Texas Star
US Veteran
List of fatal bear attacks in North America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Here is a partial list of FATAL bear attacks in North America, separated by species: Black, Grizzly, Brown, and Polar. Some attacks seem to be missing.
What I need is for any of you who recall reading in, "Outdoor Life" (may have been, "Sports Afield") many years ago about a black bear that attacked an angler in midstream in, I think, Ontario.The man stabbed the bear and saved himself. Later, investigators found 8-9 men dead in what was described as a food cache kept by the bear.
I got a tactful PM by a member who wants to know the details about that attack and who questions that bears keep food caches. Unfortunately, I did not record the issue of the magazine and have lost some notes after moving three times since I read that account. It may date to the 1960's or 1970's. It may have been in the feature that OL called, "It Happened to Me." Some of you probably read it often and may recall this case.
I'd like to review it again too. I presume that the magazine checked out the information before they printed it and paid that reader for his account. No responsible publication would print that sensational of an account without checking, I should hope!
The Wiki link above summarizes many attacks, but probably does not include all, some of which may never have been reported to official sources. In other cases, the researcher may simply not have ever seen the reports. Because these are for fatal attacks and the angler survived, the case may not have been reported under his name or in this file.
The Wiki file also does not seem to have the attack in the Staten Island (?) zoo mentioned several times by Massad Ayoob, unless it is the Brooklyn zoo attack in 1987. The time frame is right and I do not know NYC geography well. The zoo may be the right one, but I don't think that Ayoob mentioned two bears. It is possible that there was no human fatality and that accounts for the attack not being included. That certainly precludes mention of the case where the Norwegian explorer shot an approaching polar bear with his S&W .44 Magnum. He killed the bear before it reached him, so no human death. (This case was discussed in, "National Geographic.") Ditto for the doctor who reported a few years ago in, "Sporting Classics" about shooting a grizzly with his pal's Super Blackhawk. He killed the bear, so no human death. Same for Elmer Keith's accounts in, "Sixguns" and his other books. Remember that grizzly that Frank Waterman killed with a .45 Colt SAA in, "Sixguns"? Again, the bear died, not the human, so no mention in the Wiki file.
Wiki also does not discuss fatal attacks outside of the USA and Canada. Asiatic sloth bears and Asiatic black bears are well known to attack humans. Euro brown bears do, too. Cave bears surely did in prehistoric times.
The member who contacted me was polite and did not say that the account of the men in that food cache was false. But, like him, I'd like to ferret out more details, if available. I read that maybe 25 -30 years ago and had no idea at the time that I'd someday be posting about it on an Internet that then didn't even exist! If I'd realized that, I'd have saved the article. That's how information gets lost.
But that case was probably sensational at the time and some of you may recall it. Please comment if you do.
Also, the term, "food cache" has been loosely used to describe any food stored or guarded by a bear. It doesn't have to be in its den. Do Bear Bio or other wildlife professionals here know if black bears do stash food in dens or other shelters? Eight or nine men, some probably partially consumed, is a lot of meat to have been kept by one bear. Still, I doubt that any of the Big Three outdoor mags would fabricate or allow any reader offering that account to fabricate the story. That would simply represent irresponsible journalism, in my opinion.
Here is a partial list of FATAL bear attacks in North America, separated by species: Black, Grizzly, Brown, and Polar. Some attacks seem to be missing.
What I need is for any of you who recall reading in, "Outdoor Life" (may have been, "Sports Afield") many years ago about a black bear that attacked an angler in midstream in, I think, Ontario.The man stabbed the bear and saved himself. Later, investigators found 8-9 men dead in what was described as a food cache kept by the bear.
I got a tactful PM by a member who wants to know the details about that attack and who questions that bears keep food caches. Unfortunately, I did not record the issue of the magazine and have lost some notes after moving three times since I read that account. It may date to the 1960's or 1970's. It may have been in the feature that OL called, "It Happened to Me." Some of you probably read it often and may recall this case.
I'd like to review it again too. I presume that the magazine checked out the information before they printed it and paid that reader for his account. No responsible publication would print that sensational of an account without checking, I should hope!
The Wiki link above summarizes many attacks, but probably does not include all, some of which may never have been reported to official sources. In other cases, the researcher may simply not have ever seen the reports. Because these are for fatal attacks and the angler survived, the case may not have been reported under his name or in this file.
The Wiki file also does not seem to have the attack in the Staten Island (?) zoo mentioned several times by Massad Ayoob, unless it is the Brooklyn zoo attack in 1987. The time frame is right and I do not know NYC geography well. The zoo may be the right one, but I don't think that Ayoob mentioned two bears. It is possible that there was no human fatality and that accounts for the attack not being included. That certainly precludes mention of the case where the Norwegian explorer shot an approaching polar bear with his S&W .44 Magnum. He killed the bear before it reached him, so no human death. (This case was discussed in, "National Geographic.") Ditto for the doctor who reported a few years ago in, "Sporting Classics" about shooting a grizzly with his pal's Super Blackhawk. He killed the bear, so no human death. Same for Elmer Keith's accounts in, "Sixguns" and his other books. Remember that grizzly that Frank Waterman killed with a .45 Colt SAA in, "Sixguns"? Again, the bear died, not the human, so no mention in the Wiki file.
Wiki also does not discuss fatal attacks outside of the USA and Canada. Asiatic sloth bears and Asiatic black bears are well known to attack humans. Euro brown bears do, too. Cave bears surely did in prehistoric times.
The member who contacted me was polite and did not say that the account of the men in that food cache was false. But, like him, I'd like to ferret out more details, if available. I read that maybe 25 -30 years ago and had no idea at the time that I'd someday be posting about it on an Internet that then didn't even exist! If I'd realized that, I'd have saved the article. That's how information gets lost.
But that case was probably sensational at the time and some of you may recall it. Please comment if you do.
Also, the term, "food cache" has been loosely used to describe any food stored or guarded by a bear. It doesn't have to be in its den. Do Bear Bio or other wildlife professionals here know if black bears do stash food in dens or other shelters? Eight or nine men, some probably partially consumed, is a lot of meat to have been kept by one bear. Still, I doubt that any of the Big Three outdoor mags would fabricate or allow any reader offering that account to fabricate the story. That would simply represent irresponsible journalism, in my opinion.
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She did try and open the walk in door by turning it with her mouth. There are teeth dents on the knob! 
