Posted on 07/25/2005 9:27:30 PM PDT by nuconvert
Grizzly mauls boy in Alaska
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Associated Press
Anchorage, Alaska — A 15-year-old boy from Texas who was attacked by a grizzly bear was recovering at an Anchorage hospital from bites to his legs and arms.
The attack occurred Friday while Alex Benson and his Boy Scout troop were wrapping up a 42-kilometre hike.
Alex apparently startled the bear on the trail, just half an hour from the end of the hike.
He was bitten at least twice before the bear ran off. The boy was left with a shredded arm and puncture wounds in his leg.
Advertisements “I looked up and there was this bear and he looked at me and I said ‘I'm going to die,'” Alex told KTUU-TV in Anchorage from his hospital bed.
Aaron Chapman said he rounded a corner and saw Alex standing in front of a grizzly bear just before the bear attacked.
The bear was likely scared off by one of the troop leaders who was carrying a gun and fired several shots into the air. The attack lasted less than 10 seconds, the Scouts said.
Paul Fletcher, the trip leader and former Alaska resident, said he taught the boys and adults on bear safety. Three fathers carried handguns and four boys carried bear spray on the trek, Fletcher said.
Officials do not plan to hunt down the animal because its behaviour was consistent with a surprised bear.
I guess he knows the answer to age-old question: Do bears sh!t in the woods?
Then Benson turned a corner and nearly fell on top of the bear. "I think I caught it going to the bathroom," Benson said.
Do not hike in the bears' bathrooms!
We're told by some to carry pepper spray and a "bear bell".
It has also been observed that black bear "scat" usually consists of various small rodents, carrion and vegetable matter.
Grizzly bear "scat", on the other hand, seems to contain a disproportionate share of "bear bells", and smells of pepper spray.
If you're going into grizzly country, be FAR BETTER "prepared" than these unfortunate Boy Scouts were.
12 gauge slugs are my preferred defensive mechanism.
Bears like the nice level trails for that purpose.
I hiked the Appalachian Trail one summer and bear scat was very common on the trail.
We need more cowbell!
A 12 guage will just piss them off. Nothing like a Desert Eagle. Ahh..at least the USA still makes guns..
Tough way to learn about Tort law.
OMG how horrible was this at night?
s/b, "Do not hike in the bears' bathrooms unless wearing Depends, and a suit of armor." ;')
:-O
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