Bear Attacks Montana Researcher
BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 6 months ago
A grizzly bear researcher for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is recovering from serious injuries following a bear attack in Montana, and a rancher says one or more grizzlies killed two llamas 12 days earlier elsewhere in the state.
Amber Kornak, 28, of Libby, Mont., was working alone near a stream in the Cabinet Mountains south of Libby. She was collecting grizzly hair samples from bushes for DNA testing, said Jennifer Strickland, a USFWS spokeswoman.
Kornak, a seasonal employee, was just a couple of weeks into her “dream job” when she was attacked from behind, suffering two skull fractures and severe cuts to her head, neck and back, her friend, Jenna Hemer, wrote in a GoFundMe post soliciting money for her recovery.
Kornak sprayed the bear with repellent and walked two miles to her vehicle and drove for help, Hemer wrote.
She underwent four hours of surgery at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, including removal of bone fragments from her brain and is home facing a long recovery, Hemer wrote.
“She aims to make a full recovery and get back to doing what she’s passionate about, working with grizzly bears and other wildlife,” Hemer wrote.
Strickland said Kornak was following USFWS work protocols, and that those protocols are being reviewed.
Officials speculated noise from the stream may have prevented Kornak from hearing the bear approach, the Associated Press reported.
Dillon Tabish, a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman, said the incident is under investigation and the department will confirm the type of bear. Generally, black bears are less prone to attack humans than grizzlies.
The incident follows another attack 12 days earlier more than 100 miles southeast of Libby, when a grizzly or grizzlies broke through a fence at mid-day and killed two trained pack llamas worth about $4,500, the rancher who owned them told Capital Press. Ten other llamas were not injured, he said.
He asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals from environmental extremists.
Since the attack, he’s been locking his llamas in his barn at night and is installing electric fence to protect them and his family, he said. Their nearest neighbor is a quarter-mile away.
“We’ve had grizzlies in our yard occasionally but this was the first kill and it’s spooky to have them come in broad daylight,” he said. “We don’t go too far away from the house without bear spray. I used to carry a Ruger 454, but it gets heavy and I think spray is more effective.”
Thanks, but I’ll keep a gun with me in the bush. I grok that a big bore gun gets heavy. But what’s your life worth, sir?
As for the poor researcher, get a gun, dear. And don’t go out in the bush alone.
And no, TCJ correspondent Fred didn’t send this one to me.
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On June 4, 2018 at 9:47 pm, SGT.BAG said:
” Carrying a handgun should not be comfortable, it should be comforting.”
Clint Smith
On June 4, 2018 at 9:59 pm, Fred said:
Heh! When I saw the headline I was thinking; ” Hey, a bear article at the Captain’s place and I wasn’t the tipster.” I must have missed this one. Falling down on the job, I am.
“Officials speculated noise from the stream may have prevented Kornak from hearing the bear approach, the Associated Press reported.”
News Flash to the professional, well trained, and expert “officials”; If’n a brown doesn’t want to be heard, it won’t. Ugh.
On June 4, 2018 at 10:31 pm, TheAlaskan said:
Geez. Another bear hugger hugs a bear. Bear spay more effective than a big bore hog-leg? News flash Missy; your antagonist bruin is still out there ready to “hug” you again because you didn’t use your 454. Bears and people don’t have an affinity for each other…period. Timothy Treadwell, eaten by a brownie, can no longer comment on the matter.
On June 5, 2018 at 12:21 am, Joshua Smith said:
Damn. Amber sounds hardcore.
On June 5, 2018 at 12:22 am, Joshua Smith said:
@Fred – Are backwards “face” masks as effective on bears as they are with cats?
On June 5, 2018 at 7:27 am, Chris Mallory said:
Alaskan, it was the Llama rancher who made the comment about the revolver, not the bear researcher.
On June 5, 2018 at 7:29 am, Herschel Smith said:
@Josh,
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/05/science/face-masks-fool-the-bengal-tigers.html
But I think I’d just stick to guns and partners in the bush.
On June 5, 2018 at 10:12 am, revjen45 said:
I think I would carry a Mossberg 500 or Rem 870 with slugs. My life is worth a lot.
On June 5, 2018 at 8:34 pm, Fred said:
Josh, You could take Herschel’s advice or hey, just walk around backwards all day.
On June 6, 2018 at 4:48 am, Joshua Smith said:
I’m legitimately interested whether masks deter or not. Perhaps they provoke them? Further research is warranted.
I’ve watched Les Stroud stalk around with one on and he seemed confident in it, but that was with big cats. India I think, so maybe Bengals.
On June 6, 2018 at 8:16 am, moe mensale said:
Another woman infringing in a man’s profession and getting attacked from behind. When will they learn?
Yes, I’m being sarcastic. Glad to see that Amber is recovering. Hopefully she’ll discover the benefits of teamwork and carrying a really big gun with her.
On June 6, 2018 at 9:55 pm, Fred said:
Yes, some locals say they work. But still some men don’t come home. This is Bengal specific to my knowledge. I would think the Bengals, being hunted almost to extinction, would avoid humans. It’s hard to see shapes in dense foliage. I suspect, based on the way cat’s vision works and the size (sound of walking movement) of jungle dwelling men that these cats may think men are prey similar to to the larger dear indigenous to those areas. It’s 1. hard to see what’s on the jungle trails and 2. their vision is keyed to movement, any movement and 3. once a cat is moving on prey they don’t really have much of a sense of anything else. But still Bengals are entering towns and settlements and taking children. They need a lot of meat. I’m speculating mostly, except about the vision and hearing of movement parts. When a cat breaks for prey they really can’t see or hear anything else. With them it’s not the fierceness of the attack it’s the pure concentration on violence of action against the subject.
On June 7, 2018 at 9:26 pm, Longbow said:
Bear spray is more effective than a 454 Casull? Sir, are you as stupid as you wanna be?