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Grizzly Bear Shot and Killed By Hikers In Denali National Park and Preserve

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A grizzly bear that emerged from a thicket and charged two backpackers in the backcountry of Denali National Park and Preserve was shot and killed by one of the two who was carrying a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, according to park officials.

The killing Friday is believed to be the first instance of a hiker killing a grizzly in the park's wilderness. The killing occurred in the original Mount McKinley National Park portion of the Denali, which was expanded by two-thirds in 1980.

Until February, when Congress changed the rules, it was illegal to carry a loaded firearm in that portion of Denali. While the rule change now allows hikers to carry firearms in all areas of Denali, it still is illegal to discharge them, park officials said.

Park officials did not speculate whether the killing was justified. This is believed to be the first instance of a visitor to a national park killing an animal with a firearm since the gun regulations were changed.

According to a release from the park, the two backpackers, a man and woman, were hiking in dense brush along the edge of Tattler Creek, which is at the west end of Igloo Canyon roughly 35 miles from the park headquarters.

"The man, who was in the lead, drew a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol when they heard a noise coming from the brush. When the bear emerged from the thicket and ran toward the other hiker, he fired approximately nine rounds in its general direction. The bear stopped, turned, and walked back into the brush, where it quickly disappeared from view," said the release.

The two then headed roughly 1.5 miles back to a road, where they encountered a park employee, who called in the incident and took the two backpackers to the Toklat Road Camp. A ranger there did a short preliminary interview with them at approximately 10:00 p.m. Because of the concern that a wounded bear was in the area, four backcountry units were immediately closed, and bus drivers were instructed to not drop off day hikers in the Igloo Canyon on Saturday.

"Early Saturday morning rangers and wildlife technicians flew to Toklat via helicopter to conduct a secondary interview with the two backpackers. Afterwards they flew over Tattler Creek and all of side tributaries, very low at times, to determine if there was an active, wounded bear," the park release said. "No bears were seen during the overflight, and late in the afternoon three rangers hiked into the site. The bear was found dead in a willow thicket approximately 100 feet from the pistol casings at approximately 6:00 p.m.

"The bear’s body was transported via helicopter to a landing site on the park road and brought back to headquarters on Sunday, where park wildlife biologists are assisting with the investigation of the bear carcass. The backcountry units have been reopened."

The case is still under investigation, and the names of the backpackers are not being released at this time. Park wildlife biologists and rangers are trying to determine if there was a justification for shooting the animal.

The estimated grizzly bear population in the park north of the Alaska Range north is 300-350 animals.

Comments

For what it's worth, the folks at Denali say they have never had a hiker/backpacker killed by a grizzly. There have been instances of folks being injured by bears. The only serious mauling park officials can immediately call to mind was back in the 1970s and that one involved an NPS employee.

"All of the other incidents have resulted in minor injuries," says Denali spokeswoman Kris Fister. "The last one was at least two years ago, maybe three."


I plan to carry a concealed handgun when I visit Yellowstone and Glacier Nat'l Parks this summer. I've taken over 30 hours of live-fire training on a range with former Law Enforcement and Blackwater contractors in order to react to a bear threat. Please understand, I'm using bear spray as a primary defense but if I spray and the bear changes direction, charges from the side, then attacks me, I want to use my sidearm ONLY as a last-resort. I have some serious questions. I'm not being facetious.

How many times should I allow the bear to bite me before I draw my weapon? How many bones need to be broken or organs pierced? If juries are going to jail people for using a handgun in self-defense, what line does the bear need to cross before I can convince the jury that I was justified in using my weapon? In my training, I've practiced one handed and one eyed (non-dominant) self-defense shooting for just this situation. My trainers think I'm crazy for waiting to be mauled before doing something, but I don't want to go to jail and lose my firearm. I'd rather lose an eye or be paralyzed than go to jail! I think that if I allow the bear to maim me to a certain extent, I should then be allowed to use my weapon. How far would you allow the bear to go before you took similar action?


As an avid backpacker of Denali NP and one who just happened to be there when the helicopter landed at Igloo and brought out the carcass. I have just one point: If your afraid of bears, don't go into the back country. Period. No compromise. Denail NP is not Anchorage, Glacier NP, or like any other Park in the U.S. It is wild. This young military minded man discharged 9 rounds into a young bear and most likely 8 of them were in the backside, as it was running away.


No one made the hikers choose Denali. There are plenty of National Parks that don't contain bears. Until now, no major injuries occurred where a bear had to be shot until May 2010 when fire arms are allowed. The hikers went to the bears habitat; the bear did not wonder in to the hikers neighborhood. If you don't want to take the risk, don't go.


I don't think anyone is really saying that we should prefer dead hikers over a dead bear. The question will always be was the intention of the bear to attack or scare? What bothers me is if you want to enjoy our forests and WILDlife, how do you justify carrying a weapon to kill the WILDlife you are there to enjoy?
This all just seems so ridiculous to me that people would want to go into this back country and yet feel the need to carry a weapon for protection and to kill an animal that you are there to see.
I knew this article would bring out all of the gun maniacs that believe it would be better just to kill all of the bears, wolves, cougars, etc. to make our forests safer so they can hike and see.........what???? Nothing left.
And btw, at least have the nerve to not be 'anonymous' in your bold postings.


Shooting after the threat is no longer a threat, even in your own house, changes everything. I see 1 count of self-defense and 8 counts of reckless endangerment and whatever else the Federal authorities can charge this person with. He needs to be made a clear example of what NOT to do if NPS wants to prevent this in the future.


Hikers got lucky; 9 rounds from a .45 would have been effective against a brown bear only at very close range, probably less than 20 feet, and then only against a frontal attack by the bear. All nine rounds from a .45 with an extended magazine, fired into the backside of a bear, would only have made the bear very, very mad, and likely would not have been fatal to the bear. Shooting sounds fully justified to me, based just on the outcome and the weapon used. Now, a .357 Magnum or a .44 Magnum revolver would have been much more appropriate for carrying than a .45 in bear country, and would have been lethal on the bear from either the front or side or even the rear of the bear. Lots more questions would need to be asked had either of them been used instead of a .45 ACP. But, with a .45, there are many fewer questions that need to be asked. Sounds like the outcome was exactly as it should be, with the hikers alive and safe.


If this would have happened elsewhere in the state there would be a small paragraph in the local paper, & the story would be over. Many residents carry for self defense when in the AK backcountry, fishing, hiking, etc. Incidents like this one happen a few times every year elsewhere in the state.

The difference is, people who weren't comfortable hiking in the national parks unarmed, now can. Some perhaps, with a false sense of security.

A veteran of a six day 44 mile backpacking trip in Denali, I can tell you it was a true wilderness experience. Like everything else in the park, you're always aware of your surroundings. Mid day naps along the creek not recommended... I went through the backcountry presentation and thought it was good except except for the part about putting your stew pots in the bear can if a bruin shows up during dinner preparation. More emphasis should have been made to just boil water for dehydrated food. No simmer meals, lol.

The time for seeing wildlife is on the tundra 200 + yards away, not in the bush a few mere yards away. We avoided problems by having a party large enough, that we sounded like a small tribe as we hiked. Most of these problems occur with either solo hikers or couples who tend not to make their presence known. A week after our trip there we two incidents involving bears, I believe both were European, one was crawling through the bush to get photographs when all of a sudden a sow with cubs was 50-60 feet away. She attacked the prone photgrapher who then hit her with an ice ax, she left. That couldn't have ended well for the bear either.

The fact that the couple hiked straight out and contacted an employee right away would seem to fit in with their story. The authorities should be able to make a determination on what happened based on where the bullet wounds are located.


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