Posted on 04/26/2013 10:07:06 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A 42-year-old Salish Kootenai College student who was attacked and mauled by a grizzly bear Friday near campus continued to recover in a Kalispell hospital Monday, while the sow grizzly reportedly retreated into the mountains following the attack and has not been spotted since.
Wildlife managers will not take action against the bear, which they say was with two yearling cubs and acted defensively after a surprise encounter with the male student.
Karen Sargent, public information officer for the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, said the student’s injuries were serious but not life-threatening. He is recovering at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, she said.
The victim was bitten in the head and arm, Sargent said, and would require cosmetic surgery to repair tissue damage to his head and face.
Germaine White, Natural Resources spokeswoman for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, said the student was hiking alone in a brushy area along Mud Creek when he surprised the bear, which charged and mauled the man. He was not aware of the bear’s presence until after it began charging. He was not carrying bear spray, and his name was not disclosed.
“It was a surprise encounter between a female grizzly and her two yearling cubs in an area that is frequented by bears,” White said. “The bear charged, attacked, and retreated and left the area. It was clearly defensive behavior. She was defending her cubs.”
SKC interim president Elaine Frank said the college was notified of the attack, which occurred between 10:30 a.m. and 10:50 a.m. about a mile from campus, and quickly assembled its emergency response team.
At 11:12 a.m., faculty, staff and students received an alert text message notifying them of the bear attack. Several minutes later, the college, which uses the Rave Alert System, sent out another alert: “Grizzly bear was seen in the area of SKC dorms. Please stay inside and wait for update.”
Frank learned later the bear was never on campus, but had been spotted just east of campus.
At 1:40 p.m., the college canceled classes and instructed students to leave campus. College buses were available to pick up students from their building.
She said the student, who was collecting water samples along the creek, was not doing so as part of his SKC curriculum.
“At first we thought he was there on school business, but we soon found out from him that it had nothing to with SKC work,” Frank said. “He was working on a separate project. He is expected to make a full recovery, and we wish him well.”
Something tells me if he had used ‘Bear Spray’, the bear might not have been so tame.
Doesn’t ‘Salish Kootenai’ mean ‘shoo bear’ in the native American/Indian tongue?
There you have it. If a bear is charging at you, in lieu of bear spray, remember to always disclose your name.
“Some of the girls didn’t want to catch frogs so they would give us a quarter to catch one for them.”
One could derive a basic truth about economics and the inherent genetically instinctive motivations that influence women in their spending ....right from that particular statement in your posting!
In Montana the team mascots really can kick your ass and eat you, too.
This is one great clip!
So a player with the Chicago Bears was defending the Cubs? Guess I don’t need to read the article.
Not the baseball Cubs.
Obviously correct ... there is no defense for that.
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