From about 100 metres away, the hunter took aim at the bear, squeezed the trigger and fired.

Then he began to track the hulking animal, tramping through the snow in an area near Chain Lakes in southwest Alberta.

That’s when it was the bear’s turn to become the hunter.

Emerging from the snowstorm, the animal surprised the man, knocked him down, then started attacking.Brendan Cox, a spokesman with the Solicitor General, described the hunter’s remarkable Oct. 27 escape.

With the animal mauling his arm, the hunter managed to pull out his knife. Cox said, and stab the bear several times.

He walked away from the harrowing experience, leaving behind the bear’s carcass, got in his vehicle and drove himself to Nanton, where an ambulance took him to a Calgary hospital for treatment.

However, the hunter’s tale of survival isn’t over — he is now being investigated under the provincial wildlife act.

While he is licensed to hunt black bears, the animal he shot was a 200-pound female grizzly, said Cox.

The Alberta government suspended the grizzly hunt in 2006 and declared them a threatened species in 2010.

“We do encourage hunters to make sure they do their due diligence before shooting anything, so they’re certain they’re aiming at the species they intend to be aiming at,” said Cox.

“There have been cases of mistaken identity in the past. It is under investigation. We don’t know whether charges will be laid against this hunter or not at this point in time.”

The hunter faces a maximum penalty of $100,000 and two years in jail.

Staff at the Nanton Flying J said the hunter arrived the truck stop Sunday wounded and dazed. A staff member called an ambulance, which transported him to hospital.

“I just want to forget about it, forget it ever happened,” the hunter told the Nanton News this week.


jkomarnicki@calgaryherald.com

You know what? I have lived and hunted in grizzly country my entire adult life. I've had my share of encounters with grizz' and black bear, and I have NEVER mistaken the 2. NEVER!!

It pisses me off when I hear these stories.

How the hell can any RESPONSIBLE hunter see a bear and not positively identify the species of bear before shooting!?

Shot placement is king would not have been mauled if he would have killed it right off.

Maybe his eye sight is poor.

It makes us all look bad when someone does something like that. The upcoming legal slapping will hurt as much as the mauling.


Dean

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Shot placement is king would not have been mauled if he would have killed it right off.

Maybe his eye sight is poor.

FYI there is no grizzly season in Alberta. So before you bust a cap, you better know what the hell you're shooting at...

quote:

Originally posted by Demonical:
You know what? I have lived and hunted in grizzly country my entire adult life. I've had my share of encounters with grizz' and black bear, and I have NEVER mistaken the 2. NEVER!!

It pisses me off when I hear these stories.

How the hell can any RESPONSIBLE hunter see a bear and not positively identify the species of bear before shooting!?

Gotta remember this happened about 60 miles from a city of a million, in a heavily hunted area. Some of these guys have never seen a bear, Period. Numbers alone say that some idiot is going to do something stupid.


Grizz

Sounds like another grizzly was shot in self defence the next day near where this one was shot. It is going to get interesting with the amount of bears now roaming the private lands of SW alberta, one has got to be pretty quick getting your game loaded up and out of the woods before it gets claimed.