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!"
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.
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
Queue the "bear experts" second-guessing what exactly this guy did wrong to entice the bear.
Yeah, sarcastic. But I'd argue inevitable.
Last edited by Uncle Joe; 07-09-2017 at 22:16.
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.
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.
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.
Blackheart
Is there enough natural food in Colorado where the attack took place?
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.
Blackheart
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.
Blackheart
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.
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.
Blackheart