3 years, 1 month ago
I don’t know why he didn’t shoot (maybe licensing or permitting), but he certainly had nerves of steel to be bluff-charged by a bear like that.
3 years, 1 month ago
From what I understand, Moose are at least as aggressive as bears and much less prone to flee the presence of humans. And they can stomp you to death. Those are huge animals.
3 years, 1 month ago
Swarmed by a pack of nine Coywolves!
A Swampscott [suburb north of Boston], Massachusetts, resident was surrounded by a pack of nine coyotes on Friday night and was only able to escape after police responded and scared the animals off.
Swampscott police said they got a call around 9:30 p.m. from a resident who said they were walking their dog on Rockyledge Road when a large group of coyotes surrounded them and wouldn’t back down.
When police arrived, they said they saw at least nine coyotes. The coyotes were scared off by the arrival of the police cruisers and the stroble lights. Officers escorted the resident and their dog back to their home without further incident, but police are now warning residents to be aware of their surroundings when walking at night when coyotes are most active.
[P]olice suggest yelling and waving your arms as you approach the animals. They said the simplest method of scaring off a coyote involves “being loud and large.” They suggest standing tall, waving your arms and yelling at the coyote. Police suggest bringing homemade noisemakers, a small air horn, squirt guns or pepper spray while walking your dog. They also stressed that it is important not to run away from a coyote.
And what happens when the highly intelligent beasts begin to determine that guns only have water in them? Isn’t using a water pistol the same thing as running away, proverbially speaking?
This isn’t the first report of aggressive coyotes in Swampscott. Back in July, coyotes attacked people in at least two separate incidents. Aggressive coyotes were also reported in other parts of Massachusetts over the summer.
Via WoG
3 years, 2 months ago
I don’t think this guy would have had time to unholster a firearm, at least initially. But when the bear came back around on him he could have had a firearm trained on it. I think I would have.
I suspect cubs are somewhere in the mix.
Mountain Climber Fights Off Bear (2022) pic.twitter.com/70DTpPsfSL
— Billy (@Billyhottakes) October 17, 2022
3 years, 2 months ago
A 42-year-old-man was hunting Elk in Idaho when a mountain lion emerged from the wilderness and began stalking him.
Jared Erickson – from Paradise, Utah, just south of the Gem state – was lucky to get away with his life after the encounter with the lion in which he was forced to fire his gun twice.
After the second shot he was able to scare off the mountain lion, which then returned into the wilderness disappointed.
Erickson pulled out his pistol and phone upon noticing the big cat. With his left hand he filmed the lion as it moved menacingly towards him, one slow stride at a time.
In his right hand Erickson holds a Glock pistol pointed at the lion, prepared in case it chose to strike.
During the video Erickson can be heard breathing heavily as he moved backwards with the gun in hand.
‘Get back,’ he can was heard warning the lion firmly.
The lion begins to increase its pace until once about 20 feet away it lurches forward with both front legs extended. At that very moment the Erickson fires a singlehanded shot with the gun in his right hand.
Its unclear whether it was a warning shot or Erickson was aiming for the cat, but it dashes a few meters before turning back to face Erickson once more.
The article concludes that Mountain Lion attacks are rare.
There are photos of the cat at the link. Here’s the video. There’s a lot we could say about the mindset of Mr. Erickson and his use of the weapon. Ugh, that is the word that sums it up best.
The cat is being territorial and not hunting him! It could have kittens, but it’s very late in the season. Perhaps it has a kill nearby.
Via WoG.
3 years, 2 months ago
Dean Weingarten at AmmoLand:
On Tuesday, August 30, at about 6:50 p.m., James Little settled into campsite 674 in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). His youngest child was a few feet away. His youngest cried out, and James grabbed the child and took a couple of steps, uncertain of what had happened.
Then his oldest yelled, “Bear!” and James turned around. The bear was about six feet from him. It had been within 3-4 feet of his back when the child was startled. This was the start of the remarkable incident. In James’ words:
Just finished a trip to Horseshoe that should have been three nights, but turn to one. (Campsite 674) Had a bear walk right into camp and within four feet of my youngest! Nothing would discourage him till I fired a couple of rounds. We packed up and bolted to an open site (campsite 677) a half mile away on the other side of the lake. Weren’t there five minutes and was pulling up the food bag and my wife screamed. There was another bear fifteen feet away heading to our canoe with our kids in it. I had to fire another round before he would be deterred. Left that site and unexpected BWCA.com member Ausable and his crew took my family and me in for the night. (Campsite 672) Early the next morning, we broke came and headed out. My family had had too much. Across from the portage from Caribou to Lizz, (campsite 645) the campers there had their breakfast intruded upon by a bear who would not be deterred till he had taken their food bag.
This correspondent talked to James, who reported the incident to the BWCA authorities.
James used a North American Arms mini revolver, the Wasp model in .22 magnum, with a 1 5/8 inch barrel. The revolver was loaded with Speer Gold Dot defensive ammunition.
Read the rest at the link.
3 years, 2 months ago
Oct. 11 (UPI) — Multiple witnesses have reported mountain lion sightings in Madison County, Iowa according to local police.
The Madison County Sheriff’s office posted video of a mountain lion roaming through the woods outside of St. Charles along with a photo taken from a trail cam near New Virginia in Warren County. It’s not known if the images show the same animal.
The video evidence comes after multiple eyewitnesses reported seeing mountain lions in the area. The sheriff’s office doesn’t think the mountain lions are a threat to the public because the sightings have been away from populated areas.
Mountain lions do not have any wildlife protections in Iowa, but the Department of Natural Resources does not encourage people to kill the animals. Instead citizens are encouraged to report sightings to the Department and to frighten the animals away by making loud noises, throwing objects, and slowly backing off.
I can assure you that cats are not frightened by people slowly backing off. It’s like a comedy sketch that goes on too long:
If attacked citizens are encouraged to use sharp objects to attack the mountain lion’s eyes, though the Department of Natural Resources emphasizes that attacks on humans are very rare.
Bullets, those are sharp!
Via Instapundit
3 years, 2 months ago
Well hello there!
A bear seems to have made itself at home in a Chatsworth neighborhood and one homeowner captured some of its antics on video.
Dr. Alon Antebi told FOX 11 the bear has wandered the neighborhood since Labor Day.
The bear was seen cooling off in the pool and even hopping into the jacuzzi.
But Dr. Antebi says the bear also raids their outdoor kitchen and spills beer from the fridge.
There’s also concern that the bear is getting more aggressive.
“Yesterday we were having morning coffee and he came up literally three feet away from our glass door, our dogs started barking so he ran off, went into the pool, then jumped the fence.”
Animal control has told Dr. Antebi since he lives in the bear’s natural habitat there’s not much they can do unless the bear becomes more aggressive.
“Unless the bear becomes aggressive”!?! So sorry, once you’re dead, we’ll come to help you.
One article said it was a Grizzly. But in LA? Despite the color of the bear being light brown to tan, the body type is not that of Grizz. Blacks can range in color. Size can be deceptive. What do you think: Ursus americanus or Ursus arctos horribilis? Or maybe the Mexican Grizz isn’t really extinct?
Via Instapundit.
3 years, 2 months ago
Wildlife officers on Wednesday were tracking a mountain lion that attacked a 7-year-old boy and prompted the closure of a sprawling Southern California park, authorities said.
The child and his father were walking up stairs at Pico Canyon Park near Santa Clarita around dusk on Monday when a cougar emerged from brush and bit the boy on the buttocks, said Capt. Patrick Foy with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
That’s a classic ambush. Walking up steps takes attention and wind; fleeing is also difficult. Smart kitty. The attack occurred at dusk; cats are crepuscular. Though they may hunt at other times they hunt at dawn and dusk almost daily.
Foy said the father, who was walking behind, heard his son cry out and charged toward the big cat. “The lion let go and retreated back into the brush,” he said.
The boy was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Foy said.
“It was a pretty traumatic episode for him, but he’s expected to be fine,” he said.
Wildlife officials sampled the bite wound to confirm that a mountain lion was responsible and to obtain a DNA profile of the animal.
The father said the cougar didn’t appear to be wearing a GPS collar from the National Park Service, which tracks and studies big cats in Southern California. The park service said it doesn’t have a collared mountain lion in the area and the park is outside its research zone, according to Foy.
You knew it was coming: “rare.”
Mountain lion attacks on humans are rare. Around 20 confirmed attacks have occurred in California in 110 years of record-keeping, he said.
That number of 20 is a bald-faced lie. That’s the “official” “confirmed” by the “Fish and Wildlife authorities” number, is my guess. Note how it wasn’t ‘confirmed’ to be a lion until the saliva sample was analyzed, as though a 7-year-old and his father don’t know what a cat looks like.
Fish and Wildlife officers surveyed the area and set up baited boxes to try and trap the mountain lion at the park in foothills about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The park remained closed Wednesday.
Baited boxes? Wait, weren’t they “tracking” the mountain lion? They have no fool idea where the cat is, and neither does AP, the source of the story, know what words mean.
I still want to see one in the wild.
H/T Instapundit
