Photo-BRENDA GRUNDT, WWW.WAWA-NEWS.COM
Posted on 07/22/2006 5:30:03 PM PDT by kanawa
A Waterloo man and his dog made a harrowing escape from the clutches of a vicious black bear Thursday while portaging near Wawa, Ont.
Tom Tilley, 55, killed the nearly 200-pound bear by jumping on its back and stabbing the aggressive animal with a six-inch hunting knife after his dog alerted him and distracted the bear.
"Love is a very powerful emotion and my thought right away was, 'You're not going to kill my dog,' " Tilley said yesterday.
"I really consider my dog a hero. Without that first warning I would have had the bear clamping down on my neck."
Tilley had planned on spending 12 days portaging through the area near Wawa with his American Staffordshire, Sam.
Four days into the trip, as he was making his third trip back to the water near Abbey Lake to retrieve his gear, he heard his dog growl and noticed the bear closing in on him. He said he did what he's been taught to do when a bear is close -- he starting waving his arms and slowing started backing away from the animal.
The bear moved off the trail, but a few seconds later reappeared, cutting off Tilley's escape route.
"That's when I knew I had a serious problem . . . I was lunch," he said.
Sam, who was behind Tilley before the bear moved up the trail, was now between the bear and his owner. Instead of taking an aggressive stance, the dog stood sideways blocking the bear's route.
"The bear took a few steps down the trail and clamped its mouth on the back of my dog," Tilley said. "By attracting the bear's attention like that and distracting the bear from me it gave me the quick opportunity I needed to run around to the back of the bear, get on its back and with my knife start stabbing it."
Tilley had recently purchased the knife that would save his life after reading the story of Jacqueline Perry, the young Cambridge doctor who was killed by a bear last September.
Perry's husband attempted to fend off the animal with a Swiss Army Knife -- the only weapon he had.
"When I read the report about her death, it really hit home to me that these things are possible," Tilley said.
"I owe her husband a real debt of gratitude because if I hadn't heard her story and got that knife, I wouldn't be telling this story."
After making sure the animal was dead, Tilley realized he had suffered a wound to his hand and Sam had two puncture marks on his back. He needed to get help, but was a two-day portage away from civilization.
Dragging his canoe across the short portage, Tilley paddled for about an hour before he came across a pair of Americans who happened to have a satellite phone.
They called for help and two hours later, a cargo plane arrived to take Tilley back to Wawa for medical attention.
He was treated and released from hospital.
News of his feat passed quickly through the small community, with a population of just over 3,000.
"He had a lot of cojones to do what he did," said Brenda Grundt, who operates the local news site Wawa-news.com and drove Tilley two hours back to where he'd left his van after the incident.
LUCKY TO HAVE KNIFE
"It's pretty amazing. Here's a guy that wouldn't be here if he hadn't happened to have a knife on him."
As for Tilley, it wasn't until he was back in his van alone with Sam that he took in the gravity of the situation.
"I just thanked God I was alive and that my dog was alive and cried a bit, but they were tears of thanks and relief," he said.
The Ministry of Natural Resources has sent the bear's body to Guelph and Ottawa for testing.
"It's very unusual for a bear to attack a person (and) pretty amazing this gentleman was able to kill it just with a knife," said Jolanta Kowalski, spokes-person for the ministry.
Because Wawa doesn't have a veterinarian's office and a specialist wasn't available to treat his hand, Tilley decided to push through and make the long journey home that night.
Back in Waterloo, news of his experience trickled back to amazed friends and family. Despite the danger, Tilley said the incident hasn't erased his love of the outdoors.
"My daughter says I'm not allowed to go up there anymore," he said with a laugh. " But I left my canoe there knowing I'll have to go back to get it."
Photo-BRENDA GRUNDT, WWW.WAWA-NEWS.COM
Will all the pit bull haters come out of the woodwork?
One of them already has on this thread. In case you are wondering who, it is the Texas 'deacon'.
Those are all good points, especially the one about singing to the bear.
*bows deeply*
I think we need to hear from Doug again!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/997796/posts
DFU SONG: Running Bear (Darwin winner eaten by Grizzly)
How tall was the bear when he went up on his hind legs? Can't tell from the photo you posted?
thanks for the ping. that IS impressive as hell!
Canmore Alberta street gang.
Indeed. Dog is man's best friend spelled forwards and backwards.
Can you confirm that the buck knife you purchased was the 119BR? Buck Knife - Special I think i need one of those :). I encounter bears all the time.
My latest bear encounter for example..wandered into my yard then the neighbors after I ran in and got the camera.
I also just briefly visited your posting history. Talk about prescient.
Your post on July 11
---------
Shortly after I returned home last year's trip a report came in that a young lady doctor had been killed by a bear in a remote spot that I had camped at. Her husband valiantly tried to fight off the bear with a Swiss Army knife. He was able to retrieve his wife's body but was unable to save her life.
This year I'm going more prepared, long fixed blade knife, bear spray, air horn and bear bangers. And of course my dog who would stand up to a bear if need be.
A few springs ago, while on a hike in the bush, a bear burst out of the brush not 12 feet in front of us and tore off down the trail. Thankfully away from us. I was caught flatfooted but the dog started to run after the bear. It was with some trepidation that I commanded him to halt and was relieved when he obeyed.
In California, a couple of families have been subjected to vigorous harrassement
(in the dark by chicken-sh-t "neighbors")...
because after routine measures failed to get bears out from under their
mountain homes...
they followed all the rules and had a state-approved hunter forcibly remove
the bears, killing some of them.
I suspect that some of the loons of Ontario wouldn't be far behind in this
sort of animal-worship sort of attitude.
I cried when I read this. Your love for your dog touches me very much. And what a great dog Sam is!
I am so glad that you are both ok. Thanks for sharing the story
Such an elegant arrangement obviates the necessity of closing with a bear , say by jumping on its back like Kanawa had to do. He was lucky the bear had a mouthful of dog.
Having said that, I believe that Kanawa's knife was obviously good for the job he needed it for, but I would have used a slightly longer knife, which I also carry on my belt in the wilderness, for the stab, or my camp axe, which is rarely out of my hands in the wilderness. I think that Kanawas accomplishment is incredibly brave and admirable, and very meaningful in a personal context to me. We had discussed in detail his possibility of tangling with a bear before he left on his trip, and he had run various scenarios through his head because of it, a great thing to do. Kanawa is not of the, "it couldn't happen to me crowd," a true frontiersman and man of nature or he would have died. This will likely have personal ramifications in his life that he might not have yet anticipated.
Tom Tilley, 55, killed the nearly 200-pound bear by jumping on its back and stabbing the aggressive animal with a six-inch hunting knife after his dog alerted him and distracted the bear.
Ummmm, skip the swiss army knife and get a six inch hunting knife...
I did misread that early on. Thanks for the heads up. My new knife will be a folding buck knife. We are working on finding a source to have it engraved! I like Kanawa Crockett, and there is this great one at the link. What do you think?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1670661/posts?page=304#304
Hmmm, what kind of sheath do you need for a trampoline?
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