Shockey: Grizzly attack/kill of young mother and her child

[Don Fischer]

I agree, the emotional additive was way over the top. Doing the blame game rant against anti hunters was out of line. As an earlier poster pointed out, only two grizzly attacks in such a large area over such a long period doesn't paint the same picture as the almost daily encounter Shockey implies. I think we all know that as an owner/operator of a major outfitting operation in the area, Shockey would benefit financially from an increase in grizzly harvest quota. Those hunts can be upwards of $25K. I am not saying that's what motivated his rant ... but it is a possibility. I'm sure the antis will fire back with that ammo.

I have no idea who Shockly is or even where he live's. I suspect from his long life in the wild up there dealing with things like this simply become second nature. Just another event in a life time of event's. My first visit into grizzly country up near Kalispell, Mont did spook me a bit. Spent 4 years up there and once comfortable, bear's didn't bother me anymore. Or course out and around in their home I kept an eye out all around me. Still never saw one! I strongly suspect fate simply wasn't ready to remove me yet. Hunting Moose up in Alaska one time I was hunting down this path through the brush and I occurred to me I might be on a bear trail, I turned around and left. I believe I was armed well enough to have handled a situation but then again until that moment hit's you have no idea what could and will happen. Like the couple from California that went up every summer. everything was well and good till it wasn't anymore. And all their knowledge of bears they may have had went right out the window with one old bear with bad teeth looking for a meal! I think that is fate in action. They tempted it and they found it!

 

[2ski]

What other 3 year old threads can we dig up? Lol

 

[OntarioHunter]

What other 3 year old threads can we dig up? Lol

Oops. Admit I was perplexed when Shockey complained about still being under the three-year timeline restriction for applying for another grizzly tag because he shot his last one in 2016. Duh!

 

[longbow51]

I really have no idea why people continue to think firing a gun is going to haze an animal away. There is no negative feedback or consequence from it. They would have been far better off using some pepper spray and/or other items, such as bean bag rounds, pepper balls, rubber buckshot, etc.

I have only one experience with this. Had three caribou, freshly killed, in a camp in Alaska. A sow with cubs was standing up, scenting the fresh meat. I shot twice and she looked around to see what was going on, then went back to all fours, and started down the hill toward the camp a little more quickly than we were comfortable. The guide told me to put one 10 yards downslope in front of her. She stopped for a while, and the guide said to put one between her legs about a yard downslope from her. She and the cubs took off up the hill and we never saw them again. I have no idea how close you have to be to a sow with cubs to shoot it with a beanbag, but it's closer than I want to be in a remote camp. I'm sure you guide or hunt in grizz country, and have way more experience than me, but I have never known a wilderness guide to carry bean bag rounds.

 

[Sytes]

I re-hashed the other griz encounter thread with the recent updated information regarding the following. Figure applicable here for this old thread.
The griz was not even in range of the instruction based bear spray use... nor bean bag shotgun loads used, etc.

Interesting...

Officials ranging from US Forest Service, biologists, FWP Wardens, etc.

Bear charged... no mention of OC.

Griz shot and died approx 20 yards. Hmmm... I'm happy to hear all is well for the group. Saddened for the gent who succumbed (stroke) after attack and...

Now have officer(s) that killed a griz by firearms that died at approx 20 yards. Had this been a Joe or Jane that killed a griz @ 20 yards... well, let's just say, precedence has just been set.

"They yelled and made continuous noise as they walked toward the site to haze away any bears in the area. Before they reached the site, a bear began charging the group. Despite multiple attempts by all seven people to haze away the bear, it continued its charge. Due to this immediate safety risk, the bear was shot and died about 20 yards from the group. The bear was an older-age male grizzly"

West Yellowstone man dies after being attacked by grizzly bear

A Montana man seriously injured from a grizzly bear attack Thursday afternoon has passed away Saturday morning. Carl Mock, 40, suffered a massive stroke and was unable to make a recovery in an Idaho Falls hospital, according to a GoFundMe page set up for Mock. The grizzly bear attack occurred...

nbcmontana.com

 

[Straight Arrow]

I re-hashed the other griz encounter thread with the recent updated information regarding the following. Figure applicable here for this old thread.
The griz was not even in range of the instruction based bear spray use... nor bean bag shotgun loads used, etc.

This is not intending to be disrespectful to Carl Mock (may he RIP), the man fatally attacked at Baker's Hole near West Yellowstone, but the continued investigation of such a tragedy does seem warranted by the presence of a camera strapped to the man's chest during the incident.

 

[Panda Bear]

This is not intending to be disrespectful to Carl Mock (may he RIP), the man fatally attacked at Baker's Hole near West Yellowstone, but the continued investigation of such a tragedy does seem warranted by the presence of a camera strapped to the man's chest during the incident.

and that holds true in my case as well--no disrespect intended to anyone

but I am not sure I understand. Has someone suggested he had a camera strapped to his chest in an attempt to get up close and personal picture's of a bear mauling someone ( him ) or ????

If they have determined that they killed the bear that killed him and that they believe the reason the bear killed him was because the bear was protecting a food source. What else are they "still" investigating ? I have not followed the story.

 

[Straight Arrow]

and that holds true in my case as well--no disrespect intended to anyone

but I am not sure I understand. Has someone suggested he had a camera strapped to his chest in an attempt to get up close and personal picture's of a bear mauling someone ( him ) or ????

If they have determined that they killed the bear that killed him and that they believe the reason the bear killed him was because the bear was protecting a food source. What else are they "still" investigating ? I have not followed the story.

It is not clear what other questions the investigators are trying to answer. One can only assume that they are analyzing the scene to determine how close to the bear and/or the carcass the victim approached. It seems to me it would be difficult to determine conclusively, but that's just my opinion ... and I lack expertise in such matters.

 

[buffybr]

I really have no idea why people continue to think firing a gun is going to haze an animal away. There is no negative feedback or consequence from it. Ask anyone who has used a propane cannon to keep deer or elk out of a field. It doesn't work. They would have been far better off using some pepper spray and/or other items, such as bean bag rounds, pepper balls, rubber buckshot, etc.

I found that this was true about 35 years ago. Two friends and I were camped at the end of a Forest Service road near West Yellowstone, MT. We had 2 elk and a moose hanging from the stock rack in the back of my pickup. When I went out to check my horses one night a grizzly woofed and clicked his teeth at me not 30' away on the bank above the road. I shot 2 rounds from my .44 mag revolver to scare him away. The first just over his head, and the second into the tree next to him. He had absolutely no reaction to either shot. So I picked up a tennis ball size rock and threw and hit him with it and he ran away.

He had an ear tag and a radio collar, and it turned out he had been a problem bear near Cooke City and had been re-located to where we were camped.

As for the above story, yes it was a terrible tragedy. I have met Jim Shockey on a couple of occasions, and yes he is a glory hound, but I agree with him 100% on this tragedy. Western grizzly populations are increasing and their numbers need to be controlled. Wildlife should be managed by trained biologists, NOT by politicians or public sentiment.

 

[406dn]

Poking around in country that contains grizzly bears, carries additional risk when compared to country where they are absent. Many posters on this board accept that risk, myself included. I feel especially bad for the young woman and her little daughter. They each had too much life in front of them. That said, the woman knew the risks and accepted them. The chance of a bear being out so late in the fall was slim, but sadly wasn't zero.

Shockey contradicts himself some in his argument when he says that the Yukon and BC are overrun with bears and had he been able to kill a bear that year, that would likely be the same bear. If there are numerous bears, how can there be much certainty that killing one bear earlier in the year would be the same bear?

I think that the grizzly bears in Montana should be taken off the Endangered Species list, but I don't think it will happen anytime soon. Even if they are removed, any proposed hunting of them will be a political shitstorm. There will be endless court cases. I held out hope that in my last remaining hunting seasons, there might be an opportunity to hunt them. That hope has largely died, facing the reality of the situation.

 

[Sytes]

Shockey contradicts himself some in his argument when he says that the Yukon and BC are overrun with bears and had he been able to kill a bear that year, that would likely be the same bear. If there are numerous bears, how can there be much certainty that killing one bear earlier in the year would be the same bear?

I think it presented the reality of a tv personality... He's a human with emotions that, IMO, got the best of him in this largely considered opinion piece - and even at that, he did pretty darn good considering his association with this family and Canadian roots / involvement with conservation w/in Canada and surprisingly within the U.S... as a Canadian.
People on the net thump their chests often and crap on others simply because - well, they can. This comment is not specified towards 406dn.

As mentioned in the past - it's a chit sandwich no matter how it's viewed. Live in the city? worry about human criminals. Live in the mountains, live with the wild-life. I don't press adversely towards the family desire to live in the Yukon one bit. What an amazing life that child might have led on as an adult.
Same may be said of countless other children and families murdered, vehicle accidents, etc within the concrete jungle...

 

[1100RemingtonMan]

All predators need hunted to keep the fear of Man in them. When not hunted animals do loose there fear of Man. All this BS of not managing Predators has gotten out of hand. IMHO