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
well i have read all the comments and guesses, all i can say is that everyone that talks about this false charge lets see what you do when a big bear runs at you? well? what will you do? run ? stay put? mess your pants, or shoot? i bet you cant say for sure because you haven't been there done that. i call you hypocrite!!!! go hug a tree stop judging until you have done it, been there and then you can say.....
http://www.salient-news.com/2011/07/grizzly-bear-attacks-teenage-hikers/
I personaly think that anyone willing to walk off into bear country without any kind of protection is a fool. M uncle lives in Ruidoso New Mexico, last winter he had a black bear break into his house and corner he and his family in their bedrooms, luckily he had his .308 handy in his gun safe. Also, my dad used to hunt, he would never go anywhere without a .44 strapped to his hip. As for myself, I don't care how much training you may have, if a bear wants to get you, you will not scare it off or chase it away by waving your arms around, if a bear runs out, you will shoot it.
This week in the Alaska Dispatch: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/study-guns-not-fool-proof-against-bear-attack
Thanks for the link, Rick B. Interesting reading, and food for thought for travels in bear country.
Shocker - "not fool proof" who would of guessed. But then they aren't fool proof against criminals either so I guess we should take guns away from the police.
Shocker - "not fool proof" who would of guessed. But then they aren't fool proof against criminals either so I guess we should take guns away from the police.
And here's where the discussion thread seems to devolve into completely illogical analogies.
And for a lot of us it isn't just a matter of making a conscious bold decision to "go out into bear country". At our house, we don't put the trash out in the outside can until the morning that pick-up is scheduled, because the bears know where all the cans are and routinely run those alleys. Just outside town when I throw a trout line into the stream this spring, I'm competing with the bears for my food. I've been having this same discussion internally with myself all winter long - bear spray only, or carry my .357 as well. Most likely, I won't be carrying the pistol, but in making my decision I'm afraid that the opinions of armchair quarterbacks who don't live in bear country won't really be a factor.