Cyclist mauled by Grizzly Bear

[KJMUNC]

Ugh....glad to hear the guy survived. Was riding on a dirt trail in the Santa Monica Mtns recently and came across a guy who had bells on his MTB. We stopped to talk and I asked if he had been riding in bear country and he responded "you see a mountain lion up here and you'll ride with bells too."

No idea if he'd actually ever seen one and not sure bells do anything for mountain lions, but given that it was just at sunrise, still really foggy, and the trail was empty I rode on high alert until I got back to pavement.

I'd take a bear attack over mtn lion any day for all the reasons mentioned above....bears might leave you alone if you play dead but if a mtn lion attacks the only way you're getting out of it alive is by fighting back. no thanks.

[bigbill]

I ride with a bell. I live in the foothills of the Hualapai Mountains and I don't want to have a surprise encounter with any wildlife or equestrian. In Coconino NF where I ride my Coconino MTB, the bell is for bears and mountain lions.

[azrider]

Originally Posted by weisan

and we saw a bear on the road, I got out of the car to "pursue" while people inside the car were yelling at me to get the fcuk back inside!

Originally Posted by charliedid

Anybody happen to see this posted on CNN?

https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/202...-vstop-bdk.cnn

WTH is going on here?

Originally Posted by KJMUNC

I'd take a bear attack over mtn lion any day for all the reasons mentioned above....bears might leave you alone if you play dead but if a mtn lion attacks the only way you're getting out of it alive is by fighting back. no thanks.

yeah....I'd have to 1000% agree with bear over mtn lion

[William]

Btw, if you are into reading such things this is a good book. Lots of history, facts, stats, and breakdowns of encounters.





W.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by kppolich

Lord that would be terrifying. I have a standing argument with a group of running and cycling buddies about what animal you'd rather cross paths with during a workout.

Mountain Lion vs. Bear
I've always picked the bear, as the mountain lion video's I've seen show pure agility and you'd have no chance to escape if it came down to it. But after reading this, I don't want to cross paths with either!

Either before a human...

[dziekiel]

Mountain lions are not uncommon around these parts and terrifying, but tbh, idiotic deer are still my worst fear, especially on high speed descents.

[MattTuck]

Oh, and for what it is worth. Last night, I was hauling the twins on our nightly ride up and down the street. It involves about a half mile up the hill, then half mile return to the cul-de-sac. -- usually repeated 3 or 4 times.

On the last return to the house, caught site of a black bear about 10 feet into the woods. It turned and ran further into the woods (which is in the direction of our house because of the way the main road bends, and the orientation of the cul de sac). Needless to say, I sped up the drive way, into the garage and closed the door as fast as I could.

Black bears are no where near as dangerous as grizzlies, but still don't want to take any chances.

[Rpoole8537]

Two years ago, a friend and I checked into a cabin near Durango, CO. After putting away the groceries and sitting down on the deck, we saw a 400 pound bear walking up the road to the cabin. By far, the largest bear that I have ever seen in the wild. Fortunately, he turned and walked into the woods about 100 feet from the cabin. The next day, we met two locals backpacking nearby and asked them if we needed to worry about bears in the area. One of them pulled back his jacket to display his 9mm pistol. He said, don't worry about the bears, but the mountain loins will kill you! We did a lot of hiking that week, and we never quit looking over our shoulders! I live very close to Western NC and spend a great deal of time there. We see many bears, even in my neighborhood, but I'm glad there are no mountain loins in the area.

[benb]

As if if a 9mm pistol does anything to a bear or mountain lion other than enrage it... dumb... It's like a bee sting. Mountain lion is supposedly stoppable with a .30-06 if you're a really good shot, otherwise bigger. Bears even bigger than that.

I've only seen one black bear in the wild.. and I was in the car.

I do have a bell, I received it as a gift and I never really wear it though it is a very easy thing to take hiking and clip to your bag. The only thing I'm anywhere in the vicinity of riding is deer and coyote.

[merlinmurph]

Originally Posted by David Kirk

The bear is not being pursued and will not be killed. It was determined that the rider surprised the bear coming around a blind turn and he bear defended itself as it should.

Same exact thing happened a few years ago in MT and the rider was a ranger. Probably didn't even have enough time to pull out the bear spray. That's awful.

[William]

Originally Posted by benb

As if if a 9mm pistol does anything to a bear or mountain lion other than enrage it... dumb... It's like a bee sting. Mountain lion is supposedly stoppable with a .30-06 if you're a really good shot, otherwise bigger. Bears even bigger than that.

I've only seen one black bear in the wild.. and I was in the car.

I do have a bell, I received it as a gift and I never really wear it though it is a very easy thing to take hiking and clip to your bag. The only thing I'm anywhere in the vicinity of riding is deer and coyote.

The report of a 9mm would likely do more to scare it then actually stop a charging bear...though not impossible with good shot placement. If you were going to go the route of carrying a pistol in the backcountry, minimum 10mike mike or .45 acp for black bear, or min .44mag or larger caliber for possible brown bear encounters. Many carry just in case, train extensively with whatever you plan to carry, and hopefully you never need to use it.







W.

[bikinchris]

https://images.app.goo.gl/g52EJNe76vziMUL8A

[GregL]

While black bears are generally thought to be "shy," they can also be deadly. About six years ago, a hiker was killed by a black bear in northern New Jersey. Only 30 miles from the GW bridge, dangerous (non-human) animals are present... https://www.nj.com/passaic-county/20...t_milford.html

Greg

[William]

Originally Posted by GregL

While black bears are generally thought to be "shy," they can also be deadly. About six years ago, a hiker was killed by a black bear in northern New Jersey. Only 30 miles from the GW bridge, dangerous (non-human) animals are present... https://www.nj.com/passaic-county/20...t_milford.html

Greg

This^^^.

The book I cited above also covers Black bear encounters. They don't have the rep like Brown bears do but they are for from docile and they have taken out people as well. More than likely if they hear you coming they'll slip off and you will never know they were there unless you come across their prints or fresh scat. But things can happen obviously.








W.

[choke]

Originally Posted by weisan

This brought back some memories,..we were vacationing at Yellowstone back in 2011 and we saw a bear on the road, I got out of the car to "pursue" while people inside the car were yelling at me to get the fcuk back inside! yeah I know...I was dumb...real dumb

FYI, the animal that injures the most people in Yellowstone every year is the bison.