In a tragic occasion, a U.S. Military soldier was killed in a bear assault on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Tuesday when his get together encountered the sow and its cubs close to a den. Elmendorf-Richardson is situated adjoining to town of Anchorage, and the assault befell on-base, not removed from the Anchorage landfill. In response to an article by KTOO information, the troopers have been setting a land navigation course once they encountered the bear. One other soldier was injured through the assault.
Alaska Wildlife Trooper Captain Derek Degraaf is quoted in a New York Occasions story saying, “From the soldier’s perspective, there was a flash of brown mass,” he stated. “They have been attacked and didn’t even see it coming.”
Tragedies like this are a horrible and sobering reminder of the unpredictable nature of bear assaults, and that they’ll occur once we least anticipate them. We cowl lots of bear protection matters at Outside Life, and in the case of that topic, keyboard cowboys are all the time desirous to crack their knuckles and go to work, however most have little or no or no expertise with actual bear encounters.
It’s unclear whether or not any of the troopers have been armed or had bear spray—and by all indications, that will not have mattered. The one affordable hypothesis is that they in all probability weren’t anticipating to be attacked by an offended brown bear.
Any Bear Assault is a Roll of the Cube
It’s entertaining and may be productive to debate varied elements of dynamic bear protection corresponding to what handgun is the best choice—whether or not a heavy-bucking revolver or 10mm pistol is best—strategies of carry, bear protection ammunition, and different machismo-inflating topics. Nonetheless, any bear encounter is at-best a roll of the cube—and outcomes usually are not assured. Odds are that if a bear will get ahold in the event you, then you definately weren’t anticipating it and didn’t see it coming.
The perfect protection is to be as ready as potential, however to attempt to keep away from confrontation with a bear within the first place. You don’t need to stroll by way of the woods yelling “hey bear” in wavering soprano tones, however speaking and making noise may help in lots of circumstances. Nonetheless, generally it’s simply not going to be your day,
Bear Assaults Can Occur Lightning Quick
One other account of what bears are able to comes from my uncle’s pal Bob Eder, who was mauled straight away 10 years in the past—additionally close to Anchorage. We initially advised his story again in 2016. Eder was fortunate to outlive the assault and advised me his chilling account. It’s a grim reminder that though we might imagine now we have issues found out, actuality may be fairly completely different.
