Why you should avoid the deadly grizzly bear
The grizzly bear is also known as the North American brown bear.
The grizzly in their name means fear-inspiring or gruesome demonstrating their ferocious
reputation.
Although variable in color from blond to nearly black, grizzly bear fur is typically brown
with darker legs and commonly white or blond tipped fur on the flank and back.
They can grow between 400 to 800 pounds large, lending devastating force to their blows.
There are a number of things that make the grizzly bear dangerous.
The first, as we ve just mentioned, is their size.
Grizzly bears can run at a maximum speed of 56 miles per hour.
This means they can catch up to most prey pretty easily.
And their large size in combination with their impressive speed grants them deadly momentum.
As if that isn t terrifying enough, they are potent swimmers and can also climb trees.
Grizzly bears are apex predators.
Although they have the digestive system of a carnivore, they are, in actual fact, omnivores.
They feed on a wide range of animals and plants alike.
They can eat large animals like moose, elk, deer, sheep, bison, and even other black bears.
But then they also like to eat fish like salmon, bass, and trout.
There are about 55,000 wild grizzly bears located throughout North America, 30,000 of
which are found in Alaska.
Even though they are very territorial, protective, and aggressive, they don t attack humans often.
They stay away from human groups.
However, when they happen upon one or two individuals, they are far more likely to attack.
Let s see some examples of Grizzly Bears living up to their ferocious name and reputation.
#8.
Grizzly bear kills alberta woman
A 68-year-old woman, whose name has thus far not been released to the public, was on an
evening stroll on her personal property in Alberta, Canada when a grizzly bear attacked
her.
This happened on May 25, 2021.
She was no match for the creature and was mauled to death.
Even though the authorities were called to the scene, there was little they could do
for her.
In any case, wildlife workers set out to find the creature responsible for the attack.
At first they found a sow and a cub and then concluded that these were not the culprits.
However, later on, they found an adult female and using DNA evidence retrieved from the
scene of the attack, they were able to confirm its identity as the perpetrator.
It was then taken away to be euthanized so as not to cause any subsequent bear attacks
on the residents of the area.
#7.
Wildlife Photographer attacked by bear
This incident happened in British Columbia, Canada on September 29, 2021.
The victim was a 70-year-old wildlife photographer.
At about 7 am that morning, he was walking along an access road to the Fulton River Spawning
Channel when he was attacked by the grizzly bear.
He sustained serious injuries to his arm and started to bleed out.
Luckily emergency services arrived on the scene in time and he was rushed to the hospital
for treatment.
From interviews conducted with eyewitnesses, it was revealed that he provoked the bear
into attacking him.
As such, the authorities declared that there would be no manhunt to kill the bear.
No news has yet been released about the man s condition after the attack.
#6.
Grizzly Bear Breaks into Camping Tent
A 65-year-old cyclist known as Leah Davis Lokan was killed by a grizzly bear in Ovando,
Montana.
She had been camping in a tent at the time.
The bear had wandered into the campsite several times, but had each time been warded off.
The final time, though, Lokan wasn t so lucky.
The bear entered her tent and mauled her.
By wearing night-vision goggles, federal wildlife workers tracked down the bear, identified
it, and killed it.
They set a trap near a chicken coop 2 miles from where the initial attack took place.
Attempts to save Lokan s life did not prove successful.
This attack represents the last known grizzly bear fatality in North America.
#5.
Man barely survives grizzly bear attack
This happened on September 26, 2021.
The victim was a 38-year-old man known as Peter Graham.
Graham was an experienced hiker and liked to explore the mountain ranges around Canmore,
Canada ever since he was a kid.
On the day of the attack, his usual trail was populated by many cars and so he took
a trail he had never been on before just to be alone.
While on the trail, he suddenly came upon a large female bear with cubs.
It saw him before he could get away and started sprinting towards him.
It swallowed his head and began to crush his skull with its teeth.
Graham had anti-bear spray, but it was too inaccessible at the moment.
He had to lie down and take it as the bear bit him all over.
It eventually got bored with him and left.
While he was bleeding, he managed to put out an SOS call with his emergency GPS.
An hour later, he saw a rescue helicopter hovering above him in the forest.
#4.
Bear guarding Moose Carcass kills man
This incident happened on April 15, 2021, just outside the Yellowstone National Park.
The victim was a 40-year-old man known as Charles "Carl" Mock.
He had been walking along a trail when he came across a moose carcass and the adult
male bear that was guarding it.
In his desire to take pictures of the scene, Mock got his camera out and inched closer
and closer.
Naturally, the 411-pound bear, in its protective nature, started to consider him a threat.
And so it attacked him and he sustained serious injuries.
Mock did not die immediately.
Instead, he managed to phone dispatchers for 49 minutes and tell them where he was.
They arrived at the scene and took him to a hospital.
He died 2 days later from his injuries.
While examining the scene, the dispatchers were attacked by the same bear.
They gunned it down in self-defense.
#3.
Hiker survives grizzly bear attack
This happened on August 25th 2021 at the Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
A 55-year-old tourist was hiking when a dense fog descended on the scene.
He went on hiking, but since visibility was poor, he did not see a mother bear and her
multiple cubs charge at him.
He sustained puncture wounds to a calf, his left ribs, and his left shoulder.
The attack would have been fatal, but luckily for him, he had bear spray on hand which drove
the bears away.
Through intense pain, he walked 1.5 miles to get to the visitor s center.
There, medical personnel treated him and the park bus driver called 911.
He was transferred to a large medical center and his condition was stabilized.
Since park authorities concluded the mother bear was simply protecting her cubs, they
decided not to euthanize her.
#2.
Elk hunter injured by grizzly bear This incident, in which the hunter became
the hunted, happened on October 4, 2021 west of Cody, Wyoming.
A hunter, whose name has not been released to the public, was searching for elk with
his hunting partner.
Suddenly, the pair had a very close encounter with a mother bear and her two cubs.
The bear immediately got protective and then set upon the two.
Although she tackled the hunter to the ground, his partner was able to shoot it dead.
The victim then rode out to the trailhead and was flown by helicopter to an area hospital
where he received treatment.
Upon examination, his injuries were not considered as life-threatening and he was quickly stabilized.
Wildlife authorities flew to the scene where they euthanized the mother s two cubs.
Further investigations were carried out to understand what exactly happened.
#1.
Man battles with grizzly bear for days
An unidentified man, whose age was estimated to between 50 and 60, had a showdown with
a bear at his remote mining camp in Nome, Alaska.
The incident happened on July 16, 2021.
He had been alone at the time and had been working for quite a few days in an area without
any cellphone reception.
The bear attacked him suddenly and the two had a struggle.
It dragged him down to the river, but he was able to ward it off with his pistol.
With an injured leg, he then managed to climb on top of the shack.
The bear left, but returned every day to harass him further.
The man was in adrenaline high and so could avoid sleeping.
He scrawled the words HELP ME on the roof of the shack.
When he didn t show up home at the time he had given his friends, they reported him missing.
Coast Guard helicopters flew around the area where they discovered the shack and the message
on the roof.
He was then rescued and sent to get medical attention.
Do you still dare to go hiking along risking to get face to face with a Grizzly Bear?