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
You mean to tell me that you would rather this man die in the woods due to ignorance than have his faithful, heroic dog save his life?
You need to leave. No one here wants to hear your opinion about pit bulls. It's pretty apparent that you are wrong.
ME TOO! ME TOO!!!
What took so long?
Or did they need to ripen?
Like a hamburger ball?
Boy you assume alot.
LOL! I think you might be right...
Jeez...Another one....Presumptions are dangerous. Don't waste my time.
If the pit bull breed had been banned and he was up there alone or with a leashed, muzzled dog, you can bet things might have turned out different. What am I assuming? Should we ban them now that Kanawa is safe?
We starve, torture, maim, shoot, electrocute, and kill way more of them than they even bite us. We are the problem. This dog shares such a bond with Kanawa that he was willing to die for him, and the same for Kanawa. My dog is also a pit bull, but she would have hidden behind me, as she does around cats and guinea pigs.
Why come on here and turn this into a bash? Why not enjoy the fact that Kanawa is ALIVE and well, and his precious "dangerous" pooch is also.
I admit I saw that.
It was actually suggested that kanawa was just looking for a fight and just wanted to kill a bear.
No one goes looking for a bear armed only with a buck knife. Most people who are looking for a bear do their confrontation from a hundred yards with a high power rifle. The nutty ones shoot from closer-range with a bow, but not even a primal chest-beater like Ted Nugent goes ~looking~ to take out a bear armed only with a knife. You couldn't get close enough to most black bears if you tried. Any bear you can reach with a knife was stabbed in self defense. Without exception. Unfortunately, being Canada, and being that it's not hunting season, I'm not sure what kanawa's self defense options were.
If this happened to me, you bet your butt I'd take pictures, and you bet I'd post a thread to tell about it. Those pictures might even be necessary to document what happened, to both doubters and Wildlife Enforcement officers. They aren't in poor taste, they are what happened. The real life, unexpected, raw, violent and rare bear encounter this guy had.
What is a portage? How many times did you stab the bear, and where (the spine? The head? etc)? Does a bear $*!t in the woods when its got a guy on its back stabbing it to death?
The rule of thumb is that for grizzly bears, you play dead. With black bears, never, ever do that. They will eat you.
Aclimitization to wilderness environment. One's perceptions change and the loneliness of the wilderness often brings two people into a very high degree of intimacy. Me Tarzan you Jane? Well not quite, but you get the picture. The process takes time. Its a very rewarding experience for couples who enjoy the out doors and wilderness seclusion.
bttt!
Now that wisdom does not come from prosthetalizing but from experience passed down from father to son, mother to daughter, sometimes in the church, sometimes ouotside it.
All talk and no action makes Jack a very dull boy.
Why talk so much about it when you can go out in your yard and do it?
But by using the word God you have automaticaly created a separation......if you don't understand what I mean, sorry, I cannot explain it further
The Bear and God are one. There is no separation.Just as you and God are one. God is everywhere and in every thing, but it takes courage and perception to see this out through one's own burgeoning ego.
Now that wisdom does not come from prosthetalizing but from experience passed down from father to son, mother to daughter, sometimes in the church, sometimes outside it.
All talk and no action makes Jack a very dull boy.
Why talk so much about it when you can go out in your yard and do it?
>Healthy people who appreciate both human and animal nature can't help but be impressed with this story.<
Well said.
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