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Encounters
The second the bear charged, I raised my bow to full draw. I saw, in an instant, the long silver tipped guard hairs and broad forehead and knew that this was a grizzly. At fifteen feet, the bruin slid to a stop and pounded the ground with a huge forepaw, sending a spray of forest debris across my legs and torso as it let out a deep rumbling growl. As suddenly as it began, it was over. He retreated back into the forest, while I let down my shaking arrow from the bow. My heart still racing and feeling a little dizzy, I sat upon the cool earth and collected my frazzled nerves. “This is getting old”, I thought to myself, “really getting old!”
Dark timber to most folks seems a place foreboding and full of dangers. For me, these places are the perfect haunt, big elk get big by staying in this rough country and the hunter who braves the wildest country, has the best chance of harvesting one of those old warriors. The only real danger in these places is the possibility of an encounter with the king of the forest, the wild grizzly bear. In recent years, their numbers have increased dramatically. Where I once saw the occasional track, now an encounter with a bear is imminent. Last time I hunted on the North Fork of the Shoshone River, I encountered eleven bears in a six-day period. Two of those encounters were close calls with one bluff charge, bears protecting their food source (white pine nuts). During the September bow season the bears are dangerous, they forage the high slopes in search of red squirrel caches. The squirrels bury thousands of white pine cones in preparation for the long winter, and the bears dig up the huge mounds and feed on the bounty the squirrels have provided. You would have to see the actual digging to believe it, the woods look like a bulldozer went through from all the digging, and the bears spend the day lying around in the forest, sleeping near these caches. For the unsuspecting bow hunter, stalking with the wind in his face and moving very slowly, these bears are a real danger. They are storing fat reserves for winter and are very protective of their food. A two hundred pound man with a knife and bow is no match for a large carnivore weighing as much as 1000 pounds. Most bears run for cover when encountering a human, but at this time of year they more often growl and charge toward the threat. Let me tell you, even knowing most charges are bluff or false charges, the sight will still wilt even the most seasoned of outdoorsmen into a mass of shaking fear. Their growl is so sudden and fierce that your initial reaction is to flee. Never run! If you do this will trigger a predatory response, the bear will give chase and the result will be sudden and decisive.
I am not knocking the grizzly, quite the contrary; I like the fact that the wild ecosystem is intact and relish the chance to meet up with these old warriors. I am not Treadwell. The fact is that there are too many bears with little or no fear of humans sharing the wild backcountry with me. I cannot take my family into the wilderness without fear of the inevitable bear encounter. Furthermore, if I was forced to kill a bear to protect others, or myself the bear has already been given immediate protection from any wrongdoing. In any court of law, I would have to explain to a group of individuals that have never even seen a bear in the wild, why I killed a protected species. If they thought I had wrongfully killed this bear, my status as an honorable and ethical hunter would be slandered, and my right to hunt and fish could be taken away for my lifetime. This kind of ridiculous behavior by the Game and Fish is not at all the bears fault, nor the hunter who values the high lonesome places. The fault lies in the political agendas keeping the bear protected, as well as the sportsmen not speaking out so that those who are enacting these laws can hear our voice. Unless the mighty grizzly’s population is controlled in our wilderness areas, we stand a very real chance of loosing our rights, even the right to use the wilderness ourselves. I have seen the closure of trailheads to honest hard working tax paying citizens, and cringe at the possibility of what the future may hold for the majestic Grizzly and for future generations of outdoor enthusiasts. I would never shoot a grizzly unless it was a last resort and do not believe that bear spray is a deterrent on a bear who has a family member down or is protecting it’s cubs. I have used pepper spray on a female bear with cubs, she could have killed me. Luckily, I was in a tree when she began her assault. The spray did not deter that bear in any way shape of form. She thought I was a threat and she was determined to have at me no matter the cost to her delicate senses. I would not try to deter anyone from enjoying the wilderness. Most of the year, in most places, there is no real danger if you keep a clean, bear proof camp and be vigilant. For any hunter who hopes to hunt the Absaroka wilderness or Bridger Teton wilderness in September here in Wyoming, I would suggest you think twice before venturing out there with your family or loved ones. The danger is real!
Although I think all bears are beautiful and believe they have every right to live free and prosper, if one tries to eat me there will be a battle, and may the best warrior win. The fact is that the largest carnivore in North America left unmanaged will continue to have conflict with humans, and in the end, the bear always looses. If you value the grizzly and your right to use the wilderness areas please remember to vote for a management plan concerning the mighty king of the forest, their future, and ours depends on it.
(B&B)- Mike “Hawk” Huston is contributing editor for Bulls & Beavers LLC
www.journeywithredhawk.blogspot.com/
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Well said.
I, too, have had encounters of the close kind. I, too, will continue to hunt those high, lonely places. I, too, accept the risk associated with my being there. However, you are so correct in your assessment that things need to change.
The best way to preserve the Great Bear into the future is to manage it… truly manage it… and that means instilling some measure of a fear of humans back into their nature.
Thanks for speaking out loud on an issue that dearly needs it!
Great Job Hawk! People forget that things are not always black or white, there are always some grey areas!
Yes I agree with Dan above. Speaking out loud about the reality of our current system is bold and dangerous. But it needs to be done.
This piece angers me a bit. I feel like if I try to protect myself I will be criminalized. If that ever happens there will be one rogue woman out there as I will sustain myself and protect myself whether it be from beast or human. This just really angers me. If a man breaks into my home I cant shoot him? No, I’m suppose to let him over power and rape me and then proove he did it in a court of law. I dont think so. I think he’s dead if I have any chance at all. Same with a bear, elk, javelina, wolf or what have you. If they revoke my rights, then underground I go. Man this pisses me off!!
Another well written and insightful piece, Thanks Hawk!
Such a great article. People need to be aware of our diminishing rights. We had Grizzly (Sow & cubs) on our property (in Montana) and the authorities encroached on our ranch as if they owned it. They monitored the bears 24/7 and had the nerve to come knocking on our door late one evening to ask if we were hazing the bears. It turned out that earlier we had taken a horseback ride past her and the cubs (of course we did not see her in the trees) on our way our out of our property into state land and had scared her and put her on the run. They noticed her activity (she was collared) and assumed we were up to no good. It was a nightmare!
Montana Griz are not hunted and they are indeed bolder. We spend a lot of time in Alaska and their brown (griz) bear seem to be more leary of man. There are exceptions of course but that is just my observation.
You know what scares me more than a close encounter with a bear?
The idea that my kids might never know that fear.
I’ve hiked around in the Forests and Wilderness of MT, WY and ID my whole life. I’ve seen a couple of bears too, mostly black. Let’s be honest here: there are almost no Brown/Griz left around the Rockies (and fewer blacks than there used to be, too). The reason the bears are protected and “authorities” have the “nerve” to come “knocking” on folk’s doors is that there are so few left. Our beautiful mountains out here aren’t all golf courses and subdivisions YET… but doesn’t mean it’s the full-on untracked wilderness we all wish it was, where everyone can do EXACTLY what they want and no one can tell them otherwise.
“Honest hard working tax payers” in Pennsylvania don’t have to worry about their trailheads getting closed because of bears because there ARE NO BEARS THERE ANYMORE. (that I know of) Is that what we want?
After being in Alaska and having some close encounters (with blacks mostly – they’re so “curious” about humans) it was nice to return to Montana where the chance of encountering a bear is so much lower. Human’s have so few predators to worry about these days that even the small number of bears and cats left freak us out. So when our dormant survival skills kick on they go into overdrive. And that’s fair – it’s how man survived for a long, long time. If a bear tries to kill me, I’ll try to kill it first. That’s not going away any time soon. It’s primal. But it’s a small scale, one-on-one thing. Now that humans outnumber bears so greatly it can’t apply like it used to, otherwise humans would win, and the bears will lose. All of them.
You shouldn’t go to jail if a bear attacks you and you kill it (good luck though – keep a steady hand on that weapon while it’s charging!). The problem is that ANY TIME we see a bear we can’t just kill it. There aren’t enough left to keep that up very long these days! Sure the politicians who make the rules have never had a bear encounter and don’t “understand”… but if they DID, they’d be so scared they would order all the bears around eradicated! And that’s not good either.
So… just saying. Bears are scary and if one attacks me I’ll be sad and maybe even dead (with my little can of bear-spray). I’ll probably wish I could have shot it… (or stayed home?). That’s why I keep a clean camp, cook away from where I sleep, talk out loud in thick brush where there’s low visibility, etc. So far, so good. No bears have eaten me yet.
But I’ll really feel like the mountains have lost something if the bears are all gone. And how can we make sure we have any bears left if we don’t protect them a LITTLE?
Cheers guys – the reason I’m on here is because I DO like hunting. It just bugs me when people get down on bears like this, especially when I think we all have the same “end goals” in mind when it comes to conservation and ensuring that we have game to hunt!
Long post though… beer + internet = trouble.
The above conversation is exactly why I love this website! Differing points of view given with courtesy and respect. I mentioned the Bulls and Beavers blog in a blog I write for ArtforConservation.org.
excellent piece, first and foremost: thank you.
A number of months ago a grizzly cub was shot in the Rose Lake area, directly below the North Fork drainage in Shoshone County. The populace you mention in the article did not indicate species…will you elaborate on this question: black bears or griz?
thanks much.
We are talking about Grizzly bears. Two weeks ago in Wyoming my friends neighbor was torn up by a sow with three cubs and survived by shooting the sow after a near fatal attack. He had to have his jaw and shoulder put back together. Personaly I carry a S&W 357 when I go out hunting. Here are some good survival tips to be aware of when in the outdoors. SURVIVAL TIPS for the Outdoor Enthusiast (life saving) http://tinyurl.com/mzq86u
I just read Evans comments and was wondering if maybe he was into something a little more than just beer beacause his comments are way off base. The facts are that there are more Grizz’s roaming the northern rockies right now than at any time in recent history. As a visitor to this region for over 15 years now bow nunting for elk and vacationing with my family the black bear encounters have been numerous. Have even sited a few silvertips. While dressing out an elk in NW Wy once the grizz sign was so overwhelming that I had a partner pull 360 degree rotating gaurd duty for fear of our lives.
As for his comments on the bear situation in the state of Pennsylvania (of which I am a current and life long resident) I would suggest to Evan that while he is checking out the facts on the griz situation in the northern rockies that he also do a little research on the history of the BB in my home state of PA. That fact is Evan that there have never been more of the black bruins roaming the keystone state in modern day history than there are right now. Check with the PA game commisssion,they have record kills nearly every season. The following sentence is copied directly fro their web site. “Black Bear numbers have incresed substantially in Pennsylvania, from around 4,000 in the 1970s to around 14,000 today.” The GMU in which I live had a harvest of 67 bears last season which is an incredible number. You call your self a hunter but to be honest you sound like an ant in the closet. Oh and by the way our 3 day season opens this coming Monday and I will try my best to contribute to the overall harvest myself.
I wrote my bear book, “Fighting for your Life: Man-eater Bears,” for many of the reasons I see expressed here. After spending a lifetime flying floatplanes and helicopters all across North America and Alaska, I’ve encountered as many bears as anyone and seen the stupid things people do around them more than I care to remember. For example, when I ask most people what’s the best weapon to carry in grizzly country, they always answer with names of firearms. However, the correct answer is binoculars. The best protection, and often the only protection against a grizzly attack, is to see the bear before it see you. It doesn’t make any difference how powerful your weapon is if you surprise one, since it will be on you in a split second and you’ll never have time to fire a killing shot, let along get your bear spray out. The other thing that drives me crazy is almost everyone believes wearing tinkling bells scares them. Not true, and it often just makes them curious, which is not a good thing. I’m trying my best to educated everyone on http://www.alaskaexpert.blogspot.com with tips on bear safety. As Francis Bacon said, “Knowledge is power,” so here’s hoping people will smarten up, since bears aren’t going to change, nor do I want them to.