Leaderboard

The angst and frustration? I ENJOY my time in the woods. And I'll continue to venture out until I'm too old and crippled to do so. Might as well pack my guide gun along just in case.

That white thing is weird.... Loved the knock in the second video! That was super loud!!!! And loved all your thoughts about flashlights, safety, etc. And there might be some other stuff in that second video. Possible eyeshine at 00:00-00:02, lower left corner. Eyeshine on the right at 00:27. Stick break at 1:06-1:07 (unless that was you). Thanks for sharing those vids with us!

The morbidly ironic part is that a day or two before he became a snack, he was filming a bear that he had nicknamed "Ollie" and can be heard asking on camera, "Oh, Ollie bear is angry - is Ollie bear going to eat Timmy?" I believe that his subsequent death was attributed to the bear known as "Ollie." Not sure how it is out west, but in the northeast there certainly seems to be a pattern of activity in one area, followed by a lull, followed by activity in a distinct and different area. Almost like hunter-gatherers had exhausted a food supply, left, then came back to the same general area. Or one group moving out while another moves in, but keeping a safe distance between the groups to avoid conflict. While I haven't come even close to an encounter, this ... silliness? ... diversion? ....hobby? ... gotten me out into the woods more than I otherwise would have been, and gotten me to volunteer w/a S&R group. Now if I can just avoid my frau pushing me down a steeper cliff the next time...

Plussed. Stoopid! Angst and frustration? More like Brer Rabbit's line "don't throw me in the briar patch" !! Nowhere I'd rather be than out in the woods. MIB

I would suggest taking parts of the body, maybe the foot, a hand and the head rather than the whole thing. Log the GPS co-ordinates and cover the body with the tent material and secure it to try and dissuade other predators - you can always buy a new tent but you might not get this chance again. Take photos and video of the body and you amputating the hands/feet etc. as evidence. Contact someone like Jeff Meldrum and email him the photos - I'm sure he'll be eager to meet up and take the parts off your hands and examine the remains of the body. Have a written agreement that the good Dr can take the scientific credit (naming the species etc.) if you can take x% of the royalties to placate your better half . Film the whole episode - or if you're with a partner or small group which would be sensible when hunting an unknown quantity have someone filming as you're taking the shot - and preferably documenting the expedition. Then if a number of other creatures move in and take the body away you would have some very good evidence - it should be pretty obvious if it's a real occurrence. You could also probably be able to take a blood or tissue sample depending upon the damage the bullet did. If they didn't come back immediately you could set up a couple of trail cams overlooking the body to capture and creatures that come to investigate - if you didn't already remove the body.