http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,557921,00.html

Grizzly Bear Chomps Down on Hunter's Arm in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Karl Wolfe had a half day to hunt for blacktail deer, but the outing ended just 15 minutes after he left his truck.

Hiking in darkness and a steady rain up a steep Sitka slope, Wolfe was attacked Sunday morning by a grizzly bear, which chomped down on his arm and knocked him to the ground.

Wolfe managed to fend the bear off by hitting it with his rifle and firing a round. He escaped relatively unscathed -- just two bites that were stapled shut at the Sitka hospital.

Department of Fish and Game biologist Phil Mooney visited the site Monday, looking for clues to what triggered the attack and for signs of a wounded bear.

Wolfe, an experienced hunter, had no way to know he was about to have a bear encounter, Mooney said.

"This bear essentially gave him no warning," Mooney said Tuesday. "It was very quick."

Sitka is a community of about 8,600 on Baranof Island. Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof islands together are known as the "ABC" islands, sparsely populated with humans, heavily populated with bears that Alaska researchers have found are related more closely to polar bears than to other brown bears.

The attack occurred about 200 feet from a road that passes near Sitka's old pulp mill and less than 300 yards above Sawmill Creek, where a few residual pink salmon remain and coho salmon are starting to come in.

"Bears have been up on that slope resting, and then they cross the road and fish at a stream below," Mooney said.

Mooney called the site a "dog hair thicket," an area overgrown with new hemlock about 20 feet tall but just two inches to four inches in diameter and few branches as the trees compete for sunlight.

"It's like walking through a forest of toothpicks," Mooney said.

Visibility is only about 30 to 35 feet even when the sun is out.

"It's a good place for bears to sit," Mooney said. They can lie uphill without disclosing their location and listen and look for anything coming at them. They're not hiding from humans, Mooney said, but from other bears.

Mooney found no evidence that the attacking bear was defending a food cache. He found few tracks and nothing to indicate the presence of a cub.

What he did find was a rock shelf above Wolfe's path. A mix of fallen trees and root wads had created a canopy and a dry spot about the size of a dining room table. A bear had dug a bed in the needles before Wolfe arrived.

"I'm just guessing, but the bear could have been asleep and didn't hear him until he was very close," Mooney said.

Wolfe told the Daily Sitka Sentinel he was "side-hilling" -- zigzagging up the mountain because it was so steep. He followed a rough trail wide enough for one person that had been cut in by the Sitka Mountain Rescue team.

The bear needed only about three steps to cover the 20 feet to Wolfe. His backpack's strap may have deflected the bear's jaw. The momentum knocked Wolfe to the ground between two trees.

Wolfe swung his rifle around and hit the bear with the butt end. The animal turned away for a moment but still had its ears back, Wolfe said.

"It didn't go away, it was regrouping," he told the Sentinel. "It swung around and was coming at me aggressively."

Wolfe chambered a round into his rifle and fired from hip at close range. He said he didn't know if he hit the bear, but he didn't wait to find out.

"I knew I was bleeding a little, and I knew I needed to get out of the woods," Wolfe said.

He said he reached his truck and drove to the Sitka hospital.

His heavy clothes and the pack may have prevented a more serious injury.

"The bear didn't hook him in the back in the shoulder blades or the ribs," Mooney told the AP. "It's just one of those things. Sometimes you just can't beat luck."

Mooney found no blood to indicate the bear had been wounded.

Would have had a hard time firing a shot from a whistle , or bell ...

Would have been a lot easier to shoot the bear if he would of had a round in the chamber.

I guess he was afraid of shooting him self. by not having a loaded chamber.

I hardly ever walk around with a round in the chamber, unless I see current sign of bears or moose. No I'm not afraid that I'm gonna shoot myself, I'm just not as paranoid as the rest of the John Rambo's that frequent the woods up here.

this place is right next to an industrial parkand not even close to the 1/4 mile off hiway rule in s.e. and looks like a real s-- hole of a climb, its at least the 4th time this summer somebody got grabbed or swatted by a bear with only minor injuries, all within a mile of this spot, everplace on the island is current sign of bear. no way say he was doing anything wrong

Sounds to me like there was plenty of bear sign and activity in the area to justify a chambered round. A unloaded gun makes a poor club.

The time differants between shooting with a round chambered and having to take the time to work the safety the bolt is several extra seconds. When some thing is trying to do you harm they real add up.

The trouble with attacks of any kind if one could tell when they would happen one would just avoid them.

Hey P dog, since your so good at quarterbacking this attack, maybe you can tell me if he had his rifle slung? You ever climbed around the hills near sitka? that can be some steep terrain.

Way to many variables that can happen in a bear attack. they are fast and quiet animals.

its a way of life up here, hell, I forgot but I think there were a couple of maulings in anchorage last summer.

Your right it does take longer to work the bolt than just the safety but the chances of a bear attack are actually really small.

ill translate some of the words used here. when i first heard this thought why would anyone go there ? must know some way thats not very well known.
words like steep and ziz zag mean near vertical, other s like near hiway, sitka mountain rescue, and cut trail , that translates into new trail and place for rapelling practice and untill now rarely accessed if ever, you lose your grip on gun its sliding for a ways.
and ill bet by now he's wishin he just got the stitches an kept his mouth shut about the bear, with this publicity evrbody an his brother will be hunting there this weekend and by next summer some tour guide will be up ther with 50 people wearing cow bells ever day

quote:

Sounds to me like there was plenty of bear sign and activity in the area to justify a chambered round. A unloaded gun makes a poor club.

The time differants between shooting with a round chambered and having to take the time to work the safety the bolt is several extra seconds. When some thing is trying to do you harm they real add up.

The trouble with attacks of any kind if one could tell when they would happen one would just avoid them.

Thats awesome, the guy from Wisconsin giving grizzly survival advice to the Alaskans

No more quarterbacking then you Joel.

The story stated he chambered a round. Meaning he did not have one chambered.

The odds are that one well never be attacked by any thing bear, lion ,two legged varmint ect.

I guess every body should carry with out a round it the chamber the odds are no matter what you are doing that it well not happen to you.

If your a police officer the odds are you well never use or fire your gun in anger so I guess they shouldn't have to carry one at all because the odds are they well never have to use it.

One should not wear a life jacket, use seat belts, carry a first aid kit, ect because more people do not ever need them then do. The odds are you well not need any of them.

This person had time to chamber a round and fire from the hip he must of felt his life and body was in danger.

All I am saying if one is going to defend oneself it is much better to have ones gun loaded and readly to go. When one needs a firearm to defend oneself no matter from what he needs it ready and able to be used.

You can play your odds and I'll play mine

No schmaus but I have hunted backed packed camped many times in grizzly country inclueing AK, BC, Yukon ect and most of the western states that have grizzlys.

Its always interisting to crawl out of the tent in the morning and find fresh grizzly or black bear tracks with in yards of your tent.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
No schmaus but I have hunted backed packed camped many times in grizzly country inclueing AK, BC, Yukon ect and most of the western states that have grizzlys.

Its always interisting to crawl out of the tent in the morning and find fresh grizzly or black bear tracks with in yards of your tent.

Does haveing a brownie sleep on the edge of your tent, right next to your wifes head count? happened to us on kenai lake.

I'm gonna assume the same bear was the one that chased a cow moose and calf right along side our camp. wife and I looked at eached other immediately afterwords and grabbed our rifles.

I'm not quarterbacking, I was just trying to say there are to many variables that goes into bear issues.

I'm going to hitchenbrook island next month for a deer hunt, hopefully a bear will show its head. my chamber will be empty unless its time shoot.

each to there own, its your ass you have to keep alive.

Yes Joel it counts hope you have a very good and safe hunt.

Does every topic on here always have to come down to an ass woopin fight .. My word ; I know where ( roughly ) the guy got it . and Puk is right ( wouldn,t be right callin you " anuk" ) One of the things I like about Rugers , the saftey is safe , but in a place like that things are still goint to be Real , real close .and fast . . Hence my hunting sitka blacktail deer with a 458 win mag .... Since I don,t hunt up hill , but walk up hill as fast as I can anymore then hunt down hill , I may have blundered into the bear just like that guy ..... But really , the guy was working too hard for a deer ... Hunt the skegs ,,, alot less sweating involved .. On Baranof Is , falling off a mountain is more dangerous , and possibly more common than getting bit by a bear ,, and plenty of people have got bit in the Silver Bay area..... More people need to kill more bears !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Baranof Is ,,= a perfect place for a 375 or 416 Ruger Alaskan rifle ............ No joke about the repelling practice ...!!

theres skegs up on top there

Well , start climbin !!

Hey Gum boot!

Nice to hear from ya.

I was up north when this happened, but also was wondering why he chose that spot.

They have opened the gate to the road that goes to the hatchery. There's a new hiking trail there by the gate, that goes to Beaver Lake.

Nice trail. Doesn't seem "beary" to me. No berries or salmon, just Devils Club.

I'm waiting till November, and some snow, then going deer hunting.

thats not the trail,its by blue lake hydro,
and there was a monster that charged and was killed recently

OK, without sounding overly stupid, would this have been a brown instead of a grizzly? When I hunted the Baronof's we shot brown's I thought?

Just trying to get some local education. Beautiful country and people I might add and hope to return some day. Gotta ring the bell again at the P Bar!

same bear , costal is called brown , interior called griz.who did you hunt with?

Hey Brian ; I just got home from Prudhoe a couple days ago .......May get called back up in a few weeks , nothing set in stone tho ......They left the gate to the Hatchery open ?????

quote:

Originally posted by anukpuk:
same bear , costal is called brown , interior called griz.who did you hunt with?

I had a great hunt and time with Scott and Dustin McLeod. We saw over 85 bears in nine days.

great guys , they got a 27 5/8 this yr

Good news to hear about the big bear. That is exceptional from the area as I recall. The two we took went just shy of 26 and both squared over 9'. We were both very satisfied for sure with the Western Profit and its owners.