You know you may be in trouble when....you leave for a bike ride and when you get back there is a fresh steaming pile of bear scat the size of your arm in front of your driveway..... No bear seen as of yet.....
The Alaska grizzly attack is possibly a made up story, although the guy did have injuries (but not bear mauling injuries) and needed rescuing.The Guardian: Man who endured weeklong attacks by grizzly bear rescued after SOS spotted.
Man who endured weeklong attacks by grizzly bear rescued after SOS spotted
Alaska man injured by bear that kept returning to his isolated hut in the wildernesswww.theguardian.com
The article did also mention unspecified punitive damages, but yes, it could be insurance driven in part. The medical expenses are for a torn achilles and back issues (both requiring surgery) suffered fleeing from the bear.That Tahoe tourist is suing for $15K in compensation. That sounds like medical expenses. Their insurance may be requiring them to sue.
My most recent (last spring) bear experience was when hiking solo up the backside of Mittersill (AKA Cannon) and heard a scratching noise ahead of me. I look up to see 3 cubs scurry up a tree, while mama bear sat at the base of the tree. I'm ~2 miles in from the parking lot, hadn't seen a single person since I parked, and was pretty sure this was how I was going to die. I extracted my hiking poles from my backpack for some semblance of defense and turned tail back.
About 100 yards down slope while my heart rate is still somewhere near 300bpm, off to the side of the trail I see what I guess was the daddy bear. Holy Frack...a family of 5 bears and me.
Luckily they were black bears and not interested in me. I later learned black bears are far less aggressive than brown bears, but the mama/daddy bear card always reshuffles the deck. I was telling a friend this story, he told this little memory jogger:
Black - fight back
Brown - lay down
White - goodnight
The only thing those people have going for them is the likelihood that because they are in a national park, they are not the first dumb unknowingly reckless tourists that the bear has encountered. So, the bear has a better grasp as to how to behave under the circumstances than the tourists.Now, tell honey-bunny we're cool...
That was sobering. We keep our bear spray clipped to our hip or belt. Not now! it will be in my hand when deep in the back country especially this time of year. Or maybe on the front porch too. This guy came to visit the neighbors a few days ago...Good video about being prepared