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1078 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 2:04 PM
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/08/08/bc-bear-attack.html
B.C. man survives mother bear's clawing
Mother bear killed, cubs stranded in tree
CBC News
Posted: Aug 8, 2011 12:33 PM PT
Last Updated: Aug 8, 2011 12:55 PM PT
Read 11 comments11
A B.C. man says he's lucky to be alive after walking away from a bear attack Monday morning with just a few minor injuries.
anmore bcAnmore, B.C.
Ken Hogue was walking his dog just before 6 a.m. PT near his home in Anmore, near Port Moody, when he spotted a mother bear and her cubs.
"As I come over the crest of the hill, the mother bear turned around and saw myself and my dog so she made a beeline straight for us, so I dove down a small embankment just off the road there but she was on us like in a matter of seconds," Hogue said.
"It sort of nudged my dog ... and then it came right at me ... the mother bear was right on top of me and she clawed me on my right arm and just sort of stood over me, almost face to face. And so I was just waiting for her to sort of finish the job."
Hogue laid on the ground for several excruciating minutes, waiting for the bear to continue her attack.
"Basically, I just waiting for her jaws to come down and sort of finish the job ... Basically, that's what was going through my mind: Is this how I'm going to end my life? Being killed by a bear?"
'Very fortunate'
When nothing happened, Hogue slowly looked up and saw the mother bear slowly walking away, glancing back at him every few seconds.
Hogue grabbed his dog and started moving slowly back up the embankment, when the dog escaped his arms — once again drawing the attention of the mother bear.
"Fortunately, my next door neighbour came by in his car and so I waved at him. I said, 'Help. I've been attacked by a bear,'" Hogue said.
The car was enough to scare the bear away, and Hogue's neighbour called 911.
He was taken to the hospital with just a few scratches on his arm and a deep gash on his head, where he struck a rock while scrambling to get away from the bear.
"I'm just glad that it didn't go any further or was any worse than what it is," Hogue said. "I believe I was very, very fortunate that no more damage was done."
The mother bear was shot and killed by conservation officers, but her three cubs were left stranded in a tree in a trailer park, near the entrance to Buntzen Lake.
"So what you have is a clutch of conservation officers and RCMP kind of circling the tree trying to get these three cubs out," said CBC reporter Jason Proctor, who was at the scene.
"One of them just fired a tranquillizer gun at one of the cubs in an effort to try to get it out of the tree, so we're just basically waiting to see."
Proctor described it as a "very tense situation." |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
278 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 2:26 PM
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| Poor cubs, what a drag. Glad the guy was not more seriously hurt. But what a drag all around. 8( |
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Not too far from Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
224 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 2:31 PM
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WTF? They shot and killed the mother bear AND, as a result, left behind three orphaned cubs? It seems pretty obvious to me that this was a defensive attack (and a pretty weak-sounding one at that), especially since I see no mention of this guy having made any noise prior to cresting the hill and surprising the mama bear and her cubs....
Grrrr...this sort of crap just ticks me off to no end, and I have to wonder why in the heck conservation officers would choose to destroy a bear in this circumstance. Makes no sense to me at all (especially since there is no mention of this bear having been problematic before this one incident...). I sure hope there's more to this story than meets the eye...otherwise the outcome was just plain idiotic and completely uneccessary  |
Edited by - Hiking Solo on 08/08/2011 3:38 PM |
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North Vancouver, BC
Canada
1652 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 2:31 PM
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I'm glad the guy is ok but this seems like another avoidable attack. If you live at the edge of bear territory, you need to treat it like bear territory (bear proof garbage cans, carry bear spray if hiking in the early morning, etc.)
It would also appear that he may have been able to stop the attack if he stood up to the charge as it may have simply been a bluff charge that turned into an attack when he ran for cover. What do you think?
News1130 is reporting that the orphans have been sent to an animal rescue society. Does this mean they will live behind a cage? I'd almost prefer to see them put down. Here is a picture I took yesterday of an orphaned bear at the Kamloops Wildlife Park.
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Vancouver, bc
Canada
152 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 2:35 PM
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I wish the bear knew she would be killed either way. At least she would have had a final supper.
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Vancouver, bc
Canada
152 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 2:46 PM
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Ok I dont like my above comment, it is a bit harsh. I semi take it back.
But what is it with conservation officers that shoot first and ask questions later?
They seem more like hunters in disguise than officers of the environment.
So how did this go down? was it something like this:
-Hi sir what happened?
-um, my dog scared the momma bear and the bear came over, put me on my back and said keep a handle on your dog. Then she walked away.
-Ok, I'll kill it in front of her cubs to teach the kids a lesson.
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Popkum, BC
Canada
5902 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 3:02 PM
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The bear spared his life with a warning, this is not a killer bear. I suppose they are thinking the next attack would be worse but still, its so very sad . |
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Fleece thong wearin, Buntzen Lurkin, mystic poet mountain man and international spokesman of the friends of the white squirrel society
Port Moody, B.C.
Canada
5938 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 3:17 PM
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| Too bad, this must have been the same family I saw while biking there on Thursday. They were on the road at the far end of the lake. I got off my bike and stopped, she headed off into the trees with the kids. Needless to say I didn’t go any further. I didn’t want to alarm her so I turned around. I didn’t see any aggressiveness. Shame they put it down. |
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bandana wearin', pole huckin', view lovin', dog herdin', 4x4 navigatin', lake huntin', butt-slidin' bridge crosser, who enjoys postholing with an overnighter pack
Surrey, BC
Canada
4662 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 3:23 PM
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Ugh - conservation officers are way to quick to pull the trigger  . She was defending her cubs, she wasn't a ravid bear out attacking people randomly. That was totally uncalled for.
I lived in Port Moody for some years and it is bear country. Walk many a times in Anmore and you do need to be vigilant out there for sure. |
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Kamloops, British Columbia
Canada
155 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 3:29 PM
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I'd be interested in how this went down too and the possible role the dog played.
I don't want to open this can of worms again but it would be interesting to know...I keep seeing people take (unleashed) dogs into the parks where clearly BC Parks says this can be dangerous to the owner, other hikers and ultimately the bear if there is a problem...sigh...
Please don't respond to this  I am just venting that some owners at least don't take the safety of others into consideration when they take Max with them into the backcountry... |
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Popkum, BC
Canada
5902 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 3:32 PM
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That's a heartbreaking picture! |
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Fleece thong wearin, Buntzen Lurkin, mystic poet mountain man and international spokesman of the friends of the white squirrel society
Port Moody, B.C.
Canada
5938 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 3:35 PM
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I have to really keep my barbecue clean as they like to lick the grate. Also we had to padlock the dumpster's at my place. One lady went out and thought she was yelling at a "Dumpster Diver" ( the bear was on his hind legs with his head in the container)until he turned around and perked up his ears !!
Point is if you live here or in the area you have to be constantly on the look out. Glad the guy was okay. |
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Fleece thong wearin, Buntzen Lurkin, mystic poet mountain man and international spokesman of the friends of the white squirrel society
Port Moody, B.C.
Canada
5938 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 3:44 PM
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quote:
I don't want to open this can of worms again but it would be interesting to know...I keep seeing people take (unleashed) dogs into the parks where clearly BC Parks says this can be dangerous to the owner, other hikers and ultimately the bear if there is a problem...sigh...
Very seldom do I see a leashed dog at Buntzen. Some people laugh at the bell on my bike , but if you are blasting down a trail/road in the early am and hitting a blind corner it's nice to let them know to get the hell out of the way  Works well to let the bears know too.
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1078 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 3:48 PM
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Personally, based on what little is there, I'd say this was clearly NOT a bear attack. The bear left a "few scratches on his arm"...I think that would be at most a tentative pawing, what the bear did NOT do, speaks volumes. "Nudged" at the dog....
I don't blame the guy (though when it says his unleashed dog attracted the bears attention "again"....), and I'm sure it was the scary moment of a lifetime for him, but I'd say this bear proved it was not aggressive. It deserved relocation at the least.
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1078 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 3:52 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hiker
Too bad, this must have been the same family I saw while biking there on Thursday. They were on the road at the far end of the lake. I got off my bike and stopped, she headed off into the trees with the kids. Needless to say I didn’t go any further. I didn’t want to alarm her so I turned around. I didn’t see any aggressiveness. Shame they put it down.
+1.... |
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Kamloops, British Columbia
Canada
155 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 4:16 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by DCIPHER
It deserved relocation at the least.
Agreed...glad this guy is ok...wish this would have turned out differently for the bears... |
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Vancouver
349 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 4:32 PM
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| Sad! It shoud be a happy endding. |
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over the hills and far away
Canada
724 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 6:36 PM
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| Apparently it was a bear that had already been tagged and was accustomed to eating garbage. Sad nevertheless. |
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Peak scrambling, camera dodgin', knife toting gal who hikes with panties on pack & hangs clothes in trees
Port Coquitlam, BC
Canada
417 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 7:08 PM
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Before 6am in the morning in bear country. What would you expect --- but to come across bears at that time of the day! The guy should had a couple more cups of coffee before venturing out so he was awake, and aware of his surroundings, and the possibilities, --- be proactive. This guy got a wake up call, the bear realized he wasn't a threat and spared his life. That gives us (humans) the right to murder the bear and orphan the cubs? He should consider himself lucky, and this should have served as reminder to the local residents, and anyone frequenting this or any similar area that this is indeed bear country, and to be prepared.
I just don't get it --- if some guy defends his family from someone that he thought was a threat to his family, beats him or her up a little, but then realizes his mistake, the death penalty should apply? |
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| nickl
Intermediate Member
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surrey, bc
589 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 7:17 PM
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| Animals have no rights in this country...we are pretty backwards that way-still living in the 1890s. Hunt everything, cougars, grizz etc, etc, etc...Europeans have better pet protection & conservation laws, they have already lost almost all their wildlife due to hunting & overpopulation & can`t believe we are stupidly going down the same road... |
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North Vancouver
Canada
752 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 7:32 PM
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| The biggest mistake the guy made was turning and running. It may have turned out a lot better for the bears if he just backed away slowly. |
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B.C. man survives , bear dead, cubs in tree
