Montana bear attack.

[bakerjw]

Near Kallispell Mt. Not quite sure how far off of the TD route that this is but it is a reminder that the TD route goes through some true wilderness.

http://www.kpax.com/story/32340455/1-killed-in-grizzly-bear-attack-near-west-glacier

[Iowagriz]

This is about 15-20 miles east of Columbia Falls.  The KOA trailhead is near West Glacier.  The last report that I read is that it was a 38yr old man who was a law enforcement officer for the national forest service.  So, he would have experience.  Surely must have startled the bear.

[bakerjw]

All accounts are that he and another rider startled the bear. We all get complacent about things when riding. Sometimes we forget that we are in dangerous places and occasionally the complacency bites back in a hard way.

I read an unconfirmed comment that the bear had 2 cubs. That is unconfirmed. If it had cubs, then it was doing what mother bears with cubs can do when startled.

If I ever am attacked and killed by a mother with cubs, make sure my wishes are known that I don't want the bear in question harmed. It is only doing what momma bears do.

[Attaboy]

I'm not so comfortable when we quickly surmise it was complacency. When I do so, it seems my bias is to feel safer about myself and my activities.  I think the truth is sometimes people come in contact with bears at times when the bear is going to fatally attack--could be Mothers with cubs, or there is a kill/carcass near and bear sees you as violating their rules and getting near that food.

[bakerjw]

I'm not necessarily surmising complacency. When most of us ride through wilderness areas like Montana offers, we almost always carry bear spray. We are often out of our element as compared to where we normally ride. I know the Appalachians are much more forgiving when it comes to dangerous wildlife. We do have black bears but they are very timid and run at the sight of humans.

In some news comment sections regarding the attack, some who live in the area and ride regularly stated that they'd never seen a grizzly when out riding or that it is a very rare occurrence. While we have the fear of meeting up with one, many who live there probably figure that bear spray is not necessary as an encounter is highly unlikely.

It seems that the days that I leave my dog spray at home are the ones where I run into all kinds of "Chase the bike" dogs.

[Smithhammer]

I've read several different reports on the incident, and none have mentioned whether the bikers were carrying bear spray or not.

But, even when carrying bear spray (which I do, since I live in prolific grizzly and black bear habitat), I have no illusions about how quickly an attack can happen. Bears can suddenly appear and move astonishingly fast. Even though I keep my spray on my frame, where I can grab it quickly, it still might not be quick enough when I'm bombing down some singletrack through thick vegetation and I startle a bear just off to the side of the trail. It's the close-range, surprise incidents that you really have to worry about - far more so than the ones where you see a bear 150 yards away and have all the time in the world to pull out your bear spray. This sounds like it may have been that type of encounter, in which case, even if they were carrying bear spray, things may have just happened way too fast.

[bakerjw]

I've been posting in the comments section on a Breitbart.com story about the attack. I am a staunch supporter of the 2nd amendment but some of these people think that a handgun would have made all the difference in the world.

The best scenario is if you see a bear, you make noise to let it know that you're there. The bear is surprised but you are not.
All other scenarios, you are surprised. People have this idea that they can pull a handgun and drop a charging bear in a matter of seconds. in the real world under duress, it will not happen.

[Smithhammer]

The best scenario is if you see a bear, you make noise to let it know that you're there. The bear is surprised but you are not.
All other scenarios, you are surprised. People have this idea that they can pull a handgun and drop a charging bear in a matter of seconds. in the real world under duress, it will not happen.

Agreed that making noise is the best policy. If the bear knows you are there, the chance of a surprised, aggressive reaction goes way down.

And while I don't want to start a debate about firearms, I agree with you (as a firearm owner myself). Being able to draw and aim very accurately (especially when one second ago you were riding your bike) with a high caliber firearm, at close range, in a very high stress situation, on a fast-moving target, is something 99% of people are simply not capable of, no matter how accurate one may be at the range. And your chances of making the situation worse go up dramatically. Bear spray is proven effective, and it sprays a cloud, greatly diminishing the need for accuracy in the above scenario.

But yeah - make noise, keep aware, and hopefully you will never find yourself in that situation.

[bakerjw]

when I rode the TD route a few weeks back, I had a black bear encounter. Luckily it was #1. I saw it way ahead. when it finally heard me, >>>--ZOOM--->>> into the bushes!

Up until that moment it was a "What do I do now" moment.

[sdr]

Have not been digging into the reports on this, however I did read that a second rider took off to go find help. Can't say for sure what I would do but if I was witnessing a bear attack and had spray, I'd like to think that I would attempt to use it to stop the attack.

Last year when I was riding the GDMBR solo I was staying in Butte when I learned about a fatal  Grizzly attack in Yellowstone. A little unnerved about this I visited the local gun shop the next morning, threw my Michigan Concealed Pistol License on the counter and asked if they could sell me a gun. Had to be a Montana resident to walk out with a handgun that day. They told me too I was better off with the bear spray.

[bmike-vt]

watch the scene in the revenant... yeah, its old tech, but i am pretty sure the gun was loaded and ready to fire. he had no time to draw once he knew it was coming for him...
(and generally a beautiful movie, aside from the death and gore...)

[threepin]

Yesterday it was disclosed that the encounter started with a collision between bear and cyclist and that the cyclist had been traveling at a high rate of speed, not much more info is available, i am guessing that the bear was sleeping in or beside the trail and was startled , it was mid afternoon on one of the hottest days so far this year. I had a similar occurrence last summer west of whitefish where a small black bear had been bedded down immediately beside a trail i was riding and moved when i was about about 5 ft away.

Most of gdmbr has pretty good sight lines compared to a brushy trail so the risk  of surprise is diminished a bit.

The comment thread in the washington post had a reply from someone who was armed when attacked  (had taken an elk) he said he hit it multiple times and only survived by playing dead.

[KittyOnMyFoot]

the encounter started with a collision between bear and cyclist and that the cyclist had been traveling at a high rate of speed

Dude... that must have been a blind corner (which is where I invariably see bears myself). How sketchy is that?

[offroute]

On the divide, one thing you can do is stay away from the edges of the road. We didn't think of doing that; came around a corner at the inside edge right upon two lions. One was literally 15' from us, crouched in the grass with head and ears dropping as we pedaled by. An extra 15' might make the diff between an animal feeling under attack or not. We did have a bear bell on our bike, but I notice soft surfaces have a muting effect.

Singletrack and speed...wear a bell and hope for the best? In griz country I'd slow it down.

[bakerjw]

Climbing up Whitefish Divide, I stayed to the downhill side of the road. Mountain lion attacks are rare, but I didn't want to become "that one".

I'm aware that the TD route is remote, but never realized just how much so until I rode parts of it.

[offroute]

Roger on the wildness factor, bjw. The lion pair we saw was in a preserve area north of Ovando. Lions, though, are not high on my list of animals I'm concerned about. But damn, when you're that close...

Moose is #1, and we saw many, including this one looking pretty pissed by our photo gawking. He came out of the bushes toward us, and that was enough for me. I can imagine that fence would be no impediment if he wanted some.

[KittyOnMyFoot]

I have a bear bell on my bike - it's one that normally straps to a walking stick, but I put it on one of my front forks (behind, so it wouldn't catch anything), which lets it pick up all sorts of vibration. There are no smooth patches of trail where I ride, and if I'm going so slow to cause it not to ring, I'm going slow enough not to catch anything off guard. Prior to getting the bell, I'd see bears basically once a year: have only seen one in the three years since (and it was off in the distance running away from me). This doesn't prove that it works, but dang if it doesn't make a ton of noise. We have these cute "little" brown/black bears here... if I was in Grizzly country, this might be a different story.

...have only seen a lion once while riding.

[wileydavis]

It's always a good idea to carry the bear spray on your person, rather than on the bike. That way if you get knocked off your bike, you can still user the bear spray.

[chrisx]

A pistol is not going to drop a full grow grizzly bear.  Not even if you bought it from Clint Eastwood.  The bear might bleed to death after about 2 hours.  A warning shot into the ground 5 feet in front of the bear is a better choice. 

Why not velcro some bear spray to the front strap of your backpack?  Got a better idea how to carry the spray?

Old indian trick, when you are curled up on the ground, and the bear comes to bite you in the head, stick a big rock in its mouth.  Works better on a bear that is not angry from a bullet hole.