Posted on 08/29/2009 9:44:29 AM PDT by jazusamo
A 78-year-old man was hospitalized Friday with injuries he received when he was attacked by a black bear in a remote area of eastern Utah.
The bear was shot and killed by another camper.
About 12:30 a.m., a river-rafting party of 13 people, including nine family members and four guides, were sleeping after finding a spot off the Green River near Rock Creek Ranch in Carbon County's Desolation Canyon to stop for the night, said Brad Crompton, Division of Wildlife Resources' southeastern region wildlife biologist. The family was awakened upon hearing the sound of a bear attacking a family member who had been sleeping on a cot, he said.
One of the victim's daughters jumped on the bear and hit it with her fists, according to a statement from the DWR. After another family member joined in the struggle the bear let go of the man at which point the bear was shot in the back by one of the victim's grandsons. The animal ran off and was found dead after sunrise.
The man's torso was punctured and his arms scratched, the DWR said. A medical helicopter flew the man to a hospital about 4 a.m., and an airplane returned later in the morning to fly out the rest of the family.
"He seemed to be doing very well," DWR spokesman Mark Hadley said of the latest update on the man's condition, which was last reported to be stable.
Several hours before the attack, between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the bear first appeared in the camp area but was scared off after a shot was fired into the air, the DWR said.
The victim, along with the other campers, had stored all of their food well away from the sleeping area.
"He was doing everything correctly," Crompton said.
(Excerpt) Read more at deseretnews.com ...
Black bear attack Ping!
Similar bear attack upstream some time ago, too.
Good that they were armed and that the grandson has good * gun control *
He can shoot straight.
I guess the bear was a bit territorial.
There goes the neighborhood...
A good outcome considering the circumstances, the gentleman was fortunate the others took action.
Yep, a pretty remote one but a fair number of visitors each year and it’s very beautiful country.
Waiting for the "That's Racist" little boy.
Wow! I'll say!! Stay tuned for inevitable chatter about how the bear should have been saved.....
My girl friend has a big one grunting at her in her front yard a oouple of times a week. 5 weeks till bow season opens!
Exactly...Many animal rights nuts are always irate when an animal is killed no matter the reason. We’re supposed to learn to live with them because they were here first, sheesh.
“The family was awakened upon hearing the sound of a bear attacking a family member who had been sleeping on a cot, he said.”
Excuse me. So sorry to awaken you folks at this hour, but I do seem to be at quite a disadvantage with this black bear. Would it be too much trouble for me to ask of assistance?
When I was working up in that country, I wanted to run the Green River, but the water was to high. Then winter set in and ice was on the river.
Here's an updated story at The Salt Lake Tribune with a little more info.
“He was doing everything correctly,” Crompton said.
Crompton is being deliberately deceptive. As a bureaucrat, he will support the agenda du jure, regardless of the consequences to others.
Whenever a large bodied predator does not flee when it sees man, that predator is a far greater potential risk to humans than a predator that flees at the sight of man.
Please note that the bar had been seen skulking about near the camp site, and that the bear had been seen as sufficient threat to justify a shot in the air to “frighten” the bear.
“Warning shots”, trap and release, and other labor intensive and cost prohibitive measures of dealing with such predators are proven failures.
The harsh reality is that only gunpowder cures Bad Bruin Behavior (BBB).
You’re exactly right and the article I linked at post #17 has quite a bit more about the bear hanging around earlier.
As bear are not trout, catch & release is not an appropriate management mechanism for bear.
Pity the Goobers make a living violating the citizen’s right to protect their life and property.
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