Alaska Guardsman mauled by bear while on LandNav
The Washington Times reports that an Alaska National Guardsman was mauled by a brown bear protecting her cubs while he was on a land navigation course on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson;
The soldier was going through the woods when he encountered the bear and her cubs late Sunday morning.
“He dropped to the ground, covered his head and remained still,” [Major Candis] Olmstead said.
The bear approached the soldier, swatting at him and biting him before retreating after about 30 seconds. The soldier blew a safety whistle, alerting medics stationed nearby, Olmstead said.
[…]
Sunday’s attack was the second mauling at the base in about two months.
Jessica Gamboa was badly mauled May 18 as she jogged on a trail and encountered a bear and her two cubs.
The soldier is in stable condition and recovering.
Category: Military issues
I almost stepped on a rattlesnake one time on one of the land nav courses at Benning. That was kind of scary. But this… this is ridiculous.
Good thing he had his safety whistle, though. If he had been wearing his reflective belt, this never would have happened.
I know the feeling. I walked right past a cottonmouth during land navigation at Lost in the Woods and saw a copperhead slithering across the road when I was in the last mile of a 12 mile ruck. I figured, hey, you go your way, I’ll go mine! That damn place is full of snakes!
In Alaska, where wearing and/or carrying firearms is legal, why weren’t these folks armed?
Yes, I’m aware of the fatal stupidity of unrealistic, impractical, and intransient Army regulations.
But, I’m also a firm advocate of NO firearms restrictions, and that all aspects of our contemporary society would be much improved if everybody were always armed, everywhere they went (including when flying on commercial jet airliners).
Once was TDY to Alaska, JRM. During our inbriefing one of the MPs related the following.
They said they were always asked by newcomers a question to the effect, “What kind of handgun should I get to protect against any wildlife I might encounter while out and about?” (The PXs there sold handguns at the time.) Their answer was that the caliber didn’t matter – but to be sure to file off the front sight.
Someone always asked why. The MP’s response: “So that it doesn’t hurt as much when the bear takes it away from you and shoves it up your . . . . ” (smile)
Moose and Alaskan brown bear are something you do not want to mess with. Without a high-powered rifle, the human generally loses.
Hunters regard .45-70 in a rifle and .44 Magnum in handguns as MINIMUM. Black bears can be fairly easily killed by any decent .30 rifle… grizzlies are supposed to be a whole other order of magnitude tougher. No personal experience there, but have never read a dissenting opinion, either.
I heard that if you were out with a friend, all you needed for protection from any type of bear was a .22 cal. Shoot your friend in the leg and run like he!!.
Glad the solider’s okay and hate to be a downer but, um there are bears in them there woods. Known hazard up there. Growing up Dad was stationed at Elmendorf twice and speaking from experiance bears on base/post are common there, moose too. In fact it wasn’t unheard of school or recess to be delayed because momma and cubs decided to play on our play ground.
Those are dangerous woods. The bears inhabit that area a lot because the winters aren’t as hard as they are farther north.
Tons of bears in Denali. My squad leader and I got chased out of our tent by one while on a field problem in Denali.
I swear it was 14 feet tall !!!
Ah, that must have been a Kodiak grizzly. They’re kind of big. And they bite.
But they’re from Kodiak Island in the Aleutians…in fact the inland bears are supposed to be smaller (because they eat less fish). But they’re quite big enough to suit me, thankyouvermuch.
(Only went to Denali once…saw one brown bear, through binoculars at several miles distance…which is exactly how I liked it.)
It’s amazing how big a bear looks when it’s chasing you, isn’t it?
I’ll have to never find that out sometime.
When I lived in Alaska, they only place you found Kodiak bears was … on Kodiak Island 🙂 JBER is the land on the north side of Anchorage in south central Alaska. Kodiak is a big island about 250 miles southwest of Anchorage.
Just for general commentary, Kodiak, brown, and grizzly bears are genetically identical. A Kodiak bear is a brown bear on Kodiak Island. A brown bear is typically a brown bear usually near the water. A grizzly bear is a brown bear away from the water. The largest brown bear ever taken in Alaska was on the Kenai, 60 miles south of Anchorage.
There are three kinds of bears in Alaska – black, brown, and polar bears. Over 100 yards a human can run about 22 mph (Bolt world record 100 yard dash). A polar bear can run about 25 mph, a brown bear about 30 mph, grizzly bears tend to be lighter and faster, and a black bear about 35 mph.
When I lived in Alaska (1972 to 1988), for bears, Fish and Game carried shotguns with birdshot, buck, and slugs. In Alaska, bears have been killed with everything from 22 rimfire to big rifles. In Southwest, the natives used to shoot bears in the ear with a 22. At least that is what they told us 🙂
For fishing (not bear hunting) I bought a Winchester post-64 model 70 in 375 H&H; it’s a trunk gun — I throw it into my trunk when I go fishing.
I would not carry a handgun for bear. Bears are built sturdy. If you shoot a bear with a handgun it just makes them mad. Some years ago, a sports writer for one of the Anchorage papers was out hunting moose, was run over by a brown bear sow with cubs, and shot her with a 454 Casull in contact with her chest. ADF&G followed the blood trail for 10 miles before losing the trail. Lots of people had lots of comments about that but it happened.
Alaska is a friggin’ scary place … I will take the Bronx hood at 0300 looking for place to get a properly prepared latte … My chances of getting out alive are probably better.
To each, his own. 🙂
Hey Dick that was sarcasm!
Do you go by Dick?
Sorry … That was too!
Campers in sleeping bags.
The soft tacos of the bear world.
A black bear was recently seen not too far from where I live, photographed in various places. If you see one, there are at least 10 you don’t see.
I carry pepper spray on hikes now. I can’t out run them.
You don’t have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun whoever you are hiking with.
Blue Falcon your hiking buddy…that’s just cold blooded.
Just hike with people you aren’t close to. Or hike with Anthony Hopkins, he’ll kill that bear.
CA-CAW!
CA-CAW!
That’s a funny sounding falcon, to be sure. Sounds more like a crow to me. 😉
I think it was a “The Damn Few” reference, PintoNag.
(Link is “The Damn Few” – of course it’s NSFW.)
Now that’s what I like: giggling before breakfast.
I hope that soldier has a full and speedy recovery. I heard the Red Salmon run around Anchorage this year is the largest in recent memory. The bear probably had a belly full of salmon, which is good. I spent a couple of years on Kodiak with a lot of unguided subsistence hunting and commercial fishing. I met that dipshit Timothy Treadwell in the fall of ’96 at Kaflia Bay. Some friends and I pulled into the lagoon on a boat and I spotted him in the bushes… had no idea who he was. We went ashore the next morning and met his dumb ass. A few years later, he got himself and his girlfriend eaten. I had a few bear encounters on Kodiak. I one, I think the bear was just as surprised as I was and he and I both peeled a 180 and beat feet. After Kodiak I worked for a logging company… Admiralty Island, Cube Cove, Shrimp Bay, Prince of Wales Island, Appleton Cove. Bears everyfuckingwhere. I worked with a guy logging who had a chapter written about him in Alaska Bear Tales. Then I went and worked up on the slope. Had to chase the foxes out of the shop and the caribou were almost as bad. Mosquitos as big as B2’s, and thirsty. All in all I spent about 8 years living in AK. Got to see and do a lot, mostly from boats. If anyone wants to buy a duplex in Anchorage not far from Joint Base Elmendorf, I have one for sale.
I saw some NatGeo program about a polar bear/grizzy cross shot by a hunter. It seems there are too many male bears, and they’re running out of females, so they’re going further north and dating polar bear females. They have a common ancestor.
That started with coyotes and wolves back in 1907, with the discovery of the tweed wolf aka bush wolf, near Tweed, Ontario, male wolves running out of breeding pack females so they crossbred with coyotes – also share a common ancestor – and the eastern coyote is now the size of some wolves.
This county is flooded with coyotes, and now the black bear is moving down here, too. What’s next? Moose and Squirrel conspiring to take over?
Yeah … The Bear Boy of Alaska also managed to get the final fatal encounter on video and sound. Rather than reach for a weapon (that he didn’t have) he reached for the next best thing his video camera. He was truly dedicated to the very end!
Dumbass!
Oh I can see it now on Duffelblog.com……..was the Soldier wearing his PT belt?
he was wearing a reflective vest, as well as his LBV, helmet AND he had a whistle that he blew for help. They didn’t say if he was wearing his eyepro.
in late 05 I went to BNCOC at Benning and I almost fell over when they told us we had to wear a reflective vest for the day/night land nav course AND if we had a cellphone we needed to take it with us on the course.
The Park Rangers are advising hikers to be alert for bears and take extra precautions to avoid an encounter.
They advise park visitors to wear little bells on their clothes so they make noise when hiking. The bell noise allows bears to hear them coming from a distance and not be startled by a hiker accidentally sneaking up on them. This might cause a bear to charge.
Visitors should also carry a pepper spray can just in case a bear is encountered. Spraying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear’s sensitive nose and it will run away.
It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you have an idea if bears are in the area. People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat.
Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur. Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.
And even a small caliber pistol can save you from a bear attack. Here’s one news report:
This is a story of self control and marksmanship. A woman survived a grizzly bear attack on her with one well placed shot from her itsy bitsy .25 caliber Beretta Jetfire.
These are her own words.:
While out hiking in Alberta Canada with my boyfriend, we were surprised when a huge grizzly bear came charging at us out of nowhere. She must have been protecting her cubs because she was extremely aggressive.
If I had not had my little Beretta Jetfire I would not be here today! I yanked it out of my purse and fired one shot. It hit my boyfriend in his kneecap and the bear caught him easily. While the grizzly mauled the poor cripple, I was able to escape by just walking away at a brisk pace. I love that pistol. I’ll find other boyfriends.
I will carry leftover diced ham with me from now on, just in case. I can throw it at the bear in the first step of self-defense against street bears.
That, and lollipops.
I spent time in Alaska myself…and the actions he took are exactly what the park rangers recommend for a brown bear (if it’s far off, you make yourself big; but if it’s nearby you drop and cover the way that guy did; it mauls you but doesn’t go on to kill you; if you haven’t got the high powered rifle Hondo was talking about, it’s your best bet, so they say).
I heard it was different with black bears…if they’re attacking you (a much rarer circumstance) they may be desperate enough to want to eat you, in which case you’re better off fighting.
I never went into polar bear areas or got a briefing on how to defend against one, but given how little there is to eat on the ice and the size of some of the animals they eat…I suspect the answer to the unarmed man is “bend over and kiss your …. goodbye.”
In regards to the high powered rifle, I will never forget a story published in Alaska Bear Tales. Two hunter were field dressing a deer on Uganik Island (adjacent to Kodiak). A big grizzly showed up and charged them. One of the hunters started shooting his .300 WinMag as the bear charged, working the bolt, chambering a round, firing, repeatedly. The bear ended up mauling them pretty bad, in spite of having multiple wounds from the rifle. Then, one of the survivors (the shooter) says, “I still have lead in me, from where that .300 WinMag bullet ricocheted off of that charging bear’s forehead.”
Now I just paraphrased all of that because it has been about 20 years since I read it, but I truly believe the substance of what I wrote is true.
Elmer Keith wrote once of shooting a brownie in a draw once… he hit it, it fell down, charged him, and the fella across the draw shot it. It fell down, charged HIM, Keith shot it. Supposedly it took something like 12 rounds to put it down… and they were both using .375 H&Hs! (Which for those of you who many not know, is also a considered a decent elephant gun.)
If you are anywhere near a polar bear, I suggest you take along bread and mustard. Everything is on the menu with them, including humans. You’re just another sandwich to them.
or a Bon Bon 😉
http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/attachments/urban-rural-survival/2514d1378004800-polar-bear-hunting-polar-bears.jpg
I am glad to hear the soldier is expected to recover and be okay.
This begs the question, was he wearing his PT Belt? Come on SGM, protect your men from bear attacks and ensure they are all wearing PT Belts and Eye Pro on that next land nav.
but was he properly hydrated?
Old hunter’s story on grizzlies. If you surprise one and he charges you…count your rounds and save the last one for yourself.
An old Alaska joke: How can you tell the difference between brown bear scat and black bear scat? The brown bear scat has bells in it and smells like pepper spray!
The big question:
Did he get a Go or No-Go on the landnav?
I’m guessing he got a “NO TEST”, Beretverde. (smile)
The retest safety briefing should be a doozy!
I have heard that 10% of the homeless veteran population of our country are actually 2LTs that got lost on the Land Nav course. Any truth to that?
I was almost mauled by a bear once. He was Russian Spetsnaz and smelled like vodka.
Though I found it somewhat arousing, I left it out of my book because it was the truth.
sincerely
John “Faker 6” Giduck
Did a Land Nav/Compass Course in the woods at Ft. Leonard-Wood on the first day of Deer Season once… it was realistic, I’ll give ‘me that.
roflmao
These comments.
Guy killed an attacking moose this year with a glock. A Kid was killed by a polar bear and the bear was killed with 1 shot from a Mauser 98K.
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/07/09/teenager-killed-polar-bear-adult-forgot-turn-mauser-98k-safety/
Army should have just issued Nagants to the guys on land nav and paired them up. Cheap and able to get the job done. Instead animals were put above safety.
Someone mentioned Timothy Treadwell. If you have a bit of time watch the documentary “Grizzly Man”. After that Youtube the classic Opie and Anthony show that talked about him.
When you watch him and have to put up with his whiney vioce for about 5 minutes you will be rooting for the Bears to eat his ass.
He was a self-taught “expert” on Grizzlies, and thought he had a special bond with them. He got himself, his girlfriend and a few bears killed because of his arrogance.
Yeah … The Bear Boy of Alaska also managed to get the final fatal encounter on video and sound. Rather than reach for a weapon (that he didn’t have) he reached for the next best thing his video camera. He was truly dedicated to the very end!
Dumbass!
We pulled in to Kaflia Bay and felt like we were the only humans for hundreds of miles. After we anchored up, I got out my binos and glassed the surroundings. I see this blonde head with a bandana on it, in the bushes, looking back at me through binos. Then I see his tent through the bushes. The next morning we go to the beach in a skiff. I’m carrying a mini-14 with 60 rounds and my buddy is carrying a 12 ga. slug gun. Timothy introduces himself by saying, “Hi, I’m Timothy from Hollywood” and says, “You guys need to put your guns away. This is a national monument. There is no hunting here.” To which I answer, “We are not hunters…. and we are not stupid.” Honestly, we thought he was ghey as hell. I told him “I saw a bear on the beach last night and I thought it had you trapped in the bushes.” He replied, “Oh no…. that was Snowball. I was singing to her.” I have often wondered if it was Snowball that ate him. That dude was a trip. I met him in fall ’96. It was at least a couple of years after that when his Disc. Channel documentary came out showing him at his “double secret undisclosed location”. A few years after that, he met his goal of becoming bear scat. Belated congratulations.
That dude was nuttier than secret squirrel turds.
You know, bears are notorious for stealing nuts from squirrels’ stash. So that guy could truly said to be as nutty as bear shit.
When I lived in BC, Canada I was always chivalrous when hiking with the wife. I always carried the mountaineering tent, as it was pretty hefty and bulky. That left her with the somewhat lighter items in her pack, such as the salmon and other edibles. 😉
Black and Brown Bears within the perimeter of JBER and Anchorage/Eagle River municipality number in the hundreds.