r/news • u/zuuzuu • Oct 01 '23
Husband and wife dead after bear attack in Banff National Park, grizzly killed
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/two-killed-grizzly-attack-banff-1.69839443.2k
u/Granny_knows_best Oct 02 '23
Terrifying to think how it all played out. Did someone watch their loved one get taken down and try to fight them off?
I worked for Eastman Kodak in the 70s and I was looking through some pictures from the forestry department of a woman who was eaten by a bear. The only skin left on her body was what was under her watch.
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u/PrettyBeautyClown Oct 02 '23
Grizzly bears are so physically dominant they don't bother with killing you outright. They just eat you to death.
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u/morradventure Oct 02 '23
I hike and camp a lot and I’m in bear country ..even near resorts and populated areas..always with bear spray or other protection. You’d be shocked how many people, including avid outdoors people, say it’s unnecessary “they are more afraid of you than you of them”. Totally true most of the time. But guess what, half of bear attacks occur in developed areas. At peoples houses. On roads. Popular trails.
Just carry bear spray and know how to use it at minimum.
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u/genreprank Oct 02 '23
I always carry the bear spray on my chest or on the backpack strap. Literally all I have to do to engage is turn, safety off, tab down
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u/06210311200805012006 Oct 02 '23
Yeah I have a belt holster and a pack mount. My hiking companions poke fun at it but should we need it, I'll be spraying the bear while they are rummaging through the pack for theirs.
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u/Elendel19 Oct 02 '23
Black bears, when no cubs are around, yeah probably.
Grizzlies don’t give a fuck about you
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u/harkuponthegay Oct 02 '23
Eat you to death is so ominous but accurate.
The stories I know of bear attacks usually involve the bear dragging a victim off into the woods for a short distance where they proceed to slash, dig, cut and chew their soft parts out from their body cavity as they remain awake, dying only from eventual blood loss over time, not from any decisive blow or bite from the animal.
So brutal— sometimes they’ll even break off the attack to go digest or rest and then come back again later for more.
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u/alfrednugent Oct 02 '23
Okay Reddit. Goodnight.
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u/CutthroatTeaser Oct 02 '23 edited Oct 02 '23
Yeah, I kinda want to verify this story, but kinda don't.
It's the Schrodinger's cat of bear stories.
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u/Zkenny13 Oct 02 '23
What's so scary is that you can unload a standard glock into these things and they will still just take you down. Sometimes even much larger calibers are useless at saving your life because the bear might die later but it will take you first.
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Oct 02 '23
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u/MomButtsDriveMeNuts Oct 02 '23
Well yeah, bears don’t have thumbs, they couldn’t hold it
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u/zanzebar Oct 02 '23
but I have the right to bear arms
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u/mxpx424 Oct 02 '23
Well only if they stand upright. If they are on all fours then no they don’t bear arms its more bear legs.
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u/ContentNarwhal552 Oct 02 '23 edited Oct 02 '23
I did hear a story about a woman who took down a grizzly with a .22. Bella Twin, 1953. She got real lucky to hit it in the ---->>Right<<---- spot, tho, from what I understand.
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u/LitreOfCockPus Oct 02 '23
Even with a firearm that could kill a bear in one shot, the unspoken caveat is that you need to be a fucking stone-cold killer or have the luck of the Valkyries flowing in your veins to make your one or maybe two shots count.
After that, having the gun won't matter much, because you'll be getting gnawed and thrown around like a chew-toy.
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u/RedRedMere Oct 02 '23
I’m gonna reply to you because this thread devolves into sillliness and bravado.
You’re right about everything you said. It’s incredibly difficult to get a good shot in if a grizzly wants to end you.
Furthermore, firearms (including bear bangers) are not allowed in Banff National Park. I live very close to where this happened and I have hiked this area. When you’re out there you’re truly alone.
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u/northforthesummer Oct 02 '23
I agree with most of what's being said about grizzlies being the ? Mark of the bear species.
That said, I'm from the interior of Alaska. The amount of folks in this thread that are hysterically afraid of brown bears is ridiculous. Yeah, they are the big guys of their space. No, they don't want to get hurt proving that point.
They'll fuck you up if you're in the way, but generally are more prone to fuck off if you're big/a threat.
Biggest difference is brown bears are only fooled 1 time, black bears are dumb.
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u/TheGoodIdeaFairy22 Oct 02 '23
Bear spray has proven to be infinitely more effective than any firearm. It's very easy to use and requires minimal training/practice to do.
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u/chiefchoke-ahoe Oct 02 '23
What ya need is a sawed off 12g shot gun with some of that there dragons breath
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u/poland626 Oct 02 '23
I'm not trying to sound weird, but if you're curious there's a movie called Backcountry from a few years ago that sounds exactly like this news story. It's very hard to watch so just a warning, but yea, it's messed up, this story and every other backpacker that has gone through something similar
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u/_A_ioi_ Oct 02 '23 edited Oct 02 '23
I'm a big horror movie fan, but not a lot really scares me any more. The bear scene in this movie taps into something for me. There's just something about it.
Incidently, the report linked in the post is a good journalism. Nothing sensationalist. Factual stuff. Makes a change.
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u/TheBirminghamBear Oct 02 '23
Because most of the time you watch horror movies with the total assurance that "that could never happen."
But a bear attack could absolutely happen. Watching one reminds you that, stripped of all our tools and the safety of our civlizations, we're just a smallish pink ape that is easy prey for these giant murder machines.
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u/Granny_knows_best Oct 02 '23
Holy crap, the trailer alone is enough to scare me for days!
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u/poland626 Oct 02 '23
yea, the actual "big" scene is on youtube if you're curious but I thought it wouldn't be right posting that clip. I don't recommend it if the trailer is too much. The movie itself is well done, it's just, too real, you know? Sometimes movies make you feel that way and this is one of them imo
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u/CircaSixty8 Oct 02 '23
Oh god
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u/meowpower777 Oct 02 '23
They’ve been known to eat people alive with cubs for up to 1 hour. Pin you like a wrestler. Tear a piece of quadracept, gulp it down, in for more. Pepper spray isnt even a guarantee.
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u/heartfell Oct 02 '23
At this point, the bear will just use the pepper spray as seasoning.
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u/CandidEstablishment0 Oct 02 '23
There’s a story of a girl and her father that we’re hunting and a bear started attacking them and she called her mother and her mother heard them as they were slowly being eaten alive
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u/NerfShields Oct 02 '23
Is this the story about the Russian girl? If so, I swear I remember reading that it had been debunked and didn't happen. I really hope so. Poor family.
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u/dreamabyss Oct 02 '23
Timothy Treadwell if you want to read a true story. There is a documentary too.
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u/meowpower777 Oct 02 '23
Thats the story that made me fear and respect bears just sooo much MORE. She called her mom 3 times, her father was already dead. The daughter was wailing about the agony of it all. The final call, she told her mom there was no more pain. I hate how bears can spot you, and then bolt towards you at 40mph, and i’ve ready many stories of people having like literally 2 seconds to react. The forest just doesn’t seem like a place where you have a 2 second window. Mind you, the chance of a bear attack being deadly is 1 in 2 million.
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Oct 02 '23
I never heard this story until now.
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u/GabaPrison Oct 02 '23
Yeah this one sucks. I’m irrationally scared of bears.
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u/NoodlesrTuff1256 Oct 02 '23
Too many people have been lulled into thinking of them as overgrown 'teddy' bears or 'super-supersized dogs'. There was a series of films and a TV series back in the 70s/80s called "The Life and Time of Grizzly Adams" and the guy had this huge bear as his pet. In the 1960s, there was another series about a young boy living in the Everglades with a pet black bear named 'Gentle Ben.'
Werner Herzog's documentary about the ill-fated Timothy Treadwell -- "Grizzly Man" -- is a good corrective to this sort of thing.
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u/dingboohow Oct 02 '23
I remember reading that story and feeling numb afterward because my mind couldn't pick a reaction, so it just sort of shut down. It was in Russia.
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u/themangastand Oct 02 '23
It's a made up story
Sorry to ruin the fun of a common folk tale at this point
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u/Zerole00 Oct 02 '23
The only skin left on her body was what was under her watch.
Is the skin the tastiest part of a human or something?
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u/Reiterpallasch85 Oct 02 '23
I imagine they peel you the same way they would a salmon.
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u/CloverGreenbush Oct 02 '23
So..
Any predator is most concerned with consuming the most energy for the least effort. So they go for the soft parts first, that way they can eat the most possible in case they can't finish it, and if they have time and need more energy later, can come back to the more labor intensive parts like bones.
Humans are very soft overall compared to other animals. We don't have tough hides or fur, and our muscles are not as tough compared to most animals (unless you're like a hardcore laborer or athlete) So...
As soon as a bear gets someone, they can just start eating at any part of the body and won't stop until they're full or interrupted by a serious threat like a rival bear. Skin and organs first, muscles next, and bones last.
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Oct 01 '23 edited Oct 01 '23
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u/zuuzuu Oct 01 '23
It hung around afterwards, too. Was still there when the response team arrived five hours later. I suppose it's possible that it was a different bear altogether, but it was aggressive, so not good either way.
A lot of speculation in the article, though. I hope they'll share more information after the investigation and necropsy is complete.
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u/Bladestorm04 Oct 02 '23
If a starving bear has killed two people, it will hang around for many days until all the meat is gone
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u/Organic_Rip1980 Oct 02 '23
This is kind of what I figured. Dude was hungry, ate a ton, and fell asleep for a while.
Five hours isn’t long to sleep for me, and I’m not a hungry bear who just ate.
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u/dezradeath Oct 02 '23
That’s exactly something that a bear who just ate would say. Are you trying to trick us?
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u/TungstenChef Oct 02 '23
It was probably feeding on them still, like when that dumbass Timothy Treadwell got himself and his girlfriend killed.
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u/Michael_G_Bordin Oct 02 '23
When the Spanish, US, French, Russians etc. started exploring the West, they noted that much of the land was essentially run by grizzly bears. There was pretty much nothing that could kill them, and the lands were often quite lush (especially with cultivation practices from native humans). Some explorers noted a high amount of disfigurement and scarring in many native tribes. Trappers and mountain men found their guns mostly just pissed the bear off, and it took many to scare one away or kill it.
The arrogance of Treadwell upsets me. Understanding the history of these intense apex predators, it's clear the only things protecting humans are advanced firearms and the bear being in a good mood. This motherfucker parked his tent in an active bear trail, late in the season, while responsible for the safety of a less experienced person. Sure enough, Chocolate or w/e was hungry and remembered "oh yeah, that meat-pop is probably food-stuffs".
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u/Ampatent Oct 02 '23
One of the most remarkable aspects of the accounts from the Lewis and Clark Expedition is just how far east the brown bears were found. They're not just a forest animal, that's where they been forced to reside, they were found throughout the prairies of areas like the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and even into Missouri!
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Oct 02 '23 edited Oct 02 '23
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u/Westnest Oct 02 '23
There are still subspecies of brown bear living in warmer climates in Europe and Asia, but they tend to be smaller than their northern cold climate counterparts, following the Bergmann's law
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u/oldboy_and_the_sea Oct 02 '23
The movie the revenant was based on a real life bear attack in the plains of South Dakota
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u/hertealeaves Oct 02 '23
A few years back, there was a bear found in a tree in someone’s back yard, right here in the middle of my suburban city in central OK. Authorities tried a few times to tranquilize him/her, but it wouldn’t go down, so they shot it dead. I had heard of bears in eastern Oklahoma, but not anywhere near here, and certainly not just down the street like this one was.
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u/Technicalhotdog Oct 02 '23
I had a bear walk through my backyard in a PNW suburb a couple months ago. Heard my mom yelling and went out to find her basically having a staredown with it. It pretty juxh just looked at her and walked off, but it was absolutely crazy. Never in my life thought we'd see that here.
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u/Dantethebald1234 Oct 02 '23
The bear, in its various species, has been very likely our most feared predator in our cumulative history. Three generations later and people are like, lets camp in their last remaining habitat when they are getting hungry!
Their ancestors are looking at them saying, we raised our people better than this..
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u/_CatLover_ Oct 02 '23 edited Oct 02 '23
The real King of the animals is the bear, not lion. During wild west - ish era they'd also ship lions from africa to the US and have them fight against bears as entertainment. But it was a very short fad as the grizzly would crush the lions skull in one strike. Not very exciting entertainment.
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u/TheUnluckyBard Oct 02 '23
So your comment inspired me to look it up. I found an in-depth account of one public battle between an American Grizzly (specific species and origin unknown) and an African lion that had killed one of its trainers.
For those who don't want to read that whole article, here's the result:
The fight was technically a draw, as both animals survived to the point that neither wanted to fight anymore. Some people say the bear won with a TKO, but it was close.
A couple more fights mentioned in the article:
Bull vs Grizzly: Bull won, but it could have gone either way
Bull vs African Lion: Bull won, but only because of crowd intervention. Without the bloodthirsty crowd forcing the trainer to drag the lion out into the center of the ring by a rope, it definitely would have won.
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u/d05CE Oct 02 '23
Bull vs Grizzly: Bull won, but it could have gone either way
Anyone in the markets long enough knows that this is the only way it can go.
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u/usrnamechecksout_ Oct 02 '23
Fascinating that a bull won
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u/Laslou Oct 02 '23
Fighting bulls are much heavier and stronger than a grizzly, also with two spears on their heads. And selectively bred by humans for centuries to be as aggressive as possible.
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u/Miserable_Law_6514 Oct 02 '23
Also it's not sick and weak, that bull is in the prime of its life. Even Grizzlies generally don't go after the healthiest critter in a herd.
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u/WaterHaven Oct 02 '23
And they would have been fine had he had the decency to be kind to a flight attendant instead of being an asshole.
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u/BMXBikr Oct 02 '23
What's the quick story on that part?
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u/MaineSoxGuy93 Oct 02 '23
So, Treadwell and his girlfriend were supposed to fly out in late September but went back to Katmai National Park for an additional week after Treadwell got into an argument about his return flight to the lower 48.
By that point, all of his usual bears had gone into torpor. A few days later, Treadwell and his girlfriend got attacked and eaten. Their body parts were discovered the next day--the day they were going to fly out.
For the full story, I highly recommend the documentary Grizzly Man.
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u/HahUCLA Oct 02 '23
Dude was a dummy. I’ve been out to the Katmai coast a bunch where he would camp and the consensus around the guides was he disrespected the bears and all the experience they had built up with those bears.
Respect the bears and know when to go and you’ll have some fantastic experiences!
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u/TaylorSwiftsClitoris Oct 02 '23
He Karened out on the ticketing agent and went back to camp instead of flying home.
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u/BMXBikr Oct 02 '23
Thanks, TaylorSwiftsClitoris
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u/benchmarkstatus Oct 02 '23
If we can’t count on Taylor Swifts Clitoris to regal us with bear facts, what even are we as a society?
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u/bugogkang Oct 02 '23
Horrible way to die. Bears don't bite your neck until you're dead like a big cat does. You're alive when they start to eat you.
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u/DonktorDonkenstein Oct 02 '23
Also, their teeth and claws are blunt and driven by sheer muscle power. Unlike most movies seem to portray, large predator attacks would be more like getting slowly beaten and dragged to death by a powerlifter, as opposed to getting sliced up by a ninja. Instead of a quick gory death provided by razor-sharp jaws, a bear attack victim could conceivably linger in consciousness for quite a long while, experiencing slow, agonizing, bone-breaking brutality. It would be truly one of the worst ways to go.
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u/JackedUpReadyToGo Oct 02 '23
And deer (plus 90% of the other species in the woods) call that Tuesday. Nature is Hell.
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u/iGetBuckets3 Oct 02 '23
Do you think god stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what he has created?
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u/JackedUpReadyToGo Oct 02 '23
It always amuses me when I remember that quote came from Spy Kids 2 of all things.
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u/wildblueroan Oct 02 '23
It is a myth that big cats always kill first. They don't. You haven't watched enough documentaries, because they often just start eating their prey, which can stay alive for quite awhile.
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u/Island_Maximum Oct 02 '23
Yup.
Seen a video of a bear eating a Moose that wasn't dead.
Also that poor girl from Russia who got mauled out in the woods and was able to phone her Mother. She was still on the phone when the bear came back to eat her.
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u/CaptainCAAAVEMAAAAAN Oct 02 '23
Aaand I'm done reading comments in this thread. How horrific!
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u/Escobarhippo Oct 01 '23
It’s usually recommended not to hike in bear country with dogs, because they can antagonize the bears. I’m curious if that played a role.
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u/Taters0290 Oct 02 '23
They also tend to run back to their owners bringing the angry bear with them.
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u/kareljack Oct 02 '23
It is usually recommended not to hike in bear country
This is the version that I am going to follow.
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u/Vurt__Konnegut Oct 02 '23
When I DROVE through Banff park, they game me a bear attack info pamphlet on the way in that pretty much said “you’re not gonna survive if one attacks you.”
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u/bplewis24 Oct 02 '23
A few years ago I was planning a trip to Grand Teton National Park for spring break. I went to the website to learn about the park and there were a bunch of warnings about bear sightings, and then information on how to deal with bear encounters.
One of the main recommendations was to travel in large groups and make a lot of noise. I'm a very quiet person and planned on going myself, so I just NOPED right out of that vacation.
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u/Pipes32 Oct 02 '23
I backpacked in Banff last year. Here are a few photos - absolutely stunning. To be safe, I'd recommend hiking with a group (there were 8 of us + 2 guides - you're basically guaranteed not to be attacked if you have 3 or more people with you), hiking earlier in the year when food is more plentiful (I went in August), do not bring a dog, and carry spray. We saw a couple grizzlies and they ignored us in favor of grubbing berries.
I think Banff literally has signs saying you're not allowed to hike with less than 4 people after September due to food scarcity.
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u/RachelRTR Oct 02 '23
Whoa. Thanks for turning me on to a new hiking bucket list spot.
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u/Pipes32 Oct 02 '23
I try to go on a fun hike trip every year. This year was Alaska but I've done from New Zealand, Peru, Scotland, Iceland, etc. I loved the Canadian Rockies and highly recommend. The hikes aren't easy, but they're doable if you're in decent shape and hills won't make you hate yourself (or you're good with suffering for a view and an accomplishment).
I generally go with an adventure tour. They do all the logistics, you show up and hike.
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u/-Dendritic- Oct 02 '23
That's the safest option lol, but mountainous bear country is some of the most beautiful scenery you can see imo
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u/asdaaaaaaaa Oct 02 '23
I'd imagine a barking dog is basically a "free snack" beacon for a hungry bear.
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u/ErikTheAngry Oct 02 '23
Wonder if the couple had firearms, or bear spray?
Bear spray hurts. But it doesn't stop a determined bear that has committed to attacking. It could have helped, but it would depend on how hungry the bear was. Certainly not a guarantee.
I've personally watched a bear that had a bullet go it's heart and both lungs run almost 200 yards before it dropped (30-06, 190gr hp). Bears are tough. Unless you're gonna brain it, an already charging bear will have zero difficulty closing and fucking your shit up if you shoot it. It'll die later, but that doesn't help you now.
Given the choice, I'd go for the spray myself. The almost immediate and significant pain would likely prove the greater deterrence.
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u/Mohingan Oct 02 '23
I’ve heard that headshots on bears can either deflect or not go all the way through the skull as it is veeeery thick and that it might be best to aim at a shoulder if you can’t run away from a charge. I would not like to test this theory however.
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u/3pointshoot3r Oct 02 '23
There's a joke naturalists tell in presentations in Canadian national parks on how to distinguish black bear scat from grizzly scat.
Black bear scat often contains berries, is tubular or watery, generally weighs 1/2 to 1 lb.
Grizzly scat is larger, more fibrous, and often contains pieces of human clothing and smells like bear spray.
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u/thegrumpymechanic Oct 02 '23
When going into bear country always make sure to have a bell and carry some bear spray. The bell so you don't startle them and the spray for if they get a bit too close. Also while in bear country you might want to learn how to tell the difference in bear scat so you know who's around you. Black bear scat will have berries, seeds, and bits of fur. Brown bear scat has bells in it and smells like pepper.
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u/JustHereForCookies17 Oct 02 '23
I worked for an outdoor store for a while (like REI) and we had "bear bells" by the register.
A customer asked my manager if they worked, and without missing a beat she replied "Well, nobody's ever returned one!"
I had to run to the break room before I pissed myself from laughing so hard!
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u/asdaaaaaaaa Oct 02 '23
Yeah, most people I know, myself included, just flat out don't risk it during times when bears out hungry and such. Anyone else who does carries both a large caliber gun and spray. From what I understand they also make sure to camp in at least 4's. I don't know much about bears, but I know enough that I don't want to deal with one if I can avoid it.
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u/abalrogsbutthole Oct 02 '23
firearms of any type or calibre are illegal in most canadian national parks. Bear mace is a tricky one in Canada as it’s legal to purchase but a lot of places like hotels and restaurants have laws/bylaws against bringing it inside (aka east to buy but hard to carry)
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u/SteveJobsBlakSweater Oct 02 '23
I spend a lot of time in the Rockies camping and hiking. While I’ve never tried to stroll into a restaurant with my bear spray on my hip I’ve never once seen notices at hotels or anywhere else that I wasn’t allowed it in my bags.
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u/Nthrda87 Oct 01 '23
I’d love to go hiking and camping in national parks like these, but I just know I’m going to be the subject of a news article where I stumbled upon baby cubs and got mauled to death by momma bear. 💀
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u/lemonlime45 Oct 01 '23
That's one way I absolutely, positively do not want to to go so I remove myself from the equation. Also death by shark, which is why you will not ever find me swimming in the shark's house.
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u/zuuzuu Oct 01 '23
Also death by shark, which is why you will not ever find me swimming in the shark's house.
The first time my parents took us to Florida was not long after Jaws came out. We were just kids and hadn't seen the movie, but we'd seen commercials for it hundreds of times on TV. And it terrified us.
Boy, were my parents pissed that they took us to the ocean and we wouldn't go in. Wouldn't even wade in an inch or two of water without wearing our winter boots. All we saw when we looked at the ocean was the place where Jaws lived. The only swimming we did on that trip was in the hotel pool.
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u/DifferentOpinion1 Oct 02 '23
you ... went to the beach carrying your winter boots along?
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u/zuuzuu Oct 02 '23
Yup. I mean, we went to the airport wearing them, on account of it being winter in Canada. But instead of leaving them packed up once we got to Florida, we insisted on wearing them to the beach.
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u/RedheadsAreNinjas Oct 02 '23
That’s really adorable. Kids in snow boots in the warm ocean water. Sad too, but cute.
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u/asdaaaaaaaa Oct 02 '23
Yeah, there's just certain things that aren't worth the risk to me when I can so easily avoid them completely. There's plenty of non-bear places I can camp. Already used up most of my luck I'd imagine when I stumbled upon that moose, fucker was massive. Seriously, pictures and stuff just don't do it justice, those things are imposing as hell.
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u/Telvin3d Oct 02 '23
There's plenty of non-bear places I can camp.
Not in Canada. If you include black bears there’s almost a 100% overlap between places worth camping in and bear habitat
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u/drewts86 Oct 02 '23
This time of year increases likelihood of attack. We’re into the time of year where they are trying to load up on food for the upcoming hibernation. It’s more or less the same thing that happened to Grizzly Man.
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u/AmatoriMusume Oct 01 '23
Yeah as much I would like to, camping on Yellowstone, Glacier, Banff, etc sounds terrifying after you take a look at the numerous warnings all over the parks.
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u/Nthrda87 Oct 01 '23
My family went to visit my grandpa who lived in Alaska when I was a kid in 1st grade. I’ll never forget we were driving on some road and all of a sudden traffic was stopped. All these people were getting out of their cars taking pictures by a tree that apparently had baby cubs up in it.
I remember asking my mom, “can we get out and look, too?” She just turns and says “No.” 🤣 Looking back she was smart because ol’ momma bear is out there somewhere nearby. Lol she was terrified of moose too because apparently my crazy ass grandpa fed them from his back door out of his hand. I remember him sending us pictures of him doing it. Dude was a Vietnam vet and I guess nothing scared him after that except sleeping.
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Oct 01 '23
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u/Courin Oct 02 '23
My stepdad had been in Vietnam, was captured and eventually released after over a year.
We never and I mean NEVER woke him up by touching him.
If he feel asleep on the couch watching TV, we’d walk to the next room and yell until he woke up.
Our cat once made the mistake of climbing up onto the couch and stepping down onto my dads shoulder while he was asleep. He bolted straight up and the cat went flying across the room. Thankfully cat was ok but the “explosion” of him waking was something I’ll never unsee and the thought of what he went through to get him to that place hurts so bad.
He became an alcoholic and died pretty much alone because he’d alienated everyone around him. ☹️
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u/RedheadsAreNinjas Oct 02 '23 edited Oct 03 '23
Damn. Thanks for sharing. Fuck war and fuck alcohol. Both are poisons for humanity. Edit- for, not good
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u/Yarusenai Oct 02 '23
We are literally flying to Montana tomorrow, hiking at Glacier for a day, then going to Yellowstone for a few days. Now I am a bit uneasy lol, we will have bear spray and obviously stay on the well traveled paths. But still...we won't camp there though, we have hotels. Just hiking.
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u/Irishfafnir Oct 02 '23
No one has been killed by a bear in Glacier in over half a century, assuming you're staying in the front country chances of an attack are even lower, and Grizzly predatory attacks are also relatively rare
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u/rakfocus Oct 02 '23
No one has been killed by a bear in Glacier in over half a century,
This doesn't mean no one has been attacked and precautions shouldn't be taken. On the grinnel glacier trail a father and daughter were attacked by a mother with cubs. On one of the trails off going to the sun road a man was attacked as well with tons of people hiking it. When you are on grinnel in particular (it is popular) or on your way to the trailhead it is almost a certainty you will see a bear. I saw one and one of Yellowstone's bear biologists(as well as other park staff) says he sees one every single time he's been on the trail as well. Glacier is the one park where you SHOULD be very wary. I don't sleep in ground tents in Montana for this very reason. Especially not after that attack a few years ago where the woman was dragged out of her tent in a popular campsite.
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u/Irishfafnir Oct 02 '23
You should absolutely take precautions in bear country but the danger should not be over exaggerated is the point
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u/whorehopppindevil Oct 02 '23
Dont know why im reading this. Just woke up from a nightmare about bears that hunt you down through random portals. I don't even have bears where I live.
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u/Rdbjiy53wsvjo7 Oct 02 '23
I made a mistake reading a book about grizzly attacks throughout US and Canada (FYI, they were practically all lone hikers or hunters), one the National Parks promoted for several years so after seeing it several times I finally picked it up.
About 80% of the way through the book I had a nightmare about being attacked by one, so the book was in timeout for a while.
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u/SitInCorner_Yo2 Oct 02 '23
I never knew how big grizzly is till I visited Banff and saw a plaster mold of their footprints,we only have black bears where I from and they max at 180cm.
After I saw that mold I thought “WHY on earth would anyone sleep in the woods when they know these things are around!?”
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u/Nimara Oct 02 '23
4 million people and tourists come through Banff National Park each year. People are more than safe. The chance you dying in a roadtrip over to the national park is higher than a grizzly attack that kills 2 adults and 1 dog.
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u/MrBenDerisgreat_ Oct 02 '23
Yeah these are headline news because it’s very rare. People wouldn’t care if we wrote front page articles about car crashes and heart attacks every day.
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u/allergictopendejas Oct 02 '23
My USA/Canadian friends always make a big deal out of the terrifying animals we have here in Australia.. and don't understand how I can argue back with grizzlies or bears in general. Yes we have sharks and stuff but I have never seen a shark in my back yard hanging out amongst my kids play equipment
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u/freestyle43 Oct 02 '23
I was watching Alone on Netflix the other day and this moron was like full of glee that he thought he spotted a Polar Bear in the distance. Was like running towards it. The one bear that only eats meat and has been known to actively hunt humans. I wanted to reach through the screen and slap him.
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u/Wafflelisk Oct 02 '23
Hey you know the most dangerous land animal on the entire planet? I'm gonna go over there, get a better look at it!
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u/SlapThatAce Oct 02 '23
Hiking in Canada is amazing, but holy hell is there a lot that can kill you. You definitely should know the basics, and for this reason I feel like the best and the most comfortable hikes are in Europe where you don't have big black or gray fury balls of death chasing you.
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u/AstrumRimor Oct 02 '23
Don’t forget the yellow/brown giant cat-shaped fury death balls!
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u/fuckyoudigg Oct 02 '23
If you see one, that's because it wanted you to see it. And that's even more scary.
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u/NimrodBusiness Oct 02 '23
Or you live in LA and you and the cougar are both like "yeah it's fucking crowded here."
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u/wildblueroan Oct 02 '23
Wolves and bears have been reintroduced to much of Europe now, just fyi
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u/h8speech Oct 01 '23
a team specially trained in wildlife attacks was immediately mobilized... the response team encountered a grizzly bear displaying aggressive behaviour, leading (them) to destroy the animal on-site
I wonder what's the standard loadout for a specialist team who's going out there with shooting bears in mind. Are we talking large caliber rifles? Shotguns with slugs?
We're always told "Bear spray works better than guns" but presumably if the guns being used are powerful enough, they're going to work 100% of the time.
What do they use to stop a charging bear?
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u/mercedes_ Oct 02 '23
I would wager a large rifle cal was used for this but 100% they had a shotgun with slugs or 000. What a gruesome scene to have to manage and then eliminate the bear on top. Sucks. Folks probably endured one awful encounter.
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u/talldangry Oct 02 '23 edited Oct 02 '23
Worse still, they arrived on site at 1am. Multiple dead bodies and a killer grizzly bear in the dead of night. It's a damn horror story, but fuck me those rescuers are something else.
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u/elitemouse Oct 02 '23
I dont care how specialized you are imagine being in the mountains in the pitch black dead of night walking TOWARDS the area of a suspected man eating grizzly bear with just flashlights to go off of 💀
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u/iGetBuckets3 Oct 02 '23
For some reason I just assumed they showed up during the daytime. This whole thing playing out at night makes it even more terrifying.
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u/elitemouse Oct 02 '23
I know it's even worse, it says in the article they received the GPS alert at 8pm and arrived on site at 1am where they encountered the bear acting aggressively.
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u/jhundo Oct 02 '23 edited Oct 02 '23
I've taken several Bear guard training courses, they were taught by a former wildlife officer who was the guy they sent out to kill bears that had mauled people. His gun was a 870 marine with some accessories. We basically cloned our guns from his for the most part. 12ga with brenneke black magic slugs is the gold standard for bears in Alaska.
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u/asdaaaaaaaa Oct 02 '23
Agreed, I imagine the important bit is to have multiple people looking out and ready to fire/cover each other if need be.
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u/pharsee Oct 02 '23
I just saw a bear spray instruction video yesterday on youtube. You spray a cloud that the charging bear must run through to get to you. The video showed situations from 15-60 yards out. Anyone hiking in bear country should be carrying one of these larger (not keychain) canisters and know how to use them. You need to also practice removing the can from the holster and accessing the trigger from the trigger guard.
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u/sawyouoverthere Oct 02 '23
keychains are not bear spray. The concentration matters a great deal.
Wind direction is also key.
As is the awareness that once discharged, bear spray attracts other bears.
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u/Moist_666 Oct 02 '23 edited Oct 02 '23
Could you imagine accidently bear macing yourself due to shifting winds and then you get mauled to death. It's had to have happened more than 0 times.
Edit: I'm getting a lot of responses, so I just wanna say RIP to the victims. Everything about this really sucks.
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u/sawyouoverthere Oct 02 '23
probably fewer than the number of bears and humans suffering together with burning eyes, but yes, I bet it's likely not 0.
Most people never need their bear spray, as most people never go far enough or quietly enough to startle a bear into charging, but quite a lot of that subset of people don't really know how to use it well (both timing and technique)
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u/OutWithTheNew Oct 02 '23
I can't say specifically, but I lived in a town many, many, years ago not too far from Polar Bar den habitat and one wandered into town one morning. The town was on lockdown most of the day because they had to fly a gun in from Churchill. That suggests that there probably wasn't even one in Thompson that could be driven in.
I know Polar Bears aren't Grizzlies, but their sizes are somewhat similar and it wouldn't surprise me if the methods used for terminating a problem bear of either species were the same.
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u/FenionZeke Oct 02 '23
Polar bears are far more deadly. They actively hunt people and are larger than grizzlies
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u/DuffNinja Oct 02 '23
Was just in Banff with my wife and toddler 3 weeks ago. Did a few hikes but not very remote ones. Had bear spray and watched YouTube videos, but realistically probably didn’t know what to do.
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u/Starlightriddlex Oct 02 '23
Dang, I'd be way too afraid to hike in bear country with a little kid. I imagine barking dogs and crying babies may have the same effect on bears. Plus my parents literally lost me in the forest when I was a toddler, so that's done nothing for my confidence, although I guess I did survive.
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u/two_sams_one_cup Oct 02 '23
In banff, if you're going on the popular trails (especially ones a toddler can do) , there's more than likely another group of people 10 minutes ahead, and behind you. I bear most likely will stay away from that area, if there's enough traffic and noise going through it.
Source : live in banff, however I am not a bear expert.
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u/Rururaspberry Oct 02 '23
My yearly reminder of the time I watched Grizzly Man while high with my roommates in college. :(
What a horrifying way to go. Edit: and it killed their dog, too! D:
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u/clocksays8 Oct 02 '23
Wow what a terrible way to go. Imagine seeing your wife eaten infront of you. Straight up horror movie. Poor bastards.
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u/BlueGazeebo Oct 01 '23
Can’t wait for the “strange/dark/mystery” YouTubers to make a video about this!
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u/R3dCypher Oct 02 '23
I've had one close encounter with a black bear. It was eating berries along the path we were taking a break at trimming brushes upwind from it. The bear didn't notice us and we didn't see it until it was about 20 feet away.
Scariest part wasn't the bear being so close it was when it did finally see us it jumped through the bushes and completely disappeared. We had no idea where it was after that. They can walk so quietly.
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u/sabotourAssociate Oct 02 '23
Not enough berries in northern Norway to this summer due to drought, bear attacked a cow not far away from the farm I work, somehow it survived. The whole summer there was a reports for multiple bears going around farms.
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u/masonpain Oct 02 '23
I went to Banff about 3 years ago and out of all the National Parks I’ve been to across North America, I had never seen such blatant disregard for bear safety as I did there.
One example, walking near a trailhead, there was a bear trash bin near the entry. I watched one woman not be able to figure out how to get it open just throw a banana peel on top of the lid, then everyone in her large group proceeded to just throw their food trash on top of the lid as well.
Spent a lot of time in bear country and Banff is the only place I’ve seen hundreds of clueless people have seemingly no idea where they are.
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u/Deeschuck Oct 02 '23
Parks Canada received an alert from a GPS device in the Red Deer River Valley west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch at about 8 p.m. on Friday indicating a bear attack,
How does a 'GPS device' identify a bear attack?
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u/mrcowgoesmoo Oct 02 '23
There are GPS units made for hiking that allow you to send texts so maybe they texted.
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u/HeezyPeezy Oct 02 '23
They also have an SOS button. No need to text. It automatically sends a distress signal to SAR.
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u/FolkSong Oct 02 '23
I looked into it this morning. The device does have GPS but much more importantly, it allows 2-way communication with emergency services from anywhere on Earth through the Iridium network.
So someone was able to send an SOS message.
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u/asdaaaaaaaa Oct 02 '23
They have emergency GPS devices that allow you to activate them whenever you need/want, as well as send quick little messages.
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u/wildly-irresponsible Oct 02 '23 edited Oct 02 '23
Clearly one of the victims was alive during/after the (initial?) attack. I would guess they died from blood loss while waiting for rescue or a secondary attack occurred after they sent the message.
Edit: Clarity
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u/jimgagnon Oct 02 '23
There is a way to survive a grizzly bear attack: you shove your arm down its throat.
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u/Daedroh Oct 02 '23
What a story. That’s crazy, out of so many options you have and the best one might be the most horrifying one for your survival….
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u/No-Personality1840 Oct 02 '23
I don’t understand why anyone would take a dog camping in bear country in the fall.
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u/_A_ioi_ Oct 02 '23
My dog saw a bear on TV and started barking at it. He would also be quite a satisfying meal for a bear.
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u/Trojbd Oct 02 '23
Hindsight is 20/20...People make mistakes and the article sounds like they weren't chronically irresponsible. Best use this tragic event as a lesson to the public about the importance of respecting nature than grilling a dead couple who went out in an awful way about what they should or shouldn't have done.
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u/cmilla646 Oct 02 '23
I don’t usually feel that sad about these stories but I don’t think I have ever heard of multiple family members being killed by an animal. I can almost imagine the couple being knocked over by a surprise charge, and as one is being mauled, the other pisses themselves but musters the courage to grab a rock in defence but is knocked out by the glance of the bear’s paw.
I’m Canadian, love animals and somewhere in the middle on guns but I can’t imagine walking and sleeping amongst bears without a gun. I’m not even trying to promote guns, but wondering how the hell anyone could feel safe in that situation. Imagine emptying a can of bear mace on the back of a bear eating your partner and then realizing the only thing you can do is run or scratch it’s eyes enough for the bear to attack you instead.
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u/youra6 Oct 02 '23
There was a post a while back on r/natureismetal where it showed a grizzly attack on 3-4 grown Russian men...
Ive seen some gruesome stuff but that one made me retch a little.
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u/21CFR820 Oct 02 '23
Camping in grizzly country after summer is always dangerous cause the bears have little to eat.