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October 24, 2011, 10:16 PM | #1 | ||
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Grizzly Bears Attack Hunters in Alaska, Canada and Montana
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. Quote:
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. Quote:
Three attacks in less than one week just points out how dangerous grizzly country really is. |
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October 24, 2011, 10:48 PM | #2 |
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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.
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October 24, 2011, 10:49 PM | #3 | |
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October 24, 2011, 10:51 PM | #4 |
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[Three attacks isn't even statistically relevant.]
Unless you are one of the three. Jerry
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Ecclesiastes 12:13 ¶Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. |
October 24, 2011, 11:18 PM | #5 | |
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Whoops, looks like it is FOUR in one week!!
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October 25, 2011, 09:49 AM | #6 |
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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 |
October 25, 2011, 10:57 AM | #7 |
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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.
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October 25, 2011, 11:22 AM | #8 |
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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? |
October 25, 2011, 12:03 PM | #9 |
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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.
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October 25, 2011, 12:17 PM | #10 |
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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. |
October 25, 2011, 12:21 PM | #11 |
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Were the bears armed?
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October 25, 2011, 12:25 PM | #12 | |
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Quote:
Armed? You betcha!! |
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October 25, 2011, 12:43 PM | #13 | |
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Quote:
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ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin |
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October 25, 2011, 12:45 PM | #14 |
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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. |
October 25, 2011, 01:18 PM | #15 |
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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.
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October 25, 2011, 01:26 PM | #16 |
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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. |
October 25, 2011, 01:53 PM | #17 |
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Up here in Idaho, it is:
Grizzly Bears Grizzly Bears Mountain Lions Wolves black bears Teen age drivers |
October 25, 2011, 02:46 PM | #18 |
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I put teenage drivers between grizzly bears and grizzly bears and that's about the same as my list haha
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ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin |
October 25, 2011, 03:22 PM | #19 |
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Looks like bear attacks are increasing according to this following article.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_...132500848.html |
October 25, 2011, 03:25 PM | #20 |
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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. |
October 25, 2011, 03:32 PM | #21 |
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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.
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ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin |
October 25, 2011, 04:02 PM | #22 | |
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October 25, 2011, 04:38 PM | #23 | |
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October 25, 2011, 04:42 PM | #24 |
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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.
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October 25, 2011, 05:04 PM | #25 |
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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.
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