Posted on 06/03/2018 7:31:16 AM PDT by marktwain
In online discussions of bear attacks, it is not unusual for people to claim that a person is more likely to be killed by lightning than to be killed by a bear. That is true, in a gross sense. You are also more likely to die of a heart attack or to be murdered than to be killed by a bear when you use the entire United States population as a measure.
This comparison is disingenuous. It is easy to avoid being killed by a bear, simply by staying out of areas where there are bears. Lightning strikes occur all over the United States. Significant bear populations are limited to a fraction of the United States. The relative danger of bears and lightning depends a great deal on where you are.
I looked up lightning deaths in areas where there are significant bear populations. What I found was startling. Wyoming is rated as the most dangerous state for lightning deaths, per capita. Wyoming is also one of the top states for fatal bear attacks.
During the decade from 2004-2014, there were two deaths from lightning strikes in Wyoming. During the same period, four people were killed by bears. At least for that decade, for Wyoming, bears were twice as likely to be the cause of death as lightning. The number of people killed by bears has been rising in the last two decades, while the number of people killed by lightning is falling.
Consider Alaska. Lots of bears, and lots of lightning. But Alaska has had zero, zilch, nada people killed by lightning since 1990! During the same period, 1990 to 2014, 16 people were killed by bears in Alaska.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
Bear. The claws have it
Yeah...yeah tht’s right! But you gotta watch out for sharks with laser beam eyes!
You are out hiking and get hit by lightning.
A bear shows up for the barbecue and enjoys his picnic....
Course there was that old mountainman tale about he was wrastlin a grizzly when suddenly the grizzly was stricken by lightning!
People have been struck by lightning and lived. Very few people attacked by bears survive.
While I’m not a paying customer, the above photo is from Photobucketguess they still like me!
Don’t know. Plenty of Youtube demos tho...
Bleeding chicks are a definite liability when camping.
Did you sense a threat from humans on your Alaska trips?
You referenced it a bit in your post.
I took the fiancé there a few years back; we drove all over, and I got the definite sense that the state was populated with a lot of white trash folks who did not necessarily possess my law-abiding values.
A few times our spider senses tingled overtly because of rough dudes.
Let’s cut to the quick:
A pack of lions vs. a Grizzly bear.
;^)
Well, I could go in to some detail with you on the direct chat which I’ve never used.
But, in my case, I am, at times, a hundred miles from ANYBODY and by myself. Before going downriver my first year, some “good” natives warned me. They said “Mr. T, approximately 4 guys per year go missing on the Yukon (2,200 miles long)” Some of our bad guys run into a lower 48 type like you “on the river” and they think cash and booze and stealing your boat. And, too often, somebody dies.
So, yes, I’m very careful and your assessment is largely correct.
For the record though, the First Nation folks I have encountered saved my butt several times and I think the world of all of them as a class of people. Like all classes though, there are some bad ones and being alone on the river my Remington 870 with triple ought buck magnum loads has one round in the chamber and off safety whenever anyone approaches me on the river. Fortunately, it’s all good so far.
At night, it never gets completely dark so that helps a lot.
You mention folks missing. LOTS of people go missing all over Alaska every year. Drowning is probably the biggest, but bears and accidents too. And guys just going away so as to avoid child support. Those 16 deaths in the article probably are confirmed kills. I was on a job in Alaska and the guy mentioned bear deaths are probably much higher.
At some site a bear attacked, so the folks went to go hunt and kill it. It had the remains of two other humans in it - I’m not sure if they were able to determine who they were or not.
. .well, trust me, I worry about bears a lot! But, I worry about 2 legged animals a lot more. They shoot back and from a long way away in some cases.
The 4 I was referring to just disappeared. Your right, probably a mixture of bears and bad guys and accidents.
I have had a couple serious incidents in 7 years. I just can’t talk about them on FR.
Bear smells next meal.
Lightning will cook you, but it won’t eat you...
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