Alaska hunter mauled by angry grizzly
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I no longer hunt, but there was a time when I could kill with the best of them, until the day, long ago, when I had a beautiful buck in my scope. The shot was easy, about 100 yards actually, and for a .270 Winchester there was little challenge. As I adjusted the butt of the rifle to my shoulder and focused on the animal, I started to squeeze the trigger, as he seemed to look directly at me. I froze and started to shake. I knew I had the power to extinguish the life of this magnificent animal but from whence came that power? Who gave me the right to stop this elegant creature’s beating heart? When I took my finger off the trigger, the deer turned and sprinted away, its white tail bobbing in the air.
I was soaked in sweat and it was about 30 degrees with snow on the ground. I started to cry, and continued until I was sobbing like a baby. Clearly something had changed inside me, and from that day forward I never again killed an animal for sport. I don’t begrudge those who do, and understand the need, in some cases to control burgeoning populations. I draw the line, however, at the killing of predators for the sport of it, and hunting bear and wolves, makes my blood boil, because there is often little evidence to support the need to kill these majestic creatures.
As a result, I have little compassion for those who pursue animals from helicopters, airplanes, and snowmobiles. For the first two there is little the terrified critters can do, but for those who hunt on snowmobiles they take their chances, and this “great white hunter” did just that. What happened is the result of being careless and messing once too often with Mother Nature’s children. Sadly, this “child” was killed by the companions of the injured man.
Here is the story from Reuters:
An Alaska bear hunter who was severely mauled by a grizzly over the weekend has been flown to Seattle in critical condition, authorities said on Monday.
Nome resident Wes Perkins, 54, was listed in critical condition and in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a spokeswoman for the hospital said.
It was Alaska’s first bear attack of 2011, officials with the state Department of Fish and Game said.
“As far as I know, this is the first significant incident of the year,” said Gordy Williams, special assistant with the department.
Perkins, a former Nome fire chief, was attacked on Sunday by a large bear that he and two companions were tracking by snowmobile in a hilly area outside of Nome, the Alaska State Troopers said.
Perkins was riding in front of his companion when the bear charged him, trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said.
The other men in the hunting party shot and killed the bear and called for help by radio, she said.
Perkins was retrieved from the site by helicopter, taken to the Nome hospital and then flown from there for further treatment, Peters said.
The troopers are investigating the incident, she said.
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I just passed a bunch of a hole bear hunters today, parked on the road with all their dogs loaded in their trucks. They were out baiting the bears. I hate hunters. In this case here, I hope the bear is ok. Honestly, I could care less about the hunter. I guess that makes me bad, but I like the animals better, always have, always will. I hope this horrible bear hunting season the bears win!
As this author pointed out, how can someone possibly enjoy killing something? I find people who do this despicable, and have zero sympathy when they get the tables turned on them. Good for the bear!!
Long as the bears win…long as the bears win…in the end.
Hillbilly, I will not deny you the fact that changes need to be made in the way we handle animals who are being raised for food. I still do not think that justifies the hunting and killing for sport, if you call lying in wait for at a safe distance with a high powered rifle a sport. I thought sports were supposed to be some sort of equal or balanced event. I am not sure what this “man has to do what a man has to do” is suppose to mean. At one time that meant beating his wife and kids. That sort of thing.
As far as turning vegan, I don’t think I will try to make that change this late in life. Besides, animals sometimes have the option of running away. Poor little plants are stuck in the ground screaming, “please don’t kill me, please don’t kill me.” 🙂
Mike, Consider just using meat that you know has been raised ethically by local farmers and wild caught fish.
I’m curious Jess, why do you and other vegans not eat dairy products and eggs. They are great sources of amino acids, fats, oils and proteins for people who don’t want to eat meat.
I don’t know about other peoples reasons, but mine are simply because of the animals that are involved. The egg is someones baby, as silly as that sounds to someone else, I take it seriously. I don’t want to harm another living thing, so I can eat and I get lots of good fats from nuts and the like, proteins from various different beans. I cook with coconut oil which gives food an amazing taste too. Hubby likes real meat so I cook it for him, twice maybe three times a week. I have sneakily added vegan sausages to Sunday breakfast and he does like them, so I might get him to at least vegetarian.
When I saw my doctor for my annual physical she told me that cutting out meat, or dairy products entirely was not a good idea. Something about protein.
Lots of different places to get protein if you aren’t a meat eater. I get it from dark red kidney beans which I throw into almost everything and quinoa which is a grain I use when I don’t feel like potatoes or wild rice. When I do eat rice, it’s the wild brown rice I eat, better for you than all that processed white rice. Tofu has protein too, but that you need to acquire a taste for, it’s not to everyones liking. I try and stir fry that for myself with veggies, that way it takes in all the flavor of whatever veg I am frying with it. Vegetarian would probably work better for you at first.
I know, I shouldn’t be pressing this, but sometimes a mans gotta do what a man thinks he has to do.
One of the things I’m most passionate about is the inhumane breeding, raising and slaughter of animals. As a farmer who raises poultry in a humane manner it appalls me when I think about the processes employed in the beef, pork and poultry industries. I can’t help but think that if people would pull their heads out of their asses and see what is going on in the world that is directly related to them, they would also be appalled.
Well, when someone condemns another human being who is out hunting for whatever reason in viscious and vile terms and then says “I like my bacon sandwiches” it just makes me want to grab that person and shake real hard. Maybe some of the concrete will crack in their head and some reality will be able to enter.
I completely understand what you are saying. For many years I have seriously considered becoming a vegetarian because I do have an idea of what goes on behind the scenes, and, especially for the less than ethical, the treatment these poor animals receive is horrific. As to the person who made that comment I suspect no amount of shaking will make much difference.
You don’t have to do it all at once you know, says the vegan 🙂 Go without meat once, maybe twice a week if that is something you are interested in. You will find you don’t really miss it and will come up with all kinds of recipes you might find you really enjoy, that are good for you and the planet too.
I get closer and closer every day Jess, to making that final decision to exclude all meat from my diet. Do you do the whole thing: no meat, fish, poultry and etc?
I eat nothing anymore, that has a face or could possibly have a face at any time, so it’s mostly veggies, beans and stuff like that. No cheese(this will upset Julie) no eggs, milk, I use soy milk for cereals. Lots of stuff you can do with legumes and the like. I have a burger I make out of chickpeas, Tasini sauce, onions and olive oil, wrapped up in lettuce with tomatoes and extra onion, it’s a meal better than a burger place imo. If you can’t do it all the way, cut meat out a couple days a week. Your body will really thank you for it. Here is a really good site for recipes if you are inclined. You really will find a good variety of stuff here.
http://www.simpleveganrecipes.co.uk/
Thanks Jess. I’ll check it out.
I have no opposition to cutting out cheese, other than it tastes really really good. 🙂
Thanks for the tips, Jess!
A guy’s out hunting and he spots a grizzly. He aims, shoots and down goes the bear. All of a sudden, the guy feels a tap on his shoulder, and there’s an even bigger bear. The bear says that the first bear was his cousin. He gives the hunter a choice. “I can maul ya – or… rough anal sex.” The guy thinks it over and opts for the sex. It takes him 3 months to heal – he vows revenge. Next season he’s up there, and sees the same grizzly. He aims, shoots and down goes the bear. An EVEN bigger grizzly taps him on the shoulder. Same deal – mauling or rough sex. It takes the hunter 5 months to heal. He vows revenge. Next season, he’s up there, and there’s the bear. He aims, shoots and down goes the bear. A tap on the shoulder, and “Face it Bob, you don’t really come up here for the hunting.”
ROFLMAO!!!!!!! A great way to start the day.
The perfect end to the debate, thanks.
Love it!!!
I believe that all the commentators here have their hearts and minds in the right place. I have serious doubts that the fire chief from Nome, Alaska needed the food or clothing the bear would have provided. I feel that he was, as many people in Alaska seem to believe, exercising their frontier rights to hunt and kill wildlife because they want to not because they need to. There are folks up there that do live off the land and to those, more power to them, but this most likely wasn’t one of them. Several times in the past I have offered what I considered a fair solution to those who wish to hunt any game for sport. The hunter gets a knife any other natural instrument he or she can create in the wilderness and the wild game gets its natural weapons, i.e., claws, teeth, etc., and may the best animal win. For example, in this case Mr. Perkins and his group would have had knifes and maybe some sticks for clubs. Actually, this case most likely would not have happened because I don’t think they would have been there. They don’t want sport, they just want to kill.
I wonder who is responsible for thinning us out when we start over populating an area?
Mother Nature is responsible for thinning the human herd. She lets us run with our own urges and we kill each other quite well, war, crime, etc. When that doesn’t remove enough, then she sends her diseases. Whenever we, in our infinite wisdom, find a cure for something, another arises to take its place. Besides the fact that nature abhors a vacuum, it is a way to knock our numbers down. There will always be a disease, virus, syndrome, whatever killing us. It is Nature’s way of trying to cleanse the planet of the greatest threat to life on it, us.
My first response to this headline: “Was its name Sarah?” (in reference to the grizzly)… Those Alaskan former-semi-term-governor-turned-spectacle-mama-grizzlies can be fierce!
Oh and BTW: I’ve been to Alaska. I have friends in and from Alaska. There are grizzly bears all over the place up there. The people of rural Alaska hunt grizzlies for many reasons including food and clothing. It’s very possible that Mr. Perkins and his hunting partners were carrying on a tradition that goes back thousands of years among the Athabaskan people of Alaska. I don’t know this to be true, but it’s very likely. Think people, think. . . the rest of the world is not just like your own tiny little corner.
If he was I readily retract former comments.
If he was ‘hunting for pleasure’ I don’t
I have no idea which is correct…
If it’s the former then get well soon Mr Perkins…
The latter then die in pain you SOB.
Fair enough?
If there is an over population issue, I can understand the need for this, however, bringing in tradition in as an argument is not as strong a position as you may think.
Yes, humans value their traditions, but why? Some do certainly have value, either as survival mechanisms or for providing societal benefits. But others are carried on just because their ancestors did it. This does not make it ‘special’ or ‘valuable’, just a particularly successful meme that has out competed others. This is the same kind of thinking that leads to people trying to support whaling today when there is no real benefit other than quick financial gains and tradition.
I can understand allowing some bits of tradition to survive for the sake of heritage if they do not harm anyone or anything. But if that tradition proves itself to be too costly, then we should, as a potentially intelligent species, set it aside with other outdated concepts as erroneous.
This is, at its foundation, the very argument used to perpetuate religion, the suppression of equal rights for all persons and a myriad of other obviously bad ideas that we are left to wade through in an otherwise modern society.
I agree totally with you Chris. I don’t see tradition as a trump card by any means. Just because your people have done it for centuries and you are carrying on a tradition, even one you see as a necessity, doesn’t give you a free pass to threaten extinction of a species.
Unfortunately, the balance that once was is no longer there due to the careless acts of many. It’s hard to believe that it only took the white man less than a decade to nearly wipe out the buffalo of the plain states. The eastern woodland elk and buffalo, eastern cougar and many more were wiped from existence. The narwhale and beluga used to be plentiful, but now the indigenous people can no longer hunt them due to over hunting by others.
“‘and understand the need’??….buggered if I do but there you go eh?
I hope you die Wes Perkins. Preferably in considerable pain.
You are a shithead Wes Perkins.
Die you bastard and rot in hell.
As his companions shot and killed the bear I hope they catch cancer and die as well.”
Wow, you really attract some hate filled folks around here Mike.
Very strange that someone could be so compassionate toward animals that they see no reason in the world to kill one yet have such hate for their fellow human beings. Seems like they might have some mental stability issues.
I hunt. I hunt for three reasons: 1. there are so many deer around here due to the lack of predators that human beings MUST step in and fulfill the role, otherwise the ecosystem would become completely unbalanced and over run with deer. 2. I love the taste of deer meat. 3. I like taking on the role of predator and dragging home nice freshly killed piece of meat for the freezer.
I wonder how many of the do-gooder anti-hunting crowd eat meat they bought from the local grocer? Meat that has been raised in horrible inhumane conditions with feed that is not fit for consumption by any animal. I wonder how many of those people even have a clue as to what the conditions are under which their chicken, beef and pork is raised. I suspect not, otherwise they would realize that 99.99999% of the pain and suffering and inhumanity toward four legged creatures on this Earth is not caused by hunters.
Seems to me that folks react from a purely emotional stance rather than taking a minute and thinking about what the reality of some situation is, but that is typical of the simple mindedness that prevails in our society today.
That being said: I have no respect for trophy hunters. They are usually people with too much money. too little common sense and egos that are ridiculously inflated. My suspicion is that they also have little tiny penises and they think that is the reason they are unlucky at love.
I’m not ‘hate filled’ Hillbilly…nothing of the sort…
I just believe that any human who gains satisfaction in killing a bear…or any other creature come to that…is clearly a sicko and deserves what he/she gets…
Mental instability?….More than likely I suppose…after all, I am human which tends to result in mental instability more often than not.
I’m a cynic Hillbilly…that isn’t mental instability…it’s a human trait in some of us.
I freely accept ‘slaughter’ to feed us…I like my bacon sandwiches…and I realise that if I’m not a vegetarian then the slaughter of meat is a requirement…but…
But… Hunting an animal for sport – if a ‘kill’ is required – is wrong and anyone who thinks otherwise is an asshole.
That being said…I do understand that some people like hunting and shooting and killing.
They are just dumb….as are the animals they kill for pleasure.
I need to go to bed now.
I’m not ‘hate filled’ babe….I just adore animals more than humans…that’s all…
As for ‘fellow human beings’ I haven’t an issue unless the so called fellow human beings threaten me and mine.
Muzzies in England ARE threatening ‘me and mine’….their call not mine…
So there you go eh?…
Nite MMA
J.P. – Unless you plan to use ole’ Wes for your bacon sandwiches, there appears to be a certain amount of hypocracy here. Just sayin’.
Hear! Hear! On the trophy hunters SH!!!
Um, the first bear attack, no dumbass it was idiots trying to outwit Darwin and they killed an animal going about its business. Damn I am so fed up with stupid people I could scream. We’ll hear shortly from the fright wing, that we have dominion over the animals no doubt.
I have yet to grasp this concept. To kill something just for the sake of being able to say you killed it. Are they that insecure with their station in life that they need to ‘prove’ to the world that they are ‘better’ than something else by being able to end its life? I understand that in nature, death is part of existence, but I just don’t see the point of adding to it without a valid reason.
‘and understand the need’??….buggered if I do but there you go eh?
I hope you die Wes Perkins. Preferably in considerable pain.
You are a shithead Wes Perkins.
Die you bastard and rot in hell.
As his companions shot and killed the bear I hope they catch cancer and die as well.
Don’t even try and argue with me on this. If you want to then just fuck off. I couldn’t give a fuck what you think. Animals are more important than Wes ‘Shit for Brains’ Perkins. He thought he mattered more than the bear cause he’s human….Guess again Wes and scream in pain a bit before you go eh?
Animals have more rights than humanity can ever have. They deserve their rights, we fucking don’t. Bears don’t fuck up the world.
Die Wes Perkins and good riddance. You made the wrong call and you’re paying the price.
…and on that happy note….Nite MMA….;-)
Took me a while to come up with something rational for you but here goes I’m going to try. As a cancer survivor myself and probably till I do die at a really ripe old age living with NHL, you don’t wish cancer on anyone, I’ll bet you don’t. It’s a horrid disease that takes way too many people in bad ways.
My dad died of cancer so I do know how horrid it is…anyone who would kill an animal for sport deserves cancer to me.
Soz but that’s my mind.