gomerdog
06-20-2007, 05:01 PM
I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this post, but I'll put it here and the mods can move it if it isn't.
Anyway, two grizzly stories to report. The first is about a man from my town of Lander who went to Jackson Lake for an educational conference and was attacked while on an early morning walk just yards from some of the cabins located there. He was actually on his way back and surprised a mother bear with 3 yearling cubs who had just killed an elk calf after he had walked by on his way out. Some other guest heard his yells and started yelling at the bears, who then left without hurting the guy too bad.
This is the third grizzly attack in NW Wyoming/eastern Idaho this spring that I know of. Also, an 18 year old man was killed a few days ago in Utah by a black bear.
The other story involves a deputy sherrif from Pinedale who shot what he thought was a black bear over a bait near in area called Big Sandy on west side of the southern Wind River Mountains.This area had no previous documented cases of grizzly sightings since the 1800's. When his buddies and he took it to the Game and Fish bear guy, he immediately identified it as a grizzly bear. The bear was a 3 year old male in terrible condition, which reportedly contributed to the misidentification by the hunter. Because the hunter didn't try to hide anything, he will most likely receive a fine, but no big time penalties. Coincidentally, grizzlies in our state were recently removed from the endangered species list, and are listed as a trophy game animal in Wyoming, hence the reduced consequence. If he had done the same thing last year, he would be in much bigger trouble. The area where the bear was shot is just a short day's walk for a hungry bear from where I hunt elk. Hmmmm.....
Anyway, two grizzly stories to report. The first is about a man from my town of Lander who went to Jackson Lake for an educational conference and was attacked while on an early morning walk just yards from some of the cabins located there. He was actually on his way back and surprised a mother bear with 3 yearling cubs who had just killed an elk calf after he had walked by on his way out. Some other guest heard his yells and started yelling at the bears, who then left without hurting the guy too bad.
This is the third grizzly attack in NW Wyoming/eastern Idaho this spring that I know of. Also, an 18 year old man was killed a few days ago in Utah by a black bear.
The other story involves a deputy sherrif from Pinedale who shot what he thought was a black bear over a bait near in area called Big Sandy on west side of the southern Wind River Mountains.This area had no previous documented cases of grizzly sightings since the 1800's. When his buddies and he took it to the Game and Fish bear guy, he immediately identified it as a grizzly bear. The bear was a 3 year old male in terrible condition, which reportedly contributed to the misidentification by the hunter. Because the hunter didn't try to hide anything, he will most likely receive a fine, but no big time penalties. Coincidentally, grizzlies in our state were recently removed from the endangered species list, and are listed as a trophy game animal in Wyoming, hence the reduced consequence. If he had done the same thing last year, he would be in much bigger trouble. The area where the bear was shot is just a short day's walk for a hungry bear from where I hunt elk. Hmmmm.....