Fatal bear attack on experienced hikers in Banff backcountry was likely 'predatory'

[norseman]

1 hour ago, Huntster said:

 

Those are highly regarded in Alaska. I've never used one, but should because I don't haul my camp in on my back. I haven't heard that anyone has been attacked inside their tent while such a fence has been used, including in the arctic in polar bear country.

I haven’t either. But for sake of peace of mind it’s totally worth the cost. We did use a packers electric fence when in the back country with the mules. It used 4 D batteries. I was surprised how much punch it had. Especially in a wet green high mountain meadow!⚡️⚡️⚡️

[Catmandoo]

Some details that were published in 1998 that few campers look at:

https://www.bearsmart.com/docs/PepperSprayAttractant.pdf

 

The Treadwell story needs corrections. When I first heard about this guy, I called some friends in Alaska. They laughed when they heard the name. He was a California dude who worked in the restaurant trade and traveled to Alaska to take pictures of bears. Many people thought he was a foreigner. My friends told me that he started some kind of 'save the bears fund' which was a joke. The Katmai Brown Bears are happy and flourishing and don't need human help. Every one told him to stop what he was doing. I was told that he was a flaming homosexual. That brings up  the question of emitting testosterone or a lot of estrogen. That is why I ask about the sex of bears ( at birth ). Female Alaskan Brown Bears have a 'jealous female 'attack. Estrogen producers look out.

 

A similar bear attacked, killed and ate California animal rights activist Timmy Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard in Katmai National Park and Preserve in 2003 in a tragedy that made international news and sparked a documentary film.

That bear was a 28-year-old animal with broken canine teeth. It was described as “very old but not in remarkably poor condition.”

 

The Katmai Brown Bear gene pool is a smart bear. Wildlife officials were curious about the attack and checked the DNA of the bear in the Treadwell  attack. It was not of the Katmai gene pool and was labeled an "outside bear".

 

The Katmai bears have nice claws.

[norseman]

On 10/4/2023 at 4:25 PM, OldMort said:

Thanks Norseman, But I wanted to know if this is documented as happening specifically during the Paradise fire. 

 

I live in the adjacent town, none of us will ever forget that day. That fire moved so fast and in such a devastating manner that it seems that any burning jack rabbits were hardly a factor or concern. The wind was roaring downslope through the canyons to the east that day at over 45 MPH. The fire rolled down the hill, about 10 miles during the course of the day destroying 80 acres per minute, and was halted finally only by the wide asphalt boundary of Highway 99 less than a mile from my home. The suddenness and scope of devastation this inferno caused left only the options of rescue and recovery rather than any actual firefighting or attempts to save structures or property. There was simply nothing left. Paradise was a nice place. I lived there for a while many years ago...

 

I suppose some burning jack rabbits could have been shot during mop up during the ensuing days.

 

 

 

I was a volunteer fire fighter for 17 years. Animals being killed by wildfires is common. We had a firefighter one time had a snake drop out of a tree into his bunker coat. You never saw a man undress so fast in his life. Luckily it wasn’t anything poisonous.
 

You mentioned hwy 99 used as a fire line. That’s exactly where one rabbit on fire running across that highway could destroy your whole defensive line. 
 

I am sorry to hear about the devastation, my heart goes out to the people that suffered.

[OldMort]

It was a horrible fire Norse, and our county is still recovering from that day...

Burning jack rabbits! Yes, perhaps. it's possible but I just wanted a verification of some kind. 

We have had a few reports of BF here over the years but none during the fire or since.

I do appreciate your condolences for the tragic events a few years ago.

Edited October 8, 2023 by OldMort

[RedHawk454]

On 10/3/2023 at 1:27 AM, norseman said:

I wanna bash my head into the keyboard when people are eaten and the media is looking at the possibility the victims did something wrong.

 

Yes they did something wrong…..they didn’t fill the son of a gun full of holes! I would rather be arrested and my pickup confiscated than to be eaten by a Bear feet first…. Egads.

 

Chances are? They will destroy the Bear anyhow. A lot of good that will do the couple. But at least the government can say “Because humans are stupid we had to destroy the Bear”. Which they like better than people taking the law into their own hands to save their own lives.

 

It makes me sick….

 

 

Theyre canadian, even carrying nail clippers can land you in jail..

[RedHawk454]

.454 Casull hard cast wide flat nose to prevent this as much as i could

 

[norseman]

1 minute ago, RedHawk454 said:

 

 

Theyre canadian, even carrying nail clippers can land you in jail..

No. Actually I think Washington states Gun laws are more draconian than Canadian ones currently. One of our posters on here in BC can carry a SBR with no tax stamp or anything. 

Just now, RedHawk454 said:

.454 Casull hard cast wide flat nose to prevent this as much as i could

 

A Griz is no joke to be sure!

[RedHawk454]

1 minute ago, norseman said:

No. Actually I think Washington states Gun laws are more draconian than Canadian ones currently. One of our posters on here in BC can carry a SBR with no tax stamp or anything. 

 

really?  I thought the open carry of sidearms was illegal.

[norseman]

5 minutes ago, RedHawk454 said:

 

really?  I thought the open carry of sidearms was illegal.

It’s not illegal. You just need a special permit and show a need. But in how many US states is it illegal? Too many….
 

But if you’re packing a Marlin lever action SBR? No worries!👍 

[RedHawk454]

7 minutes ago, norseman said:

It’s not illegal. You just need a special permit and show a need. But in how many US states is it illegal? Too many….
 

But if you’re packing a Marlin lever action SBR? No worries!👍 

 

yeah, that special permit and need thing.

 

Even in weed loving, blue voting Colorado I can still open carry in the national forests and wilderness areas.  

[norseman]

28 minutes ago, RedHawk454 said:

 

yeah, that special permit and need thing.

 

Even in weed loving, blue voting Colorado I can still open carry in the national forests and wilderness areas.  

In Washington? I can no longer buy a semi automatic rifle from a very long list of rifles. I cannot buy a Glock with a 15 round magazine and I heard very soon I will need a special “license” to buy a firearm…..any firearm. 
 

We poke sticks at Canada, but we are in a free fall in many blue states. Our Bill of Rights? They don’t care. And we cannot vote them out because of cities…..

[Rooster-T]

Wow, that is a gruesome pic but drives the point home! 

I've spent lots of time in parts of Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina with a lot of black bears, but there's no comparison to grizzlys. That pic just makes me all the more certain that when I go out west, I'll have every bit of technology I'm allowed to carry to prevent a bear attack if I'm not allowed to carry a gun.

  

Edited October 10, 2023 by Rooster-T

[Huntster]

45 minutes ago, Rooster-T said:

Wow, that is a gruesome pic........

 

Looks fake to me.

[Chim Chim]

Exactly why the old-timers hunted them out when they settled an area, incompatible with human habitations nearby.  Our govt knows better now though. 😉

 

Lewis and Clark repeatedly had harrowing encounters with them, they called them white bears.  I bet they were really bold back then, the natives just did their best to avoid them.

[Rooster-T]

Maybe it's fake, but it gets the point across. A mad grizzly is no joke!

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by Rooster-T