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oldwetherman
07-09-2017, 20:20
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/teen-bit-in-head-by-bear-wakes-up-to-crunching-sound/ar-BBE5rGN?li=AA4ZnC&ocid=spartandhp

dudeijuststarted
07-09-2017, 20:48
I met a barber in Richfield, UT who has two big scars on the top of his head. The same exact thing happened when he was a kid. His mother was in the camper, and as he yells to her "help there's a bear out here," she simply yells back "well you better get inside then!"

FreeGoldRush
07-09-2017, 21:00
Once again, attacked while sleeping but no food was in the tent. Although I do not sleep with my food this does make you wonder if there is any actual data to support the safety of hanging food.

MuddyWaters
07-09-2017, 21:54
Its amazing to be dragged 10 ft by a bear with tight enough grip on skull .....with no harm. Theres usually punctures to face, torn scalp, etc

Uncle Joe
07-09-2017, 22:08
Queue the "bear experts" second-guessing what exactly this guy did wrong to entice the bear.

Yeah, sarcastic. But I'd argue inevitable.

Uncle Joe
07-09-2017, 22:13
Its amazing to be dragged 10 ft by a bear with tight enough grip on skull .....with no harm. Theres usually punctures to face, torn scalp, etc
Well, harm is relative. He was treated at a hospital.

rocketsocks
07-10-2017, 05:42
Its amazing to be dragged 10 ft by a bear with tight enough grip on skull .....with no harm. Theres usually punctures to face, torn scalp, etcWe had a dog once that carried her baby's that way, not by the neck, it gave us a kick to see people's reaction, they thought the mom was gonna eat em, as we did at first.

rickb
07-10-2017, 06:44
Well, harm is relative. He was treated at a hospital.
The TV station's video shows where the bear grabbed the back of the young man's head, and if you look carefully, some staples across the wound.

The still shot on the linked article doesn't show those bite marks, but rather just a couple small scratches from the bear's claw on his forehead.

MuddyWaters
07-10-2017, 08:43
The TV station's video shows where the bear grabbed the back of the young man's head, and if you look carefully, some staples across the wound.

The still shot on the linked article doesn't show those bite marks, but rather just a couple small scratches from the bear's claw on his forehead.
Extremely lucky

I suspect rabies shots too are prophylactic, and not as bad as used to be

capt. photon
07-12-2017, 17:39
... this does make you wonder if there is any actual data to support the safety of hanging food.

In the Eastern High Peak region of the Adirondacks you must use a bear canister as the bear have learned what a bear bag is. It doesn't matter how well you hang it, they know what the rope is.

Smithereens
07-13-2017, 23:35
No food in the tent? Yes, he did have food in the tent! At least from the bear's perspective there was... Kinda arrogant to think that you are not food just because you're human.

BuckeyeBill
07-14-2017, 11:24
Dang it I was trying to stay out of this post. Black bears by nature are not aggressive towards humans. Most if not all of their diets consist of vegetation. It is only by the fact that people are sloppy in the way they cook, store and hang their food that the bears have come to associate humans with food. A mother bear will protect her cubs by using aggression if necessary, but if people back away and show her they mean no harm she will back down.

A bears sense of smell is so acute they can smell food/people from far off. By using proper techniques when handling food, you reduce your chances of a bear encounter. The odor of food can transfer to your clothes, hair and shelter. That's why the experts suggest cooking away from your tent. Grizzly bears are more aggressive than black bears, and polar bears are meat eating killing machines. To say that black bears attack people as a primary food source is just not correct.

TTT
07-14-2017, 18:01
Is there enough natural food in Colorado where the attack took place?

BuckeyeBill
07-14-2017, 19:34
I am real sure, but I have seen scores of hikers pick clean a berry bush, knowing that there was no way they could eat that many before they go bad.

Traveler
07-15-2017, 05:11
Is there enough natural food in Colorado where the attack took place?

Depends how one defines as "natural food". Bears are omnivores, as such most anything that moves, is already dead, or grows on bushes can be their food. That would include people under certain circumstances.

Uncle Joe
07-15-2017, 09:42
Dang it I was trying to stay out of this post. Black bears by nature are not aggressive towards humans. Most if not all of their diets consist of vegetation. It is only by the fact that people are sloppy in the way they cook, store and hang their food that the bears have come to associate humans with food. A mother bear will protect her cubs by using aggression if necessary, but if people back away and show her they mean no harm she will back down.
A bears sense of smell is so acute they can smell food/people from far off. By using proper techniques when handling food, you reduce your chances of a bear encounter. The odor of food can transfer to your clothes, hair and shelter. That's why the experts suggest cooking away from your tent. Grizzly bears are more aggressive than black bears, and polar bears are meat eating killing machines. To say that black bears attack people as a primary food source is just not correct.

Per the expert data, most fatal black bear attacks are from a lone, male, predatory bear. This is what the statistics have apparently born out and of course, there are no doubt exceptions. And though these attacks are rare it's likely you can throw "normal" behavior out the window. These attacks are not from bears sniffing around for a bear bag or a something they can dig into. They're preying on you.

BuckeyeBill
07-16-2017, 22:27
Per the expert data, most fatal black bear attacks are from a lone, male, predatory bear. This is what the statistics have apparently born out and of course, there are no doubt exceptions. And though these attacks are rare it's likely you can throw "normal" behavior out the window. These attacks are not from bears sniffing around for a bear bag or a something they can dig into. They're preying on you.

It appears you have some very sound data. But I just have to ask, if you're getting attacked by a bear or your spouse, best friend or some one you are camped with, who is trying to find out the sex the bear? Male or female it's gonna hurt like h**l, and or kill you/them just the same.

Uncle Joe
07-16-2017, 22:45
It appears you have some very sound data. But I just have to ask, if you're getting attacked by a bear or your spouse, best friend or some one you are camped with, who is trying to find out the sex the bear? Male or female it's gonna hurt like h**l, and or kill you/them just the same.

I think maybe you misunderstood. I really don't care about the sex of the bear. Frankly, I don't consider a female bear any more "safe" than a male bear. I realize the statistics say a male is more likely to predate but that doesn't mean a female "won't." In fact, I reject the notion a bear "won't" do anything, FWIW.

BuckeyeBill
07-16-2017, 22:56
We are on the same page, it was the statement about "male bears" that I was trying to make a tongue in cheek comment about.

Uncle Joe
07-16-2017, 23:11
We are on the same page, it was the statement about "male bears" that I was trying to make a tongue in cheek comment about.
Gotcha. Yeah, if you have time to figure it out you probably have a death wish! :D

BuckeyeBill
07-16-2017, 23:14
Thinking about it, they could get DNA samples from the wounds, but don't know enough about it to say for sure.