Grin and Bear It
Three eastern Idaho bear hunters got an unpleasant surprise when their hounds surrounded a female grizzly with cubs.
The bear chased the hunters, knocking one man down, then bit him on the right arm and tossed him around.
It happened as the three men from Idaho Falls were hunting black bears with hounds about 6 a.m. Sunday, June 28, on Bishop Mountain near Harriman State Park.
They released their hounds on a scent, and the dogs soon surrounded what the men thought was a black bear. When the men arrived they quickly realized they had a grizzly.
The bear charged. The men ran.
When the bear knocked one man down, his brother struggled to get his pistol out of his backpack. With the bear on top of his brother, he fired a shot from his .44 Magnum from five to eight feet away, according to repots filed by the Idaho Fish and Game Department.
At the sound of the gun, the bear let go, got up and ran off.
The man was not sure whether his shot hit the bear or not.
"We don't know whether the bear was hit, if we have a wounded bear, a dead bear or an unharmed bear," said John Hanson, Idaho Fish and Game regional conservation officer.
The hunters reported they saw at least two cubs with the female grizzly.
Bear researchers are aware of a radio-collared bear with three cubs in the area. It’s not known if she’s the same bear that attacked the hunter, but Fish and Game biologists are looking for a signal from a radio collar.
The victim was taken to Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg, where he was treated for lacerations to his right arm.
I think that from 5-8ft away, I would know whether or not I hit it. How about y'all?
<message edited by txbhunter1@sbcglobal on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 6:42 PM>
