Posted on 07/25/2011 4:55:29 PM PDT by Titus-Maximus
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - As the grizzly furiously thrashed him about in the Alaska wilderness, all Sam Gottsegen could think about was what he would miss: college, traveling, life.
"I thought: `I'm going to die,'" the 17-year-old Denver resident said. "I thought, `This just can't be happening to me.'"
Then the bear left, only to return a moment later to continue mailing him and his other teenage friends. When the minute-long attack ended, four teens, including Gottsegen, were injured. Three others were unhurt.
The attack Saturday night in the Talkeetna Mountains north of Anchorage came as the group was nearing the end of a 30-day course to learn how to survive in the backcountry. The teens were at the stage of the course where they could try out their skills without adults around.
Authorities believe the bear was aggressive because it was with its cub. Gottsegen said no one ever saw a cub.
The group was hiking through bushes that got so thick they decided to wade through a river, walking in single file. Around a bend in the river, Joshua Berg, 17, of New City, N.Y., began yelling "Bear! Bear!"
The bear took him down first. The animal made angry, snarling noises as it attacked, Gottsegen told The Associated Press from his hospital bed in Anchorage, recounting the attack.
It was so sudden. There was no time to pull out their bear deterrent spray and no one had a gun. Berg, badly wounded, called for someone to set off the personal locator beacon they carried for emergencies.
Gottsegen said everyone scattered and he ran, even though the students had been told to play dead.
His instincts wouldn't let him, though.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Apparently these teens did NOT watch Sarah Palin’s Alaska otherwise they would have learned something about Grizzly bears
“Then the bear left, only to return a moment later to continue mailing him...”
To where, the hospital?
Depends, do you want to piss the bear off or kill it?
Well, I can understand a camp/survival school isn't going to send a bunch of teens into the backcountry armed. Though I might question sending them into grizzly country. I must have missed the part about the grizz attacking through a cloud of bear spray, which is frequently effective in situations like this. If they can handle 30 days in the backcountry, they can handle spray. Presuming it's legal for minors to carry. My opinion only.
I guess she went looking for a stamp...
I fault the ‘leaders’ who had ‘trained’ these kids how to survive. Bear spray? Noise to scare the bears? I just keep thinking of the old gold miners and the old-timers around So Cal who killed grizzlies because? Well, because they ate humans.
They would have laughed at bear spray and calling out. And singing to the grizzlies.
This story does not cease to amaze me.
They had this on the local news as a local teen was in the group (not one of the injured).
They said the 2nd teen who was hurt came to the 1st teen’s defense by kicking the bear as it continued to maul the 1st teen. Pretty courageous kid.
Bazooka or an RPG would be better.
I’d love to do something that, with a good gun of course.
Story said the teens didn’t have time to use the pepper spray. It was probably buried in their backpack and not readily available.
I’m taking my boys back packing in black bear country next week. I’m gonna have a bear bell and bear spray with me just in case.
I’ll also have a .357 in case the pepper spray doesnt work.
"No no no. Don't do that... That'll only make him mad."
Sorry, read too fast and missed that. Keeping it in the pack is stupid, take that from someone who has done it with both spray and more lethal means. If it can’t be deployed, it’s useless, that they should have been taught if they carried it. Bear bangers, more popular in Canada, are effective too, though they may also be problematical with minors.
“A .45 do any good? Going to the Tetons. Wondering if a .45 is enough.”
In Bear country I prefer my .45-70 lever gun to my pistol and with the rifle I would suggest Garrett 540 grain Hammerheads.
Pepper spray will only piss off a grizzly! Given the choice of a 44 hand gun or pepper spray you damn sure better pick the 44.
LOL! “Dear Lunch, It has come to my attention...”
I prefer a 458 Winchester Magnum rifle for brown/grizzly bears. Three me with three rifles for Polar bear.
Black bears, a 30 caliber high velocity rifle.
Engage bears with a handgun only at last resort.
“Captain Clark and one of the hunters met, this evening, the largest brown bear we have seen. As they fired he did not attempt to attack, but fled with a most tremendous roar; and such was his extraordinary tenacity of life, that, although he had five balls passed through his lungs, and five other wounds, he swam more than half across the river to a sand-bar, and survived twenty minutes. He weighed between five and six hundred pounds at least, and measured eight feet seven inches and a half from the nose to the extremity of the hind feet, five feet ten inches and a half round the breast, three feet eleven inches round the neck, one foot eleven inches round the middle of the fore leg, and his claws five on each foot, were four inches and three-eighths in length. This animal differs from the common black bear in having his claws much longer and more blunt; his tail shorter; his hair of a reddish or bay brown, longer, finer, and more abundant; his liver, lungs, and heart much larger even in proportion to his size, the heart, particularly, being equal to that of a large ox; and his maw ten times larger. Besides fish and flesh, he feeds on roots and every kind of wild fruit.”
About 5 P.M. my attention was struck by one of the party running at a distance towards us and making signs and hollowing as if in distress, ... I now found that it was Bratton ... at length he informed me ... below us he had shot a brown bear which immediately turned on him and pursued him a considerable distance but he had wounded it so badly that it could not overtake him; ... it was a monstrous beast, not quite so large as that we killed a few days past but in all other rispects much the same ... we now found that Bratton had shot him through the center of the lungs, notwithstanding which he had pursued him near half a mile and had returned more than double that distance and with his tallons had prepared himself a bed in the earth of about 2 feet deep and five long and was perfectly alive when we found him which could not have been less than 2 hours after he received the wound; these bear being so hard to die reather intimedates us all; I must confess that I do not like the gentlemen and had reather fight two Indians than one bear;
Capt. Clark and Drewyer killed the largest brown bear this evening which we have yet seen. it was a most tremendious looking anamal, and extreemly hard to kill notwithstanding he had five balls through his lungs and five others in various parts he swam more than half the distance across the river to a sandbar, & it was at least twenty minutes before he died; he did not attempt to attack, but fled and made the most tremendous roaring from the moment he was shot. We had no means of weighing this monster; ... this bear differs from the common black bear in several respects; it’s tallons are much longer and more flont, it’s tale shorter, it’s hair which is of a redish or bey brown, is longer thicker and finer than that of the black bear; his liver lungs and heart are much larger even in proportion with his size; the heart particularly was as large as that of a large Ox. his maw was also ten times the size of black bear, and was filled with flesh and fish.
April 29, 1805
We proceeded early with a moderate wind: captain Lewis who was on shore with one hunter met about eight o’clock two white [grizzly] bears: of the strength and ferocity of this animal, the Indians had given us dreadful accounts: they never attack him but in parties of six or eight persons, and even then are often defeated with the loss of one or more of the party. Having no weapons but bows and arrows, and the bad guns with which the traders supply them, they are obliged to approach very near to the bear; and as no wound except through the head or heart is mortal, they frequently fall a sacrifice if they miss their aim. He rather attacks than avoids amen, and such is the terror which he has inspired, that the Indians who go in quest of him paint themselves and perform all the superstitious rites customary when they make war on a neighbouring nation. Hitherto those we had seen did not appear desirous of encountering us, but although to a skilful rifleman the danger is very much diminished, yet the white bear is still a terrible animal: on approaching these two, both captain Lewis and the hunter fired and each wounded a bear: one of them made his escape; the other turned upon captain Lewis and pursued him seventy or eighty yards, but being badly wounded he could not run so fast as to prevent him from reloading his piece, which he again aimed at him, and a third shot from the hunter brought him to the ground: he was a male not quite full grown, and weighed about three hundred pounds: the legs are somewhat longer than those of the black bear, and the talons and tusks much larger and stronger. The testicles are also placed much farther forward and suspended in separate pouches from two to four inches asunder, while those of the black bear are situated back between the thighs and in a single pouch like those of the dog: its colour is a yellowish brown, the eyes small, black, and piercing, the front of the fore legs near the feet is usually black, and the fur is finer, thicker, and deeper than that of the black bear:
Probably not the weapon of choice, you want a 12g slug or large caliber rifle. But the first grizz killed (in Alaska) after carry was allowed in National Parks went down in Denali to 9 rounds from a .45, so it works. If you have time for 9 shots. I'd carry spray as well.
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