Bear-caused human fatality In Yellowstone Park

msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 1 hour 8 minutes ago 2011-07-06T22:41:44
A man hiking with his wife on a Yellowstone National Park trail was mauled to death by a bear on Wednesday, the National Park Service said, noting it was the first such fatality in 25 years.

..The couple was about a mile and a half into the Wapiti Lake Trail when they came across a grizzly sow with cubs.

"In an apparent attempt to defend a perceived threat to her cubs, the bear attacked and fatally wounded the man," the park service said in a statement. "Another group of hikers nearby heard the victim’s wife crying out for help, and used a cell phone to call 911. Park rangers were summoned and quickly responded to the scene."

"Patrols are underway to clear the area of all backcountry users," it added. "All trails and backcountry campsites in the area have been closed until further notice."

The victim's name was withheld pending notification of family members.

"Our heart goes out to the family and friends of the victim as they work to cope with their loss," said Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk.

No Yellowstone visitors were injured by bears in 2010, the park service noted. "This is the first bear-caused human fatality in Yellowstone since 1986," it added.

Park spokesman Al Nash said park officials have not euthanized or tried to relocate the bear.

A mother grizzly did kill one man and injure two other people in an unusual night-time attack on sleeping campers just outside Yellowstone in Montana last July.

That bear was later trapped and destroyed because the attacks were considered to be unprovoked.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report

That is so sad. It certainly wasn't the bears fault, but that doesn't make it any better for the family.

Yes, how tragic for the family.

Anytime we go hiking in bear country I carry at least one canister of UDAP Bear Deterrent. It's a very potent form of pepper spray.

We have "bear spray", we got it years ago. I plan on throwing it away, as soon as I can figure out a way to let the trash folks know it's there so they're not surprised when they crush/shred things. The contents are, so I've heard, corrosive. Having a can decide to spring a leak in the basement isn't a pleasant thought. We had visitors a couple of weeks ago who went on to Denali for some hiking. Apparently you can now "rent" bear spray. We did buy them some bear bells.
(Old joke: How can you tell Black Bear scat from Grizzly Bear scat?
---- Grizzly Bear scat has bells in it.)

Having said that, while we camp down on the river we have a 12Ga magnum, 18" barrel, loaded with 1&1/4oz slugs just inside the door. My neighbor up the road swears by alternating slugs and 00-buckshot. Bears cruise the river bank looking for edible trash, salmon carcasses and moose calves on the hoof all summer long.

Terrible loss. Momma doing what momma suppose to do but still you hate to see it happen

Carrying of weapons is now legal in all Federal Parks. Not in buildings but out back you always need to carry one. If time allows I hope the ones that do carry in this situation would fire a warning shot before bringing momma down. I never leave home without mine.

We were at Yellowstone a few weeks back. Saw a grizzly about 200' off of the road. The park is so green and lush from all the rain and snow this year.

[url=http://i45.servimg.com

While we where camping in Wapiti, Wyoming last year a man was killed by a Grizzly bear just west of us. We see grizzly's between the park and Cody, Wy. every year, I think there's more of them outside of the park than inside. It doesn't stop us from going up there every year, we're just more aware of the possibility of an encounter and take precautions to minimize the risk. In fact we're leaving this hot broiler around July 25th to go up to Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana for 3 weeks, can't wait to get out of this heat for a spell.

Specktout,
Glad you are getting out of this broiler. We don't usually go out in the summer, but going north seems like the place to be.

Be careful.

Poor bear is just a little thing.

When hiking I carry a .357 magnum. Shooting an animal is the last thing I would want to do, but I don't want to be eaten either. There are many dangers out in the wild. Being prepared for these dangers is our responsibility.

I don't see any humor at all in any of the above posts.

No humor intended just stating cold hard facts. Everywhere I go I carry because of the people we have in society. Better to be prepared than a victim.

Maxtor - U have the correct idea and there is no humor in that idea just cold hard facts.

I certainly wasn't referring to Maxtor's reply.

I feel so much sadness for this family and for the man who died a horrible death.

Tater

And what is not said in this post is the bear carried the wife also. Dropped her without harm.

Maxtor wrote:When hiking I carry a .357 magnum. Shooting an animal is the last thing I would want to do, but I don't want to be eaten either. There are many dangers out in the wild. Being prepared for these dangers is our responsibility.

.357 will just put a dent in their egos and make them want to maul you even more. We've been told that with grizzlies, .44 mag is the minimum you should be packing. Some have chosen to purchase the newer SW500.

We take pepper spray into the back country with us, hope our aim is true, and that we're wearing a good set of sneakers. Or at the very least, can run faster than the other folks we're hiking with (jk).

Most of the time, we never even see signs of them, not even scat. They're typically more afraid of us than we are of them, except when they're suckling cubs. Then ALL bets are off. Their brain goes to a whole nuther place.

I truly believe the Yellowstone tragedy was a classic case of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

TC

[quote="TC"]

.357 will just put a dent in their egos and make them want to maul you even more. (jk).

Not true.... .357 magnum will end the issue as long as you place your shot, and that is also true of the .44 magnum.

Ok do you think you will have enough time to place your shot when a bear is charging you? A bear can run up to 30mph, which means he will be on you before you can even think about it.

I couldn't find anything about a minimum caliber relating to handguns and bears, put out by the State. I did find this:
"Select a gun that will stop a bear (12-gauge shotgun or .300 mag rifle)"
http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/safety/bears.htm

From comments I've heard from folks up here, most would prefer the biggest gun they can handle. Even a little black bear seems huge when you're hiding behind a bush, 50' away, armed with a frying pan (speaking from personal experience).

HookMeUp wrote:Ok do you think you will have enough time to place your shot when a bear is charging you? A bear can run up to 30mph, which means he will be on you before you can even think about it.

In your hypothetical question, there are too many variables. How close is the bear when it attacks, etc. etc. If you choose not to carry a gun, then you can choose to use hand to hand combat ,,, it has been nice knowing you...

Whether it is a .44 or a .357, if you do not "place the shot" you are in trouble with a grizzly.
Being a ex-cop, with many hours of practice, and a member of the marksman team, yes I think I can place the shot. As Bill said, a 12 or 10 gauge shotgun would be a better choice, but most people are not going to carry a shotgun when they are hiking in the back country. The best thing you can do is be aware of your surroundings and if you see a bear, turn around and move away from it.

It's a hot topic up here, closely watched, with maulings/fatalities here in town and with it's own section at the on-line version of the local paper.

www.adn.com/bearattacks

Here is the right way to fight off a bear.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjPsA8O3-EQ

Maxtor wrote:Here is the right way to fight off a bear.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjPsA8O3-EQ

That is funny! As far as hand to hand combat with bear, I think having a firearm of any caliber would give you better odds. My apologies if I offended you.

I agree. A 45 with head splitters at close range does wonders to a bears attitude.

HookMeUp - The worst thing U can do, as far as my limited understanding, is run when that 30 mile per hour bear is coming at U. That big 4 wheeler can move at lot faster then any of us 2 wheelers. And they can do it going around a hill 2.

There has just been another bear/human meeting in Yellowstone. A sow with two cubs. This one ended better. The man emptied a can of bear spray on her. This is the second use of bear spray this month. There was another similar one on July 2nd.

That is a much better ending.

Bear Attack at campground in New Jersey.

New Jersey is one of those states that I don't even think of when someone mentions Black Bears. Thanks for the link.

I hear they had to put a bear down in Yellowstone. Sad to hear a bear can be just plain mean.

August 22nd, 2011
Grizzly knocks down hiker on brushy Chugach State Park trail
www.adn.com/2011/08/21/2024983/bear-runs-over-hiker-on-chugach.html

August 21st, 2011
Bear drags teen camper out of tent at site near Fairbanks
www.adn.com/2011/08/21/2025292/bear-drags-teen-camper-out-of.html

July 25th, 2011
Grizzly attacks teens in wilderness school
www.adn.com/2011/07/24/1983379/grizzly-sow-attacks-group-of-seven.html

May 17th, 2011
Hunter in critical condition after mauling
www.adn.com/2011/05/16/1865935/grizzly-mauling-victim-hospitalized.html

Methinks something is not quite right with the post by peeer. Actually, I think it's a bot. None of peers posts make sense. Will a moderator take a look at them and consider banning?