A flurry of black bear attacks has been covered in the media in the summer of 2024. Five people were injured in the attacks. The first occurred in Alaska at a campground near Anchorage, by a male bear. The bear injured a woman’s face after scratching and biting its way into the couple’s tent. She was treated at a hospital.
There was no food or other items that usually attract bears inside the tent and it’s not clear what prompted the rare encounter, Wardlow said. “These folks who were involved did everything right and this is just a very unusual situation where that bear still tried to get into their tent, even without there being any attractant involved.” – ADN NEWS
On June 25th, what was likely the same bear attempted to break into an occupied tent.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A male black bear was shot and killed by a U.S. Forest Service officer Tuesday morning after it was found trying to break into an occupied tent near Portage.
It’s not the first time in recent days that officials have dealt with a bear encounter in the area. Earlier this month, one person was hurt when a black bear jumped on a tent with people inside just off the Portage Glacier Road. The person was not seriously hurt, but did sustain injuries in the June 14 encounter. — Alaska’s News Source
On July 10th, an ultra long-distance runner, Jon-Kyle Mohr, was attacked as he was finishing a 50-mile run in Yosemite Park. Fortunately, his injuries were not severe. From NY Post:
The 33-year-old had headed out from his home in June Lake over the Sierra Nevada and down into the Yosemite Valley — an impressive 50-mile dash he had been planning for years, he told the outlet.
But as he was approaching the finish line, Mohr saw a huge black shape in the darkness charging at him.
He said he felt “some sharpness” on his shoulder before he was forcefully flung into the dark.
Next thing he knew, people were gathered about 100 feet away shining their headlamps in his direction and shouting, “Bear!”
On July 31, 2024, a black bear attacked 27-year-old trail runner Danny Rizzo in Salt Lake County, Utah. Rizzo stopped and tried to “look big.” From Belmontvoice.org:
Still, the bear started “bluff charging” at him, according to Rizzo. Then the bear did start to approach him and instinctively, Rizzo began backing up.
“I tripped over something and fell on my back, so the bear came up over me, and it got my arm in its mouth,” he said. “I pulled it out and kicked it in the head with the bottom of my shoe. It shook its head and ran off.”
Rizzo ran down the trail to alert other trail users that he’d been bitten by a bear and then drove himself to the hospital for rabies shots.
“All things considered, I was not very injured,” he said. “I have one puncture wound from a tooth and a bunch of bruising. Overall … I got pretty lucky.”
On 11 August 2024, a three-year-old girl, Madison Findley-Dickson, was sleeping in a tent when a female black bear attacked and almost killed her. From cowboysstatedaily.com:
A black bear crawled inside a tent and attacked a 3-year-old girl late Sunday at a private campground south of Red Lodge, Montana, near Yellowstone National Park.
According to her family, Madison Findley-Dickson was released from a Billings hospital Tuesday, but still faces a long recovery from her injuries. The family is from the Spokane, Washington, area and was staying at Perry’s RV Park and Campground.
Madison was asleep in a tent when the bear entered it and attacked her around 10 p.m., according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP). The campground was evacuated after the attack.
Wildlife officials caught and killed the bear, a subadult female, the next day, according to FWP.
Madison’s skull was fractured. It is unclear how the bear was driven off. Madison was attacked while asleep in the tent, as stated in her GoFundMe account.
On August 12, 2024, a 24-year-old runner, Quanah Ottoway, was attacked in California near Long Barn. After the bear knocked him down and attacked him, he hit the female bear with a stout stick he grabbed off the ground, then ran. It worked for him. The bear chased him to a neighbor’s house. From an interview with Quanah Ottaway, a victim of a bear attack:
Ottaway said he only had one thought the whole time.
“Just hauled as fast as I could, and I was thinking about my kids. Glad I didn’t take my kids with me,” he said.
He quickly made his way on top of an SUV.
Neighbors heard the commotion and came out to help.
“I just was saying, like, ‘Help! Bear!’ As loud as I could,” Ottaway said.
The neighbors began making loud noises and one even threw a log at the bear to get it to leave.
Six separate attacks. Three at campgrounds, three on people running on trails. None of the people had weapons to fight with.
A three-year-old does not have the capability to fight a bear. Long-distance runners are loathe to carry extra weight. When exercising, this correspondent usually carries a Glock 17. There are much lighter, smaller pistols available. A KelTech P32 is only ten ounces, loaded. A S&W airweight .38 is about 14 ounces. Most attacks on runners are in urban areas by humans. Animal attacks can be a significant risk in both urban and rural areas.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
With over 4 decades of running experience. in bear country. I carried different handguns when I ran. The one I carried most was a Charter arms bulldog in 357 mag. It was carried in a custom shoulder holster in between two tee shirts.
Due to age and some physical conditions I walk now. every day in bear, wolf and cougar country. I carry a 6 inch 357.
Ever through I have seen plenty of bears and wolves never had to shoot one.
But I have shot coyotes and other varmints.
I’m currently bear baiting in a national forest in northern WI, for the upcoming season that starts in 2 weeks….one of my hunting partners has a tag this year. We’ve been doing bear baiting/hunting since 2010, with a few “close encounters”, and have been successful on 8 out of 9 tags, with a 425lb & 465lb bear among those 8. 4 others were over 300lbs. But every time I encountered a bear while baiting them, they ran off as soon as they were aware of me. So I’m not very fearful of them. Sows with cubs get extra caution used,… Read more »
The more humans encroach on wildlife habitat this increases the chances we will have these confrontations with wildlife . We are crowding the animals out as we build houses in thier environment .
It seems that there is starting to be more predators and less game. With DFG killing off herds of deer because of chronic wasting disease, more people poaching because they are hungry because food is so expensive or trashed with hormones and now they are talking about putting MRNA in everything including the grain and idiot thrill killers that shoot game and leave them to waste, more of this is to be expected as bears and cougars food sources dry up. I presume it will only get worse the more food costs and the harder it is to get because… Read more »
“Six Black Bear Attacks [So Far] this Summer”… That statistics suggests we might read about a fatality or two soon… Lotsa summer and fall to go before bear nap time!!
The toddler “near Yellowstone” NP came very near/y that statistic.,, Ditto the trail runner guy who thought he had any chance of escaping a hungry black bear. That clueless guy was just prey for the taking…
Oh, this is great news…not. Wife and I are spending next week in Rocky Mountain National. Guess I will carry a .40 in a shoulder rig and the wife can carry bear spray. I know the latter doesn’t work, but may pacify the greenies and Park Rangers. Hopefully we will not make the evening news!
All “bear spray” does is piss the bear off. Then he eats you.
There’s only one pistol caliber that I would trust to defend against a bear, and that’s 10MM!
Lotsa summer (and fall) to go…
Sorry, but in bear country, especially with kids, one should be armed. Took my boy to a well known National Park where firearms were prohibited. And yet there were and bears there. Was the a**hole politician or manager who wrote that stupid unConstitutional decree going to come and yank my boy from a bear’s jaws if a bear came into our tent and snagged my son? You already know the answer to that. That is why my .44 mag was with me every time despite what the hypocritical despots said. And any bear sniffing too close to my son would… Read more »