Two killed in Alaska bear attack

KTVB ^ | 10/07/03 | Staff Writer

[mabelkitty]

I heard some were being distributed via email last week.
The paw was as big as the guy's head.

[dljordan]

They were form Malibu, so I'm betting they weren't armed. They were probably wishing they were armed. I had an old girlfriend who moved to Alaska and she said when they went on a picnic they carried a .12 Ga. with slugs.

[bedolido]

yes. I've stood next to a grizzle standing... of course it was at a restaurant in Portlan, Oregon (area). It's amazing how tall they actually are when standing. The same is true for polar bears.

[Centurion2000]

I wonder if the victims were armed at all. I know I would have been packing if camping in Kodiak Country. And packing something heavy-duty, mind you.

They are from Malibu California, anything powerful enoyugh for bear is probably banned in that godforsaken state.

They had to fly commercial airlines to get to Alaska. The TSA would probably steal or cut up their guns (if possessed) just for kicks.

Odds are highly against them having firearms on the campground.

Of course being next to bears without weapons is a Darwin award candidacy by itself.

[headsonpikes]

Do grizzlies get to be 10 feet tall and weigh 1500 pounds?

Kodiaks are generally considered a subspecies of ursus horribilis(grizzly).

IIRC, their advantage is year-round grub - no hibernating.

[wtc911]

Or maybe they were just sleeping at 3:00 am. Why presume the worst and call the dead idiots?

[Mark17]

I don't know. Do grizzlies get to be 10 feet tall and weigh 1500 pounds?

I saw some Kodiak bears in a zoo once, and I think they were over 10 feet tall. They were gigantic, and that cured any desire I ever had to go hiking in Alaska.

[Spruce]

...training to hit critical points...

Indeed. Shooting a bear in the head just pisses them off even more.

[upcountryhorseman]

Of course they were'nt armed!

[Ranger Drew]

...I grew up in the mountains of Montana. ...and I can tell you just by reading this story,...there were no firearms with these people. 3a.m. or not.

[bwteim]

Bear with me while I share a barely bearable joke:

Mama, Papa, and little Baby Bear were eating dinner one evening when suddenly the door flew open and a strange looking bear burst in carrying a gun.

The intruder bear said nothing. The bear just gobbled up Baby Bear's dinner, took a wild shot at Papa Bear, and left.

"What was that?'' demanded Papa Bear, picking himself up from the floor.

"I think it was a Koala,'' said Mama Bear, reaching for the family encyclopedia. "Yes, it says right here: 'Eats shoots and leaves.' "

[r9etb]

It's amazing how tall they actually are when standing. The same is true for polar bears.

They've got some Kodiak bears at the Seattle zoo, and they are absolutely huge. How huge, you ask?

Well, how's about this (from here. WARNING -- graphic image on the site.):

Estimated weight - 1,000-1,200 lbs.
Estimated age - 15-20 years
Hide measurement from nose to tail - 10 feet 6 inches
Skull width - 10 11/16 inches
Skull length - 17 13/16 inches
Skull score (length and width combined) - 28 1/2 inches
North American record brown bear skull score - 30 3/4 inches
The number of bear skulls with a score above 30'' in Alaska since 1904 - 19

[Centurion2000]

Like I always tell my dog and cat obsessed friends, if your pet was bigger than you, he would eat you.

With cats, you are ABSOLUTELY correct (hate cats myself). Dogs are different. They actually do have a pack mentality, if you raise them with you and they were to get bigger, thye might just try and take your food.

Otherwise why do rottweiller owners not get eaten ?

[nuconvert]

"I've stood next to a grizzle standing... of course it was at a restaurant in Portlan, Oregon" (and dead I assume)

Lucky for you!

[CheneyChick]

I'm embearassed to say that I laughed at that! ha ha ha

[narby]

I'm sure they probably watched several of those PBS wildlife specials that tell all about how to behave in bear country. I was raised in bear country. PBS is in the bear hors d'ouevre business.

I believe there was a recent article in a backpacking magazine about how to survive around bears in Alaska. The article had pictures of some guy within 100 feet or less of grizlies. Said he'd been doing it in Alaska for years. Said they keep their kitchen over 200 yeards from their tent.

I think they're idiots.

[BullDog108]

KG9's 'Bear-Aware' outdoorsman's tips:

1. If you intend to commune with nature by backpacking across the wilderness of the Western US,
Canada, and Alaska, make sure you're armed with a rifle or handgun -- preferably equal or greater
than .40 caliber for the rifle, or .44 in the case of the pistol. Don't pack it; shoulder it.

2. Don't sleep on a bear run. If you don't know what a bear run is, ask a ranger or the local sheriff
for a description.

3. Don't believe any advice about running downhill away from a pursuing bear. Bears can run in
circles up and down a 45-degree angle slope like an Olympic champion, and do it all afternoon.
They can also climb trees better than the best human tree-climber can -- outside of a teenager from
Guam who can shoot up a tree for a coconut in three seconds. There are no bears in Guam, by the
way, so this example is all academic.

4. Playing 'dead' doesn't fool the bears. Playing 'giant porcupine' works lots better, but the suit is a
real hassle to hump through the woods.

5. 'Gentle' black bears aren't. All bears, regardless of maturity or type, are equally dangerous. This
goes double for badgers, which are just little bears with a hostile 'short guy' attitude problem.

6. Never mind the nonsense about sleeping on the ground and hoisting your food above ground in a
tree. Better to sleep in the tree and leave your food on the ground far away for the bears.

7. Make an attempt to tell a local authority -- ranger or sheriff -- about your hiking plans so they
know where to find your remains if you choose to ignore item #1.

8. Pepper spray will just make a bear angrier -- just like it does to a typical Los Angeles County
resident. You'll never get to that damn pepper spray anyway. You *might* get to your rifle.

9. Bears are silent until you're within striking distance. They already smelled and heard you coming a
few hundred yards away. A typical bear's eyesight isn't so good, but they're not Mr. Magoo. They
have eyesight good enough to swat your head off your shoulders with deliberate aim.

10. Using an Elk or Deer call to attract game during hunting season has a really good chance to
attract a bear instead. In kind, salmon fishing in a 'really good spot' is also where the bears fish.

11. Don't wear fragrances as they attract bears, unless it's Brut, which repels bears as effectively as
it repels human females.

12. Don't wipe your hands on your pants. Forget the bears, you'll be in trouble with your mom when
you get home.

13. Use a bell or whistle to both alert bears and annoy everyone else within two miles of you.

14. Never travel alone. If you're with a group, you don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to
outrun someone else in your group.

[bwteim]

LOL

[nuconvert]

They're really something, aren't they?

[JoeFromCA]

What's your point? That if you're from CA it's OK if you're killed by a bear in Alaska?