grizzly Country" right now.

Three attacks isn't even statistically relevant.
__________________
-Long Winded Voice of Reason..... or something...

LOL, not significant except to the hunters involved in the attacks!!

[JerryM]

[Three attacks isn't even statistically relevant.]

Unless you are one of the three.
Jerry

[Alaska444]

Whoops, looks like it is FOUR in one week!!

POWELL, Wyo. (AP) - An elk hunter who was attacked by a grizzly bear in northwest Wyoming says he's lucky the ordeal didn't last long.
Twenty-seven-year-old Steve Bates of Cody suffered puncture wounds in his scalp, abrasions to his face and a possible fractured rib when the grizzly took a swipe at him just before 5 p.m. Saturday.
Bates says he saw grizzly tracks just before the attack and thought they had been left that morning. He says the bear charged him at a dead run.
When the bear retreated, Bates says he loaded his rifle and aimed but didn't shoot.
He says, "Considering what happened, I came out pretty good."
Wyoming wildlife officers say they have no plans to capture the bear because it was simply reacting to a perceived threat.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

http://www.chadrad.com/newsstory.cfm?story=22835

[Daryl]

A lot of "bear attacks" don't even get reported as such.

I was in Alaska some years back, hunting with a buddy from Fairbanks, when he was charged by a grizzly. He shot it with a .338 Win Mag, which ended any intended "attack". Since he had a tag, he tagged it and all was good.

We never reported it as an attack. We just skinned it out, and took it to Tok for sealing at the G&F office there, and then went back to hunt caribou.

I don't hate bears at all. They're a part of the world I live in, and I respect them as such. Nature can be harsh, so one learns to survive. Bears do likewise.

Daryl

[Alaska444]

Daryl, that is the biggest problem with all of these statistics declaring pepper spray better than guns. I believe you are correct that most incidents especially in Alaska requiring a gun to defend against a charging grizzly are not reported, thus skewing the results in favor of pepper spray. I suspect that just about EVERY pepper spray incident is reported creating a reporting bias between the two strategies.

[briandg]

Statistical anomaly, or bad tempered bears pushed on by hunger or other environmental factors?

Are they happening where thre may be food shortages, or too many bears for the habitat?

[tahunua001]

I dont know what to think about all these accounts. I've never seen bear attacks in this concentration ever before. then again I'm just a young'un. I know that grizzly populations haven't spiked otherwise F&G would be putting out public service announcements in some medium or another. I know that alaska, idaho, montana, wyoming and western canada don't exactly have the most burgeoning areas when it comes to urban development. the only thing I can think of is that people are just getting complacent. they are not paying attention to the signs around them, they are not being sneaky enough, they are not being alert enough...or some combination of the three. I know when I'm hunting for deer I normally ignore elk, cow, or bird signs but as soon as I see something with a paw and/or claws I make sure my sidearm and rifle are both ready to go in the clutch, I make sure that I'm not not carrying anything that could be construed as food, I make sure I'm making the least amount of noise possible and I get that rubber neck for the rest of the day. this is just me though. where I live we have a very limited population of grizzlies and an abundance of skiddish little black bears. the wolves and cougars are my main concern but I give any animal that has the ability to kill me a wide berth if I can help it.

[Alaska444]

You could call it a statistical anomaly except for the fact that this has been going on all year since the bears came out of their dens last April and May. I have been following bear attack news for the last 3-4 years rather diligently and the number of bear attacks reported in the news is substantially higher this year than in the previous years. This year, it has not been uncommon to see near daily reports of bear attacks.

Reporting bear attacks has been a media favorite for years, so that lends the question of whether the attacks are more frequent or more people are reporting them? I would tend to believe that there are more attacks as many reporters have mentioned in their articles across the summer. Since there is no central bear report center, and data is not 100% with many encounters never reported, discerning the true rates is problematic to say the least.

In any case, anyone hunting in bear country needs to be on guard for these huge beasts. The folks duck hunting in Girdwood Alaska probably didn't even think of the possibility of bear attacks since they were not hunting large game.

[zincwarrior]

Were the bears armed?

[Alaska444]

zincwarrior
Senior Member

Join Date: July 1, 2011
Location: Texas, land of Tex-Mex
Posts: 156
Were the bears armed?

Let me see, 5 inch claws, hundreds of pounds of thick muscle propelling these beast over 35 mph, large fangs and an irritable temper.

Armed? You betcha!!

[tahunua001]

Let me see, 5 inch claws, hundreds of pounds of thick muscle propelling these beast over 35 mph, large fangs and an irritable temper.

Armed? You betcha!!

don't forget body armor, if you listen to some of the guys here you need at least a 500S&W to stop a charging grizzly

[briandg]

Armed?

Sure.

They has two of them.

The wild critters that I worry about, in order.

rattlers.
Big, temperamental boars.
gizzly
wolf
puma.

Rattlers are everywhere, and heck, I'm sure to step on one if it's there.

Big nasty hogs are as big as, and a whole lot more dangerous than most black bears. While back near lookout mountain, I got the opportunity to see a tennessee black bear and a wild hog. No comparison, especially if you consider how vicious hogs get when they have young.

Grizzly? big, stupid, belligerent, and touchy. Spook one, and the chances of being attacked are pretty good. surviving an attack is a pipe dream.

Wolves? Don't know a lot about them, but captive wolves routinely rip their owners to pieces. I'd rather face a gang of crips than I would a pack of wolves. Kill a few of the crips and they'll run, a pack of hungry wolves will be a lot faster, and won't give up.

Puma? supposed to be really shy, but when they do attack, it's out of hunger, and they are ferocious and strong. At least that's what I've heard.

Black bear in the wild just don't seem to pose a threat; I've always heard of them as shy and spooky, and afraid of men. Pepper spray or a handgun will end it really quickly.

That's just the way I see it. Obviously, I could be wrong in my assessment.

[tahunua001]

briang,
your portrayal of black bears is pretty much spot on. a full grown boar is only going to be about 400lbs, up in these woods we're lucky if we see one that's bigger than 250lbs. they are not really built to be aggressive and live mostly off of berries, nuts and fish. rarely they'll venture close enough to civilization to raid dumpsters or eat roadkill but for the most part they run if they see you. however get a sow with a couple cubs and she'll do the exact same thing as a grizzly if you get too close. your odds of just getting mauled because you invaded some boars personal bubble are almost non existent.

[zincwarrior]

Wildlife I worry about
*spiders
*scorpions
*did I mention spiders yet?
*water moccasins
*deer (that might jump out and hit my car)
*hawks/vultures (wiener dogs no like)
*did I mention spiders?

I figure if you're a hunter in Alaska, you can take down a grizzly.

[Alaska444]

Up here in Idaho, it is:

Grizzly Bears
Grizzly Bears
Mountain Lions
Wolves
black bears
Teen age drivers

[tahunua001]

I put teenage drivers between grizzly bears and grizzly bears and that's about the same as my list haha

[Alaska444]

Looks like bear attacks are increasing according to this following article.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_...132500848.html

[ZeroJunk]

I have been hunting the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana since we could buy a grizzly tag for $250. My hunting partner killed the last legally hunted grizzly in Montana. He was also with a guy that got mauled by one. The bears have figured out that they are not being hunted IMO and are losing their fear of men. Same as deer in urban areas. So, in the past when a grizzly might catch a whiff of you and high tail it to parts unknown I don't think that is the case anymore.

You guys can take them lightly if you want. There are several dead people that did.

[tahunua001]

animals are much smarter than many people think. my brother has a whitetail buck that he lovingly named walter that he's been stalking for years and every year he just gets bigger and bigger and every year he is in the same place until a couple days before deer season opens and he disappears until a week after season closes. they know when they're safe and when they're not.

[zincwarrior]

I have been hunting the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana since we could buy a grizzly tag for $250. My hunting partner killed the last legally hunted grizzly in Montana. He was also with a guy that got mauled by one. The bears have figured out that they are not being hunted IMO and are losing their fear of men. Same as deer in urban areas. So, in the past when a grizzly might catch a whiff of you and high tail it to parts unknown I don't think that is the case anymore.

You guys can take them lightly if you want. There are several dead people that did.

Then, er, don't hunt grizzly bears?

[ZeroJunk]

Then, er, don't hunt grizzly bears?

If that makes any sense it escapes me.

[Alaska444]

None of the people in the articles above were hunting grizzly. Instead, they were after other game. The point is well taken that the grizzlies are changing their behavior to us because we are no longer hunting them in the lower 48. It used to be before that that grizzlies were essentially shot on being seen. Not that I recommend that, just noting that the bears are very intelligent creatures that take note of how we react to them. I believe it is correct that they are losing their fear of man.

[jmr40]

Three or four is a huge number when you consider that there probably haven't been that many is several years combined in the past. Not just Grizz, but in the last 10 years or so there have been considerably more black bear attacks than normal.