Free Republic

One of the significant advantages of using handguns to defend against bear attacks is that defense with a handgun is far more likely to result in a dead bear. This is a highly desirable result. Bears that attack humans should be killed. Killing aggressive bears is a way to condition the bear population to avoid humans.The false premise implicit in the argument for non-lethal defenses against bears is that there are such small numbers of bears that killing a bear removes a valuable resource from the bear genetic pool. This view had some legitimacy about 1975-1980, when the population of...

Two fatal bear attacks occurred in Arkansas in 2025. The first attack occurred on September 3, 2025, near the Mulberry Mountain area of north-west Arkansas. The second attack happened on October 1st or 2nd, near the Sam’s Throne campground near Mount Judea. The two attacks happened in or on the edge of the Ozark National Forest, about 45 miles apart.The last fatal bear attack recorded in Arkansas occurred in 1892, as reported from the May 10 edition of the Arkansas Democrat. From aktimes.com:Mountain Home, Ark., May 10 — Mrs. Mary Carter, a widow, with a small family of children, is...

The use of handguns to defend against bear attacks has been shown to be effective 98% of the time. This update details 16 more cases where a handgun was fired in defense against a bear or bears. In this study, all cases where a handgun was fired in defense against a bear are included. This guards against selection bias. Every case is described in detail, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. If researchers refuse to disclose the data used to support their papers, it detracts from the validity of the conclusions. Extreme accuracy or speed with handguns does not...

On October 8, 2025, an 82-year-old woman was attacked by an Asiatic black bear in the city of Daisen in Akita Prefecture, Japan. The attack was caught on video. The bear is presumed to be an Asiatic black bear because the brown bears (Ursus Arctos) in Japan are limited to the northern island of Hokkaido. Daisen and Akita prefectures are not in Hokkaido. Akita prefecture is on the largest of the Japanese islands, Honshu. Honshu has a significant population of Asiatic black bears. From the bear’s actions, it appears to be a juvenile bear that has not yet perfected its...

Montana has created a web page to track grizzly bear deaths in the state. The page is administered by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP). Mortalities on Tribal lands are not included in the FWP bear mortality database. From krtv.com: The site displays mortality information, including the various factors that contribute to grizzly bear deaths in Montana, outside of Tribal lands. Four grizzly bears have been killed in defense of self and others so far in 2025. Two incidents may be defensive, but are still under investigation.FWP estimates that, as of September 2024, there are about 2000 grizzly bears in...

Homeowner Uses AR-15 to Defend Against Black Bear in Home – VIDEO On August 20, 2025, Mrgunsngear posted a video on X. The video appears to show a homeowner moving downstairs with an AR-15 with a weapon light. The homeowner moves away from the camera, wearing only shorts. He goes through two doorways and nears the far wall. At this point, looking through the doorways, a bear appears to be moving toward him from the left to the right.The homeowner fires seven quick shots, and the bear drops. After the video, an image of a dead bear inside a house...

Information released by the US Fish and Wildlife Service shows the number of grizzly bears killed in defense of human life is 5-10 times greater than previously thought.On January 15, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a proposal to revise the listing of the grizzly bears in the contiguous 48 states. The proposal includes the most complete information on grizzly bear mortality to date.Studies to determine how effective various tools are in defending against grizzly bear attacks suffer from serious selection bias. If the defense is successful and no humans are harmed, the chance of the attack...

On June 21, 2024, Governor DeSantis of Florida signed HB87, restoring the right of people to protect themselves, their pets, and their homes against aggressive black bears. The law went into effect on July 1, 2024.From July to December 2024, FWC recorded four instances where people killed bears, but were not charged because of the new law. There were seven situations where people were charged with illegal kills. In 2021, during the same period, there were 17 illegal kills recorded; in 2022, there were seven illegal kills recorded during the same period. In 2023, there were seven illegal kills recorded...

On the evening of May 21, 2025, Justin Lee and his brother-in-law, John Long, were charged by a grizzly bear and were forced to shoot it in self-defense.They were hunting for mushrooms along Spring Creek, on a property owned by Justin, a few miles north of Choteau, Montana. Both men are longtime residents of the area. The creek has lots of mature cottonwoods, waist-high dead grass, and a fair amount of brush in some areas. Justin and John drove to the property on a side-by-side four-wheeler. When they were close to the area where mushrooms had been found, they parked...

Romania has the highest brown (grizzly) bear population in the European Union, and the highest number of fatal bear attacks. Russia has many more bears, including more in the European part of Russia, but most Russian bears are in Asia.A study using DNA, which started in 2022 and finished in 2025, is the most accurate measurement of Romanian brown bears. The study shows a brown bear population of between 10,419 and 12,770 in Romania, about twice the previously thought number.In 2021, estimates of the brown (grizzly) bear population ranged from 2,000 to 10,000. From rferl.org in 2021:The official number of...

The brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations of the world are essentially the same animal, although known by different names. The European brown bear, the Hokkaido brown bear in Japan, the brown bear in Russia, the grizzly bear and kodiak bears in Alaska, and the grizzly bears in Canada and the lower 48 states are genetically the same bear with minor variations. Brown bears are complex mammals that can learn and adapt. Brown bears quickly learn whether humans are dangerous or not. When brown bears are actively hunted, they learn humans are dangerous predators and learn to avoid humans. When the...

Few studies have examined the effectiveness of firearms in defense against bears. This may be because early experience with modern firearms against bears showed them to be incredibly effective compared to muzzleloading firearms, which were far superior to bows and spears.Before Christopher Columbus pioneered a regular and profitable way to travel to the Caribbean and the New World, Amerindians had difficulty defending themselves and their food against grizzly bears.Grizzly bears migrated into the area occupied by the 48 contiguous states a bit after humans, about 12,000 to 16,000 years ago. The bears originated in Europe and Asia, and had colonized...

A man shot and killed a grizzly bear Friday after it charged while he was shed hunting near Dupuyer in north-central Montana. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the man was searching for antlers on a brushy hillside when he first saw the bear. As he was leaving, the bear charged him at close range and he shot the bruin. The man was not injured. The adult female grizzly was healthy with no history of conflict. She was estimated to be 13 years old and weighed about 250 pounds. The sow had a single yearling cub that was found...

Timothy Treadwell was a controversial figure who insisted on approaching and viewing brown bears at close range for about 13 years. He did not carry a firearm or bear spray or any deterrents. From backpacker.com: Wes: Timothy thought he was the dominant bear in the ecosystem. I think he was past the point of accepting any input on that. I think he had convinced himself that they would never hurt him, and he was untouchable. Treadwell was repeatedly warned about the danger. From akfatal.net:Despite that, Treadwell refused to carry firearms or ring his campsites with an electric fence as do...

On March 21, in the Malá Fatra mountains near Bratislava, Slovakia, a European brown bear attacked a man who was hiking with his dog. The bear was reported to have had cubs with her. Mr. Piotr was carrying a mid-sized axe, which was used to clear brush and trim limbs.The axe appears similar to what we would have called a “cruiser” axe, about a 3/4-sized axe with a single-bit head. Mr. Piotr casually swings the axe as he walks along. It is something this correspondent often did while walking through the forest over 50 years ago. An axe is a...

Nunaga: Ten Years of Eskimo Life by Duncan Pryde 285 pages, 1971, Walker Publishing Company, Inc. New York, 1972 American edition. Available at Amazon from about $10 used. Nunaga is extremely well written, a riveting story of a young man from Scotland who goes to Canada in 1955, seeking fortune and adventure. He answers an ad for fur traders by the Hudson Bay Company.In 1955, eighteen-year-old Duncan Pryde answered the Hudson Bay Company ad. “Fur traders wanted for the far north,…single, ambitious, self-reliant young men wanted…” Pryde lived the Eskimo life for years, becoming adept at survival in the Arctic...

On May 20, 2022, Chad and Lacey Liske were getting ready for bed in their home near Medford, Wisconsin.Part of their routine was to take down their bird feeder to prevent damage by bears. Their house was invaded, and they were attacked by a 250 lb black bear. The incident was initially reported on AmmoLand on May 23, 2022. The Liske’s contacted AmmoLand with a detailed account this year. Their account is consistent with the AmmoLand report but includes many interesting details that were not available at the time. The Liskes had three children at home during the fight. Their...

The Musk-Deranged and DOGE-Deranged media appear to have stumbled on a new genre of coverage: the horrendous fate that will befall Americans due to DOGE cuts across multiple federal agencies. Reaching a new height of absurdity, CBS’s Ian Lee leads viewers to infer that DOGE cuts will lead people to be eaten by bears. Watch as Lee walks viewers to an empty ranger station at Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming: .. LEE: I spoke with several senior Forest Service officials across the country, and they told me the future leadership of the agency has been wiped out, and it could...

In the summer of 1991, Alan Yates was working in the forested mountains near Bozeman, Montana. Two black bears charged him at the same time. He successfully defended himself against the bears with two shots fired from his .357 magnum Smith & Wesson 65 revolver. He was 21 years old.Here are Alan’s words, lightly edited for space and clarity:In the summer of 1991 I worked on a logging operation in the mountains of Montana.There was a large bear that lived in the hills and mountains around our community. He was very aggressive. His favorite mode of attack was to charge...

The Year-Long Day is a factual account of an overwinter in the Svalbard Archipelago, trapping foxes and hunting polar bears. It was published in 1976 and is a fascinating true story of survival and adventure. In the Arctic winter of 1970 to 1971, a trapper/hunter in the Svalbard Archipelago had to protect himself several times with gunfire from polar bears.This is not particularly unusual. It was unusual for Ivar Ruud to keep a detailed diary, make a movie, and have a book published about his experiences. Most arctic trappers and hunters do not keep detailed diaries, make movies, and...