MSN's website told a story of a kid that fought with a brown bear and lived to tell. If you want to read the story, the following link should work: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4840163/
Another Bear Story
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1ADAM12
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The rest of the story
Sounds like he had food in his tent that sparked the attack!
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Teen camper fights off brown bear
SOUTHEAST: Rice-A-Roni in tent may have sparked attack.
By MARY PEMBERTON
The Associated Press
(Published: April 27, 2004)
A 15-year-old boy on a wilderness expedition for emotionally troubled youths woke up to find a 400-pound brown bear sow with a bad attitude sitting at his feet.
The Barrow boy thought at first that a camp counselor was rustling around at the foot of his tent Saturday morning on Deer Island in Southeast Alaska. But when he figured out it was a bear, the teen, keeping his wits about him, tried to slip away quietly.
The bear would have none of it.
"It seems that pretty calmly (the boy) wriggled his way backward out of the back of the tent as the bear was going over the top of the tent," state trooper Adam Benson said Monday. "They kind of met up at the back of the tent. The bear came down, mouth open, toward him."
Benson said the boy put up his right arm to fend off the sow. She bit his forearm, leaving two puncture wounds.
The boy decided to fight back -- a risky approach to take, particularly with a brown bear, the trooper said.
"He told me he punched the bear half a dozen times with his left hand" and the bear let him go, Benson said.
When the teenager got up and tried to run, the bear bit him again on the right side of his torso, just below his ribs, this time leaving half a dozen puncture wounds on his back, Benson said.
The boy punched the bear again a couple of times, and again she let him go.
"He jumped behind a little cluster of trees and kind of played keep-away with the bear," Benson said.
During one of the turns around the trees, the boy remembered that he had an air horn in his gear and grabbed it on the run. He blew the horn in the bear's face. The sound woke up the other counselors and boys in the camp, said Steve Prysunka, director of the six-week Crossing Wilderness Expeditions for Youth program.
Prysunka said counselor Willy Hollett stepped between the boy and the bear and hit her with pepper spray. The bear reared up, and he sprayed her again; then the bear reared up once more.
In the meantime, another counselor fired a flare at the bear's feet, finally causing her to turn and run.
The boy was taken to the program's floating camp, a barge with a lodge anchored about one-eighth of a mile away. An emergency medical crew arrived by float plane about 30 minutes later to take him to Ketchikan General Hospital, where he was treated and released a few hours later, Prysunka said.
Benson said he was at the hospital when the teen was brought in on a stretcher. He was sitting up and looked relaxed.
"He told me it didn't hurt," Benson said. "I would attribute that to a pretty good shot of adrenaline."
Prysunka asked that the boy not be identified in news reports.
Late Saturday afternoon, another trooper and a couple of U.S. Forest Service employees returned to the campsite area, found the sow and killed her. There were no signs she had any cubs with her.
Benson said the counselors the evening before had checked on the campers to make sure no food had been left out to attract bears.
The boy had some Rice-A-Roni he wanted to keep.
"He said: 'No, don't take this. I'm going to eat this in a little while,' " Benson said. "Apparently he fell asleep before he got it done. There was some food left at the foot of his tent."
The boy was being sent home to give his wounds time to heal, Prysunka said.
"I think he is the biggest, baddest thing in the woods. He punched the bear," Prysunka said.
Sounds like he had food in his tent that sparked the attack!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Teen camper fights off brown bear
SOUTHEAST: Rice-A-Roni in tent may have sparked attack.
By MARY PEMBERTON
The Associated Press
(Published: April 27, 2004)
A 15-year-old boy on a wilderness expedition for emotionally troubled youths woke up to find a 400-pound brown bear sow with a bad attitude sitting at his feet.
The Barrow boy thought at first that a camp counselor was rustling around at the foot of his tent Saturday morning on Deer Island in Southeast Alaska. But when he figured out it was a bear, the teen, keeping his wits about him, tried to slip away quietly.
The bear would have none of it.
"It seems that pretty calmly (the boy) wriggled his way backward out of the back of the tent as the bear was going over the top of the tent," state trooper Adam Benson said Monday. "They kind of met up at the back of the tent. The bear came down, mouth open, toward him."
Benson said the boy put up his right arm to fend off the sow. She bit his forearm, leaving two puncture wounds.
The boy decided to fight back -- a risky approach to take, particularly with a brown bear, the trooper said.
"He told me he punched the bear half a dozen times with his left hand" and the bear let him go, Benson said.
When the teenager got up and tried to run, the bear bit him again on the right side of his torso, just below his ribs, this time leaving half a dozen puncture wounds on his back, Benson said.
The boy punched the bear again a couple of times, and again she let him go.
"He jumped behind a little cluster of trees and kind of played keep-away with the bear," Benson said.
During one of the turns around the trees, the boy remembered that he had an air horn in his gear and grabbed it on the run. He blew the horn in the bear's face. The sound woke up the other counselors and boys in the camp, said Steve Prysunka, director of the six-week Crossing Wilderness Expeditions for Youth program.
Prysunka said counselor Willy Hollett stepped between the boy and the bear and hit her with pepper spray. The bear reared up, and he sprayed her again; then the bear reared up once more.
In the meantime, another counselor fired a flare at the bear's feet, finally causing her to turn and run.
The boy was taken to the program's floating camp, a barge with a lodge anchored about one-eighth of a mile away. An emergency medical crew arrived by float plane about 30 minutes later to take him to Ketchikan General Hospital, where he was treated and released a few hours later, Prysunka said.
Benson said he was at the hospital when the teen was brought in on a stretcher. He was sitting up and looked relaxed.
"He told me it didn't hurt," Benson said. "I would attribute that to a pretty good shot of adrenaline."
Prysunka asked that the boy not be identified in news reports.
Late Saturday afternoon, another trooper and a couple of U.S. Forest Service employees returned to the campsite area, found the sow and killed her. There were no signs she had any cubs with her.
Benson said the counselors the evening before had checked on the campers to make sure no food had been left out to attract bears.
The boy had some Rice-A-Roni he wanted to keep.
"He said: 'No, don't take this. I'm going to eat this in a little while,' " Benson said. "Apparently he fell asleep before he got it done. There was some food left at the foot of his tent."
The boy was being sent home to give his wounds time to heal, Prysunka said.
"I think he is the biggest, baddest thing in the woods. He punched the bear," Prysunka said.
Sounds like the kid didn't realize how serious it was to have food. Sorry to hear the old 'smell of food' problem come up again. But then, with brown bears, we ARE food. I'm still glad to hear the kid made it through but sorry the confrontation killed the bear.
CatskillsYeti
New member
Has anyone heard of a bear or bears ripping open cars in the ADks or Catskills to get at food inside?
I know bears out west have done this, so when I got to the trailhead for Indian Head Mt. last Wednesday and realized I had leftovers from an in-car breakfast I had picked up on the Thruway (it was pretty horrible), I drove a few miles to find a secure place to get rid of the remains. It cost me about 30 minutes, but was I being overly cautious? I'd appreciate any opinions.
Pete
I know bears out west have done this, so when I got to the trailhead for Indian Head Mt. last Wednesday and realized I had leftovers from an in-car breakfast I had picked up on the Thruway (it was pretty horrible), I drove a few miles to find a secure place to get rid of the remains. It cost me about 30 minutes, but was I being overly cautious? I'd appreciate any opinions.
Pete
TomEske
New member
Hey Pete,
Daytime break-ins are rare in these parts, just like in the city I guess. HOWEVER, last year I was spending a week away from the world at our Scout camp in the Blackheads. The camp EMT had done a hospital run the night before and stopped at one of those fancy coffee shops on his way back and got hisself a super-duper-whatever-they-make-there thing. Well, he didn't finish it, and left it in the cup holder. He also left a window cracked open.
The next morning, he had muddy bear tracks all over his new Saturn, and the beast had scratched the paint pretty bad with his rear claws trying to get in through the window. He was pretty ticked (the EMT, I don't think the bear much cared).
The very next night he is sitting in the First aid lodge (the EMT)when this bear (perhaps the same one) comes up to the back screen door and is huffing and sniffing at all the odors coming through the screen. The EMT quietly gets up and walks to the door and peeks at the bear, which looks up at him calmly. The EMT then reaches out with his leg and kicks at the door with all his might, whacking the bear sternly in the snout. He (the EMT) grabs a crutch (it was handy) and chases the bear through the woods screaming at him.
I think he figgered if he had to pay for a paint job he was gonna get some satisfaction.
We see so many bears up at the camp that you kind of get used to them and give them room (well, most of us do). 2 years ago I saw at least 2 bears per day, 7 days in a row.
Happy Hiking,
Tom
Daytime break-ins are rare in these parts, just like in the city I guess. HOWEVER, last year I was spending a week away from the world at our Scout camp in the Blackheads. The camp EMT had done a hospital run the night before and stopped at one of those fancy coffee shops on his way back and got hisself a super-duper-whatever-they-make-there thing. Well, he didn't finish it, and left it in the cup holder. He also left a window cracked open.
The next morning, he had muddy bear tracks all over his new Saturn, and the beast had scratched the paint pretty bad with his rear claws trying to get in through the window. He was pretty ticked (the EMT, I don't think the bear much cared).
The very next night he is sitting in the First aid lodge (the EMT)when this bear (perhaps the same one) comes up to the back screen door and is huffing and sniffing at all the odors coming through the screen. The EMT quietly gets up and walks to the door and peeks at the bear, which looks up at him calmly. The EMT then reaches out with his leg and kicks at the door with all his might, whacking the bear sternly in the snout. He (the EMT) grabs a crutch (it was handy) and chases the bear through the woods screaming at him.
I think he figgered if he had to pay for a paint job he was gonna get some satisfaction.
We see so many bears up at the camp that you kind of get used to them and give them room (well, most of us do). 2 years ago I saw at least 2 bears per day, 7 days in a row.
Happy Hiking,
Tom
pocahontas
New member
Has anyone read the book "Among the Bears: Raising Orphan Cubs in the Wild"? This book is by Benjamin Kilham who is a woodsman & naturalist --he lives in Lyme,NH.
He has the opportunity to raise two orphaned cubs, but does it in a way so that they can be assimilated back into the wild ... (not as pets) & still "do the things that bears do" without being too 'familiar' with humans.
As you read the book, you feel that you are learning the bears' behaviors & habits right along with Mr Kilham. He does things by
trial & error. The way that they bonded with him as their "Momma Bear" is absolutely amazing!
What impressed me most was the amount of intelligence that bears posess, it is more than "instinct" with them! I learned so much about their habits: how they eat, mate, learn to den for the winter---& what those scratches on the trees are that we all notice on hikes!
Now when I'm hiking, I have found myself looking around for more signs of their presence.
What a GREAT book---highly recommended if you want to understand & know more about bears & their behaviors!
I hope you find it as fascintaing as I did!!
He has the opportunity to raise two orphaned cubs, but does it in a way so that they can be assimilated back into the wild ... (not as pets) & still "do the things that bears do" without being too 'familiar' with humans.
As you read the book, you feel that you are learning the bears' behaviors & habits right along with Mr Kilham. He does things by
trial & error. The way that they bonded with him as their "Momma Bear" is absolutely amazing!
What impressed me most was the amount of intelligence that bears posess, it is more than "instinct" with them! I learned so much about their habits: how they eat, mate, learn to den for the winter---& what those scratches on the trees are that we all notice on hikes!
Now when I'm hiking, I have found myself looking around for more signs of their presence.
What a GREAT book---highly recommended if you want to understand & know more about bears & their behaviors!
I hope you find it as fascintaing as I did!!
Jaytrek57
New member
Have seen this person (Kilham) on various tv shows (specials/wgbh/public access). There on every now and again.
Has incredible insight to bear behavior and his experiences are just inspiring. Basically a caring, individual....naturalist...whose dedication to these animals is surpassed only by his genuine devotion.
Have not read the book...but will put it on my list. Thanks for the heads up.
Has incredible insight to bear behavior and his experiences are just inspiring. Basically a caring, individual....naturalist...whose dedication to these animals is surpassed only by his genuine devotion.
Have not read the book...but will put it on my list. Thanks for the heads up.
funkyfreddy
Well-known member
Last summer in Maine I parked at a dirt road near Bigelow and went into the woods for 4-5 days. When I returned I found a small crack in my wind shield and a bunch of scratches and paw prints on the front hood of my "vintage" vehicle. It was a bear, sure enough, attracted to something inside my bomber.
As my car is an eye sore, a hideous piece of #$# that I park on the streets of NYC, I wasn't too upset. Looks like hell but still runs - the perfect car to leave at a deserted trail head in the backcountry!
As my car is an eye sore, a hideous piece of #$# that I park on the streets of NYC, I wasn't too upset. Looks like hell but still runs - the perfect car to leave at a deserted trail head in the backcountry!
pocahontas
New member
Jaytrek57
Thanks for the info about Ben Kilham being on those chanels, I don't sit long enough to watch a lot of TV, so I think I miss most of those programs!
In the book, they did mention that he has had National Geographic come to his place numerous times to film his (and the bears) activities!
THAT I would love to see!
I'll have to pay more attention to the listings!!
Thanks so much for your input!!
Thanks for the info about Ben Kilham being on those chanels, I don't sit long enough to watch a lot of TV, so I think I miss most of those programs!
In the book, they did mention that he has had National Geographic come to his place numerous times to film his (and the bears) activities!
THAT I would love to see!
I'll have to pay more attention to the listings!!
Thanks so much for your input!!
Grumpy
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