Bear Mauling Denali Highway

[Tee_Jay]

Bear attack reported at Mile 68 of the Denali Highway.

[lizzie]

naturist wrote:
I don't know if it's true, but I have been told that dogs attract bears. The bears see them as possible lunch.

No,no it's alligators that dogs attract. lizzie

[4X4Dodger]

toedtoes wrote:
Update

Apparently the man and his companion were hunting bear when he got mauled by the bear...

Ah! Karmic justice.

[dave17352]

I wonder if the bear had the proper permit!

[Chiefelectusn]

Great photo Sue T

[2gypsies1]

Sue - you've never been threatened by a bear because you shoot it with a camera, not a gun.

Love your photos!

[sue_t]

SteveAE wrote:
Leave them alone and, more than likely, they will leave you alone. They are beautiful creatures. Enjoy their presence and take joy in knowing that there are still wild places left for them to live.

I photograph bears and have never been threatened by one. http://yukonsights.ca/Bears.html

Even spent a few moments with a rare Glacier Bear (a white Black Bear) in Yukon

[tonymull]

Maybe just me but I found the meat to be tougher and definitely had less, like no fat, compared to a fall bear. They are much easier to hunt, stand out on the snow, than in the fall. But I don't hunt any more, just judging from bears taken by buddies. I've seen some spring hides that were pretty thin in places too. Probably dependent on the shape of the bear when it hibernated. Some are very mal nourished when the come out.

[MORSNOW]

fishhogg wrote:
It is actually the best time to hunt bear. They have not ate all winter, meat is prime as well as the hide.

^^^^This is correct.^^^^ The man was and hunting 68 miles in on the highway which is still snowed in which means he probably accessed the area on snowmachine. Not an easy hunt by any means, and the fella was 77 years old!

For those who have not driven the Denali Highway, there are many pullouts and gravel pits with free camping all along the highway, but you will not see a bear-proof trash can in any of these (you haul it in, you haul it out camping). There may be bear cans in the forest service campground on the western end of the highway but I've never stayed there.

[fishhogg]

tonymull wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
Update

Apparently the man and his companion were hunting bear when he got mauled by the bear...

Spring bear hunts....many reasons they are a poor choice. Especially in the far north.

It is actually the best time to hunt bear. They have not ate all winter, meat is prime as well as the hide.

[SteveAE]

I am probably going to catch flack for this, but here goes:

So you are wake up from a deep slumber by ugly, smelly, and noisy creatures in your home. You try to run, you try to hide, but they keep coming after you. So what option do you have but to protect yourself with your bare paws? Then, after one of the ugly creatures kills you, the first thing out of the local news is that a viscous homeowner mauled a poor defenseless creature.

Stories like this one, just serve to sensualize the "attack" and add to the misperception that bears are out "hunting people"....which couldn't be further from the truth. So while I hate to see a creature in pain, I don't feel sorry for the hunter. Poor bear.

Leave them alone and, more than likely, they will leave you alone. They are beautiful creatures. Enjoy their presence and take joy in knowing that there are still wild places left for them to live. (I am not a rabid environmentalist either)

Regarding hanging food, forget it unless the tree is quite high and even then, I have seen bears batting at food bags in trees many times. Use electric fences, bear barrels or other IGBC (International Grizzly Bear Council) approved containers.

Remember, when you see me up there this summer, hitchhiking either before or after a trip in the bush, please consider giving me a lift. I really am not a monster.....though if it is after the backcountry trip, I am likely to be pretty darn hungry so hide the little dog 🙂

OK, may the sticks and stones fly.

[tonymull]

toedtoes wrote:
Update

Apparently the man and his companion were hunting bear when he got mauled by the bear...

Spring bear hunts....many reasons they are a poor choice. Especially in the far north.

[tonymull]

naturist wrote:
Hey, while we're on the subject of bears, if you are going camping in bear country, USE THE FLIPPING BEAR BOXES or learn how to stow your food in the trees.

I'm camp hosting in May in a National Forest Service campground in the Blue Ridge Mountains, just like I did last year, and you wouldn't believe the people who simply do not believe a bear would bother their tent, their campsite, their cooler. Be safe, don't feed the bears. And save yourself the several hundred dollar fine for leaving food around your campsite where the bears can get it.

While I agree with you, I don't remember ever seeing a bear box in Alaska.

People need to understand that if you're hanging your food, do so a couple of hundred yards, a long way, from camp. Otherwise you just have a very frustrated bear in camp. In real bear country you set up a separate cook camp a hundred yards or more from sleep camp.

[2gypsies1]

Well...guess the bear showed who was boss.

[toedtoes]

Update

Apparently the man and his companion were hunting bear when he got mauled by the bear...