Have you been threatened or attacked?

[Grantspastor]

When I was a lad, there was a general public perception that animals such as Grizzly bears, Wolves, and Cougars are ravenous malevolent beasts. Pity the poor unfortunate that happened upon one while hunting or fishing. He would surely become dinner. I made it a point to never enter the woods without my BB gun, and to always be home before dark. You see, Grizzly bears and wolves were not extinct in NE Oregon in the 1950's. They lurked behind every shadow.

During the 1970's age of environmental "enlightenment" the pendulum of public perception swung wildly to the other extreme. Human beings became ravenous malevolent beasts, littering, logging, looting, and lusting after more, they invaded the "sacred" wilderness, encroached farther and farther into the animal's habitat, and in general upset the cosmic balance. If an attack occured it was most surely the human's fault, and frankly no real loss compared to the pain and distress inflicted on our furry "brothers". :grin:

Most people these days feel the truth is probably somehwere between these extremes. I still carry my BB gun, and watch the shadows when in the woods. I have had encounters with about 80 Grizzly Bears, no Cougars, a few Wolves, and quite a few Black Bears. None of them ate me, however two of the Grizzly bears including the one pictured were very aggressive...growling, advancing, and generally making me feel like wetting my pants.

I wonder? How many others have been threatened or even hurt by a wild animal while fishing or hunting? What happened? How was it resolved?

[Pyramid]

80 grizzlies, who are you, Jeremiah Johnson? Sheesh.

The closest thing I can come up with is a mad doberman pincer that was tied up, thank god! :smile:

[Thumper]

This year will be our 28th annual trip to Alaska. In all those years we have seen one or two moderately aggressive brown bears, generally young (2-3 year-old) males. One time the local law had to destroy a couple of young boars that were running fishermen off the beach to get at their fish.

These may be ferocious critters, but our experience has shown them to be relatively gentle most of the itme.

But we still carry 12 guage shotguns in each boat.

1 very sick black bear would not stop and I killed it at about 15yds, nothing else.

I've been around big sharks, killer whales, mt. lions, wolves as well as brown and black bears with out any problems. In most man predator encounters the predator looses. I feel that the most dangerous non-domestic animal in Alaska is a cow moose, don't you think so GP!

[garyk]

The bears, sows with cubs, cougars, rattlesnakes, scorpians, leeches, rutting moose, coyotes, packrats, bison and a bunch of other critters, big and little have been fine.

They've not really gone out of there way to cause me trouble or harm, even when we've kind of - literally - bumped into each other.

I only wish I could say the same about the some of the nasty humans I've encountered, unfortunately with increasing frequency.

[Grantspastor]

I agree Keta! They're very cranky in the Spring.

[Hawg Caller]

I spent 12 yrs. in Bozeman Mt. alot of outdoor stuff, had a couple agressive griz. but we had more trouble with the MOOSE, than anything else, watch out for them they can be "nnnastier than any other critter out there. we used to have a bit of a problem with cougar, mostly because the "granolas" would feed deer in their back yard and wonder why the cats were coming around [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img]

[skein]

I agree with the cow moose thing. I tell people that and they think I'm pulling their legs, but a cow with a calf is not for the weak at heart.

In 25 years in Alaska I never had a real problem, but there were creeks I didn't walk along during the salmon run.

The local game officer in Kenai got worked over pretty good by a griz at the far end of Tustamena Lake while I lived there, so it does happen.

The north end of Vancouver Island is pretty spooky because of the frequency of cougar attacks. I've been going up there for 13 summers and EVERY year someone in the area gets jumped. Last time the guy ended up with 200 stitches in his face.

Skein

[happybrew]

One time while backpacking down the Paria River in Utah and Arizona, we stopped to rest. We took our boots off, and stuck our feet in the river to cool off. We were quite suddenly attacked! By little two inch sucker fish that that very aggressively started nibbling on our toes! True story, and my only encounter with another species that tried to eat me.

happybrew

[Pyramid]

Originally posted by happybrew:
We were quite suddenly attacked! By little two inch sucker fish that that very aggressively started nibbling on our toes!

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">LMAO

[Charlie]

I ran into a cow Moose and Calf while fishing Depuy creek in Montana, I just new someone or something was watching me as I fished, looked around and about 40 feet from me there they were and you bet I was off and running down the creek.
I know of a lady killed in Alaska by a Moose in her yard, it was fenced account of animals and someone left the gate open she went out there to scare it away with the dogs, and that was her mistake, sad story.

[Straydog]

I have never been bothered by any predators and have spent all of my life an outdoors person.

I have chased Black bears out of my raft at Tacoma Bar, although only once. The poor critter spread the word about the fear instilled by a Straydog clothed only in breifs running down the beach screaming like a Banshee while the poor critter was just trying to eat a little pancake mix at the break of dawn. Since that time I have only gotten muffled laughter out of the Bears down river.

I have watched Couger (briefly, the sight of me put the fear in them as well) from my deck up a ridge from your place Grantspastor.

Once as a young guy, about 11, I was on a drive for deer with my Dad and brother when a Bobcat screamed in a tree just above me. Dad was real ticked that I got out of line and moved too fast until I showed him my soiled pants and explained the critter scared the stuffin's out of me!!

[Silver Hilton]

I was lightly mauled by a black bear as a child. Some say it explains my good looks and dashing charm, others say that's just more of my BS. Fortunately my Dad came running in response to my caterwauling, at which time the bear boogied.

[Snapset]

When I was 11 I ran away from home to become a mountain man. As the sun sank below the horizon on my first night in the wilderness, I had a sudden change of plans. I started quickstepping it down the hill towards home, about a mile away along a powerline right-of-way. As I stepped over a log, I almost stepped on a possum. The possum rolled on its back, showed its nasty teeth, and hissed at me. I figure that rodent delayed puberty for me by a good 2 years.

[RogueFishr]

I was watching some deer in a meadow in the rain once and had the feeling something was watching me. I had been kneeling down beside a small pine tree, while wearing a camo jacket. I turned around slowly, to see a cougar about 20 feet behind me. As I turned around, it crouched kind of back and down. I jumped up and the cat turned and took off running. I think I surprised it when I stood up (my size doubled), and it definitely surprised me (my laundry department will verify ).
One other time we stumnbled into a sow black bear and 1 cub. The cub went up a tree about 7 feet and the mother ran down the hill. It seemed like a good idea to try and grab the cub [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] . The cub started hollering, and the mother bear charged. We covered the 20 yards to the truck on about .000001 of a second where we discussed our motivation for ever wanting to grab a bear cub within sight of the mother in the first place....
Oh yeh, bit once by a rattlesnake. Didn't get me very good (got me right at the top of my shoe, over the ankle). That one was my fault completely.
Its probably a good thing I didn't grow up in grizzly bear country..........

RF

[Dipnet]

My best friends' daughter lives in Anchorage and teaches kindergarten at one of the schools there. They have an alert when the moose come near the playground and the students have to get inside right now!! I always thought that was pretty interesting!!

Dipnet :grin:

[Cool Texan]

I got attacked by a Straydog a while back. Bark was worse than its bite though. Turns out it just liked to make noise.



I post in jest, of course.

:grin:

[Chromaflage]

Well, this is going to sound pathetic. But this was truly the scarriest encounter I've had with beasts of the wild. My dad and I were on a hill in the Trask for an evening hunt. At dusk, and after no success, we started down the trail toward the truck with our flashlights. We got about half way down the hill, and I noticed the reflection of a pair of eyes on the trail. They were too low for anything of size, so we proceeded toward the animal, thinking it was a bunny, coon or possum. We got about 10 feet from it when the dang thing spun around and lifted it's black and white tail straight up in the air.

Dad and I both took what we thought would be our last breath of fresh air for awhile. We looked at each other and wondered what to do. If we tried to shoo the skunk out of the way - pshhhhhttt! If we shot it, psshhhhhhht! If we just stayed there and stared at it, psssshhhhh! We decided that we would wait it out and HOPE that it would calm down and decide it was too much effort to pssshhhhhtt! at these two bozos standing in the trail.

Fortunately, after a long five minutes, the tail dropped, and the critter wandered off into the brush. Whew! No tomato juice bath required.

ORS

[ 02-23-2004, 09:55 PM: Message edited by: OregonRedside ]

[Straydog]

Originally posted by Cool Texan:
I got attacked by a Straydog a while back. Bark was worse than its bite though. Turns out it just liked to make noise.



I post in jest, of course.

:grin:

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">Get back to work!!! :tongue: Ha!! :grin:

"........WHO LET THE DOGS OUT!!........ WOOF, WOOF, WOOF WOOF..."

[Dipnet]

ORS, that could have been a very SMELLIFUL :shocked: experience!! Bet you're glad it didn't happen!!!

Dipnet :grin:

Next time YOU run into a stink kitty just smack him with a stick :shocked:

[winterkill]

I was fishing at tenmile lakes when I was about 12 with my dad, when a black bear came walking down the hillside in front of us (we were in a boat). That is my only encounter with a predator.

[24 on/ 48 off]

Bears menaced the camp right next to us on the Rogue about 20 years ago.

--spud-- :smile:

[drhall99]

Nope, never.

[love2fish]

After being married to the same woman for 25+ years, there isn't much else to be scared about :shocked: .

love2fish

[Bait O' Eggs]

When I was little I had several run ins with a dark creature that I never got a good look at. I was forced to sleep in the middle of my bed and not dare let an arm or leg dangle over the side of the bed for fear the shadows beneath would eat any portion of my body that was not protected by blankets. The shadow beneath my bed had a buddy with huge fangs that lived in the closet. If the closet door wasnt closed before the light was turned off he could come get me. Between the two of them I didnt get much sleep as a kid.

My exceptional eyesight at night I attribute to the hours and hours I spend peeking out from under the covers looking into the dark to see if I was about to get attacked.

:tongue: :tongue: :tongue: :tongue:

I hadnt been married to my wife long when we hiked into a high mountain lake and were camping. In the middle of the night my wife with limited outdoor experience about rips my arm off waking me up. She is in a full panic fearing for her life. She is screaming about a light in the sky and I need to do something about it. I look up in the sky and see a full moon To this day she hasnt been able to forget it, I keep bringing it up for some reason

[CATCH AND EAT]

Gee Roy, sounds like it was just yesterday. [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img] :grin:

My most interesting experiences come from Alaska on Kodiak Island. While staying at Kodiak Lodge the cook asked if dad and I wanted to see the Larson Bay Zoo. Sure we said so we piled into a little white Ranger pickup and made the two mile run to the local dump. When we arrived we encountered 13 brownies rummaging through the trash. All different sizes and colors and ages were these dump raiders. Cookie non-schalantly gets out of the truck full of halibut carkus and lodge garbage and starts talking to these dang bears. Of course when cookie got out he left the drivers door wide open and dad and I were sitting inside observing these bears closing in (rapidly) on the garbage bags full of goodies. On curious 3 year old decided to poke his head in the door to see if dad and I were edible. I quickly stunned the bear with a camera flash and pulled the door shut. [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img]

Meanwhile Cookie was having a good time not 10 feet away from these bears ripping and tearing and fighting over these bags of garbage. :whazzup: I thought he was going to pet one of them for a few seconds and instead he decided to stomp right behind one and scare it. [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] I was happy when we returned to the lodge and I was able to curl up in the fetal position and suck my thumb.

One other encounter we had on the Karluk River was with a mother and three cubs. We were standing on an island when I saw momma and the cubs approaching from behind us. Bob and I and Robert walked to the point of the island shouting "hey bear" and off momma and cubs went down river but not out of sight. We return to fishing when I looked down river I saw he sneaking back up river with us in sight. We repeated our initial stand at the bottom of the island with the "hey bear" ritual. She stood up on her hind legs, sniffed, and then growled at the cubs and off they went.

Later we encounter them again when we rafted down to the takeout at Karluk village. They were approaching a camp and were within a 1/4 mile of them. We let them know what was coming and the response was "oh good, I'll get my camera" :shocked: . I was thinking more like a riffle would be a better bet and then a camera.

One other trip on the Karluk we had a big boar that was harrassing a group of fly fishermen below the weir. AS we were floating down the river the bear was walking up the river. Of course he stopped when he saw us in our big red raft floating down the river. I'm sure he was thinking what a neatly packed meal in a big dinner dish. [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img] As we approached the bend where he was standing we had to go to close for comfort to the bank. He took off like a shot down river to where another skiff was sitting. The darn bear jumped into the skiff, busted a few things and then made a bee-line straight up the bluff. That bear was really aggitated and could have been a very ugly scene.

Personally have seen the results of a bear tearing up a camp and mauling a German tourist up on the Nahelum River near Lake Illiama on my first Alaska trip seven years ago. Silly guys kepted their cooler up next to the tent with fish and their food in it. All their fishy smelling clothing, tooth paste, candy and so on in the tent. Result for one of the GErmans was 112 stiches, sever bruising about the chest and head and a lesson learned about camping on a bear trail.

[STGRule]

Seefood. I can't remember if the little bells are the ones you find in brown bear scat or black bear scat?

[Hogback]

Yea, my wife threatens to attack me all the time,I just lay down and play dead, works every time.
Randy

STG,
Both

I was more wary of black bears than I was brown bears. The blacky is sneaky and will circle around you. Brown bears usually just leave.

[DanS]

I feel that the most dangerous non-domestic animal in Alaska is a cow moose

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">No kidding. Did you see the video of the guy on the U of AK/Anchorage campus who walked out a door right in between a cow and her calf? She stomped the doo-doo out of him in a few seconds. He'd have been better off being hit by a car.

Yep!

I was 3 cars behind a car that hit a moose on the Knik River bridge and the moose went through the windshield and killed the occupants of the car.

[Moley Molson]

Well I haven't had any scary predator encounters, but a beaver once took 10 years off my life.

We were canoeing down the Mussleshell river in MT. The river split around this small island, and we ended up taking the "NARROW" passage, maybe 2ft to the bank on each side of the canoe. Well, half way through this passage, a big ole beaver comes barrling out of the brush and dove into the water, hitting the side of our canoe. We almost flipped the canoe, but some how managed to keep it upright. That scared the heck outa me....I remember hearing it before seeing it, and thinking "OH CRAP, IT"S COMING RIGHT FOR US"....I know, it was only a beaver, but I wasn't ready for it!

[Phil Layer]

I was flyfishing on the Bighorn River in Montana. I had waded out deep into the river and the water was near the top of my chest waders. My buddy watched from the shore.

After a few minutes of casting, my buddy yells, "Lookout! There's something coming at ya!"

I look in front of me and see nothing when a weasel suddenly jumps three feet out of the water right in front of my face. :shocked:

I think I would have been fine if the friend on shore hadn't warned me.

[Reel Premier]

Nothing like any cougar or bear, but one time we were hiking up in the Jones Creek area in Camas, and came across a pretty fiesty procupine that made us redirect from the trail we were on to a different trail. Kind of scary because it was night time, and didn't realize what it was until we were right on top of it. Also have come across some big bull Elk less than twenty feet away, and had a stare off because I was too scared to move, thankfully the Elk turned and ran.

Moely Molson, You had me laughing out loud about your story of the mad beaver.

[Seefood Man]

Well I never had a problem with bears, I guess it's cause I always wear those little bells on my shoes :tongue: . Yep! I have TOTAL FAITH in those little bells :smile:

[FallRiverGuy]

I have only had one encounter and it scared the bejeebers out of me. In 1984 I was tooling around Australia with a German couple and a fellow from England in my Pontiac station wagon. We were in the Northern Territory checking out Kakadu National Park. One day we were driving around visiting various vistas and Aboriginal art. One leg of our day’s journey made its way along a marshy area. Though we had seen water buffalo scat we had yet to spot one. That was to change. Not more than 200 feet off the road stood a very large water buffalo. Of course I stopped so we could get a look and try to take a picture out of the car window. I had heard horror stories of these creatures having a short fuse and charging cars and trucks full on. So I was content to take pictures from the car. Suddenly the German exits the cars and starts to walk towards the beast. I was dismayed and with out yelling too loud tried to convince him to get back in the car. It was at this time that the buffalo cocked his head back and charged us. This nut finding his sense ran back into the car and the buffalo stopped. Even before the dust had settled, he hopped back out of the car and the buffalo charged again. There was much screaming and yelling at this point, as I was sure the buffalo would not stop this time. Once the idiot was back in the car again I hit the gas and got out of there. Come to find out the reason he got out of the car was he wanted to get the buffalo closer because of his cheap instamatic camera. Needless to say I soon found other traveling partners.

[JPSFISHY]

Hello to Cptn Kenny!
Benn attacked many times. Rode RCA Bulls for years in my youth. I'm paying for it now, in my "mature" years.ha
Had a Rattle Snake get ahold of me on a PIG hunt down south. Grabbed my pants just below boot line, and was hung up for what seemed like a life time. Kicken and a jumpin for all I was worth. Unloaded my .270. Finally did part ways. It's amazing how fast a Rattler can travel cut in half.
Venom all over my pant leg and boot. How I didn't blow my darn leg off is beyond me. My partner came running up after a while, and almost fainted when he saw me sitting down with my pants leg up, boot off, covered in venom. That was the end of that hunt! You can't hunt when yer eye's are glued to the ground the rest of the day.

[STGRule]

Closest I ever came was 8 1/2 months pregnant and walking up the hill to the pit toilet while camping and seeing really big cat prints in the mud along with skidding deer tracks. I insisted that the gentlemen in the camp accompany me to the outhouse with the promise that they would run much slower than me should we be "visited". Mind you being 8 1/2 months pregnant I had to visit the facility just a few times in the middle of the night (24/7 actually). :blush:

I have also been attacked by those two-inch fish a number of times. Good thing they don't have teeth. [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]

[ 02-27-2004, 12:23 AM: Message edited by: STGRule ]

[daveg]

I got a true story you folks might get a kick out of:

Wife wakes me up and says the cat is in the room.

I tell her no, it is in the garage, go back to sleep.

She wakes me up again and says she hears noises. I listen and say it might be a mouse. Wife gives me instructions to get up and remove said creature. Of course I can't find it. We turn off the lights and I hear stuff from the corner of the room coming from under the gun cabinet. I start moving cabinet out from wall and hear scurring as it is moved along. A flash light and mirror lets me see what is a long brown tail about 7" long, not a mouse.

Push cabinent against wall and block holes.The next morning I call dad and he says you should shoot it! So I get some of the 22 cal. shells with tiny birdshot. Push the cabinet out of way, lay on the floor and rat stays out of sight in corner, some poking with dowel and he moves to other corner, I take a quick shot and out comes this rat straight at my face, he jumps over my head and runs into the closet. Scared the stuffing out of me.

My wife has a shoe fettish, so I go in the closet and start moving shoes out one at a time with the dowel knowing full well that he might jump out any time. After say 40 pairs are removed, I find the varmit in the corners under the wifes knees boot collection. The wife walks into the bedroom after getting home from work and says, what are all the shoes doing on the floor? So I show her the rat and got her to take a picture of me holding it up. She hates it when I tell this story, I have a picture of the rat on my wall at work, next to the Muley, 31# chinook, and several steelies.

[Old Coot]

I have been challenged twice by wildlife, and ducked a magnum bullet on one other occasion.

Backpacking in the Cultus Lake country I met a fisher, or pine marten, on the trail. Now, this little critter couldn't have weighed 4 pounds wet; but it refused to yield. There we were, 6 feet and 220 pounds of me with 60 pounds of gear increasing my bulk, faced off at 4 feet with a weasel that reached just about mid-shin when on its hind legs. I finally stepped off the trail and the fisher went on by. Each person behind me yielded, and the critter just humped along on his way. He must have thought he had a deed to the trail.

On another pack trip in the same general area I wandered a couple of hundred feet out of camp late one evening for my last, umm, "relief" trip before bed. Standing there, doing my thing, I can hear brush rustling, and then see eyes about 18" off the ground, reflecting the fire behind me, I backed up, they came toward me at the same rate. I backed up faster, they kept pace. I turned and bolted for the campsite, scaring everybody as I rocketed out of the darkness hurtling completely over the fire. Right behind me was a coyote and when he hit the clearing he just went stiff-legged and skidded to a stop, looked at everybody and evaporated back into the woods. I've always wondered what he thought I was.

My great escape was on another backpacking trip in the Mt Jefferson Wilderness with some juvenile delinquents. We were trudging up the grade to Hunt's Cove on a hot summer afternoon. At one point there was a big cedar log parallel to the trail on the downhill side. I was a couple of hundred yards ahead of the others, so I took the opportunity to sit on the upper end of the log for a few moments of rest. Out of habit, I pulled out my belt knife and started cleaning under my nails. Just as I began to catch my breath, I heard an explosive "WHUFF!" coming from under my butt. I twisted around, and looked down on a pile of red-blonde hair two feet from my behind. Time stopped, the bear whipped around the end of the log and stood in the trail staring at me from about 5 feet. Our heads are level, and I'm thinking "I'm a dead man unless I can think of something quick!" From the size of the bear's eyes I can tell he's thinking, "I'm a dead bear unless I can think of something quick!" Just then two of the boys rounded the bend a hundred feet down the trail and I heard a loud, "Holy stuff!", (or something similar.) That broke the tension, the bear decided he's outnumbered and rocketed up the trail. As soon as he turned, I knew I was safe and changed modes. I had a camera on my shoulder strap, and took off up the trail hoping to catch a picture, completely forgetting the knife in my hand. The rest of the group cames around the corner to see me running up the trail hot on a bear's behind, waving a knife, and I become INSTANT HERO! My chest hair has chest hair! I didn't have to lift a finger the rest of the trip. The boys behaved really well, too! Thinking back on it, I may have forgotten to mention that all I wanted was a picture. Oh well...

[ 02-28-2004, 10:48 PM: Message edited by: Old Coot ]