Grizzlies while moose hunting AK/BC

[Beendare]

Ouch, that will leave a mark

I dunno if a guy can say that remote bears are any less dangerous at close range.....i would like to think so......but


So this is on my pilots phone last year in Alaska. This guy had traveled 36 miles in on a 2 track on Quads with his son in a pretty remote area already.Bear hunting with rifles. The story is they saw this bear from a distance, then closer, were trying to find this bear in some thick stuff to get a shot and the bear jumped this guy at close range.

The bear essentially ripped the guys face off.....trust me, its best that this pic doesn't show much detail.

It took the son a few seconds to get a clear shot as the dad was between him and the bear. The kid finally killed the bear. it took them many hours to get out of there on the quad with the dad trying to remain conscious. The son called ahead and the Medivac team met them on a small road.

 

[adventure907]

I dunno if a guy can say that remote bears are any less dangerous at close range.....i would like to think so......but
View attachment 68997

So this is on my pilots phone last year in Alaska. This guy had traveled 36 miles in on a 2 track on Quads with his son in a pretty remote area already.Bear hunting with rifles. The story is they saw this bear from a distance, then closer, were trying to find this bear in some thick stuff to get a shot and the bear jumped this guy at close range.

The bear essentially ripped the guys face off.....trust me, its best that this pic doesn't show much detail.

It took the son a few seconds to get a clear shot as the dad was between him and the bear. The kid finally killed the bear. it took them many hours to get out of there on the quad with the dad trying to remain conscious. The son called ahead and the Medivac team met them on a small road.

Sometimes stories are just that, stories.

Bears are dangerous. Humans even more so.

 

[sab]

So this is on my pilots phone last year in Alaska. This guy had traveled 36 miles in on a 2 track on Quads with his son in a pretty remote area already.Bear hunting with rifles. The story is they saw this bear from a distance, then closer, were trying to find this bear in some thick stuff to get a shot and the bear jumped this guy at close range.

The bear essentially ripped the guys face off.....trust me, its best that this pic doesn't show much detail.

It took the son a few seconds to get a clear shot as the dad was between him and the bear. The kid finally killed the bear. it took them many hours to get out of there on the quad with the dad trying to remain conscious. The son called ahead and the Medivac team met them on a small road.

That’s Wes Perkins, and that attack happened in 2011. Many of the details above are incorrect. Google him, and you’ll find the truth...

 

[adventure907]

That’s Wes Perkins, and that attack happened in 2011. Many of the details above are incorrect. Google him, and you’ll find the truth...

That is not Wes Perkins. That attack did not happen in 2011, it happened in 2016. Yes, many of the details above are incorrect.

 

[Kevin Dill]

If it came off the internet it has to be right...right?

Nobody that I know of says wild bears aren't dangerous. They're made a little more dangerous when you go try to mess with or kill them. Just last summer a biologist was attacked and killed in a remote area of Alaska. She had been dropped in by helicopter and was minding her own business (doing field work) when the attack happened. This was a black bear, too...so it's best not to stereotype bears and their behavior. I think the truth is that most WILD bear attacks happen out in the field, during the day, and away from camp. Not all....but you get my thinking. It's usually a case of man-goes-to-bear (intentional or otherwise) instead of the bear purposefully seeking out contact with man. And again, this mainly pertains to wild bears which are not human-savvy.

This thread is more on the lines of how not to have bears ruin your camp, eat your food, keep you awake and maybe put a premature end to your hunt. Nothing is foolproof except staying home, so know you always count on a little bit of luck to keep you safe. It's that element that puts a tingle down your back when a twig snaps in the night...but it might just be a wandering moose.

 

[KJH]

My biggest wildlife problem when moose hunting is mice in the tent. I hate them. They drive me nuts... bears... not as much.

 

[Beendare]

That is not Wes Perkins. That attack did not happen in 2011, it happened in 2016. Yes, many of the details above are incorrect.

My bad. Going off what my pilot that had the pic on his phone told me....seemed like a reliable guy, Alaskan resident pilot and all.....
snow machine...not quad and he was airlifted right away.

heres the link from the newspaper if anyone was interested

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/heroic-response-saved-alaska-bear-mauling-victim/2011/05/17/

Life's good for Alaskan who lost face in grizzly bear attack - Anchorage Daily News

 

[adventure907]

My bad. Going off what my pilot that had the pic on his phone told me....seemed like a reliable guy, Alaskan resident pilot and all.....
snow machine...not quad and he was airlifted right away.

heres the link from the newspaper if anyone was interested

Heroic response saved Alaska bear mauling victim - Anchorage Daily News

Life's good for Alaskan who lost face in grizzly bear attack - Anchorage Daily News

I don't know why this bothers me so much, I should probably just bite my lip, but I can't help myself. These two bear attack stories are often conflated, as is the case with the above posts, and this thread.

Beendare, I know you are just trying to help a guy with his grizzly concerns, but I am gonna clarify a few things. The links you posted above have absolutely nothing to do with the picture that your pilot showed you on your phone. Wes Perkins was involved in a horrific bear attack near Nome, in 2011, as the linked articles clearly state. From all accounts, he suffered horrible facial wounds, but to my knowledge, there are no known public pictures of the wounds he suffered immediately after the attack.

The picture your pilot showed you is from a bear attack in 2016 that happened near the Denali Highway. Yes, both attacks involved hunters that were using snowmachines, but the circumstances surrounding the maulings are very different.

Like I said, these two stories are often conflated, and it us understandable that this continues to happen on this thread. While I won't post the details of the attack that happened in 2016 here, if anybody ever wants to sit down and buy me a beer I'd be happy to share the story. Here is photo that I took after we helped him into the helicopter for the flight to the hospital. I guess that is why all of the misinformation bothers me so much, I was the first person other than his son to see the man after the mauling. It was the most horrible thing I have ever seen in my life, and I wouldn't wish anybody to see what I saw that day. I talked to the man in your photo a few weeks ago in person. He is doing great. Granted, he lost an eye, and his ear is a little messed up, but concerning the initial facial wounds, it is unbelievable how well those surgeons put him back together. Modern medicine is an amazing thing.

Now, so I don't seem like so much of an asshat internet policeman, I'll add a little perspective on bears from my perspective as a bear hunting guide and someone who has worked in the remote wildlife protection business.

Generally, if we all use our god given advantage over the bears, that being our brains, we don't have much to worry about in bear country. Be smart about campsite locations, be smart about keeping a clean camp, be smart when in close proximity to bears and you probably won't have a problem. Campsite location is often something that is overlooked. Don't set your tent up on well used game trails. Ask Tim Treadwell how that worked out for him. Keep a clean camp. This doesn't mean you have to hang your food two miles away from your tent up in a tree. I cook in my tent. I often have a tent just for cooking. I keep my food in my tent. I have never once had a problem with a bear getting into my camp (knock on wood). Just don't make a mess. Deal with your garbage properly. Burn it if you can.

As someone else mentioned earlier in the thread, I pee all the way around my camp. Every time mother nature calls, I find somewhere around my camp perimeter to relieve myself. I can't say with any anecdotal evidence that this actually works but it is something I have always done, and I have never had a problem. Moth balls are supposedly something else that a bear will avoid, along with Pine Sol. Just what I've been told by some people I trust, your mileage may vary.

Educate yourself on bear behavior and body language. If you can understand the meaning of a bears various postures and body language, you will know the proper response and actions that you should take. It is pretty clear when a bear is pissed off and in no mood to mess around. Low head, ears back, salivating, jaw popping, these are some of the signs of an agitated bear.

Why do bears generally attack? A sow protecting its cubs. A bear protecting it's kill. A bear that is surprised, often in thick cover. A bear that has had its predatory instinct triggered by movement. Here in Anchorage, we have had a couple instances of bears attacking someone riding their bike quietly on a densely vegetated trail. Other circumstances, a bear that is cornered and given no choice but to fight. Messing with bears in their dens would be an example of this.

Also, guns versus bear spray. My opinion, firearm every time. With that said, you must know that firearm and be proficient in its use. A little story about bear spray. I think Kevin mentioned a few posts back about a biologist working at a gold mine that was mauled and killed by a black bear last summer. Two lady biologists were working together remotely, taking stream samples as part of the exploration project of this gold mine. A black bear happened upon them, whether it was attracted via some source (sounds, smell, etc) or just stumbled upon them happenstance, we will never know. What we do know is that this bear was a predatory bear. The bear surprised and attacked biologist #1 from behind. Biologist #2 came to the aid of her coworker, and sprayed the bear down with bear spray. The bear turned on her, attacking her, and eventually killing her. Biologist #1, the one originally attacked, attempted to drive the bear off her coworkers body by spraying it with more spray. The spray was ineffective. The bear continuously returned to the body to feed. A helicopter continuously attempted to haze the bear away from the victim, but the bear wouldn't relent. It wasn't until they were able to get a rifle to the scene via helicopter, that this tragedy ended. The bear was predatory, once it had proccured it's prey the only thing to get this bear to leave was the bullet from a rifle. This was a black bear, a healthy adult male. Two weeks later, me and some other fellow's were hired as Wilderness Safety Specialists to accompany these work crews as they continued the exploration process. We carry shotguns with slugs, just as an fyi.

Here is one more thing I believe to be true about bears. Anybody that tells you they know what a bear is going to do, is full of it, a bear doesn't even know what a bear is going to do. Bears are unpredictable. They are all different, just like humans. There are bad bears, predatory bears, goofy bears, dumb bears, smart bears, there are all kinds. Use your head, be smart, use the advantage we were given over the bears. While they may be unpredictable and we can't be certain of what they are going to do, being educated to general principles and behaviors and help us mitigate the risks.

Anyway, I'll shut up now. Just wanted to clear up a little of the misinformation concerning those two bear attacks. Respect the bears. They are an amazing animal, yet they are completely unpredictable, as all wildlife can be.

Josh

 

[Beendare]

Josh, thx for chiming in and setting the record straight.....[i won't have to bash my pilot the next time i see him as he was right after all- grin]

A very informative post...from an experts perspective- always appreciated

 

[geriggs]

Interesting encounter

I can tell you this last year i went with 3 buddys to hunt with papa bear adventures and was told it was very VERY rare to see a grizzly.....and we saw one.....on our gut pile.....1 day after we killed that moose. It false charged my buddy who was hunting wolves and black bears but couldnt kill a grizz as a non resident without a guide. My buddy stood up and yelled at him and he stopped at 40-50 yards, then proceeded to slowly walk around him into the brush then come back out in his direction. He ended up shooting his 44 into the ground close to him and that moved him off but not very far. Needless to say he wanted us to get to him quickly because he didnt have the boat and it was getting dark. He stayed on that gut pile for a few days because a few days later he and one of our other buddies went by the guy pile and he was still on it and they got some cool video. We were all a little nervous going to bed that night but he was more than 3/4 mile away and a few slews to cross...but with meat close to camp it was nerve wracking.

 

[nicktrehearne]

Having lived and hunted in Grizzly country my entire life, I've only ever had one "sleepless" encounter. This was also the one and only time where I was too lazy to take my mountain house garbage away from camp. I woke up to a grizz sniffing around my tent.. Scared it off and there was no big issue, but it open my eyes a bit and I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. Every time before and every time since, I have had no problems (and I spend 100+ days in a tent each year). I just always take my food and my garbage 80-150 yards away from my camp every night - no fences for protection, just bear spray if I'm bowhunting or a rifle and bear spray if rifle hunting.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Having lived and hunted in Grizzly country my entire life, I've only ever had one "sleepless" encounter. This was also the one and only time where I was too lazy to take my mountain house garbage away from camp. I woke up to a grizz sniffing around my tent.. Scared it off and there was no big issue, but it open my eyes a bit and I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. Every time before and every time since, I have had no problems (and I spend 100+ days in a tent each year). I just always take my food and my garbage 80-150 yards away from my camp every night - no fences for protection, just bear spray if I'm bowhunting or a rifle and bear spray if rifle hunting.

I'm interested to know a few things in regards to your encounter(s). Are you certain that bear was in camp due to your food smells? Was that bear in an area where it could have possibly been conditioned by other human encounters? Has your trash or food ever been disturbed since moving it away from camp? I ask this mainly out of my curiosity toward bear (and human) behavior...always trying to learn more. Thanks.

 

[sniper61]

I do not like hiking in the dark alone, but at camp I don't think about it. I have lost moose meat at the kill sight but that is bears being bears. Had to shoot a black bear that ran in and started eating the other end of a moose while I was butchering one time. My rifle is never out of reach, ever. I think you are in more danger getting there.

 

[Panhandler80]

Maybe this trip isn’t such a great idea.

Some pretty conflicting advice here, but obviously plenty of merit to both suggestions on camp food and protocol.

Hope I can relax enough to enjoy the trip. I know likelihood of serious (or worse) injury is way greater from flight in or traversing difficult terrain, but the bear thing sure gives me the heebee jeebees. Especially if we wind up with a late afternoon kill in tight cover and need to revisit gutted carcass and / or finish hauling meat out from a nearby cache the evening prior.

I know... not entirely rational, but little creeped out the more I read.

 

[WMR]

Panhandler, you should be OK as long as you avoid area 17A. The bears there are just flippin' nasty!

OK, I lied. I saw on another thread that you were going there. I hunted there last year. We saw brown bears from camp each day. They were more interested in eating salmon than in bothering us. We kept a clean camp and didn't go busting thick cover along the creeks where they fed. We took a bear fence but couldn't deploy it due to the particular layout of our site. I would otherwise have used it. I was armed at all times; either a rifle or pistol. Of the two, I liked the rifle the best. Derek, the FWS guy who checked us said they hadn't had a serious bear incident in years. Maybe that means they're due? LOL. He's a great guy, by the way.

Our only scary time was from a serious wind/rain storm that I thought might shred the tipi. It held up but seemed touch and go for a while. We're taking a small HIlleberg tent as a backup this year. Kinda spendy, but I consider it life insurance. No moose for us last year, but it was a great adventure and we're hooked.

 

[Panhandler80]

Panhandler, you should be OK as long as you avoid area 17A. The bears there are just flippin' nasty!

OK, I lied. I saw on another thread that you were going there. I hunted there last year. We saw brown bears from camp each day. They were more interested in eating salmon than in bothering us. We kept a clean camp and didn't go busting thick cover along the creeks where they fed. We took a bear fence but couldn't deploy it due to the particular layout of our site. I would otherwise have used it. I was armed at all times; either a rifle or pistol. Of the two, I liked the rifle the best. Derek, the FWS guy who checked us said they hadn't had a serious bear incident in years. Maybe that means they're due? LOL. He's a great guy, by the way.

Our only scary time was from a serious wind/rain storm that I thought might shred the tipi. It held up but seemed touch and go for a while. We're taking a small HIlleberg tent as a backup this year. Kinda spendy, but I consider it life insurance. No moose for us last year, but it was a great adventure and we're hooked.

17b, but that certainly doesn’t make me any less nervous. I’m not really scared, just a bit overwhelmed. If there was a go-to, 100% authority on exactly what to do to minimize likelihood of a problem, I’d feel a lot better. However, there is not.

- keep food at camp and cook there VS do both away from camp. The first sounds funny, but the logic set forth in this thread makes sense

- I’ve read to leave meat cache prior to transport upwind of kill site and downwind.

- For camp site selection I’ve read to avoid ridge tops where scent can travel long way. About near thick brush and water. Avoid hill side travel corridors. Avoid bottoms. Avoid areas where thermals will drop scent into likely bear territory at night. Avoid flats where wind tends to swirl.

Well shit.... I guess we better just set up a hover camp!

Seems like a whole bunch of opinions and not many facts. And for every opinion I can come up with a scenario that makes sense, and a scenario where it doesn’t.

Seems to me it boils down to...

- Clean camp

- When moving on hunt, try keep line of site as long as possible.

- After kill go gutless and cache meet in location away from carcass and as visible as it can be from a distance when returning

- try keep clean clothes clean when quartering

- head on swivel. Keep hunting party off two together especially after kill. One watch and one field dress

- Loudly approach meat cache that has been distanced from kill site as you pack meat back to place closer to camp / pick up site. A spot I hope to have identified on Day 1 of no hunt and always erected meat pole.

- Use common sense and just stay aware

If successful I’m not sure how I feel about keeping OUR food strung up in a tree next to our meat pole away from camp. Seems like that’s asking for it.

A lot of what I’m reading also sounds like a more of good theory. It could be that there’s a great camp and glassing point right next to each other and a moose is killed a few hundred yards from camp. Then what? Pack up and move everything after having stayed put and hopefully called an additional bull into the area? Understand likelihood of two is not great, but if we kill early we damn sure aren’t going home.

just a lot to consider and like I said, Wish there was a more definitive guide. I guess there’s not one because every situation is different.

One question maybe y’all could shed some light on... meat is not to be hung at camp. I get it and i understand why. Stored away from camp you might run greater risk of losing it, but you won’t habituate / entice / encourage bear to share camp site with you. Brings me to my question... what about hide and antlers. I know he won’t take antlers far, but hide easily destroyed. Obviously we don’t want that at camp either. So... set them with long term (hopefully not) meat cache on pole, or maybe put them second place on their own with cape airing out and tarp over????? Which brings me second and third question.... if In a separate spot we now have of interest to a bear....

1. Kill site
2. Meat cache (maybe with cape and antlers)
3. Cape and antlers
4. Camp

All in relatively close proximity. Virtually on top of each other in terms of bears nose and ability to roam. Is that creating more problems than its solving? Have I made 4 bait stations for multiple bears?

And if it’s raining and no plane for a while and I need to start fleshing cape? I guess I go sit under tarp at meat pole with bear bait and work in it? Or take back to camp and stink up camp with moose fat and flesh?

Just a lot to think about. A lot. I’m
Sure I’m over complicating it, but....

 

[Wapiti1]

Here is the only advice you need. If you want to hunt anything in Alaska/Canada, you have to accept that there are brown/grizzly bears there. Deal with it, and go hunt. In a less PC way to say it, grow a pair or don't go.

Millions of people in North America, Europe and Asia, co-exist with grizzlies all year long with few issues. Worry about the weather. It's far more scary and will cause far more issues than bears ever will. Also worry about water quality. Getting a bug makes a trip so much less fun.

Control what you can, be smart, be knowledgeable and enjoy what is to many the best days they have ever spent on earth. I can honestly say that my sheep hunt in 2017 was one of the best hunts I'll ever do. I'll do other sheep hunts, but it will be me trying to recapture that first hunt. We saw 7 grizzlies on that hunt and I shot a beautiful lone sow. It was awesome. On my last hunt in AK for moose last fall, I wanted to see a couple of bears that left tracks near camp, but it wasn't meant to be. Damn they were big bears.

If you can't get OK with the existence of bears, you should not go.

I've hunted in MT with guys that were terrified of an animal that they had never seen in their lifetimes. They were miserable to hunt with.

Jeremy

 

[Panhandler80]

Here is the only advice you need. If you want to hunt anything in Alaska/Canada, you have to accept that there are brown/grizzly bears there. Deal with it, and go hunt. In a less PC way to say it, grow a pair or don't go.

Millions of people in North America, Europe and Asia, co-exist with grizzlies all year long with few issues. Worry about the weather. It's far more scary and will cause far more issues than bears ever will. Also worry about water quality. Getting a bug makes a trip so much less fun.

Control what you can, be smart, be knowledgeable and enjoy what is to many the best days they have ever spent on earth. I can honestly say that my sheep hunt in 2017 was one of the best hunts I'll ever do. I'll do other sheep hunts, but it will be me trying to recapture that first hunt. We saw 7 grizzlies on that hunt and I shot a beautiful lone sow. It was awesome. On my last hunt in AK for moose last fall, I wanted to see a couple of bears that left tracks near camp, but it wasn't meant to be. Damn they were big bears.

If you can't get OK with the existence of bears, you should not go.

I've hunted in MT with guys that were terrified of an animal that they had never seen in their lifetimes. They were miserable to hunt with.

Jeremy

That’s my kind of language. Thanks

 

[Panhandler80]

I’m also just trying to think it all through. I’m not scared. I’ll probably just read too much. Or, Maybe I’m thinking it through to much in terms of keeping meat and doing things right. Then I may get in trouble for that online. Like I said I think it’s called common sense and that’s what we will exercise.

 

[carsonkeys]

I’m also just trying to think it all through. I’m not scared. I’ll probably just read too much. Or, Maybe I’m thinking it through to much in terms of keeping meat and doing things right. Then I may get in trouble for that online. Like I said I think it’s called common sense and that’s what we will exercise.

I always find myself thinking about bears before a hunt. Two things help me: our minds have a horrible habit of dreaming up these worst-case scenarios and then we go through the “thing” and it’s never even half as bad as we thought it would be. That, and by the end of each day I’m usually too beat to give a shit and sleep like a baby.