First fatal grizzly mauling at Denali National Park

[Warbird]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/26/california-man-dies-in-first-fatal-bear-attack-at-alaska-denali-national-park/

  I've hiked all over the back country of this park and know exactly where this happened.  You don't hike alone in the river valleys because that is where the majority of the bears are.  This guy obviously didn't follow the mandatory training he was given beforehand and broke every single rule regarding a bear encounter.  Sad.

[Murphydog]

Not good when you come across grizzlies,if they get that close there can only be one winner.

[Warbird]

Yup.  I don't want to disrespect the deceased so all I will say is that he went against the mandatory Park training and broke all the rules.  The saddest part is that it ended up costing both his life and the bear's.  There was some discussion that a second bear also ate on ...  well, don't want to get too graphic here.  They may have to kill a second grizz, too.

[asy]

How devastating and sad.

I'm also sad for the bear, I don't understand why they had to go and shoot it. It did nothing wrong. Another animal, weaker than itself, wandered into his area and didn't have the sense to leave while he could have.

I feel sorry for the man's family, and it's an awful thing to have happened, but, I don't see why the bear had to pay the price.

When we were in Denali, our bus stopped about 50ft from a family of bears (they were right near the road) and we were allowed to take photos, but, the bus driver stopped, stood up and said that even though we're in a bus, no-one's to hang out windows or anything, they're wild bears and we're just food.

Makes me mad when people blame animals for behaving like the animals they are.

[asy]

Warbird, I don't understand, why would they 'have' to kill the second grizzly if it had fed off the guy?

I mean, they're wild bears, they aren't like a pet dog that's gone nuts, they're wild, if people don't know enough to keep away from them, surely that's the people's bad luck? (and I agree with you, I don't mean disrespect to the man who died here, just talking in general).

I get just as cranky when people go swimming in the ocean, get bitten by a shark, then say the shark has to be killed. I guess I also get cranky when people move in next door to a factory then complain about the noise from that factory.

Understand what you're getting yourself in to, and be responsible for your actions.

[beenthere]

Checking the contents of that bears stomach was a lot easier with it dead. Mighty risky if up and about.

Still plenty of bears and they don't want any that have a human appetite, and are trying to keep it that way. Thus the apparent search for the second one that had a human for lunch.

Now they have some publicity to ramp up the excitement over their tours.

[doctorb]

I may well be talking out of my other end here, but the over-riding thinking here is that bears that are a nuisance are tranquilized and moved.  Bears that have been documented to have attacked humans are killed.  Bears are creatures of habit.  If a mother bear taught her cubs that humans were a good food source, then that news may be spread to their young and so on.  In general, they kill when the opportunity presents itself.  You don't want to teach them to seek out that opportunity.  Like Warbird said, those guidelines and mandatory teachings are there for a reason...a lesson we just re-learned.  Sad all around.

[wdtik]

Taking pics at 50-110yds from a grizzly or any bear for that matter
is risky business.  But I've done it a time or two, hard to hold the camera
steady with a big bear walking towards you and he hasn't seen you yet, at
10 paces away and closing your heart feels like it's going to explode...

Grizzly's won't/don't have to back down for anything.  The grizzly population
us growing and their range is growing in w. mt.  I heard about an encounter
way out in the prairie east of Choteau in June, a guy was changing a flat tire and happened
to look up and see a big griz lopeing down the road towards him..he quick jumps into the truck
just before  the bear came up and walked around his truck sniffing the doors ect..before leaving. 
This is in irrigated farm country not the forest.  The bears get fat on barley and alfalfa.

Bow season starts here next week, there will likely be a number of maulings again
from grizzlys.  Bow hunters camo'ed/scented up making elk sounds while hiding in the bush...

My next dog will likely be kalelian bear dog since we now have grizzlys in the area..

[Warbird]

asy, to be very blunt in answering your question, a bear that gets a taste for human flesh is a very dangerous thing.  This is why they are killed.

wdtik, per the local paper, they are comparing the pictures the man took with the actual area where the mauling occurred and are now saying he was even closer than 50 yards.  Also, they are now stating they are confident that only 1 bear was involved.

"We know for certain the bear we killed is the bear that killed the backpacker," Webster said. "I'm very confident no other bear is involved."

http://www.adn.com/2012/08/26/2600680/denali-hikers-camera-offers-clues.html#storylink=cpy

[reride82]

My girlfriend and I were driving southbound on  I-15 between Wolf Creek and Helena, MT last night and almost hit a small black bear and she was all excited about seeing a bear. I've been close to black bear in the wild while hunting, but not a Grizzly. I don't ever want to be close to a Grizzly. She thought it would be neat to see one, though. Nothing sets me on edge worse than hiking through the woods and seeing toppled boulders and claw marked trees.
wdtik, I couldn't stand being that close to a big bear like that. At least not without some iron between it and I, because even a gun won't stop that bear if you don't hit him in the right place.

[asy]

asy, to be very blunt in answering your question, a bear that gets a taste for human flesh is a very dangerous thing.  This is why they are killed.

Thanks James, that's what I was wondering, I guess my question was poorly phrased. I should have asked whether a bear who's already mauled one human would be any more likely to maul another human than a bear who's never mauled a human.

And, is there real evidence of this or is it just that people think that once-a-killer, always-a-killer?

I mean, I would have thought there would be easier prey for a bear than humans, but, I guess we're pretty slow and don't run real fast (compared to a deer, or moose)...

Thanks for the explanation, though.

[wdtik]

RR--The drive thru the wolf creek canyon is really amazing, the colors,
cliffs everything.  Bear are pretty common there, the big griz(600+ lbs) in the lobby
at FWP headquarters was shot on Sieben Ranch up on Mitchell Mtn. Their sheep attract
a lot of bears, they had one eating on their flock last month up on Fletcher.

 On one of your trips  I'd recommend a side trip thru
Lincoln and stop at the ranger station and check out the bear in the lobby--830 lbs!!!!
5" claws 8' tall.  Have your girlfriend stand next him and look at the size of his head...
I used to hunt up Alice Creek NE of Lincoln years ago with a buddy bow hunting up Silver King.  He was
bugling what he thought was a squeeky young bull---he call in a huge grizzly that was
bugling--- sounding exactly like a spike bull...  The bears from the lincoln area are moving south
into our area, they've been seen along us12 along the little blackfoot river.  There are no berries
at all, no apples nothing for the bears this year..There's a huge grizzly up blackfoot meadows not too
far from me..I won't go fishing in the alders in the evening anymore up there..I got lots of bear stories...
and a few pics too..

[Warbird]

asy, it is about the bear's fear, really.  Once a grizzly bear loses it's fear of humans and has a taste for human flesh, it's a bad, bad deal.  An enraged and hungry grizzly is a force of nature you don't want to be near.  The only thing more scary that I've personally seen, is a polar bear with no fear of humans.

Did I tell you the polar bear stories from my time in Barrow, when you were visiting us?  Separate topic but still, you just don't mess with creatures that large, which possess that much fury and killing capacity.  Sadly, in this case, the blame rests squarely with the hiker who broke all the rules.

[asy]

Thanks for explaining, I understand much better now.

I really feel sorry for the bear. Yes, for the guy and his family too, but, the bear really did nothing wrong.  I do understand, now, why it has to be killed. Well, that or close the park entirely (which I would hate to see happen).

You didn't tell me the stories of your time in Barrow. I think you were saving those for when you guys come to Australia

[Warbird]

It would certainly be awesome to come visit.  It will be a couple of years, though.  The only thing more terrifying than an enraged grizzly is a 2 year old toddler confined in a plane for 10+ hours! 

[blackfoot griz]

Anybody ever watch the movie "Grizzly Man"?  Timothy Treadwell documented on film countless hours of Grizzlies in Alaska. He spent something like 13 years filming--up close, very close at times--numerous Grizzlies in various areas of Alaska. In the end he and his girlfriend were killed and consumed by by the very subject(s) he was filming.

After spending much of my life in Grizzly-inhabited country and having a ton of respect for them, it seems to me that Mr. Treadwell took chance after chance and was warned countless times. 

[Den Socling]

I Googled Treadwell and found this. http://www.yellowstone-bearman.com/Tim_Treadwell.html Very interesting read but they died a horrible death.

[Warbird]

Let me say this, about that:  You can't fix stupid.  Eventually, it fixes itself.

[Warbird]

More details on the Denali grizzly mauling:

http://www.newsminer.com/view/full_story/19974924/article-Park-rangers-return-to-site-of-fatal-bear-mauling-in-Denali-Park

Very sad.  He left behind a wife and 21 month old daughter.   

[fuzzybear]

asy, it is about the bear's fear, really.  Once a grizzly bear loses it's fear of humans and has a taste for human flesh, it's a bad, bad deal.  An enraged and hungry grizzly is a force of nature you don't want to be near.  The only thing more scary that I've personally seen, is a polar bear with no fear of humans.

Did I tell you the polar bear stories from my time in Barrow, when you were visiting us?  Separate topic but still, you just don't mess with creatures that large, which possess that much fury and killing capacity.  Sadly, in this case, the blame rests squarely with the hiker who broke all the rules.

  Also bears are hunters, they will take down a moose if they have the energy to spare. They will let a potential food walk away If they feel it will require more energy than what they have.
 Once a bear has hunted a human/ killed a human they are left with the impression of that kill. They then realize that humans require VERY LITTLE energy to hunt. This is not a good thing for an area where people frequent.
  Initial contact with bears that have never had human contact is a tricky thing. Bear spray teaches them that humans have a defence that is painful and they want to avoid.  Bear bangers do the same thing, but a large grizzly may become more enraged after the bang. Especially if they have had contact before, a bear banger is just noise and they know it.
FB