They’re Baaack!

[Wyo]

Well, the griz are out and active. No word if the vic had a firearm. He had bear spray but it's not clear if he got a chance to use it. Turns out the bear was on a moose carcass, and he wasn't giving it up to anybody!
A sad beginning to this year's summer season.
West Yellowstone man dies after being attacked by grizzly bear | KECI

 

[Sam McCord]

They've been awake and out and about here for a month. Keeps you on alert for sure.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Here its alligators, coral snakes and the occasional chupacabra. Be careful!.

 

[6518John]

Notice he apparently died from having a stroke not trauma from the injuries. I think that is what would happened to me, I would simply fall over dead from fright.

 

[MaricopaKid]

RIP. I have been very fortunate in my excursions. But, I never hike alone, or with anyone faster than me.

 

[Onomea]

I recall reading, I think a link on this forum, about a brown bear hugger who met his demise in Alaska, along with his GF, when a bear did not reciprocate his affection and decided to eat him.

Rangers or cops of some sort were dispatched to kill the bear, and I remember there were several of them, with pump action 12 gauge shotguns with slugs, looking for the bear while being worried the bear was gonna get to them first.

Very suspenseful. AKA scary as hell.

I'm with John. No wonder the guy had a heart attack.

 

[Wyo]

Well, it was a stroke, actually two of them, that killed him, but those followed after massive head injuries suffered in the attack and the surgery that came later. Not like he dropped dead at the sight of the bear.

 

[Absalom]

For the unfortunate gentleman, and his family, the actual specific cause of his departure is probably a rather theoretical issue.

But as a general point, it is worth noting that this was clearly not a predatory attack, but a defensive attack meant to deter a perceived threat to the bear's food. The victim, according to local media a fishing guide, actually was able to call 911 himself afterwards, a clear indication that the bear (especially if it was an older adult male as reported) did not unload its full strength on him.

On the other hand, you would expect a local Montana guide to be armed and prepared for such an encounter.

PS: Re. West Yellowstone grizzlies: Closest photo I ever took. Admittedly, I zoomed in across a barrier

 

[Wyo]

For the unfortunate gentleman, and his family, the actual specific cause of his departure is probably a rather theoretical issue.

But as a general point, it is worth noting that this was clearly not a predatory attack, but a defensive attack meant to deter a perceived threat to the bear's food. The victim, according to local media a fishing guide, actually was able to call 911 himself afterwards, a clear indication that the bear (especially if it was an older adult male as reported) did not unload its full strength on him.

On the other hand, you would expect a local Montana guide to be armed and prepared for such an encounter.

PS: Re. West Yellowstone grizzlies: Closest photo I ever took. Admittedly, I zoomed in across a barrier

I'd say that's close enough! No question this bear was protecting his food. I don't think the Game and Fish people, or whoever it was, would have killed him except that they weren't able to haze him off the moose carcass and he apparently charged them more than once. Like I said, he just wasn't gonna let anyone else have that moose!

 

[usmc2427765]

Here its alligators, coral snakes and the occasional chupacabra. Be careful!.

Several years ago, I found an advertisement for " guided chupacabra hunts with no kill guarantee". I believe it was a small local South Texas paper. Before that I shot a mange ridden coyote on a farm in Goliad county. I believe I probably did him a favor and advised locals at a local beer joint that I had killed a chupacabra and told them where I left it Before my eyes, the beer joint emptied out on a hunt for the elusive chupacabra. On the up side, I never had to pay for another beer there as long as I had a chupacabra story to share.

 

[jeffrefrig]

This is another reason I like PA!!!

 

[VictorLouis]

..., I never hike alone, or with anyone faster than me.

LOL, isn't that why one should carry a little .22 pocket pistol?

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Our local G&F warden told a group of us they'd "heard of" sign, but no reports of sightings, yet.

It's an annual event -- wake up from hibernation, and they're hungry. Hmmm. Go figure.

 

[Cooter Brown]

I recall reading, I think a link on this forum, about a brown bear hugger who met his demise in Alaska, along with his GF, when a bear did not reciprocate his affection and decided to eat him.

Rangers or cops of some sort were dispatched to kill the bear, and I remember there were several of them, with pump action 12 gauge shotguns with slugs, looking for the bear while being worried the bear was gonna get to them first.

Very suspenseful. AKA scary as hell.

I'm with John. No wonder the guy had a heart attack.

I think you're talking about Timothy Treadwell. Werner Herzog made a documentary about him called "Grizzly Man". It's excellent. You can stream it free on Tubi, which I get through Roku. By the way, Tubi has hundreds of documentaries. "Grizzly Man" is also on Amazon Prime in case you have that.

Treadwell getting himself killed was inevitable--getting the girl killed is unforgivable.

There's a man who participates on a bird hunting forum I frequent who was biologist for the state of AK at the time. He knew Treadwell and was one of the first on the scene after the attack. A horrible scene that he said everybody familiar with the situation knew was going to happen.

 

[lihpster]

My father went out on a call once about a guy that claimed a balck bear attacked him while he was sleeping. Dad drives out to his place in the country. Now it's the middle of summer and hot, so my father isn't too surprised to find out this guy was sleeping outside. he was however somewhat mystified over why the guy slept next to the hog pen while covered in his homemade "insect repellent" whose main ingredient was, I kid you not, honey. That guy was asking to be eaten and got away without a scratch. That's the difference between black bears and grizzlies. Grizzlies play rough.

 

[prairieviper]

When I was still an active law enforcement officer, I saw a few intoxicated bares. No bears here in cornfields and cows country, though.

 

[Jack Flash]

This is a little off topic but interesting I hope:
I watched a cooking show set in Norway. It's really a good show about a very remote area, well worth watching. I liked it more for the locale and its history than for the recipes.

But to the point -- at about 19:00 minutes into the video, the guy says you are required by law to have a firearm if you go outside town due to the possibility of a polar bear attack!
Edit to add: He wasn't talking about Norway in general, just about this remote island.

Very rare to see anything even slightly pro-gun on PBS so I thought I others might find it interesting. On top of that, they actually shoot a goose to eat!! although the shooting takes place off camera.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJw43nm2zLk[/ame]

 

[bgrafsr]

This is another reason I like PA!!!

You have Rattlesnakes though.

 

[bgrafsr]

This is a little off topic but interesting I hope:
I watched a cooking show set in Norway. It's really a good show about a very remote area, well worth watching. I liked it more for the locale and its history than for the recipes.

But to the point -- at about 19:00 minutes into the video, the guy says you are required by law to have a firearm if you go outside town due to the possibility of a polar bear attack!
Edit to add: He wasn't talking about Norway in general, just about this remote island.

Very rare to see anything even slightly pro-gun on PBS so I thought I others might find it interesting. On top of that, they actually shoot a goose to eat!! although the shooting takes place off camera.

New Scandinavian Cooking - Pyramids of the North - YouTube

We watch that show on PBS. He prepares some good food.

 

[Absalom]

...
But to the point -- at about 19:00 minutes into the video, the guy says you are required by law to have a firearm if you go outside town due to the possibility of a polar bear attack!
Edit to add: He wasn't talking about Norway in general, just about this remote island.

For anyone interested in the details, we had a thread about the Svalbards and the bear guns last year:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/firear...rway-post140797273.html?620624=#post140797273