Welcome back to Scary Bear Attacks!
Today’s episode takes us to the majestic Rocky Mountains near the headwaters of the
Navajo River.
The San Juan Wilderness area is a rugged combination of forest and granite peaks ranging in elevation
from around 8,000 ft to about 12,000 feet.
The valleys flush with deer, elk, coyotes and black bear, but the ecological niche of
the grizzly now goes unfilled.
On the eve of September 23rd, 1979 Colorado native and hunting guide, Ed Wiseman slips
quietly through the forest as the day of elk hunting winds down.
Ed thinks of himself as a bit of a throwback mountain man who enjoys living as close to
nature as he can get.
That is why he enjoys archery hunting.
It beckons to something primordial in his spirit.
Mike Niederee is the 25 year old hunting partner of Ed and is about 300 yards from his hunting
partner looking for an elk.
The Kansan handles the steep terrain well and enjoys their time in the mountains.
He glances ahead and sees what he thinks is a large black bear.
The bear lifts its nose to the breeze and gets a good sniff of Mike and heads down the
draw toward Ed.
Ed hears a rustling in the bushes nearby.
As he turns to take a good look at what is making the bushes shake so much, a 400 pound
female grizzly erupts from the bush and steams toward him.
He immediately recognizes her as a grizzly but knows they haven’t been observed in
Colorado in over 27 years.
The sow closes the short distance before Ed can do anything other than drop to the ground
and pretend to be dead.
This is what the textbooks and professionals say to do after all.
He thuds to the ground but apparently this bear is not fooled by his acting performance.
She immediately clamps her jaws on his right leg and bites over and over several times,
tearing his pants, skin and flesh severely.
Next, she bites into his right shoulder with her 2.5” canines puncturing tissue to the
bone and creating massive wounds wherever she bites.
Ed feels his flesh being torn and the pain is electrifying.
When the sow continues the attack for more than a few seconds, he realizes he may need
to fight for his life.
As the rage of her attack continues Ed takes inventory of any possible weapons in his area.
He is an avid bowhunter and does not carry a firearm and bear spray was still being developed.
He looks to his left and sees his arrows, now knocked from his quiver, laying on the
ground within arms reach.
They are good and sharp from the time he spent sharpening before leaving camp this morning.
Ed reaches over and grasps one of the aluminum arrows and in one fluid motion plunges it
into the grizzlies neck like a long dagger.
The arrow shaft breaks in two and blood sprays into his face.
He hit paydirt with his first strike severing the sow's jugular vein.
Unphased by the fatal wound to her neck, the grizzly continues to tear at him with her
claws and bite him severely.
Ed reaches up and removes the arrow shaft from her neck and plunges it into her chest
just behind her leg.
This blow strikes her in the heart, causing her to withdraw a short distance.
She slowly walks and turns back toward Ed, then lays down and puts her head on her paws.
Colorado’s last grizzly bear breathes her final breath and finds peace
Mike hears Ed’s loud scream so he hurries to where the two parted company.
The only clue he can find is Ed’s black wool cap, and it has blood on it.
He is immediately concerned for his guide and friend as it looks like he’s been attacked
and dragged away by a bear.
That is when he hears Ed’s cries for help and runs to his companions side.
Ed is in bad shape, very bad shape.
He has obviously broken bones, exposed tendons and muscle tissue and deep gashes over his
shoulders and legs.
Ed is already working on his own rescue plan and asks Mike to ride his horse back to camp
and get help.
Life flight will fly him to the hospital and all the drama should be over soon.
Ed came from tough stock, a steel mill worker for a father and a stoic and tough mother,
he was never overly worried about any set back.
This toughness will get him through.
The rescue helicopter arrived just after sunrise and Ed was flown to the hospital in Alamosa.
After a week he thinks he is ready to be released, but when a doctor removes one of his dressings
on his thigh and sticks his entire finger into one of the wounds, he suddenly understands
recovery will take time.
The doctor drains the puss and fluids from the wound and repacks the dressing.
After two more weeks Ed is released to home care.
But, just six months later guides a client on a cougar hunt and in a further three months
returns to the attack site without the assistance of a walking cane.
He worked for 20 more years as a Colorado hunting guide.
He now works at Walmart to stay busy.
He still has the broken arrow shaft and broad head he used to kill the bear.
The bear's pelt and skeleton still sit in the basement of the Denver Museum of Nature
and Science, with her skull on display on the second floor.
When experts examined her corpse they discovered that she was around 20 years old and had severe
arthritis.
She also probably never bore cubs.
Ed says he doesn’t worry about the attack, he says with a smile, but for those who have
yet to be attacked.