Posted on 06/04/2024 9:08:20 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
A grizzly that accidentally inflicted itself with a burst of pepper spray while attacking a hiker in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park won't be captured or killed because it may have been trying to protect a cub.
...the grizzly bit into the man's can of bear repellent and was hit with a burst of it, causing the animal to flee. The 35-year-old Massachusetts man, who'd pretended to be dead while he was being bitten, made it to safety and spent Sunday night in the hospital.
There was no word when Signal Mountain or a road and trail to its 7,700-foot (2,300-meter) summit would reopen after being closed because of the attack. Such closures are typical after the handful of grizzly attacks on public land in the Yellowstone region every year.
The decision not to pursue the bears, which officials determined behaved naturally after being surprised, also was consistent with attacks that don't involve campsite raids, eating food left out by people, or similar behaviors that make bears more dangerous.
The attack happened even though the victim was carrying bear-repellant spray and made noise to alert bears.
...the man said he came across a small bear that ran away from him. As he reached for his bear repellant, he saw a larger bear charging at him in his periphery vision. He had no time to use his bear spray before falling to the ground with fingers laced behind his neck and one finger holding the spray canister. The bear bit him several times before biting into the can of pepper spray, which burst and drove the bears away.
Investigators suspect from the man's description that the smaller bear he saw was an older cub belonging to the female grizzly that attacked.
He was expected to make a full recovery.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Funny how the bear spray worked in this incident.
There's some amazing self-control.
For sure. That took some serious will power.
He interlaced his fingers behind his neck to try to keep the bear from chewing your neck open. He had one finger was in a bear spray can loop. The bear chomped on his hands while going for his neck, punctured the bear spray, and ran off.
Can you believe this man’s incredible good fortune?
For your files.
Clearly God had a reason for keeping him alive.
Good fortune, undoubtedly. But also, knowledge of bears (that they will bite into the neck for a kill), that "playing dead" is a good idea, and holding the pepper spray in an area (his neck) that was a likely point of attack.
Good fortune favors the knowledgeable.
Agree.
When you read interviews with him. He says he froze when he saw the bear.
If he had time to turn drop down put his hands on his neck he had time to use the bear spray.
Any bear that attacks a human should be hunted down and killed.
They say it was a defensive attack.
What was the bear defending from this person was no danger to the bears.
In the eyes of the National Park Service the man provoked the bear by committing the crime of Existing.
If it was a cub, rationality has no place in it.
Mama bears are known for their aggression in defending their cubs. Doesn’t matter if WE know there was no danger. The bear didn’t know that.
However, if the bear didn’t have a cub and just attacked, then it does need to be put down.
I wonder, though, if he had time to go face down and interlace his fingers, how he did not have time to spray the bear.
Bear spray safeties are not intuitive. I have read of a few cases where victims were unable to remove the safety before they were mauled.
The vast majority of Mama bears are smart enough not to attack humans when the humans are not attacking them or their cubs. The vast majority of them run away.
The few hyper aggressive sows who attack humans should be killed and their cubs killed so their hyper aggressive genes do not spread through the population.
Cubs learn from their mothers. Mothers who attack humans are teaching their cubs that attacking humans is acceptable.
But was trying to teach him some sort of lesson along the way?
(E.g., After telling his GF he’d be back in an hour, but only turning around to return after an hour in to his hike?)
Then why say the bear was acting defensively.
Bears that attack humans should be taken out of the gene pool.
If the bear was defending a cub, then it was acting defensively.
No animal has the cognitive capabilities to wait and see if a real threat is being posed before defending. They work on the default option that something is out for its young.
The hiker said when the bear bit into the can of pepper spray he thought it was biting into his skull.
“...how he did not have time to spray the bear.”
You come around a corner, startle a bear, and the bear charges you at 30 mph. You have zero time. Often you don’t have time to unholster your sidearm, aim and fire.
This guy was making noise to scare away bears on the trail in front of him, but that didn’t work. I often scream and yell when I’m on trails by myself to scare away mountain lions. It seems to have worked so far. ;>)
Clearly God had a reason for him being bitten.
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