bears

up in the blackfoot a hunter shot an elk and a sow grizzly came up to eat the gut pile and ended killing the guy. so today they shot her and her two cubs. she had learned to follow the sound of gunshots and get the gutpiles of hunters. its too bad this is changing the way animals live. sad.

I know nothing about hunting, but why did the two cubs have to be destroyed?

they believed they may have been conditioned by their mother, probably true. plus they wouldnt make it thru the winter alone so i guess thats what they do.

What did the hunter do to get eaten? It sounds like he either defended his elk too much or defended himself too little. But I dunno, I've never had a run in with a bear so I guess I can't talk. Were there more details in the story you read? My brother in law always threatens to make me go to Alaska to shoot caribou. If I ever go I want to hear all the ways hunters get eaten by grizzlies so I will have to find a new way and not just copy someone elses fatal mistake. :-)

A guy shoots and kills a defenseless animal and a bigger animal kills the guy. The law of the wilderness. Isn't that what hunting is all about? So what's the problem?

he still had his bolt open on his gun so he must have been surprised somewhat. not much else is known

The law of the wilderness is for humans to use their brains to be the top predator. Humans are the top of the food chain, not bears. We are the ultimate predator, because we can figure out both better ways to kill creatures for our own use and ways to keep the other species alive. So I suppose you are correct about the essence of hunting, but I would guess we disagree about man's role in nature. I am not saying we should kill off the bears, but I think it is clear that humans are a much more viable species than bears, just by the "law of the wilderness." I like being at the top of the food chain, as the prime rib and crab I ate last night demonstrates. Those creatures were killed so I could eat them. And I can live with that.

I learned to hunt in Alaska and you always have your loaded rife close esp. when your cleaning your kill. Your right, the bears know an easy meal is to be had when they here a rife shot.

Okay, check me on this. Did this nitwit not understand that he was hunting bear food in bear territory? Was he not aware that bears will eat the gooey inside bits of the bear food that they kill on their own? Did he not have the common sense to keep his rifle handy after he'd opened up the can, errr... elk, and poured out the gooey bear food?


Out of curiosity, was he a local or an out-of-stater? One of the last, maybe actually the last, elk I took in Montana was in that area. Even as a teen, I understood that I didn't want to hang around the guts after I'd cleaned the elk. Also, has the State made any statement as to their intentions for the rest of the grizzlys in the area that are probably equally conditioned to follow the shot and scent of the guts?


It's a tragedy for the guy's family but I can't work up too much sympathy for someone who doesn't have the sense to understand the territory where he's hunting.


Jeff

guy was a local. had his bolt open maybe, didnt want to shoot himself. the federal rule is to kill bears that have killed humans. kind of like revenge. everything else continues as normal.

bear had two cubs with her. perhaps he got between the cubs or was just surprised at the kill site.