Bear Attack on the Aug 23rd

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Mike
Posts: 108
Joined: Wed Jul 26, 2017 3:20 pm
Location: California

Bear Attack on the Aug 23rd

Post by Mike »

A 12 year old boy was injured by a grizzly sow with a cub in the Divide Trail area.The child was with three other family member when he ran from the bear and was knocked to the ground and sustained some injury.

Divide Trail area now closed while the NPS investigates



yellvet
Posts: 224
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2017 5:54 pm

Re: Bear Attack on the Aug 23rd

Post by yellvet »

Thank God the boy's parents had bear spray and knew how to use it correctly. One shot in the face and the grizzly sow took off. They were also hiking in a group of 4. So there ya go, I hope that every Yellowstone visitor and hiker will follow and take their lead. Whenever you're hiking in bear country, remember to hike with a group, make noise, always carry bear spray and be sure that you know when and how to use your bear spray safely and effectively. It's also a good idea to familiarize yourself with the trail before you hit the trail so that you'll know, in advance, where your exits to safety are, in the event you should have an unexpected bear encounter. This little boy is alive because of his folks. So I applaud them for their high level of bear awareness and for knowing what to do when encountering a bear on a trail. Can't begin to tell you how nice it was to read a grizzly bear story that had a good, good win-win ending for people and a Yellowstone grizzly bear sow and her cub. It doesn't get any better than that! :D



JennyA
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2017 8:50 pm

Re: Bear Attack on the Aug 23rd

Post by JennyA »

There were some other interesting happenings on the same day. My daughter, who was leading a client on a guided hike near Ribbon Lake, heard gunshots. Not know what to make of that, the two hikers eventually encountered several rangers with guns who were trying to haze a bear that had been coming too close to folks in the Artist Point area. My daughter and the other hiker continued on their hike, and some time later rounded a bend in the trail and were met by a bear headed their way as they turned the corner. Even though the hikers were making plenty of noise, the wind was blowing towards them, and perhaps the terrain blocked some of the noise they were making. When the bear, who was only a few feet away, saw them, rather than turn tail and run it actually headed toward them and picked up its speed. The hikers grabbed their bear spray, and luckily the bear veered off the trail just a few feet away from them as it passed. My daughter said this was as close an encounter as she had ever had or ever WANTS to have. Thankfully, they had bear spray but didn't have to deploy it and barely had time to pull it out of the holster.

Ironically, they met a ranger not too far down the trail who was aware of the incident that morning near Old Faithful, but wasn't up to speed with what was happening near Artist Point. And who knows if the bear my daughter saw was the same one that was being hazed.

I hope the boy that was injured is OK. These stories really REALLY drive home the unexpected and fast nature of some bear encounters. I am really glad to have heard her story in the first person and not be reading about it in the news.



yellvet
Posts: 224
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2017 5:54 pm

Re: Bear Attack on the Aug 23rd

Post by yellvet »

Thanks for the post, Jenny. A few years ago, a big cinnamon black came came out of the trees and walked up, right behind me, in the parking lot at Artists Point. :shock: I was taking pix of a bull elk. Luckily, my hubby saw the bear, waved and gave me the high alert. I've seen hundreds of bears over the years. But I can honestly say that most, if not all of them, were totally unpredictable. You never know with any kind of certainty what a bear is going to do, where it's going to go or when. So you gotta stay alert, always be aware of your surroundings and keep your head on a swivel. That goes for even the most experienced hikers. And, just because you hear a cracker/bean bag round being fired by ranger, don't assume that the bear has left the area. It might disappear for a few minutes or even an hour or for a day. But, chances are, it's gonna be back. Most bears have their own travel routes that they use. So if you were a bear, which of these would you use if you were walking in the wild? Would you take a human trail that was free of dead fall and debris or would you walk through the bushes and thickets where you stood a good chance of picking up thorns on the bottoms of your feet? Bears don't like getting hurt or getting sore feet any more than we do. So they're going to take the easiest and best travel routes. ;)

Sure glad your daughter didn't have a bad encounter. She may want to consider buying a chest holster for her bear spray. The holster is worn across the front of your chest so the bear spray is always accessible, facing out and is ready to use. No need to even take it out of the holster. A bear encounter happens so fast and so unexpectedly, that a bear could easily be on you before you even had a chance to get your spray out of a pack. Thought I'd pass on the chest holster suggestion because it really works.



JennyA
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2017 8:50 pm

Re: Bear Attack on the Aug 23rd

Post by JennyA »

Yellvet, thanks for the tip. The chest holster seems like a great idea. I'll investigate that and probably get her one. I know some folks who have attached bear spray using only velcro; I would worry a little bit about that getting knocked off under certain circumstances. My daughter is pretty savvy and bear-aware but was astonished at how quickly things happened. I guess it's one thing to know all of this in your head and another when it actually happens.



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