Bear Attack

[Lainey]

Bear swims across river, boards boat to attack man. Unbelievable!


bear_attack.pdf

[Flygal]

Ummm the boat had a motor, a big one at that...if you see a bear comming towards the boat START the boat and go....poor guy what a weird thing to have happen. Wonder if its that same bear that pooping in Dougs yard...not any more I guess now that its dead.

[Alan Weinel]

He was at the dock, and hence probably tied up. And may NOT have been paying THAT close of attention - after all he was not "out and about" - or aboot since he is a canuk. If the motor was shut down, it takes time... which you don't have. Animal attacks can be LIGHTNING fast.

Plus, there is that 1-2 seconds of complete shock at something like that - happening where you do not expect it... you take a moment to shift gears and that is unfortunate. Surprice attacks, from animals or armies have that advantage.


Lucky fella, eh?

Ummm the boat had a motor, a big one at that...if you see a bear comming towards the boat START the boat and go....poor guy what a weird thing to have happen. Wonder if its that same bear that pooping in Dougs yard...not any more I guess now that its dead.

[Lainey]

I saw a TV interview with the guy that was shown in the article. Apparently some knew there was a creature in the water but no one realized it was a bear, they though it was an otter or something. Talk about surprise!

[Flygal]

time to upgrade those glasses if they thought it was an otter....can you imagine that conversation
"hey look over there in the water what is that?"
"I don't know maybe an otter or something*shrugs shoulders*"
" here go get me another beer from the cooler while I reeel this fish in"

I saw a TV interview with the guy that was shown in the article. Apparently some knew there was a creature in the water but no one realized it was a bear, they though it was an otter or something. Talk about surprise!

[Bruce H]

You have to admire those who had the courage to solve the problem with the tools they had at hand. I am glad it turned out as well as it did. It would have been nice (and a lot safer and less stressful) if someone there would have had a gun instead of a knife and hammer.

Along that line of thought it would also have been nice if some responsible person would have had a gun on that Greyhound bus a couple of months ago when the passengers got to stand by the side of the road and watch a fellow passenger get his head cut off with a knife.

[Alf S.]

Hi: all... The guy with the boat pro'ly cut the bear off while swimming and it was a classic case of "River Rage"!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Victor Benz]

Just a comment about the "otter" sighting aspect. I've seen plenty of bears in the water, some quite far from shore. All the blacks I have seen actually swim very low in the water. Pretty much only the head is visible, giving no indication of the actual size of the animal. A number of years ago we were canoeing in Meadopw Lake Provincial Park. We had just entered the channel betweenn the 1st and 2nd Mustus Lakes when we saw something in the water ahead of us, about 75 yards away. We dismissed it as a beaver and kept paddling. My wife was in the front, I was in the rear, and our two daughters (6 & 9) were in the middle. About 20 yards away I realized it was a black bear, and not wanting to panic anyone, said nothing, just slowed the canoe right down. My wife and daughters didn't realize it was a bear until it got out once it crossed the channel, now about 15 yards away. It was a full-grown, large mature bear. Even though I had identified it, the head looked so small in the water, I was certain it was a young one. Very easy mistake to make!.

Vic

[Flygal]

*Note to self...if I see an "otter" head while I'm boating..go the other direction*
another note to self when in the water I appear smaller than actuall size, could work to my advantage*

[David and Nancy]

Back in 84, I was a seasonal ranger at Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. My partner and I were patrolling the west coast of Cook Inlet in an inflatable Zodiac motor boat. We spotted something swimming across a slough and motored in to have a closer look. We got pretty close before we realized it was a full grown brown bear. We had expected a sea lion. We suddenly realized that as the bear approached the shore into shallow water he would soon get his feet under him. That would make it very easy for him to hop into the boat with us. We made a very quick u-turn and got away from him. When the bear climbed out on shore, he shook the water off like a 1000 pound dog and gave us an intense glare. I'm glad our motor was already running.

Later on that same patrol, we spotted a dead whale washed up on shore and landed the boat to inspect it. Bad idea. The beach was covered in bear tracks. They had been heavily feeding on the whale carcass. Food for the whole summer for whatever of the biggest, toughest bears claimed the prize. The nearest bear was probably sleeping it off in the willow brush a few yards away. We scampered back to the boat in a hurry.