6 Bear attacks in two weeks in Alaska

Register to hide this ad
Most everybody I work with and talk to (as a working Wildlife Bio) can't figure it out. Two of the attacks appear to be predatory black bears. The latest appears to be a "go away" bluff (Unfortunately the kid panicked and shot him with birdshot=that likely would have chased him away but the kid shot again and hurt him). At least one other was a mother defending cubs. All appear, on the surface, explainable but the frequency is scary! Throw in some others in other areas, an increase in urban wildlife sightings, and it starts getting mysterious. Nothing in my training as a animal behaviorist, or bear researcher (MS, 1998, "Urban Bears") explains it!

I do know that the LAST thing we need is a bunch of Georgia hunters running around the Arctic shooting each other!

I'm leaving for Alaska in two weeks but we'll be halibut fishing out of the Kenai area. They are having Orca problems down there.

Also, notice the first TWO guys in the bluff attack had long arms such as shotguns with them and never got them off their shoulders!
 
Also, notice the first TWO guys in the bluff attack had long arms such as shotguns with them and never got them off their shoulders!
I was surprised how well they blend in with low brush. We were camped in Denali after the park closed for winter, and walked up on this bear on the trail. When it got on it's hind legs to sniff the air for us, it was huge. When it decided to go around us through the low brush, it disappeared. Got this pic where the brush thinned a bit.

If it had been in the brush already instead of on the trail, we could easily have walked right up on it and never seen it.

Just wanted to add that while we hike in bear habitat, we keep small whistles in our mouths and use them regularly to inform of our approach, to try and avoid a startled bear. This encounter happened when we paused for only a minute or two to admire the scenery and snap a picture. Right after the scenery picture, we see the bear approach on our trail.

18248573236_3a8027495d_o_zps5ymljy8v.jpg
 
Last edited:
I don't want to drift off topic like a Polar Bear on a fake ice floe, but the Medieval Warming Period also coincided with advances in science, better crop growth, and in general better health for the European population.

Mere coincidence, of course.

I think the sudden increase in the incidence of bear attacks bears watching and might be unbearable to tourists.

It's barely possible.

Global warming is the new boogie man. If Girl Scout cookie sales are down; it is because of global warming!

Of course there is global warming, nothing ever stays the same! Back 7 or 8 centuries ago, global warming gave us the age of the Vikings.

Ivan
 
I do know that the LAST thing we need is a bunch of Georgia hunters running around the Arctic shooting each other! Perish the thought! Have had dealings with hogs. Some of the are rather quick, some are rather large, a few even try to get up close and personal! Hitting one is a bit of a chore. Got to be on your game. Showed up at one hunt w/ a M-1 Garand loaded with some soft-points to go tromping through the woods hunting. One of the fellows opined that it was way to heavy. I just told him that after he'd had his six (.44 Mag.) I'd plink it for him so it wouldn't get away. Up where the big bears grow ... figure some nice M-2 AP would work fine. Complete penetration from whatever the angle! It would be interesting to load up and go bumping around in the brush for something that size! Might even need a spare clip of ammo! But, shooting each other? Waste of ammo! Plus it would be hard to explain to the wife. She'd be expecting meat and a future rug for the den! ;-). Sincerely. bruce.
 
Sometimes,
it's just the trespass fee we humans have to pay for living in bear country.


I like all bears, large or small, and respect their right of way.


If'n it comes to a stand off or show down, having been there a few times....


Let's jest say, I'm still here to tell the tale....
Or the rugs on the wall, tells the stories better. ;)



.
 
Last edited:
Wonder how many of the encounters were because the people failed to respect the danger of a large wild animal.
You ain't kiddin. Watch tourists in Yellowstone approach bison in a field and then run like mad when they charge. A few minutes later, it happens again. Darwin candidates for extinction.
 
People need to understand that "Nature Will Eat You" When you are out there, that is
their house. If you are not smart enough to understand that then sprinkle a little hot sauce on you, bears like a little flavor with din din.
 
In the late 70's - early 80's the U.S. experienced some brutally cold and snowy winters. The country was just coming off the arab oil embargo. We all drove gas guzzlers an we were much more dependent on foreign oil. Every night my TV was full of scientists with irrefutable evidence the Earth was cooling off. The doomsday catch phrase was "we're all going to freeze to death in the dark". So I try to take global warming with a grain of salt.
One thing's for certain. The Earth's population is out of control. For instance: In '47 when I was born, the U.S. had 155,000,000 people. In 2010 it was 320,000,000.
Cow and people farts combined with fossil fuel combustion emissions on such a gigantic scale has probably done some damage.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top