Posted on 10/26/2021 7:12:16 AM PDT by george76
A man was riding his bicycle along a riverbed in Alaska on Tuesday, when police said he was mauled by a brown bear.
As he was riding his bike in Cantwell, Alaska, the man, who police didn't identify, said he saw the bear running towards him from 10-15 yards away. He got off of his bicycle and started yelling at the bear.
"Just prior to the bear making contact, the victim fell to the ground and onto his back, covered his head and believes he kicked at the bear,
...
The victim estimated that the bear weighed 500 pounds and said he didn't "notice anything out of the ordinary prior to the mauling but did say he noticed bear tracks in the snow."
...
Troopers said that the man was carrying a firearm at the time of the attack but didn't use it.
...
On October 16, a hunter in Wisconsin was bitten by a black bear while perched in a tree nearly 20 feet above the ground. The bear climbed up the tree and bit the man on the right side of his back before retreating.
In September, a couple was attacked by a black bear while picnicking in North Carolina.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Sheesh. Reporters nowadays....
Did the bear take the bike?
If this was California and the value of the bike was under $1,000, the incident wouldn’t warrant a police response. Alaska is probably different.
You left out an important part. The husband deliberately, very carefully, aimed to avoid hitting the bear.
From the article:
Larry Kanuit reports that Michael was very careful *not* to hit the bear, for fear of enraging it. P. 251 “Some Bears Kill”
“Has a gun and didn’t use it????”
Running bear
10 yards
Think!
“A weapon does not good if you are not willing to use it.”
More that he didn’t have time! A running bear can cover 10 yards in one second.
“Then why bother? Sheesh. SMH”
Running bear at 10 yards. Unless you had the gun pointed in the direction of the bear BEFORE you saw him there was no chance to shoot.
"....and then where did he kick you Yogi?"
Many people have used their pistols to shoot bears, including grizzly bears, while they are being mauled.
“Yeah, that sounds like a much better move than staying on his bike and trying to outrun the bear.”
The bear was 10 yards away and running toward him. Most likely not from the rear.
He would most likely have to get off the bike to ti=urn it around.
The bear can outrun the bike easily. NO WAY could he circle the bike away having to go off the trail to do so.
“You left out an important part. The husband deliberately, very carefully, aimed to avoid hitting the bear.”
Not pertinent to the point I was making.
A 500 pound bear? Oh wait - it’s Alaska, not San Francisco. And I had such a witty remark that I will have to save for later.
Not pertinent to the point I was making.
Perhaps so, but it is important to anyone considering using a pistol to defend against bears.
“Many people have used their pistols to shoot bears, including grizzly bears, while they are being mauled.”
Drawing a pistol on a bear that is on you within a couple of seconds is very difficult. You weren’t there. Don’t judge him.
Maybe it was a water pistol.
“You left out an important part. The husband deliberately, very carefully, aimed to avoid hitting the bear.
From the article:
Larry Kanuit reports that Michael was very careful *not* to hit the bear, for fear of enraging it.”
The bear left. Thanks for recommending this tactic.
“Many people have used their pistols to shoot bears, including grizzly bears, while they are being mauled.”
How many?
You win da internets today.
+1
My guess it happened so fast that he didn't have time to draw it......
“My guess it happened so fast that he didn’t have time to draw it......”
Glad to see at least one other here has more than keyboard experience in the real world!
Since the brown or grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) and polar bear (Ursus maritimus) diverged less than 500,000 years ago, the polar bear has evolved unique traits to adapt to the Arctic climate and ecology,
"Just prior to the bear making contact, the victim fell to the ground and onto his back, covered his head and believes he kicked at the bear,..."
I did, he didn't.
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