Jump to content
GreaseSpot Cafe

Alaska Bear Mauling Victim Moves On With Life


J0nny Ling0
 Share

Recommended Posts

This is an article about a poor guy who lived through what all we outdoors folks up here have in the backs of our minds when we are out and about, hunting, fishing, or hiking in the woods. So far all of my encounters have been benign (thank God), but always very scary. Once I was on the cell phone with an old friend while walking my dog near the glacier, and I was approached by a big bear and her cubs. I told the gal (an old high school friend) that I was going to shoot to scare the bear off and then did so. Three rounds into the dirt at the bears' feet. It really freaked my friend out, but fortunately, it scared the bears away also, with my dog Jake at their heels. So, I guess my friend had an Alaskan Bear Experience over the cell phone. Kinda wild, that. Unfortunately, this poor guy in the article didn't fare so well. Sounds like the bear was on him so fast (and they are fast when they want to be), even if he had a gun, he might not have been quick enough...

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/012408...239773842.shtml

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So how is this guy doing now psychologically I wonder? I ask that because, and I'm only speaking for myself, I don't know that I would want a doctor to save me if I were that badly damaged. Of course, people who usually have a strong, posotive outlook on life before something like this happens are the ones who can recover such tragedies.

Summer of 2003, just later that October another Alaskan bear would kill Timothy Treadwell and his companion. Of course, Treadwell is a whole different story.

Is there a difference between an Alaskan Brown bear and a grizzly? I'm doing a little bear research for an assignment on a class I"m taking and I can't seem to find a consistant answer to that.

Edited by RottieGrrrl
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there a difference between an Alaskan Brown bear and a grizzly?

Actually, for the longest time, there has been some debate, but the majority of biologists have agreed that the two are the same. They were both named "Ursus Arctos Horribilus", which means "horrible bear" in Latin. Both bears were considered the same, but there has always been the distinction that since the "Grizzly" lives "inland" (where food is harder to come by than it is on the coast where the salmon flourish in the streams and rivers), the Grizz is more aggressive than his/her "coastal cousin", more commonly known as the "Brown Bear". However, recently, as in the last few years, I have noticed references to our local Brown Bears when their Latin name was referred to, that the word "horribilus" has been dropped. When I asked a friend of mine who is a biologist where I work, he said that with the Coastal Brown Bear, the word "horribilus" has been dropped because they are in fact more "benign" than the inland Grizzly, who is still "Ursus Arctos Horribillus". Yeah, it seems that the Grizz is usually more pi$$ed off than the Coastal Brown Bears, because they have to work harder for their food, and consequently are more aggressive towards other predators, including their own kind.

So NOWDAYS, there is a distinction in the name, although the genetic make up of both bears remains essentially the same. You may find information that differs from this, however, because there is always more than one school of thought. Me? I don't trust any of them for a second. Not when I am on level ground with them. And Timothy Treadwell? Well, he was a farce, and he got what he wished for. Up here, we refer to him as "Timothy (Bear Scat) Treadwell", the fool who got his girl friend eaten and two bears killed...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the reply Johnny that has been very helpful. And I'm actually doing an assignment on Treadwell which is why I needed the clarification on grizzly and brown bears. You are right about there being more than one school of thought, there are some people who swear that Treadwell's grizzes were brown bears and not grizzly bears and it gets very confusing. So the info you gave me helps greatly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...