Grizzly bear kills hunter in Boundary County (Idaho Falls, Hayden: legal, moving)

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

A grizzly bear killed a hunter in Boundary County today before another hunter fatally shot the bear.
Officials from the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are at the scene of the attack, which occurred about 10 a.m. in the remote area of Buckhorn Mountain near the Montana border.
The hunter who was killed is not a resident of Boundary County, officials said.
The victim’s name is being withheld pending family notification. The hunter’s partner shot and killed the attacking grizzly, officials said.

Grizzly bear kills hunter in Boundary County - Spokesman.com - Sept. 16, 2011

Ironic with the timing, given the controversy over the person who shot a grizzly in his back yard a while ago.

[mistyriver]

Very, very sad. The wilderness can be a scary place.

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

Originally Posted by mistyriverranch

Very, very sad. The wilderness can be a scary place.

Agreed. I wonder what weapon the victim was carrying? Elk archery season is open, I would expect that they would be the majority of the hunters in the woods right now. It is legal to carry a firearm during archery season.

[cushla]

Originally Posted by mistyriverranch

Very, very sad. The wilderness can be a scary place.

Sad for the bear and sad for the hunter? why do humans feel the need to invade an animals territory. We don't like it when something or someone invades ours.

[banjomike]

One of the grizzly's main food sources this time of year are whitebark pine cones. The tree grows high, right on the edge of the timberline, and the cones are tightly packed with fatty & nutritious pine nuts. The persistent drought of 2000-2006, and the warmer winters that followed, killed off a lot of the pine stands.

During the fall, it was common for rangers to see bears who had staked out a stand and would go from tree to tree in rotation, gorging on the pine cones as they fell. It was like a lunch counter for grizzlies.

I'll bet a lot of the young bears, and the old beat bears lost their territories to prime bears as these stands have died out, have come down to lower elevations where the pickings are thinner. This is the time they all forage almost 24 hours a day, packing on fat for the winter. The fatter the bear, the earlier they den and the longer they stay denned.

For the past 2 winters here, there have been encounters with grizzlies who either didn't den or came out early. Both are a sign of hungry bears. I haven't heard of anything that can be done to replace the whitebark pines; I'm sure they are difficult to re-seed, and the elevation they grow is high- about 7500-8000 feet. This must be one of the factors that are making the grizzlies spread out and seek new range.

One element that has caused the grizzly population to grow after many years of shrinking was the re-introduction of wolves to Yellowstone and the Frank Church Wilderness. Wolves give up their prey to the bears most times, unless the wolves are in a fairly large pack. The Griz is the top predator, and fears no wolf, and are known to lay on a carcass after it has been stolen, eating on it for days.

Toyman:
The guys around here who may encounter a grizzly typically carry large calibre handguns. A friend shot one a long time ago during a surprise encounter with a .44mag at close range. The bullet hit the bear in the forehead, flattened out, and circled halfway around the bear's skull. When my pal dug it out, it was as big as a 50¢ piece. The concussion killed the bear- the bullet never penetrated the skull.
Big calibre carbines, typically lever action, are also carried. I don't know what a bow hunger would be allowed to carry- I think it would probably be a pistol or a shotgun, possibly.

I have had one encounter with a griz- a bull who was in the Park and came out early. He was right by the east entrance, in the Hayden Valley. My bro and I were returning to Idaho Falls through the Park from a trip to Cody, and were in the line of cars waiting to go through the entrance. A park Ranger came up, very tense, and waved us through the toll booth; he pointed over his shoulder at the bear, which I hadn't noticed.
He was big, moving along pretty fast, and very grumpy, swinging his head from side to side. Until you see one at close range, it is impossible to understand how powerful and unpredictable they are. About 12 carloads of tourists got a free pass that day!

[pvande55]

It's the bears' territory. The hunter was an intruder.

[mistyriver]

The story is coming out now and it's pretty sad for the dead man and the bear. The out of state hunter's partner mistook the male grizzly for a black bear and shot and wounded it. They then tracked the bear into heavy brush where it attacked and killed the partner.
What kind of idiot goes bear hunting who can't tell the difference between a black and a griz?

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

Originally Posted by banjomike

One of the grizzly's main food sources this time of year are whitebark pine cones. The tree grows high, right on the edge of the timberline, and the cones are tightly packed with fatty & nutritious pine nuts. The persistent drought of 2000-2006, and the warmer winters that followed, killed off a lot of the pine stands.

During the fall, it was common for rangers to see bears who had staked out a stand and would go from tree to tree in rotation, gorging on the pine cones as they fell. It was like a lunch counter for grizzlies.

I'll bet a lot of the young bears, and the old beat bears lost their territories to prime bears as these stands have died out, have come down to lower elevations where the pickings are thinner. This is the time they all forage almost 24 hours a day, packing on fat for the winter. The fatter the bear, the earlier they den and the longer they stay denned.

For the past 2 winters here, there have been encounters with grizzlies who either didn't den or came out early. Both are a sign of hungry bears. I haven't heard of anything that can be done to replace the whitebark pines; I'm sure they are difficult to re-seed, and the elevation they grow is high- about 7500-8000 feet. This must be one of the factors that are making the grizzlies spread out and seek new range.

One element that has caused the grizzly population to grow after many years of shrinking was the re-introduction of wolves to Yellowstone and the Frank Church Wilderness. Wolves give up their prey to the bears most times, unless the wolves are in a fairly large pack. The Griz is the top predator, and fears no wolf, and are known to lay on a carcass after it has been stolen, eating on it for days.

Toyman:
The guys around here who may encounter a grizzly typically carry large calibre handguns. A friend shot one a long time ago during a surprise encounter with a .44mag at close range. The bullet hit the bear in the forehead, flattened out, and circled halfway around the bear's skull. When my pal dug it out, it was as big as a 50¢ piece. The concussion killed the bear- the bullet never penetrated the skull.
Big calibre carbines, typically lever action, are also carried. I don't know what a bow hunger would be allowed to carry- I think it would probably be a pistol or a shotgun, possibly.

I have had one encounter with a griz- a bull who was in the Park and came out early. He was right by the east entrance, in the Hayden Valley. My bro and I were returning to Idaho Falls through the Park from a trip to Cody, and were in the line of cars waiting to go through the entrance. A park Ranger came up, very tense, and waved us through the toll booth; he pointed over his shoulder at the bear, which I hadn't noticed.
He was big, moving along pretty fast, and very grumpy, swinging his head from side to side. Until you see one at close range, it is impossible to understand how powerful and unpredictable they are. About 12 carloads of tourists got a free pass that day!

Banjomike, great post. I do need to invest in a larger caliber handgun, all I carry is a .45 ACP, not nearly enough for bear country.

I wonder when it will be a hiker or someone in their back yard killed by one of these bears, rather than a hunter.

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

Originally Posted by mistyriverranch

What kind of idiot goes bear hunting who can't tell the difference between a black and a griz?

He was an out of stater.

[ejay]

That is what I read too. Out of stater.. First rule of hunting is know your prey and be able to kill it in one shot. Or at least have a good shot at it. A grizzly is easy to distinguish from a black bear. Or any bear really. That big head and huge hump on his back is not easy to miss. Unless your totally unfamiliar with bears. Hunting has risks and one of them is death. I have seen bull moose chase a guy right up a tree. Bull Elk too. One of my hunting friends was stuck in a tree for an hour. The moose kept hitting the tree he was in. He had dropped his rifle when he was climbing up the tree. A grizzly will climb a tree too. They are very powerful. If a man had the strength a Grizzly does he would be a superman..