Posted on 08/26/2012 11:20:17 AM PDT by jazusamo
A grizzly attacked and killed a lone backpacker in Denali National Park and Preserve on Friday after the man encountered the bear next to a river and lingered there snapping pictures, according to the National Park Service.
The death is the first fatal bear mauling in Alaska in seven years and the only one in the 6-million-acre park's recorded history, going back more than 90 years, the Park Service said.
"It's an extremely rare event, and it's not common that we even have injuries related to bears," said park spokeswoman Maureen McLaughlin. "We don't see a lot, and we think some of that is due to our education."
But the man -- identified late Saturday as 49-year-old San Diego, Calif., resident Richard White -- apparently ignored key parts of that education, which the Park Service says he received prior to heading into the Denali wilderness, in part of the park where there are no trails. Photos on White's camera showed he stayed near the bear, instead of leaving the area, as required by his permit, park officials said.
Alaska Wildlife Troopers assisting park rangers shot a large male grizzly Saturday believed to have killed White and cached his body the day before, the Park Service said. The rangers had been unable to recover White's remains for more than 24 hours, but retrieved him late Saturday, a park spokeswoman said.
It was Friday afternoon, when three hikers on a day trip found White's backpack on a gravel bar along the Upper Toklat River, about three miles from a rest area of the seasonal road that runs through the park, the Park Service said. Looking closer, there was evidence of a violent struggle: blood and torn clothes.
(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...
Reminds me of a funny story:Guy hunting elk in grizzly country. Indian guide asked him what his backup weapon was. Hunter replied:".357 Magnum." Guide said,"Did you file off the front sight?" Hunter said,"No. Why?" Guide says,"So when the bear shoves it up your ass it won't hurt as much."
Yeah. People belong in cities and should be made to stay there where they won’t disturb the wildlife. /s
“Yeah. People belong in cities and should be made to stay there where they won’t disturb the wildlife. /s”
No, what I said is the government should not take over our natural land and kill animals that do something they don’t want it to do. People could then make their own decision whether they want to go there or not.
It was violent and it was a struggle; but a grizzly bear encounter with an unarmed man is definitely not a violent struggle.
Looks like grizzly bears also shit in open fields, too!
Someone should take that Treadwell pic and photoshop it so that Treadwell is holding an “Eat Mor Chikin” sign, like in the Chick Fil A ads.
I really wish that they wouldn’t kill the bear involved, though they always do. It was only doing what bears do.
It wont do anything to protect them, but it might make them palatable to the bears.
Shooting pictures will not stop a bear. Shooting a gun will. Not only did this guy’s own stupidity cost him his life, but it cost the bear its life, too - and it was only being itself. It sucks that they had to kill the bear.
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