Bow Hunter Attacked by a Family of Bears

[Alaska444]

Black bear attack in Utah 2009:

August 31, 2009
Utah Family Fights Off Black Bear Attack
From the Desert News:

A 78-year-old man was hospitalized Friday with injuries he received when he was attacked by a black bear in a remote area of eastern Utah. . . .

One of the victim's daughters jumped on the bear and hit it with her fists, according to a
statement from the DWR. After another family member joined in the struggle the bear let go of the man at which point the bear was shot in the back by one of the victim's grandsons. The animal ran off and was found dead after sunrise.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/...ck-bear-attack

[Alaska444]

Black bear attack in Tennessee 2008:

A black bear repeatedly mauled an 8-year-old boy Monday evening near a popular motor trail on the outskirts of Gatlinburg, and an animal matching its description was later killed by park rangers.

The boy's father also was injured while successfully defending his son from the animal, said officials with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but none of their injuries were believed to be life-threatening.

The dead bear was described as a "55-pound male yearling" that was probably born in the spring of 2007, according to park spokesman Bob Miller. Rangers were confident they'd bagged the right animal but won't know for sure until a necropsy is performed at the University of Tennessee, he said.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/au...s-father-also/

[Alaska444]

Black bear attack in British Columbia 2008:

September 11, 2008
Black bear swims across river to attack fisherman
Sophie Tedmanson
A man is recovering in hospital after a bizarre attack in which black bear swam across a river, jumped onto a dock then into his boat and mauled him.

The 54-year-old fisherman had just returned to a marina in a tiny coastal community on an island in British Colombia, Canada, on Tuesday evening when the bear attacked him.

He was cleaning salmon in the Port Renfrew marina office on Vancouver Island when the bear, which was estimated to be at least 10 years old and weighing 176 pounds (80kg), climbed onto the pier after swimming across the river.

The man, who has not been named, and another fisherman jumped into their boat, and the bear immediately followed them and jumped in behind them, hungry for their catch.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle4729221.ece

[Alaska444]

Black bear attack in California 2008:

Swollen and scared, Allena Hansen's face still has the very visible scars of her encounter with a black bear 10 days ago. Large pink wounds cover her forehead and cheeks, but the 56-year-old California resident doesn't need the physical remnants to serve as a reminder of her near-death experience.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5504699&page=1

[Alaska444]

Looking at statistics, America has the most dogs of any nation in the entire world, over 61 million. On the other hand, bears are numbered in the thousands. Further, people encounter dogs much more frequently than they encounter bears. I would suggest that if the statistics existed, which they don't, the number of unprovoked bear attacks vs the number of unprovoked dog attacks would not be comparable at all.

http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top...medium=twitter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Black_Bear

Taking this data of 61 million dogs and about 200,000 black bears, if you are 45 times more likely to be bit by a dog, then that means that bears are much more likely to maul people than dogs since there are 305 dogs for every bear. So yes, let's talk statistics!! This means that per capita bears are about 7 times more likely to attack just based on pure numbers, but that does not take into account encounters.

People encounter millions of dogs daily with relatively few attacks, but people RARELY encounter bears but when they do encounter bears, they are at a much higher risk of attack. So yes, let's talk about statistics.

[HoraceHogsnort]

"Did she have a permit for that zuccchini? Never mind, it was in Montana. If it had been California she could have been in trouble."

Felony misuse of a vegetable.

[HoraceHogsnort]

"I still see no need for free-ranging bears. We have zoos and national parks, that is more room than needed were the population properly managed to keep the more important species safe, in my opinion."

HO-CHEE-MAMA!!

[Double Naught Spy]

Now you say that bear attacks have gone up dramatically in the last 30 years. Dramatically? Really?

Okay, convince me. What data are you basing these claims on?

You have yet to produce any data to support your claim that attacks are dramatically on the rise. You do present some incidents and there are incidents every year, no doubt.

The wiki list of fatal bear attacks is interesting, but bizarre. Certainly many of the "attacks" noted are not unprovoked. Three of the bears were pets or animals normally kept caged. Some of the people were simple found dead, having been ravaged by bears but whether they were killed by bears or died of other causes is unknown. People certainly die while out hiking in remote areas. Hunters die every year while hunting, due to heart attacks.

Where is the dramatic increase?

I reject the premise you present.

What premise do you reject?

I believe in clean camp,leaving bears alone,avoiding cubs,backing away,staying out of berry patches,etc.Peace and love,bears!!
I also believe in having the means to slap one down.

Good for you. I see no problem with that.

Have you ever been close enough to touch a bear that had hurt someone in your family?

Nope, but I have been close enough to touch a bear myself while working survey in SE Alaska. We had lots of encounters with bears, but no attacks. And what is the relevance of being close enough to a bear to touch that has bitten a family member? I mean I know folks who have been in automotive crashes, but that doesn't make them automotive engineers.

You ask for sources,etc,what is your expertise?

Yes, I asked for sources. Alaska444 is both claiming that the data available are invalid because they are incomplete and claiming that bear attacks are dramatically on the rise. To state that they are "dramatically on the rise" would require the use of data that Alaska444 has already called into question. He is playing both sides of the data issue saying that it is invalid to support a view contrary to his own and at the same time claiming it supports his view.

Interestingly, he switches between data types, attacks and supposed kills by bears (most, but not all are definitely kills by bears). Apparently, Alaska444's only data compilation is Wikipedia that that only includes the supposed kills, and not the attacks. He says the attacks are dramatically on the rise in the last 30 years, so he must have some sort of comprehensive listing support the claim, wouldn't you think? Yet all he produces is the Wiki supposed kills and some isolated incidents. There is no way to discertn from the information provided that there is any sort of dramatic increase. And in some sort of odd reasoning, he presents some more wiki data about dog attacks as if dog attacks have any relationship to whether or not there is a dramatic increase in bear attacks.

Not only is there the issue with the data but the issue with the interpretations that all lean to the sensationalized end of the spectrum, such as how everyone would have been dead had they not all fought with everything they had. It is stated as a fact when it is speculation and there isn't data that support the speculation.

I liked this one as well.

Lastly, this man, Fortune is quite lucky in that he had four adult or semi-adult bears attacking him for whatever reason they followed him.

Now the story is that Fortune was followed by the bears? Where is there any evidence of him being followed. The guy was in his tree stand when the bears emerged from the woods nearby and sensed him. What following? So now the description has shifted from an encounter with Fortune being attacked to some sort of hunting event where Fortune was being followed by the bears. Given that Fortune was unaware that the noises he heard near his stand were those of bears, his only knowledge about the bears' behavior was once they were already very close to him. He had no knowledge of where they came from and no knowledge of being followed. Once again, this is a bias being interjected to make the story more sensational.

I have had squirrels and raccoons try to get in a tree stand with me while hunting, but I would be hard pressed to claim that they had followed me to the stand. I have had deer bed down under my stand, but I don't think they followed me either. I have had animals come down the same trail behind me, but I really could not argue that they followed me.

[HiBC]

Not much.Just a guy who went to Alaska once.But,I find my experience credible,I had a few people advise me I did not need to be armed,as all the bears were more afraid of me than I was of them,etc.
I reject Walt Disney anthropomorphism and I believe one thing that is true about bear is they are unpredictable.They may have general behaviors,but the top echelon bear experts seem to eventually become bear scat.

I certainly believe we have a responsibility to not leave tuna cans laying around in camp,but,as you have pointed out,bear abilities to detect odors are incredible.and despite precautions,it is not humanly possible to be scent free.If I eat a granola bar my beard will smell of rasberries.
I suspect my wife's attractant was we used some wet wipes for personal hygeine .Something to learn,yes.Will I accept the charge"Oh,well,see,you provoked the incident..." No,that is BS. I get to BE,as does the bear.I try to get along.At some point,I protect myself.
Thearguement that "Well,they probably just died of a heart attack,then the bears,the cute,innocent bears,just found them,is IMO,something like denial.
If there is an upswing in human bear encounters(I do not know)it is likely it can be attributed to bears becoming familiar with people.I went downriver once with Jeff Renneke.He wrote the camping column in Field and Stream,or one of those mags,SA,OL,etc.He also wrote a book"Bears of Alaska"
Now,the Division of Wildlife folks in AK suggested this spot on the Nowitna river,but later Mr Renneke advised we were in the heart of "Pipeline Bad Bear Dumping Ground" and this was long enough ago this may have been a relocated bad bear.I don't even call my incident an attack.Curiosity bite,probably.But at some point the bear's intent seemed to change to "I think I shall eat you"
BTW,my understanding is,as a general trend(not to be trusted),If a grizzly decides to contact a human,it is about teaching the human a lesson.You got too close to my moose carcass.The human gets slapped around,bit some,the left.The black bear,when it decides to attack a human,the human is dinner.
Agreed,its not typical,but the odd bear is out there.

Year before last,on a local popular hiking trail I saw a mountain lion about 150 yds away.He knew I was there,and he just was not concerned. I don't think that is a good sign.After a little bit,he crossed over the ridge.I now open carry a .44 spl when I walk that trail.A 2 in snubbie.I want sufficient accuracy to place my shots at 2 or 3 feet.
I'm much more concerned by the 2 or 3 rattlers I find about every time.Snake bites make horrible wounds.
When I find a rattler beside the trail,I walk around him.

[Double Naught Spy]

Yes, bears are not predictable. The do exercise free will and come with all their own emotional baggage, life experience, etc. As Timothy Treadwell maybe finally realized (but probably not), what is "normal" behavior for bears goes out the proverbial window when the bears are stressed, ill, etc. I don't know that anyone here would suggestion you be unarmed in bear country. Moreover, I don't know of many people here that would suggest you go anywhere unarmed.

The black bear,when it decides to attack a human,the human is dinner.

And yet in so many such attacks, the black bears don't eat the humans. This is a classic example....
http://www.adn.com/2010/07/26/138227...theastern.html

It is called an "attack" but it was the mother sow defending her cubs. Many such defensive "attacks" and surprise encounter "attacks" occur much like this. The bear remains physically aggressive until which time it no longer perceives that there is a threat and then leaves.

Here are several more examples in this article from CA, though no doubt at least a couple are attempted predation by bears. Especially in most of the cases with the sows and cubs, the attacks are brief and the sows and cubs depart.
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/be...incidents.html

Going back to the original incident in the OP, some bears have a thing for tree stands.
http://imgur.com/a/adv6f/bear_in_the_tree_stand
http://wn.com/black_bear_joins_alec_in_treestand - I especially liked this video, though contrary to the hunter, I think I might have acted sooner and in a more physical manner. It is awesome until the bear decides it wants to share your bowhunting stand with you. You can hear the effects of the adrenaline dump, LOL.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6UXpIReynw - these guys thought it was a good idea to try challenging the bear for their deer stand. Fortunately, the bear was not too impressed with their efforts and the hunters opted to leave instead.

[Art Eatman]

There are apparently two primary situations where a black bear will actually attack: The well-publicized sow/cub thing, and an "I want my dinnner!" situation. Again, apparently, accidental encounters generally lead to the bear running away. This is from reading quite a few articles by wildlife agency folks around the country over several decades.

A friend of mine was rifle hunting from a tree stand on timber company land not far east of Tallahassee. While he did not feel particularly endangered, he was definitely spooked when one of two bears began climbing up the ladder. Motion and yelling were sufficient to end any potential problem.

[Alaska444]

Dear Double Naught Spy, I stand down. You are right. There are no bear attacks at all and no one is ever eaten by a black bear, I was wrong.

Thank you.

[Irish B]

There are apparently two primary situations where a black bear will actually attack

There are four main situations in my opinion where a bear will attack you:
1) Mother protecting young
2) Overly aggresive male protecting territory
3) Sick, hungry, malnourished bear looking for actual food. The very rare man eaters.
4) You surprise the bear

[HiBC]

Category 3 is not always sick,etc.It can be a large strong boar.Mine was 6'6'' tip of nose to tail.
This thread inspired me to poke around some.Check Stephen Herrero.He wrote a book on understanding and avoiding bear attacks.
Beware a black bear with a blank look in his eyes that calmly,quietly,closes the distance toward you.

[Sarge]

I have a simple theory about bears. If I'm in bear country I carry a substantial handgun at minimum, more if local conditions warrant it. If 'the rules' preclude that, then I'll play somewhere else.

I don't get too worked up about why the bear might want to bite the top of my head off or whether or not he intends to eat the rest of me once he does. I take it for granted that if he/she decides to chomp/swat/maul me, the result will be terminal. My intention is to terminally discourage him before we start smelling each others breath.

[Art Eatman]

Good summation, Sarge. Now, let's let this poor old horse go on and die.