Grizzly deaths

[Pucknuts61]

Sad story. It sounds like they did everything "right" too.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8371132/

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

Sad story. It sounds like they did everything "right" too.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8371132/

Not quite everything,
This was a Coastal Grizzly and they live on a diet of up to 95% fish. (depending which expert you ask) This explains their larger size compared to inland grizzlies. These people parked their tent right in the grizzly's front yard....and coastal grizzlies in particular don't like trespassers.

To me, camping along a river in Grizzly country is not much different than swimming in a pond full of piranha..... It's just a "Wilderness" version of Russian Roulette, and some people aren't as lucky as others.


Many people think bears are cute cuddly little animals put on this Earth for their viewing pleasure. That's what a NH man thought this past Wednesday afternoon when a 400 lb Black Bear strolled into his back yard. This came after two other recent visits by the bear to their birdfeeders. As he, his wife, daughter, and son-in-law watched it approach, his initial thought was "I've gotta go get the camera". While he was in the house his family watched in horror as the bear attacked their German Shepard about 40' away. Fortunately, the dog, a 120 lb trained Police dog was able to hold his own against the bear, he never got a scratch in the scuffle, but the bear lost a little hair. By the time the man went back to get a gun the fight was over, but the bear still made no attempt to leave the yard. After 4 warning shots had been fired the bear finally wandered (slowly) back into the woods.

This Black Bear has found a reliable source of food so he'll be back.

Note: This family thought that taking their birdfeeders down at night would stop the bear from coming round. Nope, he just visits during the day now. The birdfeeders still get put out during the day and the bear has been back at least once while they were away.

 

[TDawg]

Grizzlies

Well lets be serious, is anyone gonna hike miles into the woods to camp out of the bears front yard when they're on a rafting trip on the river? Doubt it.

 

[sardog1]

Not quite everything,
This was a Coastal Grizzly and they live on a diet of up to 95% fish. (depending which expert you ask) This explains their larger size compared to inland grizzlies. These people parked their tent right in the grizzly's front yard....and coastal grizzlies in particular don't like trespassers.

To me, camping along a river in Grizzly country is not much different than swimming in a pond full of piranha..... It's just a "Wilderness" version of Russian Roulette, and some people aren't as lucky as others.

Well, not quite. The site of the attack was on the Hulahula River in ANWR, which flows northward into the Arctic Ocean and lies several hundred miles from the "coastal" bears' habitat along the Gulf of Alaska. It's hard to get any farther from the aforementioned habitat and still be in AK unless you head out into the Aleutians. In other words, this was actually an Interior brown/grizzly (Ursus arctos) (albeit the same species as the large coastal bears).

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

TDawg,
I wasn't suggesting that they "hike miles into the woods to camp out".
I'm saying there are no woods where they were camped, and riverbanks along the Alaskan coast are known to be popular hunting/fishing areas for bears. My point was that if they had to camp in this area perhaps they should have had a larger group so they could afford to take turns "standing watch" while others slept. In the Land of the Midnight Sun, being out on the tundra they would have seen a bear approaching long before it was a threat.
I think there was a similar story last summer in the news about a photographer who brought his girlfriend up to camp literally amongst the grizzlies along a river bank. They met a similar fate. So...back to the second paragraph of my earlier post.

sardog 1,
First of all I don't claim to be a bear expert and the "95%" mentioned above most likely refers to U. a. middendorffi (Kodiak bears). I was referring to U. a. horribilis (the grizzly bear). By "coastal grizzly", I meant grizzlies near the coast, who due to their enviroment have a higher protein intake than say "inland bears". It's my understanding that these bears get bigger and are generally more aggressive than others of their kind. If that's incorrect let me know.

 

[Barbarossa]

Disclaimer:

This is second or third hand rumor, but it was acquired in ALaska, so it must be true ;]

When I was taking orders from Uncle Sam at Fort Wainwright, part of the Greater Fairbanks Metro area, people referred to bears 'South of the Range' as brown bears, and the conventional wisdom was that they were larger and meaner than bears 'North of the Range', which were referred to as grizzlies.

You just read it on the internet, folks. It must be true!

 

[DougPaul]

When I was taking orders from Uncle Sam at Fort Wainwright, part of the Greater Fairbanks Metro area, people referred to bears 'South of the Range' as brown bears, and the conventional wisdom was that they were larger and meaner than bears 'North of the Range', which were referred to as grizzlies.

It is my understanding that they are actually the same species.

But I'm hardly an authority.

Doug

 

[Jaytrek57]

I think there was a similar story last summer in the news about a photographer who brought his girlfriend up to camp literally amongst the grizzlies along a river bank. They met a similar fate. So...back to the second paragraph of my earlier post.

That was Timothy Treadwell, a controversially, "bear expert" that had some shows on the Discover Channel. "Lived" among the bears.

I have spent some time in Alaska, have seen Grizzlies up close. There are no guarantees. I have been told/trained for extended, basecamp type trips in AK, one is foolish not to bring electric fencing, this was from local BC folks....along with some firepower (guns).

Camping along rivers and river banks is quite common in AK.

Predatory bears, the wisdom is to fight back with everything you have.

These stories always help re-educate me. My prayers w/ the families.

Peace.

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

Disclaimer:

This is second or third hand rumor, but it was acquired in ALaska, so it must be true ;]

When I was taking orders from Uncle Sam at Fort Wainwright, part of the Greater Fairbanks Metro area, people referred to bears 'South of the Range' as brown bears, and the conventional wisdom was that they were larger and meaner than bears 'North of the Range', which were referred to as grizzlies.

You just read it on the internet, folks. It must be true!

I wasn't disputing that grizzly bears are smaller than brown bears.

Brown bears meaner than grizzlies! Well I read it here on the internet, so it must be true , but I find it hard to believe. I thought grizzlies were second only to the polar bear in their "meanness". (and I've thought that since before the internet was invented ) Speaking of which, I saw a picture recently (on the internet ) of a polar bear attacking an American nuclear submarine. That's one baaddd bear.

'South of the Range'?
Brooks Range, Alaska Range? It doens't really matter. There are grizzlies in Yellowstone, that's South of both Ranges.

 

[Barbarossa]

As I said, this is just the conventional wisdom, as I understood it. The 'range' in question is the Alaska Range. It sounds like what you are calling coastal grizzlies are the same as what I heard called brown bears.

I'll leave the expertise to Marlon Perkins. I don't relish the idea of a bear encounter of any color.

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

Barbarossa
As I said, this is just the conventional wisdom, as I understood it. The 'range' in question is the Alaska Range. It sounds like what you are calling coastal grizzlies are the same as what I heard called brown bears.

It's late, maybe I'm confused.
Did you think I was referring to the South coast, The attack mentioned in the first post took place on the North coast of Alaska, lots of room for (North) "coastal grizzlies" and "inland Grizzlies".

Much of what I know about Grizzlies is from an essay I wrote in the 5th grade. It was my first essay, I got an A on it so it must be right.

Edit:
From Marlon Perkins-Mutual of Omaha's Wild kingdom

The coast of the North Pacific is home to some of the largest grizzly bears known to man. Stretching up to 15 feet tall, these Aleutian Grizzlies would challenge the size of most SUVs. Despite their size, however, cinematographer Andreas Kieling captures a gentler side to the enormous grizzlies that wander this stunning land.

Even Marlon Perkins agrees with me.

 

[Backcountry Exp]

It's late, maybe I'm confused.
Did you think I was referring to the South coast, The attack mentioned in the first post took place on the North coast of Alaska, lots of room for (North) "coastal grizzlies" and "inland Grizzlies".

'South of the Range'?
Brooks Range, Alaska Range? It doens't really matter. There are grizzlies in Yellowstone, that's South of both Ranges

Yes .. it DOES matter ... You are mixing up several bears and thier ranges. The fish-eating "coastal grizzly" you refer to is actually a sub species (Ursus arctos middendorfii .. or Kodiak Brown Bear) and lives around the Gulf of Alaska. One of the other posters accurately noted that its range is several hundred miles from ANWR, which is on the north coast and consequently where the attack took place.

Also, there are no salmon runs along the north coast of Alaska, hence, any grizzlies that happen to live along that coast do not have the same diet and/or feeding habits as thier counterparts 800 miles to the south.

It sounds to me that the couple in question did do everything right. they had a clean camp, according to reports. It was jusy a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong bear.

 

[Quack]

I saw a travel show about camping in Finland, it's the one with the British guy on PBS. Anyway, he went camping within the arctic circle and had to set up a trip wire around his camp that would set off a few of those scare charges when Polar Bears came to visit. He also had to learn how to use a very large rifle. Maybe it would be a good idea to rig up something like that when camping in Alaska?

 

[darren]

Speaking of which, I saw a picture recently of a polar bear attacking an American nuclear submarine. That's one baaddd bear.

You mean this picture? It is a polar bear trying to take a bite out of the rudder of a fast attack submarine. The sub had surfaced through the ice in the Arctic. The picture was taken through the periscope looking aft.

Now that is a SUBstantial bear!

- darren

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

I saw a travel show about camping in Finland, it's the one with the British guy on PBS. Anyway, he went camping within the arctic circle and had to set up a trip wire around his camp that would set off a few of those scare charges when Polar Bears came to visit. He also had to learn how to use a very large rifle. Maybe it would be a good idea to rig up something like that when camping in Alaska?

I agree! If I was going into grizzly or polar bear country, and everyone was going to be sleeping at one time, I'd want some sort of perimeter alarm in case the bears approached. How about a big electric fence like the one in Jurassic Park.


Backcountry Exp,

NH_Mtn_Hiker wrote
Brooks Range, Alaska Range? It doens't really matter. There are grizzlies in Yellowstone, that's South of both Ranges.

That was a joke, I'm sorry you didn't get it. OK, it was a bad joke.

I am well aware of the difference between kodiak bears and grizzly bears. Not all bears living around the Gulf of Alaska are kodiaks. Kodiak bears live ONLY on the Kodiak Islands. Other than the kodiak bears (which live only on the kodiak Islands) there are at least three other sub-species of brown bears living on the Alaskan mainland and other islands. At least two of them are generally referred to as grizzlies.

Some people, and especially the media, refer to all the mainland bears as grizzly bears. Others refer to grizzly bears and brown bears like they're two different species. Grizzly bears and Kodiak bears are two different sub-species of brown bears.

Myself, and many "bear experts" refer to the bears living along Alaska's coastal areas and islands other than the Kodiaks to be coastal brown bears or "coastal grizzlies"....and yes Backcountry Exp, these bears eat fish, though perhaps not as much as the Kodiak bears, and the "coastal grizzlies" tend to be bigger and more aggressive than their inland cousins.

darren wrote
Now that is a SUBstantial bear!

I apologize to the readers for this thread getting dragged out and a little off topic. I'm finished here, I'd be happy to discuss this further by PM if anyone desires.

 

[TDawg]

I agree! If I was going into grizzly or polar bear country, and everyone was going to be sleeping at one time, I'd want some sort of perimeter alarm in case the bears approached. How about a big electric fence like the one in Jurassic Park.

Or if you've seen the movie CONGO, a perimeter but also motion sensing auto-machine guns!!

 

[beverly]

More information

This attack was quite unusual, according to this new information. Read the article. It provides a lot more detail. They had taken every precaution, but were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were mauled, not eaten by a predatory bear. Very sad.

"All the indications now are it was a predatory attack. It just hardly ever happens," Fish and Game spokesman Bruce Bartley said. "Even more baffling is that these people had taken all the precautions."

The 300-pound bear attacked the campers in their sleeping bags and tore at their bodies but did not devour them, officials said. The grizzly was tracked and killed by North Slope Borough Search and Rescue officials who flew by helicopter to the scene from Barrow.
The bear's body is being taken to Fairbanks for a necropsy but showed no obvious signs of illness, injury or starvation that might account for the attack, Bartley said.
"It was apparently a healthy male, 5 to 7 years old, which adds to the mystery and improbability," he said.

In Alaska, about six people a year are injured by bear attacks, Bartley said. Two-thirds of them are hunters who surprise bears in the wilderness. Every other year, on average, somebody is killed, usually by a brown bear, he said. Usually the bear is defending itself after being surprised or is protecting its young or a fresh kill.
That's really not much, Bartley said, considering there are people all over Alaska's bear habitat, along with 35,000 brown bears and three times as many black bears.
"If bears wanted to eat you, they would. We'd lose one a day," he said.

The Huffmans were so careful with bears that they customarily stopped one place to cook and eat dinner, then floated on to a different site to camp, said Veronica Galvan, whose sister is married to one of three Huffman children.

Anchorage Daily News

 

[darren]

There is one other interesting point that I should make. Before I did a hike in a known grizzly bear territory in the CA Rockies, I talked to a Ranger about the large male grizzly bear in the area and the risks involved. The Ranger stated that if we had a group of 4 or more people then we should be ok. He stated that there has never been a documented bear attack on a group of 4 or more people. 4 is the magic number. The large male griz in question had stalked a group of 6 hikers for 2 days, but it never actually made contact with them. We did the hike, but only after we hooked up with 2 other people to get our group number up to 4.

Not sure if 4 would have made a difference in a tent. Although the tent would have been a lot bigger, maybe that would have been a deterent.

- darren

 

[audrey]

Well, Darren, that means that we'll be completely safe at Gathering 10.0. He'll never bother a large slowly moving mass of humanity. I'll be in the middle. I cannot fathom putting my life on the line by camping in grizzly habitat.

Of course, while I was alone on the trail in Death Valley last month, I began sensing that mountain lions were silently shadowing me. I would not do well among the bears.