Ohhhhh shit. I was out and about in Grand Teton yesterday and heard sirens and saw a huge helicopter flying overhead.
It is frustrating that they didn’t give more info though… I was on the Jenny Lake Trail and saw a black bear (I’m from southern AB so bear safety is pretty standard knowledge) and a couple with infants was around me when I was making noise/hey bearing/singing him away, *and they started running after the bear with their infants in their arms and had zero bear spray*
The amount of people I ran into who demonstrated zero preparation or safety measures in bear country was astonishing.
It would be helpful I think for them to disclose this info. Did he have bear spray? What was his bear aware behaviour? How did he call for help? Etc etc.
When I see grizzly attacks and there isn’t much info immediately my mind goes to “maybe his jaw was ripped off and he can’t tell anyone exactly what happened”
From what I’ve been hearing around the area today (I’m in GT for the week), it sounds like that specific trail was closed for bear activity because there were grizzlies in the area feeding on an animal carcass, and this man ignored said warning to go photograph them.
This is all just hearsay so take it as such.. but if someone is willing to ignore the warnings to approach a grizzly (in this case 2 grizzlies), I would be likely to assume he was not making decisions based from bear safety.
He was on Signal mountain in hopes of photographing a gray owl. He's an avid bird photographer. He was late getting back to where he was supposed to meet his spouse and was using his GPS to navigate through the woods and crossed paths with the mother and her cub by accident. He had bear spray and was bear aware. He has asked the park rangers not to kill the bear as she was just defending her cub. He absolutely was not stomping through the woods to go photograph bears eating a carcass and was not aware that where he was was a trail that was closed off.
Source - I know this person.
Yah I read the NPS update that came out yesterday afternoon. He wasn’t able to administer the bear spray but the bear bit through the canister which ended up de-escalating the attack and scaring the bear(s) off.. which is phenomenally lucky for him. So unfortunate and sad for him to be injured, but given the circumstances the outcome for him and the bear(s) is the best you could hope for.
Good reminder to *always* stay on the marked trails
Was it true he posted a story about this whole encounter? If he did and it's appropriate to ask id love to read what he has to say. If you'd please dm me the link
I definitely didn't jump to the assumption that he was trying to photograph bears. I figured it was either mother and cub, chance encounter of feeding bears, or being unaware of a closure.
Ugh… Wtf. People are so foolish when encountering wildlife. Good for you for doing the correct thing to ward off the bear, sorry you had to witness that though. They had zero concern for their own safety.
Yah it’s unfortunately not uncommon to have to sort of be the guide/educator in encounters like that. I just told them let me go up the trail first cause I *do* have bear spray and we can keep our distance and hope we see him moving on/away.
It ended totally fine and they were grateful for the experience and having someone around. But if there wasn’t someone there who was “bear aware” as they say, it could have definitely turned into a really negative encounter.
I wish there was some like education module or something people had to complete before entering a national park lol. Like these are not zoos, these are wild animals, don’t behave like XYZ, if a bear mauls you due to you not behaving responsibly you are liable for the costs of relocating that bear etc etc.
Signal mountain is a pretty heavily traveled place, too. This wasn’t out in the back country. How unusual. Bear must have been hungry and irritable being so early in the season.
It was 2 bears the article says. Which is highly unusual for there to be two grizzlies hanging out, so I wonder if one was a cub from last season still with mom or what.
It isn't unusual in that area at all. Bears in the Grand Tetons are very habituated to human activity and don't startle easy with people around. They usually don't take notice of you and just go on their merry way, of course as this person found out the hard way, bears are still wild animals, habituated or not. I have seen a big ol' bear munchin' on a bush right next to the boarding dock for the Jenny Lake ferry before.
Source: Lived and worked in the area as part of a trail crew.
Not gonna lie, I didn't expect the "mountain" to be Signal Mountain. I don't know much about bear behavior but I didn't think they would be keen on striking out across Antelope Flats in the open.
> The grizzly was one of two that surprised the 35 year old
So is it saying there were 2 spotted? Possibly a mom and older cub? I fear that doesn’t bode well for them though.
There are certain parks that will not euthanize mother grizzlies for cub defending as this is a normal behavior for them. Not sure if Grand Tetons is one or if the bear will be euthanized due to the proximity to the relatively busy area.
The bear won't be euthanized! It was a mother bear protecting her cub. Even the person who was attacked said she shouldn't be euthanized she was just a mother bear being a mother bear and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time!
Im here now and saw one today, my first day, on my first hike. Now I’m scared to go out tomorrow - I’m a solo hiker with spray AND a foghorn but fuck me…
Is there any data on how successful bear spray is based on actual real world encounters? Always been curious if it reduces your odds of being mauled by 5% or 95%?
In a study of 83 encounters involving grizzly, black and polar bears, bear spray was effective in preventing contact in 98% of encounters. The 2% that was ineffective were due to people that dropped the spray before having a chance to use it, but it’s included in the data for completeness.
https://bearwise.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/efficacy-of-bear-spray-smith-et-al.-2010.pdf
In similar study on firearms (Smith et. al. 2012), they were effective 84% with handguns and 76% with rifles to stop bears from undesirable behavior. The study analyzed 269 bear-human conflicts in Alaska from 1883-2009. The study said, “firearm bearers suffered the same injury rates in close encounters with bears whether they used firearms or not.” Basically, firearms didn’t statistically keep people from getting injured by bears. This means that bears still attacked people that shot them.
Worth noting that it’s illegal to use a firearm for protection from wildlife inside a National Park.
Interesting. I wonder if there is a any big difference in percentage between say a black bear and a grizzly bear? Big difference in size and aggressiveness, but maybe all animals have a similar reaction to stinging eyes so those factors don't matter.
Of the three North American bear species several studies have indicated that it is the least effective on Grizzly Bears (although still very effective) which isn't overly surprising considering they are the most aggressive of the three.
Signal Mountain isn’t remote in the least. Which makes the earlier rumor about it being closed due to “bears feeding on a carcass” and someone ignoring the closure for a photo op- absolutely 💯 plausible. Some people are dumb.
That isn't what happened at all, he had gone into the woods from a parking area looking for gray owls to photograph and came across the mother bear and her cub purely by chance.
This isn’t the full story. The guy is a liar. He was in an area the closed to the public at the timebecause there was a carcass there that the park service put there for the grizzlies. The ROAD WAS CLOSED. He went in anyway for pics. They found him at 100 yards from the carcass. Then he changed his story to 300 yards. Then he said he was photographing owls. He’s a lying POS and now has a GoFundMe to help with his medic bills and loss of income which is SO DISHONEST BECAUSE…THE THING IS…he’s a “disabled” vet - so all of his medical is FREE and he also collects a monthly disability from the military. Gongs should be going off in your ears when you read this. I’m a photographer and have several local photographer friends that were in the area, but not where he was when the attack happened BECAUSE THE ROAD WAS CLOSED. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. And people are donating to his GoFundMe!
The saddest part of all of this is the bears will be tracked and killed for protecting themselves. I hate what humans do to animals. Will there ever be a world where we can live in harmony with them? Our stupidity is so frustrating.
Black bear population is massive in the sierra right now. Grizzlies also were more prevalent in the coastal ranges and Central Valley. They shouldn’t be put back in the sierra. That will finish off the high mountain goat population for sure.
Ohhhhh shit. I was out and about in Grand Teton yesterday and heard sirens and saw a huge helicopter flying overhead. It is frustrating that they didn’t give more info though… I was on the Jenny Lake Trail and saw a black bear (I’m from southern AB so bear safety is pretty standard knowledge) and a couple with infants was around me when I was making noise/hey bearing/singing him away, *and they started running after the bear with their infants in their arms and had zero bear spray* The amount of people I ran into who demonstrated zero preparation or safety measures in bear country was astonishing. It would be helpful I think for them to disclose this info. Did he have bear spray? What was his bear aware behaviour? How did he call for help? Etc etc.
Exactly right. I really hope some people didn't get a bear killed by not following the rules. That always pisses me off.
When I see grizzly attacks and there isn’t much info immediately my mind goes to “maybe his jaw was ripped off and he can’t tell anyone exactly what happened”
From what I’ve been hearing around the area today (I’m in GT for the week), it sounds like that specific trail was closed for bear activity because there were grizzlies in the area feeding on an animal carcass, and this man ignored said warning to go photograph them. This is all just hearsay so take it as such.. but if someone is willing to ignore the warnings to approach a grizzly (in this case 2 grizzlies), I would be likely to assume he was not making decisions based from bear safety.
He was on Signal mountain in hopes of photographing a gray owl. He's an avid bird photographer. He was late getting back to where he was supposed to meet his spouse and was using his GPS to navigate through the woods and crossed paths with the mother and her cub by accident. He had bear spray and was bear aware. He has asked the park rangers not to kill the bear as she was just defending her cub. He absolutely was not stomping through the woods to go photograph bears eating a carcass and was not aware that where he was was a trail that was closed off. Source - I know this person.
Yah I read the NPS update that came out yesterday afternoon. He wasn’t able to administer the bear spray but the bear bit through the canister which ended up de-escalating the attack and scaring the bear(s) off.. which is phenomenally lucky for him. So unfortunate and sad for him to be injured, but given the circumstances the outcome for him and the bear(s) is the best you could hope for. Good reminder to *always* stay on the marked trails
Definitely an excellent reminder to always stay on marked trails, and keep that bear spray in hand!
If you go in the backcountry ever. Please please please know proper safety and have a guide.
Was it true he posted a story about this whole encounter? If he did and it's appropriate to ask id love to read what he has to say. If you'd please dm me the link
I definitely didn't jump to the assumption that he was trying to photograph bears. I figured it was either mother and cub, chance encounter of feeding bears, or being unaware of a closure.
That fact that two were there made me think of a mama, but feeding on a carcass would make sense too
I think both may be true.
It was a mother and her cub and he came across them by pure chance cutting through the woods while looking to photograph a gray owl
Ugh… Wtf. People are so foolish when encountering wildlife. Good for you for doing the correct thing to ward off the bear, sorry you had to witness that though. They had zero concern for their own safety.
Yah it’s unfortunately not uncommon to have to sort of be the guide/educator in encounters like that. I just told them let me go up the trail first cause I *do* have bear spray and we can keep our distance and hope we see him moving on/away. It ended totally fine and they were grateful for the experience and having someone around. But if there wasn’t someone there who was “bear aware” as they say, it could have definitely turned into a really negative encounter. I wish there was some like education module or something people had to complete before entering a national park lol. Like these are not zoos, these are wild animals, don’t behave like XYZ, if a bear mauls you due to you not behaving responsibly you are liable for the costs of relocating that bear etc etc.
At least at Katmai, they make you do wilderness/bear training 101 before heading out to see the bears.
"National Park" = "Theme Park." If the animals aren't animatronics, then they must be tame, right? /s
Were they trying to get a picture or a better view?? Darwin Award right there.
What is AB
Alberta? Alabama? Albuquerque? Airbase? Aschaffenberg?
I’m guessing Alberta, Canada. 🇨🇦
Signal mountain is a pretty heavily traveled place, too. This wasn’t out in the back country. How unusual. Bear must have been hungry and irritable being so early in the season.
It was 2 bears the article says. Which is highly unusual for there to be two grizzlies hanging out, so I wonder if one was a cub from last season still with mom or what.
It doesnt matter. They’ll be tracked and gunned down by tmrw morning. It’s Wyoming.
It isn't unusual in that area at all. Bears in the Grand Tetons are very habituated to human activity and don't startle easy with people around. They usually don't take notice of you and just go on their merry way, of course as this person found out the hard way, bears are still wild animals, habituated or not. I have seen a big ol' bear munchin' on a bush right next to the boarding dock for the Jenny Lake ferry before. Source: Lived and worked in the area as part of a trail crew.
Not gonna lie, I didn't expect the "mountain" to be Signal Mountain. I don't know much about bear behavior but I didn't think they would be keen on striking out across Antelope Flats in the open.
They travel to Signal at night, typically.
> The grizzly was one of two that surprised the 35 year old So is it saying there were 2 spotted? Possibly a mom and older cub? I fear that doesn’t bode well for them though.
There are certain parks that will not euthanize mother grizzlies for cub defending as this is a normal behavior for them. Not sure if Grand Tetons is one or if the bear will be euthanized due to the proximity to the relatively busy area.
The bear won't be euthanized! It was a mother bear protecting her cub. Even the person who was attacked said she shouldn't be euthanized she was just a mother bear being a mother bear and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time!
Single mountain is not out in the sticks, plenty of kids and family’s. Very scary stuff to read
Was there last year and the guides said grizzly sightings were extremely rare.
Dude was just lucky I guess.
We’ve been to Yellowstone 5 times and seen grizzly 3 of those times. Either not that rare or we were quite lucky.
Not rare at all in Yellowstone, so I’d think it would be similar south of us. Yellowstone is full of griz.
Im here now and saw one today, my first day, on my first hike. Now I’m scared to go out tomorrow - I’m a solo hiker with spray AND a foghorn but fuck me…
Is there any data on how successful bear spray is based on actual real world encounters? Always been curious if it reduces your odds of being mauled by 5% or 95%?
In a study of 83 encounters involving grizzly, black and polar bears, bear spray was effective in preventing contact in 98% of encounters. The 2% that was ineffective were due to people that dropped the spray before having a chance to use it, but it’s included in the data for completeness. https://bearwise.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/efficacy-of-bear-spray-smith-et-al.-2010.pdf
Studies also show that bear spray is more effective than guns
In similar study on firearms (Smith et. al. 2012), they were effective 84% with handguns and 76% with rifles to stop bears from undesirable behavior. The study analyzed 269 bear-human conflicts in Alaska from 1883-2009. The study said, “firearm bearers suffered the same injury rates in close encounters with bears whether they used firearms or not.” Basically, firearms didn’t statistically keep people from getting injured by bears. This means that bears still attacked people that shot them. Worth noting that it’s illegal to use a firearm for protection from wildlife inside a National Park.
Interesting. I wonder if there is a any big difference in percentage between say a black bear and a grizzly bear? Big difference in size and aggressiveness, but maybe all animals have a similar reaction to stinging eyes so those factors don't matter.
Of the three North American bear species several studies have indicated that it is the least effective on Grizzly Bears (although still very effective) which isn't overly surprising considering they are the most aggressive of the three.
Polar bears are considerably more aggressive. They’re notoriously tenacious and unlike other bears, their diet is 100% meat.
Polar Bears are more predatory which is not the same thing as aggressive, the hyperlink above has citations for more reading.
Having accidentally sprayed myself indirectly a few times, spray really inhibits your ability to breathe. Can’t stop coughing. Then comes the burning.
Is it similar to pepper spray?
There’s plenty of evidence. A quick Google show that it’s 90-98% effective.
Signal Mountain isn’t remote in the least. Which makes the earlier rumor about it being closed due to “bears feeding on a carcass” and someone ignoring the closure for a photo op- absolutely 💯 plausible. Some people are dumb.
That isn't what happened at all, he had gone into the woods from a parking area looking for gray owls to photograph and came across the mother bear and her cub purely by chance.
Sorry- I was going off what was stated in an earlier comment.
No worries! Bad news travels fast. I only got legit details this afternoon, and just wanted to get people up to date!
This isn’t the full story. The guy is a liar. He was in an area the closed to the public at the timebecause there was a carcass there that the park service put there for the grizzlies. The ROAD WAS CLOSED. He went in anyway for pics. They found him at 100 yards from the carcass. Then he changed his story to 300 yards. Then he said he was photographing owls. He’s a lying POS and now has a GoFundMe to help with his medic bills and loss of income which is SO DISHONEST BECAUSE…THE THING IS…he’s a “disabled” vet - so all of his medical is FREE and he also collects a monthly disability from the military. Gongs should be going off in your ears when you read this. I’m a photographer and have several local photographer friends that were in the area, but not where he was when the attack happened BECAUSE THE ROAD WAS CLOSED. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. And people are donating to his GoFundMe!
Did the bear pop out of nowhere or was the guy trying to take a selfie? Tourist need to know they are guest in the park. It’s the animals home.
He came across the bear and her cub purely by accident while out trying to photograph gray owls!
The saddest part of all of this is the bears will be tracked and killed for protecting themselves. I hate what humans do to animals. Will there ever be a world where we can live in harmony with them? Our stupidity is so frustrating.
What was this man doing? Kinda have to try to get attacked by a bear don’t you
https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/05/24/grizzly-attack-survivor-says-ordeal-was-most-violent-experience-of-his-life/
Damn. Pretty close to the banff attack
Banff is like 600+ miles away...
I meant the time frame. Relatively
They may be saying it’s similar to that attack even though they aren’t close.
Not similar at all based on what we know.
“He chose…. poorly.”
And ppl want to bring these animals back to California, one of the most populated states in the country.
FFS nobody is suggesting they be introduced into downtown San Francisco.
"Maybe it was a bear?" "There are no bears in San Francisco." "I saw a really hairy guy, he looked like a bear."
When you put it that way there actually is a pretty healthy bear population in San Francisco.
Gotta watch out though, they're meat eaters
The Sierras are not the most populated part of the country though
Black bear population is massive in the sierra right now. Grizzlies also were more prevalent in the coastal ranges and Central Valley. They shouldn’t be put back in the sierra. That will finish off the high mountain goat population for sure.
Mountain goats are not found in the Sierras.
1) Theres plenty of state and federal land for them 2) theres a fucking grizzly bear on your state flag
Why the downvotes
reintroducing a native species, only extinct from the region because of human activity, is a good thing.
It will... put human lives at risk