Calgary man mauled to death by mother grizzly bear while hunting in Kananaskis Countr

[spaminator]

Calgary man mauled to death by mother grizzly bear while hunting in Kananaskis Country
First posted: Monday, September 08, 2014 11:59 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, September 09, 2014 01:01 AM EDT
Tragedy has befallen a Calgary hunter, killed by a mother grizzly bear during a hunting trip in K-Country over the weekend.
After more than a day of searching after he was reported missing, the hunter was found and Mounties and other searchers’ worst fears were confirmed.
Wrong place and wrong time, Kananaskis RCMP Const. Virgil Bitz said — the hunter had done nothing wrong, he just crossed the path of a grizzly feeling protective of both her cub and a recent deer kill.
Bitz said the hunter was in the Picklejar Creeks area Saturday, about 140 km southwest of Calgary, after long-horned sheep.
Family reported him missing the following morning.
The search had to be called off due to darkness on Sunday and resumed first thing Monday.
But they already had some idea of the hunter’s fate.
“Searching yesterday revealed some of the hunter’s property ... (and that) he may have suffered injuries,” Bitz said, adding that’s when they also discovered the mother bear and her baby, and the deer.
“Property was located in two areas quite separate from each other.
“Whether he survived the attack or didn’t, it was a priority that we found him ... it’s estimated (we found him) a couple of hundred metres from where his rifle was located.”
Though RCMP have not released the hunter’s name or age, it’s been reported he’s Rick Cross, 54.
Family, waiting for word back in Calgary, has been notified of the tragic turn of events.
It’s that time of year, Bitz said, where grizzlies are in protective “get food now” mode.
“And in Kananaskis Country, bears are absolutely everywhere — we have quite a large quantity of known grizzly bears and also unknown grizzly bears.”
Alberta Parks spokeswoman Jill Sawyer said it is not clear yet what happens to the bears.
“They’ll do an investigation into it,” she said.
“There are quite a few factors that go into it.”
Sawyer said she expects more information on the bears’ fates will be released on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a bear closure for the area remains in effect — the area was initially closed off as the search was in progress.
damien.wood@sunmedia.ca
On Twitter: @SUNDamienWood
Calgary man mauled to death by mother grizzly bear while hunting in Kananaskis C

 

[taxslave]

Bears 1
Hunters 0

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Wrong place and wrong time, Kananaskis RCMP Const. Virgil Bitz said — the hunter had done nothing wrong, he just crossed the path of a grizzly feeling protective of both her cub and a recent deer kill.

Nothing wrong by human rules. Bear rules are different.

 

[MHz]

Probably going to kill the bear just because they didn't have the proper tag. I know an area just as big and just as remote where you can hunt an x-special forces guy, for a few dollars more we will sell you his tracking frequency.

 

[Nuggler]

Probably going to kill the bear just because they didn't have the proper tag. I know an area just as big and just as remote where you can hunt an x-special forces guy, for a few dollars more we will sell you his tracking frequency.

WTF are you blabbering about now ?

Guy went hunting. Bear got guy. Hoooonose what occurred.

"speculation" Probably didn't bring his rifle to bear (8O) in time. Mama probably smacked him so fukkin hard his rifle went flying. Those grizz ken move real quick for a reasonable distance.

 

[Twila]

wow, he hit the jackpot on causes of a bear to attack. 1 hunting: no noise, bear doesn't hear you and surprise! 2. Momma bear protecting cub. 3. Fresh kill.

I hope the bear isn't killed over this. When in bear country you should be very respectful and super vigilant.

 

[tay]

 

[petros]

Any day now we'll hear of someone getting f-cked by a bull elk. Regular news features every autumn. It ain't the encroachment of man. We've always been here right along with hungry bears and horny elk.

 

[Twila]

Any day now we'll hear of someone getting f-cked by a bull elk. Regular news features every autumn. It ain't the encroachment of man. We've always been hear right along with hungry bears and horny elk.

I think we may have been either smarter about our interactions with animals and understood they were dangerous or we had less tolerance of bubble wrapping everyone.

I think sometimes the best lessons learned can be the hard ones. Maybe if we stopped killing the animals for being animals and let nature takes its course with some humans who refuse to learn and adapt to the environment (living in bear land and having accessible garbage cans and fish ponds) we might have smarter humans rather then a lot of dumb humans.

 

[petros]

Grizzlies used to roam the Prairie and ended up like Cliffy hiding in the bush. Browns still do. They absolutely love eating oats. Over protection has lead to population booms which aren't great either.The critters are abundant and so are we. Up on the farm you carry a rifle at night. Bear, coyote, badgers, moose and cats are always there in the dark waiting for an easy meal or protect themselves.Moose are the most dangerous animal in Canada and their numbers are skyrocketing.

 

[Twila]

Grizzlies used to roam the Prairie and ended up like Cliffy hiding in the bush. Browns still do. They absolutely love eating oats. Over protection has lead to population booms which aren't great either.The critters are abundant and so are we. Up on the farm you carry a rifle at night. Bear, coyote, badgers, moose and cats are always there in the dark waiting for an easy meal or protect themselves.Moose are the most dangerous animal in Canada and their numbers are skyrocketing.

Clearly the more removed humans are from nature the less aware they become of the dangers of these animals. Who also have the right to exist on this earth.

hmmmm, moose. I haven't had a moose steak or roast in far too long.

 

[coldstream]

I grew up in Northern Ontario.. where responsible hunters picked a time and place to avoid contact with mother black bears. Normally they are passive and go out of their way to avoid human contact.. but become aggressive and defensive when protecting their young.

I think the Ontario government banned the spring bear hunt.. simply because the inevitable result of this is a mauled hunter.. a dead bear.. and orphaned cubs. (Much to annoyance of gun and hunting advocate Ted Nugent)

 

[MHz]

Be fitting if he has a bear tag.

 

[petros]

Clearly the more removed humans are from nature the less aware they become of the dangers of these animals. Who also have the right to exist on this earth.

hmmmm, moose. I haven't had a moose steak or roast in far too long.

I prefer elk.

 

[Cliffy]

Any day now we'll hear of someone getting f-cked by a bull elk. Regular news features every autumn. It ain't the encroachment of man. We've always been here right along with hungry bears and horny elk.

The human population back before the European invasion was about 1/10th what it is today and the people did not create massive clearcuts or strip mine the place. We have less than 5% of our old growth forests, so your argument is just silly. Trying to rationalize the rape and pillage mentality only holds water with rapers and pillagers of the land. Bears and all animals have just as much right to be here as you do.

 

[petros]

The human population back before the European invasion was about 1/10th what it is today and the people did not create massive clearcuts or strip mine the place. We have less than 5% of our old growth forests, so your argument is just silly. Trying to rationalize the rape and pillage mentality only holds water with rapers and pillagers of the land. Bears and all animals have just as much right to be here as you do.

Critter numbers are up. Where have you been hiding?

 

[Cliffy]

Critter numbers are up. Where have you been hiding?

They are up on the prairies because of the abundant but artificial grain crops.