Posted on 09/12/2023 6:06:14 AM PDT by Red Badger
A Navy veteran and businessman is in critical but stable condition following a bear attack Friday in Montana in which the bear tore off the man’s lower jaw, his family said Sunday.
Rudy Noorlander, 61, was helping a hunting party find a deer when the attack occurred, his daughter KateLynn Davis said in a statement. The hunting party had rented all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) from Noorlander’s snowmobiling and ATV rental business, Alpine Adventures, in Big Sky, for the hunt.
Noorlander encountered a bear and instinctively drew his firearm to scare it away “but before he could even have time to react, a different 10-foot tall and far more aggressive bear was on him,” Davis said in a GoFundMe statement. Noorlander reportedly took aim but his gun misfired. Left with no chance to pull out his bear spray, he took to defending himself with his fists. The bear mauled him and “gave him as [sic] what Rudy describes as the most disgusting french [sic] kiss of his life before biting down and tearing off his lower jaw,” per the statement.
Emergency responders were able to airlift a still fully conscious Noorlander to a nearby hospital and then to the University of Utah Hospital.
Davis’s fundraising campaign for Noorlander’s healthcare costs has garnered $14,950 as of the time of this report.
Noorlander had to narrate the attack on a whiteboard for Davis, the Montana Trappers Association said.
Investigators deemed the bear attack defensive, having discovered a cached animal carcass near the attack site, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said. The bear reportedly was not found, and the attack site, within the Custer Gallatin National Forest near Big Sky, remained closed.
“Montana is bear country,” they also warned in a separate statement, adding that the increasingly fecund bears are in their foraging season which overlaps with the hunting season. They also offered tips on avoiding bear encounters.
A bear that killed a woman July 24 and injured a man back in 2020 was euthanized Saturday after breaking into a house with its cub in West Yellowstone, Montana.
Just don't put your tent next to a deer/elk carcass.
*** Noorlander had to narrate the attack on a whiteboard for Davis***
How does one narrate an attack with a ripped off jaw? I’m assuming he drew it out on the whiteboard. Or did she draw while he grunted?
At any rate, it’s jaw-dropping, quite literally.
This time of year bears are preparing for hibernation and will eat anything and everything the can get their paws on.............including you..................
Gun misfire...?
🤦♂️🤷♂️🤦♀️🤷♀️👍..........................
Murphy’s Law......................
Yuppers
But you do your best and I’m
Sticking with a revolver.
Bobbed hammer with 180gr Bear Repellent.
That's tough to defend against even if his weapon had fired on the first bear.
Wheel Gun needed here!
“Nobody needs ten bullets to kill a bear!” - Andrew Cuomo, paraphrased............
Just like “The Revenant”.
Never seen the movie...................
When the bears start breaking into houses, I think more proactive measures need to be taken.
The others couldn’t shoot the bear?
Read the book before I saw the movie. In real life the guy had a pretty bad ending.
Notice that this hasn’t made national headlines.
If it had been a shark nipping a surfer’s big toe, it would be national news.
Many more people are killed and maimed by bears every year than sharks, but sharks have better agents.....................
4... 3... 2... 1...
Well, that ain’t nothin’! I remember back in ‘73 when I was hiking across the Rocky Mountains when I was attacked by 3 bears!
He shoulda known sumthin’ was up and already had his gun drawn!
Gun jammed? Dang, I woulda had that pea shooter field stripped and cleaned before the first twig snap!
Newbie! Never go into bear country with anything smaller than a .50 caliber, that’s what I always say!
Well, when I was tilling my 800 acres in Montana, Spring of ‘82, Ol’ Bessy stopped in her tracks and snorted cause she sensed something wrong. I smelt it too and steadied my hand on that holster when suddenly a momma Grizzley charged outta the woods! Good thing I had my S&W 500 on me. Never go out the door without it!...
A friend hunts deer/elk there. Besides his rifle, he carries a 10mm pistol
I told him he should also carry hand grenades. Would be a good way to scare a bear from a short distance.
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