Fatal Arizona Bear attack

[Brent in Az]

Game & Fish biologist aged the Bear at 7-10 years old, and 365 lbs. Did not test positive for rabies. Human remains were found in the stomach.
So far, it has been labeled as a predatory attack.

 

[Buck0317]

Game & Fish biologist aged the Bear at 7-10 years old, and 365 lbs. Did not test positive for rabies. Human remains were found in the stomach.
So far, it has been labeled as a predatory attack.

Brent,

That's a young bear in his prime, I would have expected this from an older boar who was having trouble foraging and hunting. Interesting...

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Brent,

That's a young bear in his prime, I would have expected this from an older boar who was having trouble foraging and hunting. Interesting...

I may be badly misremembering but the article I mentioned earlier in this thread asserted that when black bears attack it is usually a younger male. IIRC. I really need to try and find that article

 

[Travis Johnson]

Black bears don't bluff charge. When they charge, they mean business. Grizzlies are thought to bluff charge about half the time.

Got a healthy schooling on that last Fall when I went up to north central Idaho on a black bear hunt.

Black bears do bluff charge up here, been bluff charged several times by both sows with cubs , and by boars

 

[Ridge Runner]

I was up at my place in Flagstaff, AZ this weekend and went by one of the gun shops, you should have heard the phone calls coming in from nervous people looking to buy a "bear gun" for defense. I've been hunting and living in bear country most of my life and this is a rare occurance, especially in such a populated area.

Rouge bears and other predators, rabies outbreak in wild animals, and well publicized criminal activities are good for gun sales. However, bad for the public, and prompt negative publicity to those of us involved in the firearms world.

Unfortunately half of those wanting a "bear gun" or any firearm for protection most likely can't handle the recoil of a 22 LR and an even greater number of this group will neither shoot a firearm enough to be remotely familiar with a weapon to use it properly, or even go to a range, nor will they learn or practice firearms care and safety. It's these kind of people that become more dangerous to themselves, and to those around them; especially in a tense situation.

 

[Brod]

Black bears do bluff charge up here, been bluff charged several times by both sows with cubs , and by boars

I've been bluff charged a couple times by black bear as well..... trying to run me off their bait/kill site.

 

[Buck0317]

I may be badly misremembering but the article I mentioned earlier in this thread asserted that when black bears attack it is usually a younger male. IIRC. I really need to try and find that article

Wishful,

I need to re-read the article as well as I am relying on my failing memory. That being said, a biologist once told me black bears live an average of 20 years in good conditions, and can live up to 25 years in ideal conditions. This bear was young but plenty experienced enough to be a decent hunter and forager. He's young, but not that young, and at 325lbs clearly not starving. I still think this is an isolated incident though, just my two cents..

 

[Buck0317]

I thought the Glocks didn't care for the lead bullets?

Freefall,

They shoot OK with the standard barrel, but it's hit or miss dending the manufacturer. I ordered a KKM 10mm barrel for my Glock and it now shoots Buffulo Bore's very well, and shoots Hornady 200gr XTP's in a 2" group at 25 yards.

 

[Foxi]

My guide once told me, that when he was with a friend in a cabin in the Ontario wilderness, a strong black bear tried to get into the cabin, he didn't care that there were people in.
A lot of noise was made with cooking pots to drive him away.
The guy was so stubborn, however, that they had no other choice but to smash a .30-06 at his noble head from a distance of 20 cm through the fly screen.
Never be unarmed in bear country.
A weak handgun caliber is always better than good kitchen knife

 

[Gemsbok45]

I was in Prescott yesterday. Heard the bear tested positive for rabies.

 

[Brent in Az]

I was in Prescott yesterday. Heard the bear tested positive for rabies.

The news articles I saw said it tested negative. Maybe there's conflicting info out there. I dont know?

 

[Gemsbok45]

Hey Brent,
This is just what I heard. Definitely not an Iron clad source but a local.

 

[Gemsbok45]

The person I spoke with was wrong. Brent you were right!The bear was healthy large male with no issues. 360 pounds. That’s a big summer bear!

 

[CJW]

I like having a dog at my remote camp in Northern British Columbia. . And a rifle. Both were welcome when two bears ( a big sow and her gangly yearling cub) decided to visit our cabin and check out our cooking spot on our deck at noon today. No bears died ( I had no intention of shooting one) but I hope we gave them a good scare when the dog chased and I fired a warning shot. In the afternoon a young male was nosing around by our boat at the lake shore. That one didn’t want to leave even after my dog treed it twice and I put a couple bullets behind its rear foot. I like having bears in camp, but 3-4 meters is a little too close!

Just curious, have you ever thought about keeping some non lethal rounds in a shotgun so you could inflict some memorable pain in such situations?

 

[HookMeUpII]

I talked to someone who lived out west with grizzlies about the general dangers of bears. The convo came about because we were talking about NJ being overrun with black bears. He said he would not sleep well at night with the amount of black bears we have here and he finds them even more dangerous/problematic than grizzlies. That was a tough one for me believe but the more I talk to people, it seems like it might not be far off.

I've personally been bluff charged. I also believe that one time it was not a bluff (ears down, back, curled lip, no noise). We also had someone actually get eaten here. Yes, eaten.

I'm really not a fan of these things. They walk right in front of my door once a week...with cubs.

 

[WAB]

Black bears chew on more folks than grizzlies. Likely due to the fact that there are exponentially more black bear/human encounters. What was said earlier is spot on, grizzlies attack to neutralize a perceived threat. Black bear attack to eat.

All that said, I’ve bumped into hundreds of black bear without incident. I have been charged by grizzlies.

 

[HookMeUpII]

All that said, I’ve bumped into hundreds of black bear without incident.

The problem we have here is there are 3300 bears, 9.2 million people, all in 8700 square miles. Doesn't sound too terrible but when you compare it to Yellowstone which has 300 bears and 3700 square miles, it begins to paint the picture. The management folks have said that they want to see the black bear number in Yellowstone lower.

I think the other catalyst we have here is that most encounters are females with cubs. The males seem to be off in the thick woods, females with cubs stay near the garbage sources for easy food.

The "encounters" are starting to get a bit spicy here. They closed a park about 5-6 miles from my home due to an aggressive female with cubs. Last year a woman was attacked by an unprovoked bear while walking to her mailbox.

This bear season I plan to participate. It's almost certain there will be another hunt. Even our evil communist governor has told the green tree huggers to kick rocks.

 

[Longwalker]

Just curious, have you ever thought about keeping some non lethal rounds in a shotgun so you could inflict some memorable pain in such situations?

I have not done that. I figure that I'd rather have my rifle loaded with "bear killing" ammunition in case I really need it. Bears are common and not so precious where we have our summer cottage in northern British Columbia. My buddy down the road gets the call from the local conservation officer when there is a problem bear that needs taking care of, since town is 80 Km away and it's more than an hour of travel for the Conservation Officer to respond. When our CO gets a call about bear in someone's chicken coop or garbage cans, or threatening someone, he often calls and asks my buddy to shoot the bear for him. Sometimes neighbours just shoot the bear themselves. I've never heard of a homeowner being charged for illegally killing a bear in that situation. Buddy shot six bears two years ago, two on licence, the rest with the blessing of the Conservation Officer.