Grizzly mauls sheepherder; kills dogs, sheep

Sublette Examiner ^ | September 15, 2009 | Joy Ufford with Derek Farr

[jazusamo]

After what could be the first grizzly bear attack on a human in the Upper Green, a 46-year-old sheepherder was life-flighted to Idaho Falls early Monday morning after being seriously mauled.

The grizzly began its rampage in the early hours in a sheep herd grazing near Forest Road 617, at the eastern edge of the Gros Ventre Wilderness near Tosi Creek.

The herd is tended by Marcello Tejeda, of Rock Springs, and Jorge Mesa, both of whom were awakened by what they thought was a black bear in the sheep, according to their employer, rancher Mary Thoman of Fontenelle.

Monday, Thoman was concerned for Tejeda and her sheep, which have been harassed by predators all summer, she said.

“We have had a nightmare,” she said of the W&M Thoman Ranches’ forest allotments on the Upper Green. “Nothing but grizzlies and wolves all summer long.”

At 3:30, the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office received a call from Mesa that a bear had attacked a man and that an ambulance or doctor was needed to help him, according to preliminary reports.

Thoman said they have always had problems with black bears getting into the sheep but the grizzly situation has been worsening since 1998 when she said grizzlies were moved into that area from elsewhere.

“The dogs were raising heck and they thought it was a black bear,” Thoman said her sheepherder told her.

This was a grizzly sow with one cub, though, she was told. Thoman said she recently saw a collared grizzly sow with three cubs that had “just showed up” but didn’t know if they were the same animal.

The guard dogs stay with the sheep and protect them as best they can, she explained.

“Once they found out a bear was in the sheep the sheepherder (Tejeda) sent his (guard) dog in and the bear killed that one,” Bardin related .

Tejeda then sent in another guard dog and apparently was attacked by the bear when he tried to save the second dog, which was killed, he said.

The sheepherder received a seven-inch gash on top of his head, two punctures to the left side of his chest, three claw wounds to the right side of his abdomen and a puncture wound to his right wrist, early reports stated.

“This is the first human attack there that I can remember,” Bardin said.

Mesa used pepper spray – twice – to drive the bear away from Tejeda and then called Thoman for help.

Thoman said giving her sheepherders guns to shoot marauding predators isn’t a solution – “or we just have more trouble.”

Mesa then notified the sheriff’s office, and a team was sent in including an Emergency Medical Services unit, Kendall Valley Fire Department’s first-responders, three deputies and a Forest Service officer while Air Idaho, a search-and-rescue team and a doctor were put on standby.

Because of the poor travel conditions, a deputy drove Tejeda and Mesa (who had pepper spray in his eyes) out to a waiting ambulance and they were transported to the Pinedale Clinic.

Mesa’s eyes were cleaned and Tejeda was airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center (EIRMC) in Idaho Falls.

Tejeda was listed in “serious” condition Monday afternoon, according to EIRMC spokesperson Nancy Browne.

Wyoming Game & Fish team investigated the scene of the attack Monday.

“We’ve heard this person has been injured and that’s our primary concern,” said G&F spokesman Mark Gocke. “We hope he’s all right.”

Gocke had no further information Monday but said G&F is participating in the investigation and more details will be forthcoming.

Bad Summer

Predators have heavily targeted sheep and cattle on Upper Green permitted grazing allotments this year, according to Thoman.

Most of the publicly confirmed predations are sheep killed by wolves but there are plenty of others in the mountains.

Thoman said she can’t put a number to their losses yet, not until the herds are gathered and brought back home.

“What they verify doesn’t match up, though,” she said of investigating agencies.

“The trouble is by the time you notify them, if they don’t get there within three or four days they can’t confirm,” she said, adding other animals will feed on the carcasses.

“We just have to put up with them,” she said. “They need to put them away. They’re just getting too thick.”

Thoman said most people don’t realize how heavy livestock losses are in the Upper Green and public land managers seem to not care – “I think they’re just trying to get rid of us (livestock ranchers).”

Thoman doesn’t plan on giving in to bears, wolves or public agencies lightly, she said. Thoman sheep have grazed on the same allotments since 1978 and her family began ranching before 1900.

“It isn’t like we just sprang up,” she said.

Predators

On Aug. 6, Wildlife Services confirmed a grizzly had killed two head of cattle in the Upper Green.

In a slew of late July and August attacks in western Wyoming, wolves killed dozens of sheep, a handful of cattle and a half-dozen guard dogs, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) reports.

Recent reports reveal lethal control efforts have removed 10 wolves to date from the Green River Pack and five from the Dog Creek Pack.

Thoman worries that wolves and bears have run the sheep around so much that right now without anyone up there to keep an eye on them, her herds could be scattered throughout the forest.

“I suppose we’ll be hunting sheep up there until Christmas,” she said.

No one from the Forest Service, which manages the grazing allotments, responded before press time.

[MamaDearest]

Sad, isn’t it, that bears and wolves are protected, while the people are not. (same thing goes for timber....we used to have a sawmill in Wyo.)

People are expendable to the feds managing grizzly and wolves. We carry bear spray ini the woods AND A GUN. There are also mountain lions in that area.

[Iscool]

Better penetration than a .458 Winchester with quick follow-up shots.

That is if you're quick at pulling yourself up off the ground after the previous shot...

[Rushmore Rocks]

We’re having major mountain lion problems here. One got my cat, Dunbar, three weeks ago. My daughter teaches in Wyoming. They had to call all the kids in from recess last week because a lion was spotted near the playground.

I agree with the “shoot, shovel, shutup” principle.

[goat granny]

Mary sounds like a real jerk...her sheep won’t last long and no shepards will apply for jobs with her. Hope she goes broke via terminal stupid..

[goat granny]

The only trouble I see with your solution is you’d need a back hoe to dig the hole deep enought...My hubby had to bury a couple of dead goats when we were farming and that hold was 4 foot deep..the goat was buried the next day and had already bloated to twice her size...(it was middle of summer) and originally she probably only weighted about 65 pounds...

[waterhill]

I wanted to load it with those flamethrower rounds, but that would not be too popular these days what with all the metrosexuals and all... Yet, again, I digress... a flaming blackie running through a tinderbox would be really unsafe.... Desert Eagle????

[technically right]

Yeah, I will admit that the recoil is a bit stout, but in the heat of combat it’s amazing what you can do when you think you’re gonna die.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

http://www.brassfetcher.com/index_files/Page448.htm

This is the largest bullet they have tested free on their web site.

.50 Beowulf
Home
Handguns
Rifles
Airguns
Shotguns
Side View
Top View
Test # JK1

Cartridge : .50 Beowulf Alexander Arms 325gr HP

Test Parameters : Nominal 10% ballistic gelatin block. No barriers present. (15.5x9x9)” gelatin block

Block calibration velocity : 573 ft/sec

Block calibration penetration : 3.0 inch

Block calibration temperature : 35.2 degrees Fahrenheit

Block core temperature : 36.0 degrees Fahrenheit

Bullet impact velocity : 1956 ft/sec

Deepest penetration depth : 15.5 inch

Maximum crack diameter : 7.5 inch

Maximum crack diameter location : 5.8 inch

Cavitation depth : 0-14.7 inch

Weapon : Alexander Arms Beowulf Entry; 16.5 inch barrel length

Distance from weapon muzzle to impact face of gelatin block : 10.0 feet

Test site conditions : 69 degrees Fahrenheit, 44% relative humidity

Time out of refrigeration prior to shot impact : 4 minutes

Bullet recovered weight : 271.4gr

Bullet recovered average diameter : 0.798”

Bullet recovered length : 0.253”

[STGP]

I don’t know if you live in the Rocky Mountains? Many of us who have lived here for many years (35 plus) realize that grazing allotments always involve risk of predation. Some allotments are being eliminated or exchanged for ones located in areas with less predator populations. It makes no sense to respond to this unfortunate accident with anger or political ranting (other comments). If the sheepherders had guns perhaps they would have been able to defend themselves? You have to me a very accurate and fast shot. The adrenaline is bumping and the bear is moving at 35mph or more. Pretty terrifying. In Montana (where I live) some people have been able to ward off bears with guns and some people have had luck with bear spray. Perhaps the sheepherders should have been armed with both? I am a lousy shot so I opt for bear spray. Being a sheepherder is obviously a potentially dangerous line of work and I hope both men recover soon. I also feel badly for the financial loss to the rancher and the death of the dogs. I value wildlife and I value the hardworking people who work the land. There is no easy solution and I have not heard anyone advocating total extermination of bears, although I know a some people would like to get rid of wolves (another issue).

[Citizen Soldier]

LOL! It looks like a “beer garden” in jolly ole England outside a pub.

[AnAmericanMother]

Thoman is a flippin' idiot.

Any employer who would rather let her employees DIE than tangle with a bunch of Fish & Wildlife bureaucrats deserves to go broke.

She should have issued some of these:

Winchester Model 71 for the .348 cartridge. Packs a severe punch but has quite controllable recoil, and with the lever action you can roll the lead out there in a hurry. I think it's still the most powerful production lever action, the cartridge is based on an old black powder round and you can see that the base is massive. It takes over 50 gr of 4320 or 4064 to fill that huge case up (the top round is a .30-30 for comparison).

It was my mother's bear gun when she and dad were planning a trip to Alaska. Dad was going to get a .375 H&H, but they turned up pregnant with me instead . . . . every so often dad gives me a wistful look and asks, "Couldn't you have waited til I got the .375?"

[jazusamo]

Agreed, she has no right to put employees in that position.

I remember the Md. 71 .348 from years ago and it was the most powerful lever action at the time.

I think you should have waited awhile so your Dad could’ve got his .375 H&H. LOL! (jus kiddin)

[AnAmericanMother]

Thing is, with the big cross section, the heavy bullet, and lots of relatively slow powder, it packs a serious knockdown punch without punishing the shooter the way the big English rifles or the hot modern magnums do. Any more recoil, and you can't get the muzzle back on target quickly enough. It is too much cartridge for deer but perfect for wild boar or bear.

I shot it as a 12 year old. The recoil's not pleasant, but if Mama Grizz was rearing up in front of you you'd never feel it (but she would). With a grizzly, I might want the .375 (sorry, dad!) but this one would be adequate and reasonable for a relatively untutored shooter (like a shepherd) to handle.

Bad cess to this woman for sending her people out unprotected. I hope she lost a TON of money on those poor dead dogs anyhow. All the guys will have is a measly workers compensation claim for what amounts to reckless endangerment . . . . unless a slick lawyer can convince a judge that she deliberately and recklessly put them in harm's way.

[calex59]

Isn't wonderful to have these wild wolves and Grizzlys running free after all this time?/SAR

I think we should find out who actually lobbied for these animals to be "planted" in human population areas and make them live with them for a while, maybe tie a haunch from a sheep around their neck and let them wander for about 3 days in the wilderness.

[jazusamo]

Yep, the idiots responsible for bringing them back are not the people who have to live in close proximity to them. The idiots just think it’s wonderful to have these predators that were killed off to near extinction for a good reason back in the wild. Of course they don’t live within five hundred miles of them and probably don’t leave their city limits but once a year to go on a canned vacation.