A List of Bear Attacks in North America

[357-RevolverGuy]

In the spirit of our “bear” threads, here’s some interesting reading I came across on Wikipedia which has a list of fatal bear attacks in North America. Since it’s hunting season and people are out there camping/hiking and enjoying the fall weather, make sure to carry and stay alert. Bear attacks aren’t as rare as the tree huggers want you to believe they are. A lot of these happened to experienced hunters and hikers.

List of fatal bear attacks in North America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[THE PILGRIM]

The 2001 killing of the lady at home in Mora, NM stands out in my mind.
You often hear about folks invading the Bears' space, etc. and its usually true!
But this lady was home. The bear was apparently attracted by the smell
of her home cooking.

 

[6518John]

That's looped me in a time or two too. You should smell my Ex's fried chicken.

 

[357-RevolverGuy]

Can’t make this stuff up. There’s a 2005 black bear attack in Ontario where the wife was killed and the husband was seriously injured by trying to protect her with a Swiss Army knife. Could you try and visualize how that one played out?

 

[BearBio]

Remember that Wikipedia has no verifying. I know of attacks not listed and some of those listed shouldn't be. Just take it with a (big) grain of salt.

But, it IS interesting reading!

 

[Mule Packer]

The little boy who was dragged out of his tent in Utah back in 2007 was a story that rocked our state for quite a while. The listed report states:

Samuel Ives, 11, was grabbed from a family tent in American Fork Canyon, and mauled. State wildlife officials killed the bear, which had entered the campsite the night before. Ives' family sued the U.S. Forest Service because there was no warning about the bear's presence. A judge awarded the family $1.95 million. It was the first known fatal black bear attack in Utah.

Okay, in the words of Paul Harvey, "And now, the rest of the story..."

The reason the family won the lawsuit is that the Forest Service was aware of the bear's presence. It was a problem bear and had been frequenting the campgrounds, but the USFS failed to post even a minimal amount of warning signs.

But, here's the part you don't hear about. The little boy's parents, who were sleeping in the same tent with him, had been partying pretty heavily around the campfire and were so drunk that night that they barely woke up when they heard the little guy screaming. And then, by the time they became somewhat coherent as to what was going on, the boy was dead.

If the folks hadn't been drunk, 1) they would've, first off, probably heard the bear rifling through the trash in the campground, 2) they would've definitely heard the bear come ripping through the tent, and 3) they would've had the presence of mind to defend their little boy with a handgun or rifle which, by the way, almost every Utahan has close at hand when in the outdoors.

Instead, both Mom and Dad were in a drunken stupor and let their son get killed. Just recalling the whole incident makes me mad enough to "chew nails and spit rust!"

 

[BearBio]

As a little boy, we would tent camp at Yosemite (in the 50's and early 60's). Back when the NPS didn't do much to control bears. Well, these were not well planned-out trips, so we would often get campgrounds 4 or 11. Both campgrounds were right on the way to the dump. We older boys (2 out of 3 of us) would sleep outside and the little brat would sleep inside. Several times my parents woke up to find bear tracks between our sleeping bags.

 

[rwsmith]

Some were armed....

Several got in shots with rifles, but the bear killed them before it died..

 

[357-RevolverGuy]

We older boys (2 out of 3 of us) would sleep outside and the little brat would sleep inside. Several times my parents woke up to find bear tracks between our sleeping bags.

<--This must have been the look on your faces. That's pretty scary.

 

[Texas Star]

I like bear accounts. One of my favorites was in, "Outdoor Life" (?) or, "Sports Afield" some years ago. An angler stabbed a bear that went for him in midstream. He was successful, and searchers later found 8-9 human bodies that that bear had stashed nearby in an apparent food cache.

I'm quite sure that no file has all attacks listed. Nor is the official shark attack file probably complete. Various factors influence whether an incident gets officially acknowledged, if word even reaches those who maintain such files.

 

[arjay]

My folks,sisters and I went to Yellowstone in '64.The first night camping a bear dropped by and banged into our tent a few times.I slept through it.Mom didnt.We stayed in a motel for the rest of the trip [emoji1]

 

[THE PILGRIM]

My folks,sisters and I went to Yellowstone in '64.The first night camping a bear dropped by and banged into our tent a few times.I slept through it.Mom didnt.We stayed in a motel for the rest of the trip [emoji1]

The first time we went there we had a pickup camper.
They gave us bear info pamphlets at the gate.
We went on up a ways to a campground which we were told wasn't completely
Full.
Hadn't been there long when two couples with a Popup tent type trailer pulled in next door.
One of the guys asked me about the bear situation. I told him we had only been there about an hour so didn't really know.
Then he told that the night before last they were sleeping in their camper.
There was a rip and a bear came in. He ripped the door off their icebox and just snacked for a while.
Then he left. They just laid there petrified the long time.
The next night they rented a cabin. A ranger told them this was a relatively bear free site.
Didn't see or hear any, so I guess it was.

 

[1morethan8]

This one(Elora Petrasek, 6, female)on the list is real.
Happened about 5 miles from my home.

 

[BigBill]

Outdoors, in the wilds or camping in your back yard in the suburbs expect the unexpected. Bears can be very quiet. You don't know they are there unless you see tracks. Or your bird feeder was attacked.
Never assume that there are no bears in your area. It's better to be on the lookout for bears anyway we just never know.

 

[DR505]

Here is an interesting tidbit:

In the US, you are 25 times more likely to be killed by a snake, 180 times more likely to die from a bee-sting and 90,000 times more likely to be shot, stabbed or beaten to death by a fellow human, than to die at the paws of a bear. BEARS

 

[1morethan8]

Here is an interesting tidbit:

Numbers don't mean ****.. if you're number one!

 

[Texas Star]

Numbers don't mean ****.. if you're number one!

And this topic is about those who DID encounter bear violence. The bear huggers try to minimize that, but there are more incidents every year.

Some is due to an overpopulation of bears in some areas and some to more naïve people hiking or camping in bear country. And some have built homes in areas where they're more likely to find bears. Or cougars.

I dislike these statistics that "prove" that you're not in danger from sharks or bears, etc. For one thing, they encompass the population as a whole, most of whom don't live where they may encounter dangerous animals, other than snakes or dogs. Or bees, wasps, spiders, etc.

 

[islamoradamark]

shoot em shoot em thats what we would do if one was takin our kid

 

[DeadAye]

Here is an interesting tidbit:Quote:
In the US, you are 25 times more likely to be killed by a snake, 180 times more likely to die from a bee-sting and 90,000 times more likely to be shot, stabbed or beaten to death by a fellow human, than to die at the paws of a bear. BEARS

Of course since MOST people live nowhere near a wild bear these stats are true. Then again, ya know what they say about statistics.

I'm thinkin' that most of the 90,000X more likely to be shot, stabbed, or beaten to death folks that you mention live in or near the South Side of Chicago NOT in Talkeetna, Alaska.

 

[BearBio]

Outdoors, in the wilds or camping in your back yard in the suburbs expect the unexpected. Bears can be very quiet. You don't know they are there unless you see tracks. Or your bird feeder was attacked.
Never assume that there are no bears in your area. It's better to be on the lookout for bears anyway we just never know.

Right after I graduated, there was a sighting on Grizzly Island in the east SF Bay area (near Fairfield). I've seen pictures of a large black bear walking on the beach at the south end of Banks Lake in Central Washington.

"Several got in shots with rifles, but the bear killed them before it died.. "

I have a buddy who works for Canadian Forest Service. He told me that many of their bear victims are found carrying a SLUNG rifle with a loaded chamber!