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| Member |
Apparently, another attack just a day later. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...ngs-seen-flukes.html | |||
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Republican in training |
I wonder if some of you ever tell car accident victims that they were stupid for driving on the highway, or maybe a lightning strike victim that they were dumb for standing exactly where they were? -------------------- I like Sigs and HK's, and maybe Glocks | |||
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blame canada |
How many of you tell motorcycle riders they were stupid for riding without a helmet? Same thing. It's their right, doesn't make it smart. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The trouble with our Liberal friends...is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." Ronald Reagan, 1964 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Arguing with some people is like playing chess with a pigeon. It doesn't matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon will just take a shit on the board, strut around knocking over all the pieces and act like it won.. and in some cases it will insult you at the same time." DevlDogs55, 2014  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.rikrlandvs.com | |||
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| blame canada |
Bear country would be where bears are currently frequenting. It isn't rocket science to figure out when and where the bears are going to be, or not going to be. Different times drive different food sources, and different times drive bears likelihood of having negative reactions with people in their food country. I certainly wouldn't expect city folk in Anchorage to know this...though they should, and many do. Race officials should have. I would think that a organized race event would have some responsibility to guarantee the safety of the participants. If ANYONE is to blame, it would be them. No, most people in Alaska are not scared of bears...because we don't march into their food source and aggravate them. Bears are predictable. Moose are generally not. Most intelligent Alaskans are more scared of moose than bears. But please....keep telling us how you know better, having been stationed on a military base for 16 months here (~400 miles away from the incident)....the obvious expert. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The trouble with our Liberal friends...is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." Ronald Reagan, 1964 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Arguing with some people is like playing chess with a pigeon. It doesn't matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon will just take a shit on the board, strut around knocking over all the pieces and act like it won.. and in some cases it will insult you at the same time." DevlDogs55, 2014 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.rikrlandvs.com | |||
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| Republican in training |
No, not the same thing. Not even close. Anyone that dies/gets injured from head trauma not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle - I have zero sympathy for. I'll be the first to call them a dumbass. You seem really smart about things, but anyone that doesn't see this death by bear as a complete freak or unlucky accident isn't thinking very well. I'm not sure of any better way to say that - I don't want to break any rules here. But after 29 years of running that race, you act like they should have walked outside and said "oh holy shit it's Sunday, everyone knows these predictable black bears come down and eat on the trails today!!" - it's utterly fucking stupid. Stop kidding yourself. -------------------- I like Sigs and HK's, and maybe Glocks | |||
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Assault Accountant |
I'm surprised at the callousness I'm seeing in this thread. A teenager - really just a boy- lost his life by being mauled to death by a bear and there are folks here calling him stupid for running a race with his family. He was just a boy for Gods sake. Were you people born a 30 year old?  __________________ Member NRA Member NYSRPA | |||
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| 10mm is The Boom of Doom  |
Dogs maul runners all the time. Probably more frequently than bears do. Perhaps children and young adults should not run and play anywhere dogs might be found. Yep. That's what we need. More young people sitting on the couch playing X-Box all day. God Bless and Protect President Donald John Trump. VOTE EARLY TO BEAT THE CHEAT!!! | |||
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| Member |
The size difference between a NH Black and an Alaska Black is radical - to the tune of 2-3x. Black bears in NH run about 200-250lbs. Alaskan Blacks can get up to 600lbs+. | |||
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Official Space Nerd |
I get it, you live there. But are we really quibbling over the definition of 'bear country?' Really? All of Alaska is 'bear country,' IMO. In that, bears live there, and can be expected to appear, often in unexpected and inconvenient times and places (unlike, say, places like downtown Miami or San Antonio). I don't know what methods you use to "figure out when and where the bears are going to be." Since I'm not an expert, perhaps you can tell us how you can predict the appearance of a freaking black bear anywhere in Alaska at any time. What did I say, specifically, that was so wrong that you had to come in here and talk down to me? I know a bit about bears. I never said I was an expert, but I staked my life on my knowledge of Alaskan wildlife, while spending many hours alone in the wilderness, often completely unarmed, miles away from any help, with no communication devices. When I first got there, I asked every local contractor I could find for bear advice, knowing I would spend a good deal of time in their territory. They all said the same thing. Don't surprise one, like stumble upon a Griz with a kill. Don't go anywhere near any bear that has cubs (like a former base commander did - he got treed by a mother black bear guarding her cubs, and he was not in the woods - he was literally surrounded by dorm buildings on 3 sides when it happened). Don't run away from one. It's really common sense. I don't see how the race organizers could have *predicted* this bear would show up and kill a contestant. It is a freak accident, IMO. Millions of people live around bears; VERY FEW of them are ever bothered, much less attacked or killed by one. Fear God and Dread Nought Admiral of the Fleet Sir Jacky Fisher | |||
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Drill Here, Drill Now |
To be fair, you were in a low bear density part of central Alaska w/o a salmon run so the bear were smaller too. Most of the bear attacks in Alaska are taking place on the coast or along rivers with salmon runs. The water and fish attract both bears and people.  Bear fatalities are a statistically low probability event, but bear maulings with the victim surviving are nearly an order of magnitude more common. Additionally, there are places in North America such as Bird Creek Trail where trail closures due to bears are annual events, and negative bear encounters (using spray or gun in self-defense, being treed, person being mauled, or pet companion being mauled) are a more common event. It's also interesting that McNeil River can have the highest brown bear density in the world, but have zero bear maulings in its 44 year history. IMO, the difference between a place like Bird Creek and McNeil River is limited access (you enter a drawing for the priviledge of being one of 185 people per summer), and all visitors follow safe bear country practices to the T under the watch eye of their escort/ranger. Nearly every bear mauling story I read in Alaska started with basically the same line "I was doing the same thing I've done countless times - alone, not making any noise, and not armed with spray/gun." Not practicing safe bear country practices seems fine until it isn't. The runners death is a tragedy, but he wasn't running the race with his family. He was entered in the same race as his family, but they were not running together. Do you see the difference? Bear Country Safety 101 is that you hike, run, mountain bike, fish, etc. in a group that makes noise and is more likely to scare off a bear. Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer. | |||
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| I will fear no evil.. Psalm 23:4 |
In rural Northern NJ a black bear chased down a hiker and killed him a couple of years ago. He was in his early 20s and with a goup. They found his body a short time later and I believe found and shot the bear. | |||
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Only the strong survive |
http://vid213.photobucket.com/...un21_zpsygixsx0g.mp4 Lucky I went home early..6:30 PM, and didn't check my camera back in the field where the bear was probably eating blackberries. Also I was only carrying a 9 shot 22 LR. He stayed around all night down in the woods at the other camera site. EDIT: are the links working?? 41 | |||
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