U of C professor killed in bear attack near Waiparous

[Timbo]

Safest place to be in the woods/world/ forum is on Peter12’s high horse.
This is known.

If the poor professor (RIP) was jogging the encounter may have been to quick to deploy any defensive measures.

Hard to go jogging with a shotgun and even bear spray could be considered an inconvenience by some.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Timbo

Safest place to be in the woods/world/ forum is on Peter12’s high horse.
This is known.

If the poor professor (RIP) was jogging the encounter may have been to quick to deploy any defensive measures.

Hard to go jogging with a shotgun and even bear spray could be considered an inconvenience by some.

It's true. Plenty of room up here on the saddle, Timbo. Just no compact guns or bows and arrows.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Considering I usually hike on shrooms, not sure I wanna bring one of my guns. Just gonna waste ammo lighting up a talking tree

This rules and compounds my respect for you almost infinitely.

[Envitro]

Originally Posted by Swift

Is your training part of a job or role you have? Or do you train almost every day just because you like doing it? No ulterior motive to the question, just genuinely curious.

I train (almost) every day since I am a multi-disciplinary competitive shooter. Mostly action-shooting sports (i.e. run and gun) with pistols, shotguns, and carbines, as well as long range dynamic shooting like Precision Rifle Series.

I compete pretty much every weekend starting in May through the end of September, then transition into hunting season September to end of November.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Do you guys hike with bear bangers? I just have bear spray right now, but maybe I should get some bangers, too. They also seem kind of fun, so there's that.

I have them as well. I figure they are useless if the bear is close, because they take a little time to get setup, but it's compact enoguh to carry and I figure the extra option is worth it. A bear won't necessary be on you in 3 seconds. If they are a distance away, but you have no other method of getting past them to get home, well, a banger could come in handy where bear spray wouldn't.

[Envitro]

Yeah, this ^

When I carry bear-bangers on me, I usually have the banger "round" threaded into the launcher pen, but not cocked, and locked in the "safe" position. I then have the pen in an easily accessible pocket with the pen clip secured against my pants or shorts (hope that makes sense), so that it doesn't fall out. If needed, I can quickly access it within a second or two, pull back the spring, and launch it.

Again, it's not necessarily going to be a deterrent to a charging bear, but it'll usually scare one off of your path if you have no other way to get around it.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Envitro

Yeah, this ^

When I carry bear-bangers on me, I usually have the banger "round" threaded into the launcher pen, but not cocked, and locked in the "safe" position. I then have the pen in an easily accessible pocket with the pen clip secured against my pants or shorts (hope that makes sense), so that it doesn't fall out. If needed, I can quickly access it within a second or two, pull back the spring, and launch it.

Again, it's not necessarily going to be a deterrent to a charging bear, but it'll usually scare one off of your path if you have no other way to get around it.

A shotgun shot into the air is pretty effective for this as well....or even to get them to turn around from whence they came.

[troutman]

I was curious how common bear attacks are in Europe (I think cases are increasing as bears are re-introduced to their former ranges):

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44341-w

The increasing trend of large carnivore attacks on humans not only raises human safety concerns but may also undermine large carnivore conservation efforts. Although rare, attacks by brown bears Ursus arctos are also on the rise and, although several studies have addressed this issue at local scales, information is lacking on a worldwide scale. Here, we investigated brown bear attacks (n = 664) on humans between 2000 and 2015 across most of the range inhabited by the species: North America (n = 183), Europe (n = 291), and East (n = 190). When the attacks occurred, half of the people were engaged in leisure activities and the main scenario was an encounter with a female with cubs. Attacks have increased significantly over time and were more frequent at high bear and low human population densities. There was no significant difference in the number of attacks between continents or between countries with different hunting practices. Understanding global patterns of bear attacks can help reduce dangerous encounters and, consequently, is crucial for informing wildlife managers and the public about appropriate measures to reduce this kind of conflicts in bear country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_bear

Brown bears seldom attack humans on sight and usually avoid people. In Russia, it is estimated that 1 in 1,000 on-foot encounters with brown bears results in an attack.[192] They are, however, unpredictable in temperament, and may attack if they are surprised or feel threatened.[193] There are an average of two fatal attacks by bears per year in North America.[194] In Scandinavia, there are only four known cases since 1902 of bear encounters which have resulted in death. The two most common causes for bear attack are surprise and curiosity.[195] Some types of bears, such as polar bears, are more likely to attack humans when searching for food, while American black bears are much less likely to attack. Despite their boldness and potential for predation if the bear is hungry, polar bears rarely attack humans, because they are infrequently encountered in the Arctic sea.[194] Aggressive behavior in brown bears is favored by numerous selection variables. Increased aggressiveness also assists female brown bears in better ensuring the survival of their young to reproductive age.[196] Mothers defending cubs are the most prone to attacking, being responsible for 70% of brown bear-caused human fatalities in North America.[197]

In Alberta, from 1960 to 1998, the number of attacks by grizzly bears ending in injury were nearly three times more common than attacks ending in injury by American black bears, despite the American black bear being an estimated 38 times more numerous in the province than the grizzly bear.[207]

[JJolg]

As someone who spends a fair bit of time in the woods with our so called endangered grizzly bears i would recommend those carrying bear bangers to practice them before taking them into a real world situation much like bear spray (also be mindful of wind direction) Luckily i have only had to deploy bear spray once and the wind wasn't in my favour, safe to say it wasnt a pleasant experience haha but the warning shot didn't work so it was my last resort before we used a actual shot on the bear.

I have witness someone point the banger over the head only to have it explode behind the bear and actually force the bear closer to them because of this, so please keep in mind the wind and direction you are launching the banger

[Slava]

Originally Posted by JJolg

As someone who spends a fair bit of time in the woods with our so called endangered grizzly bears i would recommend those carrying bear bangers to practice them before taking them into a real world situation much like bear spray (also be mindful of wind direction) Luckily i have only had to deploy bear spray once and the wind wasn't in my favour, safe to say it wasnt a pleasant experience haha but the warning shot didn't work so it was my last resort before we used a actual shot on the bear.

I have witness someone point the banger over the head only to have it explode behind the bear and actually force the bear closer to them because of this, so please keep in mind the wind and direction you are launching the banger

Aren't you supposed to shoot the banger above you for that exact reason?

I carry bangers and bear spray and have never had to use either.

[JJolg]

Exactly and maybe even angled a bit behind you if the wind is really blowing. My biggest advice in any situation be mindful of the wind. Almost all my encounters were during hunting season so the wind was always into my face, talking to the bear and slowly moving to get the wind from my back ended most encounters with the bear running off once it got my smell. This is also the reason bears will circle to get down wind usually from a distance, it's more to identify what you are.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Considering I usually hike on shrooms, not sure I wanna bring one of my guns. Just gonna waste ammo lighting up a talking tree

"Oh, man, it was so amazing! Groot jumped out at me just as all the other trees were melting and turning into a whirlpool so I emptied my entire clip into him. Each bullet made a musical tone as it went through Groot, all of which was The Price Is Right losing jingle. The world breathed as I struggled to locate my feet then my ride took me home and I slept for 17 hours."

[peter12]

btimbit: guy who seems to know about guns, also understands risk and the low probability of a bear attack, waltzing through the forest living his best life.

Envitro: guy who has a military fetish, carrying his tricked out Defender with pistol grips, thinks bears have special forces attack abilities, has dreams of shooting a bear down in front of his kids.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by troutman

Based on location, I assume it was a black bear.

Fact: Black Bears eat beets.

[REDVAN]

The only good bear is a dead bear.

[JJolg]

I haven't been up that way in a while but there used to be a large number of local bears due to the dumpsite near waiprous that being said there are definitely grizzlies in the area but the fact that the bear chased down the gentleman while he was running (I just learned pushing him off a large cliff which is crazy) I'm thinking it was a black bear

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by peter12

btimbit: guy who seems to know about guns, also understands risk and the low probability of a bear attack, waltzing through the forest living his best life.

Envitro: guy who has a military fetish, carrying his tricked out Defender with pistol grips, thinks bears have special forces attack abilities, has dreams of shooting a bear down in front of his kids.

Envitro and I have disagreed plenty on gun restrictions but sometimes you can be a real troll.

[JJolg]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

The only good bear is a dead bear.

Nonsense, bears are awesome animals that are very important to maintaining the ecosystems. They have a awful stigma attached to them I do think they need a proper hunting season (grizzlies) to control population but I'd hate to ever see a day where they are not out in the wild

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[Envitro]

Originally Posted by transplant99

A shotgun shot into the air is pretty effective for this as well....or even to get them to turn around from whence they came.

Yeah, I used to carry my shotgun with a bird-shot round for the purpose of a warning shot. But have since adjusted my loadout based on recommendations from some Alaska Game Wardens and F&W Officers that I've chatted with over the last few years.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Envitro and I have disagreed plenty on gun restrictions but sometimes you can be a real troll.

As a member of the Brotherhood of Real Trolls, you would know best.