And another Grizzly shot

[KodiakBeer]

They have pictures this morning.

Little guy.

http://www.adn.com/2010/05/31/v-gallery/1301997/dog-intervenes-in-grizzly-attack.html

 

[zxcvbob]

Buy that dog a steak dinner (maybe a bear steak) and don't skimp on the baked potato.

Good dog.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

yup good dog! though dogs can be problematic they are on a bears menu and i would defend my dog

 

[WardenWolf]

Yeah, that guy did what he had to. In a city, warning shots are BAD. But out in the boondocks in Alaska, as this guy was, warning shots are far more acceptable. He did the right thing in trying to avoid killing it, but when a bear is that aggressive and shows no fear of humans, killing it is the only option. Good on him for ridding us of a dangerous animal.

 

[KodiakBeer]

Yeah, that's a good dog! A more common scenario is a dog barking at a bear until it gives chase, then running back to the owner with the bear in tow. Bad dog!

 

[WardenWolf]

Yeah, that's a good dog! A more common scenario is a dog barking at a bear until it gives chase, then running back to the owner with the bear in tow. Bad dog!

You know, maybe my gamer side is showing, but my immediate reaction to that is, "Bear train!"

Note: in a computer RPG, training is the act of doing just that, running with dangerous things chasing you. Often towards other people, which can get unprepared people killed. It can be good if it's intentional, but more often is very, very bad.

 

[KodiakBeer]

I have a little Aussie cattle dog mix. She stays close and doesn't chase rabbits or deer. When she smells most animals, she perks up and barks a couple of times, but when she smells a bear she bristles and makes a low throaty growl and gets behind me or the wife. Time to go!

 

[rmfnla]

Boxers rule!

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

Glad nobody was hurt.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

when she smells a bear she bristles and makes a low throaty growl and gets behind me or the wife. Time to go!


smart dog! one of mine is not that smart. and she'd lose with a black bear

 

[wishin]

I know very little about bears. This episode makes me ask how warning shots deter them? I presume it's the report of the firearm. And assuming that's so, are more shots generally more effective in keeping them at bay? What's the accepted practice?

 

[WardenWolf]

The accepted practice is, "Keep plenty in reserve in case you have to use them ON the bear."

 

[Double Naught Spy]

It can be the report of the firearm and the spray of dirt if the round is put into the ground in front of the bear.

How many works best depends on the reaction of the bear(s).

 

[Kman]

That little guy hasn't been away from mom too long, shame to have killed it, think caught and relocated may have been a better option but of course I wasn't there either.

 

[KodiakBeer]

With grizzlies, there are two types of a incidents. 99% of the time, you're dealing with a threat display and simply standing your ground and yelling is usually enough to deter any action by the bear. If you've got a gun, shoot into the ground. If you've got pepper spray, zap him. The threat display is a test or warning - you're too close! The bear puffs up, ears high, makes noise, etc. If you run, it will chase you. If you stand, you're pretty safe.

The other type of attack is much more dangerous, though fairly rare. I think this was one of those. Note that in the story above, the woman describes the bears ears as being down. Most Alaskans know that means a serious incident, so her mentioning it tells you she knows what she's talking about and was cool enough to take notice. And in this case, three shots only drove the bear away for a few moments and then it came back.

It's these young two and three year old grizzlies that are often the most dangerous. They've been kicked loose by the sow and haven't learned how to feed themselves yet. They're hungry and dangerous, particularly at this time of year before the berries and salmon are in.

I don't know much about black bears. There are none here on Kodiak, so I only see them occasionally on the mainland. They are very different animals and what I said above doesn't really apply to them.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

that sow charge with the 3 cubs her ears were down and back and several shots into the water right in front of her face stopped the charge

 

[KodiakBeer]

Some of you might find this picture interesting, if only to get a perspective on the relative size of Alaskan bears.

The five small claws near the top are from a black bear.

The center "middle sized" claw is from an interior Alaskan grizzly.

The large claw on the bottom is from a Kodiak grizzly/brown bear.

 

[Shadow 7D]

OK, so for most of the posters here, you could do yourself some good by going to Alaska Department of Fish and Game and reading what they have about bears, because most of you would loose ALOT of money and spend some time for poaching

Listen, if you have a license and it's legal, shoot it.
in defensive shoots against trophy animals, you can expect the F&G to climb up your butt to make sure it was a good shoot, and more than a few fishermen have learned that a few salmon would have been a good trade after ADF&G got done with them.

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

With grizzlies, there are two types of a incidents. 99% of the time, you're dealing with a threat display and simply standing your ground and yelling is usually enough to deter any action by the bear. If you've got a gun, shoot into the ground. If you've got pepper spray, zap him. The threat display is a test or warning - you're too close! The bear puffs up, ears high, makes noise, etc. If you run, it will chase you. If you stand, you're pretty safe.

No offense, but where do you come up with that percentage?

Assuming there is only a 1% chance that a charging bear will actually attack, I still don't think I would be happy with those odds. If a bear charges me, he better be prepared to deal with the consequences. He has to do what he feels like he must, and so do I.

I've only ran into a couple of bears (black) in my time, luckily for me and them, they seemed much more interested in avoiding me, and I did likewise.

 

[basicblur]

I don't know much about black bears

True or not I can't say, but this came from a park ranger:
GRIZZLY-if you're attacked, do the usual (fetal position, protect head, etc) but play dead.
BLACK BEAR-if you're attacked, fight like hell!

From what I'm told, often if a grizzly attacks and finds you uninteresting, after "playing with you a while" he'll probably head on down the road.
If a black bear attacks, he's in it for the kill.

'Course, this is assuming you're caught in a position of not being able to defend yourself-hopefully they won't get close enough to test it.

All we have in this area is black bears, and they're being increasingly spotted in areas where none have been seen for 40 years or more. We've already had a couple of incidents at homes-more to come!

 

[Shadow 7D]

it's more complicated than that
drop in place on a browns bluff charge and he is likely to attack (you need to part gracefully with your dignity in tact, i.e. beat a tactical retreat)
which is MUCH different than running away in terror, he is likely to attack

if he is hunting you / hungry and you pretend, he will eat you
if it is a defensive attack and you are no longer a threat, then you likely will get to drag you chewed hide out of there, hopefully before you die of blood loss.

Like I have said before, there is MUCH more to safety than what gun, a gun isn't a magic talisman of bear repellent and safety
it is a gun, and if you are stupid, it may or may not save you
but if you use it stupidly, I guarantee that ADF&G will own you

Bear Spray, is much more forgiving, and there is no carcass to drag out of the woods
(yes, I know it's only certain parts..) but like I have said, it saves you LEGAL hassles to carry bear spray, and if you do hit a bear with it, and it still attacks, well it still is going to save you legal hassles.

 

[KodiakBeer]

No offense, but where do you come up with that percentage?

From 20 years of dealing with bears and from reading just about everything written on bears by people who actually know something. There's one grizzly per square mile here, so if you walk in any direction you will run into a bear. Sometimes they just walk away, sometimes they make a threat display. Only once among those many hundreds of bear encounters did an animal actually attack. When that happened, it was so fast I couldn't even get my rifle leveled. All the other "iffy" situations were no different than dealing with a barking dog. You show him you're not afraid and he leaves you alone.

As pointed out (very well) by Shadow, there's serious legal consequences for not understanding basic bear behavior. In many areas you can simply buy a grizzly tag to take on your Caribou or moose hunt, then if you want to shoot the grizzly that acts like a grizzly, you can do so. But, for most of the year you're better off just trying to understand the animal and co-exist with them. You don't want to be complacent, but you can't just blaze away at will either.

 

[SuperNaut]

How many more threads will we have where the guys who have experience with bears are ignored by those who don't.

You have more to fear from stumbling upon a Grow Operation than a bear.

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

You have more to fear from stumbling upon a Grow Operation than a bear.

Bear spray doesn't work too good for those.

 

[Southern Rebel]

KodiacBeer, there seems to a little bit of inconsistency on your part concerning the first bear shooting and this one.

Why do you call the first man and woman stupid for being in the bear's territory and yet see no problem with a man and woman living in the bear's territory year-round?

(Granted that the second shooting probably was more justifiable, based on the bear's body language - I will defer to your knowledge in that respect.)