Grizzly bear kills cyclist riding forest trail in Montana

Sheezus, scary. Thought being chased by dogs on a bike was bad. Very sad.

And… why does it not surprise me that Doug found that while perusing The Guardian?  :)

Hmmmm, maybe I should adjust my plan for bike riding trails solo around Talkeetna in August…

does anyone know what the grizzly habitat range is in the lower 48 ?

I know Montana now, Wyoming too right ?

what about Idaho ?

other areas ?

I forget, we’re against mountain bikers on trails, yes?

-J

re British papers: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers?from=Main.BritishNewspapers

Art, they are in all 3 of those states. In MT they are found mainly in the Northern Rockies ecosystem, which is composed of Glacier N. P. and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, but they roam outside of those into neighboring areas. I think they’ve been spotted in the far north of the Idaho panhandle too, possibly coming down from Canada.

In WY, they are of course found in YNP and the Tetons, as well as the Absoroka and Beartooth ranges east and north of YNP. A few years ago one was reportedly seen as far south as the northern part of the Wind River Range, which was likely one that went down from YNP to, you know, see what he could see.

I grew up in a small town called Choteau in Montana, which is 90 miles SE of Glacier Park and about 18 crow-fly miles directly east of the abrupt Rocky Mountain Front that separates the prairie from the mountains (the Bob starts a few miles to the west). Last summer I was visiting family in Choteau, and there was a young male griz that wandered into town to see what HE could see. It scared the bejeezus out of the town.

Keep in mind that the griz were originally plains animals, and the early settlers made it tough on them such that they retreated to the safety of the mountains. In my home town region it is somewhat common for griz to come down out of the mountains and pester the livestock. When the griz population increased to the point that many locals felt they should no longer be considered a threatened species, my college roommate, Don Malloy, was in the awkward position of being the U. S. District Judge. To be safe and conservative, he ruled that the “threatened species” designation would remain intact. This infuriated the local ranchers, who decided to just follow the SSS approach of shoot, shovel, and shut up in order to protect their livestock.

thanks Gary

so essentially nonexistent in Southern Idaho?, Utah, Colorado, Eastern Washington/Oregon.

For sure, there aren’t any in CO, UT, or OR. I think it would be pretty hard for a griz to sneak all the way down to south central Idaho without being seen. I think there might be a few griz in the Bitterroot range that form the MT-ID border, and it’s possible that some could try their luck on the west side. I’ve not heard of that happening though. As for E. Washington, I suppose that one could come down from British Columbia, but I’m not sure why they’d bother–there’s more wilderness room for them north of the border, and less people and highways to hinder them, and Eastern WA isn’t classic griz habitat like the areas north and east of it are.

I bumped into Brad occasionally when I worked as a volunteer at the Hungry Horse Ranger Station.  So sorry to see him run into the bear with such terrible results.  My thoughts are with his family, friends, and co-workers.

A few years ago I posted in a thread something to the effect (and reiterate) that on a per mile basis I see much more wildlife in the greater GNP area, including bears, while mountain biking than I do while hiking and that is while gravel road biking, not trail riding.

On the other hand the only time I have been charged by a bear it was while hiking.  Guess where my pepper spray was at the time.  Yup, in my pack,not on my belt :(.

I really dislike uttering “Hey, Bear” to announce my presence, but I do it.  Probably many dozens of times already this year.

Funny about the psychology of visiting the sites of recent tragic events.  I will probably now avoid that three mile loop trail for a couple of years.  I have no trouble hiking to Trout Lake or Granite Park in GNP, sites of the so-called Night of the Grizzly deaths almost 50 years ago.

I had a confirmed sighting/encounter with a young Grizzly in the Northern end of the Winds in 1999 just below the north side of Porcupine pass.  Haven’t seen any others since but did see a trio of wolves six years ago way off trail on the reservation near Milky Lakes – very cool.

Interesting observations published in the Washington Post:

…conclusion of a scholarly study published in Scientific Reports in February, entitled “Human behaviour can trigger large carnivore attacks in developed countries,” …

Researchers, led by Vincenzo Penteriani, found that while attacks on humans by large carnivores were increasing, they remained “extremely rare events,” …

“Remarkably,” they wrote, “risk-enhancing human behaviour has been involved in at least half of the well-documented attacks (47.6%). From highest to lowest, the five most common human behaviours occurring at the time of an attack were (a) parents leaving children unattended, (b) walking an unleashed dog, (c) searching for a wounded large carnivore during hunting, (d) engaging in outdoor activities at twilight/night and (e) approaching a female with young. These are clearly risk-enhancing behaviours when sharing the landscape with large carnivores.”

In the Christian Science Monitor:

…Jessica Mendoza reported in August:

In general, fatal bear attacks are rare. From 1980 to 2011, about 90 million people visited Yellowstone, the National Park Service estimates. In that same period, 43 people were injured by bears in the park. Grizzly attacks on humans are even less common, averaging about 1 incident every 11 years for visitors who stay in the park’s developed areas and about 1 a year in backcountry areas.

Moderator: If quoting extensively as above is not allowed please delete as necessary.

“And… why does it not surprise me that Doug found that while perusing The Guardian?  :)”

I have no idea if I’m supposed to be insulted or not! :-)