Shed Hunter Killed/Grizzz
Elk
For some reason it seems early for bears to be out of hibernation?
Sad deal for sure, family man and all.
Prayers to his family,
Robb
Terrible tragedy. They had a beautiful family. Feel for the wife and kids.
Sad,
You guys spending a lot of time in Bear country be careful. Pair up and carry your weapon of choice.
it wasn't too early for that bear unfortunately. Maybe the reason he was out and the reason he attacked were related.
We need a grizzly bear season in a bad way . Every year more and more attacks!!
^^HUNT X2. Prayers go out to his family!
Awful.
Didn’t Montana open up a grizzly season?
Terrible. Father of 4. That drainage he was in used to hold 200 wintering bulls. There's maybe 30 in there now. Better chance to see a bear or wolf these days. Just sad all around. Too many bears is an understatement. These people pushing the protections are sick.
No Pat. There are no grizzly seasons anywhere in lower 48.
Such a beautiful family, very saddened to read this.
“ Since 2010, grizzlies in the Yellowstone region have killed at least eight people ”
That is 8 too many, in that region alone.
Apex predators require conservation, period.
Absolute tragedy for his family. Very sad.
Devastating. So sad. I feel awful for those children and for a now husband-less and lost wife. There’s a long road ahead for them. So so sad
Very sad in deed. It seems that bears aren't afraid of humans and each year you hear of this occur more and more. I'm sure a season won't happen until someone important is killed or injured, you know , a celebrity.
That's terrible. Did anyone read the comments after the article? I read the first two and couldn't stomach anymore. People are stupid.
Very, very sad...
I wonder if he had a gun (is that legal there) or pepper spray with him?
I didn't read the comments, but I have a good idea what to expect these days from people that live an artificial life, and that learn about nature from cartoons and anti hunting elementary school teachers... among other "reliable" sources.
I'd carry a gun whether it was legal or not. I can't imagine a worse way to die, and it could have been thwarted.
Very sad event. Wayne, I did read some comments, and many of those were sad to see also.
Pat…. Hell no. It was all set to go but of course derailed.
So tragic...prayers to the family.
"I can't imagine a worse way to die,..."
Maybe I'm weird, but I can't think of a better way to die. He was just too young.
Prayers to his wife, kids, family and friends.
I've always told my wife that if I die in the wilderness - that would be the way I would want it................ BUT ......... I can certainly think of better, less terrifying ways to die.
Hey guys. This family could use any help you can give. His wife and 4 kids will have a tough stretch ahead. Link to go fund me below.
https://gofund.me/3fe77520
Midwest, read about how long it takes a bear to kill you. Survivors often report hearing their bones crunch, sometimes they are scalped or the bear chews off their soft parts first.
That's terrible. Did anyone read the comments after the article? I read the first two and couldn't stomach anymore. People are stupid.
Sometimes I think it would be nice to slip away while I was out doing something I enjoyed, but usually I think that I would rather go peacefully with my wife and kids present so that they could all see that I was not alone, not afraid, and not in any pain.
We only know that this guy was alone, and I can’t imagine how much pain he was in or how terrified he must’ve been, and if that doesn’t break your heart for his wife & kids, I don’t know what’s wrong with you. Kinda makes you hope that he never knew what hit him.
No easy answer on Griz numbers. This guy went to a wintering area to find sheds. The bear probably went there looking for a winter-killed carcass and maybe saw the human as competition. That’s fair, I guess. I suppose we like to think that we are indisputably at the top of the food chain, and we just aren’t. Not saying that we shouldn’t carry defensive measures when we go out into places where our paths might cross. To be honest, whenever people and bears run into conflict, I want the humans to win; but I’m 100% OK with the bear surviving the interaction, especially sows, so they can teach their cubs to stay away from the 2-leggeds….
I thought most of the comments were ok. There are always some idiots but in this case I thought they were limited
Very sad for sure
you don't have to go to the article for stupid comments actually.
Thanks SBH
Quick link for the Go Fund Me, I'm in for a donation $$
Good luck, Robb
Reading more, he grew up one town over from here and attended regional high school in this town. The OP's link quotes a local Sheriff saying he and his friend were shed hunting. Sad story whatever the specifics.
It's one thing to 'protect' wild animals and another to let them become a menace to human life.
"The Yellowstone region spanning portions of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming has more than 700 bears. " (from OP's link)
What do the biologists think of that number?
It's well over 1,000 bears.....that has been reported recently. Most biologist I have spoken to think it's too many but in MT we don't value or recognize biologist opinions. Not really sure why we have them anymore actually. Game management is done in the legislature. Makes sense right?
Thanks for the link Robb. I hope everyone can help out in some way. Could easily be any of us that this happens to if you play in bear country.
I can't imagine going in the woods, in bear country, without a handgun. We don't have bears but I don't go in my own woods without a handgun. Beautiful family now without a father.
Prayers for the family. The numbers Matt mentioned are what biologists in Wyoming estimate too. It really is too bad the antis can judge shop until they find one that disagrees with all the biologists and stops a grizzly season from happening. And sometimes it doesn’t matter if a person has spray or a gun, they just aren’t able to get it into action quickly enough.
Gut wrenching. Heart aches for the family. FYI the thread title might be misleading. According to that article it is not known whether he was shed hunting or not. Since there was a mention of shed hunting season before Dr Assinine piped up.
prayers for family Traveling on train from Denver to Salt Lake City saw 10 bears in Colorado and 5 in Utah a few days ago. They were all black bears Ya bears are out
Prayers for this man's family and friends. Very sad.
Very sad! SOmetimes bad $%#@ just happens and there is not much you can do about it! : (
I sure as hell wouldn;t want to go like that............................... my last thoughts would probably be of my family or friends finding what was left of me.
TTT
Just wanted to bring this up for those who missed the Gofundme link. It's rockn! Apparently still some good folks out there. That family will need as much help as we can give them. There are a couple different ones going right now it looks like but already over $100k has been donated. Warms my heart to see.
That is Great! for Go Fund Me amounts.
It looks like they lost a home to fire a few years back.........
Hopefully they can Keep The Faith,
Robb
Yes. Life has definitely been hard for that family.
FWP will not be pursuing the bear, as they deem it a chance encounter. So now there's an experienced man killer roaming around out there.
I think it’s a stretch to assume that had there been a hunting season that attack doesn’t take place I think it’s absolutely insane that that bear is not killed after killing
Kill the bear if for no other reason than thats 1 less bear. Add that it’s a man killer and why would they not kill that bear, stupid.
Isn't EVERY encounter with a Grizzly a "chance encounter"?! (unless you are doing something stupid like Treadwell)
unless you're hunting one then it's an intentional encounter that you've planned and prepared for.
its just a bear being a bear but it should die after eating someone.
Rule #1 hunting the Rocky Mountain west....You are NOT at the top of the food chain! I lived in western Mt. for 10 years...always carried a large caliber handgun. Actually I was more concerned with the sneaky Mountain lions!
bou I am pretty sure they base the encounter on the bear's behavior. If the bear doesn't consume any of the person it killed they consider it a chance encounter, if it does consume part of the person, or hangs around and guards their kill, they consider it predatory and then will go after the bear. Not sure how this distinction came about, nor do I agree with it. We've got plenty of grizzlies and killing a person crosses the line in my book.
That bear along with a lot of others need to be killed. We have too many. Everyone knows it. Getting to the point where you can't even go out in a lot of areas anymore without the high likelyhood of an encounter. I'm not saying they need to all be eliminated but we can bring the numbers down and also begin to teach them some fear of humans with some hunting as the best method to do it.
“ Isn't EVERY encounter with a Grizzly a ‘chance encounter’?!”
No. Sometimes the bears are deliberately and specifically following or stalking people. Like the radio-collared ones that were shadowing Elk hunters. Or bears that have been drawn into human contact by easy access to calories.
The problem with a hunting season to teach them some manners is that they’re unlikely to live long enough to pass along the lesson. So the message never really gets passed along to the rest of the population. So the population can be held down, but it doesn’t give the remaining bears a reason to avoid areas with lots of people in them.
They need to lose enough encounters to not want a re-match. Then sows teach their cubs. Then you have a generation of bears that wants nothing to do with us.
It’s good in theory, anyway.
I don’t want to argue Firearms vs Pepperspray, but Spray vs Defenseless seems pretty straightforward. They’re not gonna learn not to mess with humans if they always kick ass, and they’re not gonna share the knowledge if they’re dead. So JMO, Spray has a very valuable role to play. Especially in the hands of people who aren’t skilled with a firearm.
At the very least, it should be all but illegal to venture into Griz turf without SOME kind of effective deterrent.
I think you meant 1 bear per 28 square miles.
There Are not 28 chipmunks per square mile let alone bears!!!!
Yes sir and there's very vast areas they simply do not live. Some areas have way more than one in 28 sq. miles.
So it’s important to size up an area the way that you would if you were going to hunt it.
If it looks like a good place to hunt for them, then you had damn well better be prepared to run into one.
You’re not wrong to be prepared no matter where you are; as John Geirach once said, “there is a great deal to be said for knowing how to take care of yourself in a situation in which some care must be taken.”
