Althouse: 5 friends, hiking in New Jersey, followed by a bear. 4 get away, and the bear kills one. Why is that one killed?

November 28, 2014

5 friends, hiking in New Jersey, followed by a bear. 4 get away, and the bear kills one. Why is that one killed?

This question will cause many people to think of the old joke with the punchline "I don't need to run faster than the bear: I only need to run faster than you." That is, you might think that the young man who got killed by the bear was simply the slowest in the group.

But the young man's cell phone was found in the woods, and it contained photographs of the bear moving toward him.

52 comments:

Oso Negro said...: Hmmm....I feel that there must be a moral to this story. I feel it lumbering toward me.; 11/28/14, 7:30 AM
Birkel said...: Darwin?; 11/28/14, 7:31 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: The bears of Jersey are dangerous. The Bears of Chicago, not so much.; 11/28/14, 7:31 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: OK: the aftermath sure sucked, but I bet the sex with the bear was great.; 11/28/14, 7:34 AM
pious agnostic said...: So busy documenting his life that he lost it.; 11/28/14, 7:36 AM
Curious George said...: Curious George said...
Finally the answer to the age old question of "Does a Bear shit dumbass hikers in the woods?"; 11/28/14, 7:39 AM
Tank said...: I've been quite close to bears both in the wild (in WY) and on a golf course (in NJ).

It is a sobering experience. I was instantly wide awake.

The potential for disaster should be obvious, even though black bears do not "usually" attack people. You don't want to be in that minority that does get attacked. Even a smallish black bear is quite fast and remarkably powerful.; 11/28/14, 7:44 AM
pious agnostic said...: As someone who avoids hiking and basically any sort of exercise, some day, hopefully in the far future, I'm going to feel a massive constriction in my chest, and my last thoughts are going to be, "Well, this is exactly how I expected to go, with a cardiac arrest."

I wonder if, as a hiker, he'd ever speculated on "bear attack" as his personal mode of exit.; 11/28/14, 7:48 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: I don't need to be less stupid than the bear, I only need to be less stupid than you .; 11/28/14, 7:51 AM
Rae said...: It was really Alec Baldwin!; 11/28/14, 7:53 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Draw a Bear Like Paul Klee:

1. Draw horizontal lines, unevenly placed.

2. Use vertical breaks to indicate trees, nature, etc.

3. Draw the bear figure with uneven eyes.

4. Scream "Oh My God, I'm being eaten by a bear!"

I am Laslo.; 11/28/14, 7:56 AM
Skeptical Voter said...: The bear had a strong objection to having his photo taken. I'm certain there are folks in Hollywood, bedogged by paparazzi who wouldn't mind being a bear for a day.

In any case, this bear had a paparazzi for lunch.; 11/28/14, 7:58 AM
The Drill SGT said...: Even a smallish black bear is quite fast and remarkably powerful.

and very hard to kill...

bears can outrun deer in rough terrain.; 11/28/14, 7:59 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Another old hiker's joke:
How do tell Black Bear scat from Grizzly scat?
Grizzly scat has bells in it and smells like pepper.; 11/28/14, 8:01 AM
The Drill SGT said...: Alaska State advice:
Close Encounters
Statistics show the best ways to react to bears when you see them:
If you see a bear that is far away or doesn't see you turn around and go back, or circle far around. Don't disturb it.
If you see a bear that is close or it does see you STAY CALM. Attacks are rare. Bears may approach or stand on their hind legs to get a better look at you. These are curious, not aggressive, bears. BE HUMAN. Stand tall, wave your arms, and speak in a loud and low voice. DO NOT RUN! Stand your ground or back away slowly and diagonally. If the bear follows, STOP.
If a bear is charging almost all charges are "bluff charges". DO NOT RUN! Olympic sprinters cannot outrun a bear and running may trigger an instinctive reaction to "chase". Do not try to climb a tree unless it is literally right next to you and you can quickly get at least 30 feet up. STAND YOUR GROUND. Wave your arms and speak in a loud low voice. Many times charging bears have come within a few feet of a person and then veered off at the last second.
If a bear approaches your campsite aggressively chase it away. Make noise with pots and pans, throw rocks, and if needed, hit the bear. Do not let the bear get any food.
If you have surprised a bear and are contacted or attacked and making noise or struggling has not discouraged an attack, play dead. Curl up in a ball with your hands laced behind your neck. The fetal position protects your vital organs. Lie still and be silent. Surprised bears usually stop attacking once you are no longer a threat (i.e. "dead").
If you have been stalked by a bear, a bear is approaching your campsite, or an attack is continuing long after you have ceased struggling, fight back! Predatory bears are often young bears that can be successfully intimidated or chased away. Use a stick, rocks or your hands and feet.; 11/28/14, 8:03 AM
Paul said...: New Jersey, bring a gun control state, made it to where they had no real defence but a cell phone.

See they have restrictions on pepper spray. No bear spray allowed.

NEW JERSEY: Legal with restrictions.

Any non-felon 18 or over may possess for the purpose of self-defense "one pocket-sized device which contains and releases not more than three-quarters of an ounce of chemical substance not ordinarily capable of lethal use or of inflicting serious bodily injury, but rather is intended to produce temporary physical discomfort or disability through being vaporized or otherwise dispensed in the air". Section 2C:39-6i.; 11/28/14, 8:11 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Hands Up! Don't Eat!; 11/28/14, 8:16 AM
stutefish said...: Oh, the young man who got killed was the slowest in the group, alright.; 11/28/14, 8:16 AM
The Drill SGT said...: a classic and important read if you want to go see the bears

http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/gtr152.pdf

Safety in Bear Country: Protective Measures and Bullet Performance at Close Range, 1983

My fav parts:

1. In the past, most Forest Service professionals working where brown bears
occur had personally acquired experience with firearms. In recent years,however, the Forest Service has
employed many persons with little or
no experience with firearms, and some
with a strong aversion to them.

2. Our purpose was to evalute the commonly
used and readily available
cartridges (and weapons) for protection
from bears at short range. We
selected a distance of 15 yards as the
“point of no return”-the distance at
which an obviously aggressive bear
must be stopped or a person risks
personal injury or death

3. Because there is almost no possibility
of a slung rifle being brought into
action during a short-distance confrontation,
rifles carried in bear country
should not be permanently equipped
with slings.

4. The brown bear (Grizzly) is an extremely interesting
animal. Seeing a brown bear at
close range is one of the most exciting
outdoor experiences a person can
have. A mutual withdrawal is the
preferred outcome, but this may not
always be possible.

5. The most important shot is the first
one. If not properly placed, it may also
be the last shot fired. If a bear goes
down on the first shot, continue to
shoot. Do not stop to observe the
effects of the shots but continue to aim
at vital areas and shoot until the bear
stays down and is still. When the bear
has stopped moving, reload, work your
way around behind the animal, staying
as far away as practical and possible,
and shoot again into the brain or spine.
Make sure the bear is dead. If the bear
is still active and the rifle is empty, try
to avoid the bear, reload, and continue
to try to kill it.; 11/28/14, 8:16 AM
Fernandinande said...: Bearazzo? Beararazzo? Doesn't have the same ring to it...

Whilst walking the dog at 10k feet in Colo, I'd see moose prints and wonder "WTF should I do if we surprise that sucker?"; 11/28/14, 8:33 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Bit more complicated in brown bear country, because you really need to assess whether it is a brown or black bear very quickly before you react. Not really a problem in NJ, but more so in NW MT, where the campgrounds have signs pointing out the differences.; 11/28/14, 8:36 AM
Anonymous said...: I wonder with five college-age guys if there wasn't any 'fucking with' the bear, or perhaps just surprise, shock and panic.

The hike must have gotten pretty scary, pretty quickly, and then a lot of ignorance compounded, like taking a photo.

Last week, we came upon a blacktail buck by surprise maybe about just 10-15 feet away in the growth. Not a big deal, but close enough for a charge, lowering his head, getting animated.

He seemed to calm down a bit when I talked at him.

Gets the adrenalin flowing.; 11/28/14, 8:39 AM
Firehand said...: Remember a magazine article from sometime in the 1950's, guy talking about being in Yellowstone with some friends.

One friend insisted a bear would NEVER attack unless provoked, other friend saying 'bullcrap'. So they sought out an old, grizzled, been-there-for-decades ranger and the one asked "Isn't it true that a bear will never attack unless provoked?"
"Absolutely."
"See!" said triumphantly.
"Hold on, though" says the ranger, "you need to understand something: YOU don't decide what provocation is, the bear does. You breathing might be it."; 11/28/14, 9:05 AM
MartyH said...: I recall the following from living in bear country twenty years ago:

1) No bear attack had ever occurred on a group of five or more people. These guys scattered, losing any advantage of safety in numbers.

2) If a brown (grizzly) attacks you, cover your neck and play dead. It may not kill you.

3) If a black bear attacks you, fight like your life depends on it, because it probably does-that bear wants to make a meal of you.; 11/28/14, 9:19 AM
David said...: "The bear had begun to follow the group of hikers and they scattered."

Every man for himself.; 11/28/14, 9:21 AM
Paco Wové said...: One of those stories that makes me weep for the future of my species. Five young men – and they couldn't encounter a solitary black bear without one of them getting killed?; 11/28/14, 10:45 AM
Trashhauler said...: Professional golfers have much the same impulse when they hear those annoying camera clicks in their backswing.; 11/28/14, 11:12 AM
Trashhauler said...: When my son took his family on a two week vacation in the Northwest forests, I gave him a 6.9" blade fighting knife. I told him I didn't want to learn he had been eaten by a bear with only his cell phone as protection.; 11/28/14, 11:16 AM
Trashhauler said...: From the Drill SGT:

"Do not stop to observe the
effects of the shots but continue to aim at vital areas and shoot until the bear stays down and is still."

Isn't this the same technique used by law enforcement officers?

(Sorry, but it was inevitable, wasn't it?); 11/28/14, 11:21 AM
Mary Beth said...: A story that I read just after it happened said that when they arrived, some people who were leaving warned them that a bear was following them. They decided to go into the woods anyway.

I think that they were still together when the photo was taken and that friend of his also had a photo of the bear.

Here's an article with more information.; 11/28/14, 11:28 AM
The Drill SGT said...: "Isn't this the same technique used by law enforcement officers? "

It is the practice in Armor (e.g. tanks).

"shoot at the opposing tank until you get a secondary explosion". enemy Turret flipping 50 feet in the air is a good sign of a hit :)

In the Infantry, where you have to carry ammo, the rules for conservation is:

"two in the chest and one on the head"; 11/28/14, 11:48 AM
The Drill SGT said...: PS: a rule of gunfights applies to Ursines as well:

"Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is
cheap. Life is expensive."; 11/28/14, 11:50 AM
Sydney said...: People don't respect Nature enough. Nature doesn't love you. Nature has no qualms about killing you. It's Man vs. Nature. Wake up, people!; 11/28/14, 12:03 PM
JPS said...: The Drill SGT, 8:03:

This reminded me of a section of A Walk in the Woods, in which Bill Bryson reads up on bear attacks before hiking the Appalachian Trail. (He expresses his relief that brown bears are not found in the eastern US.)

"All the experts will tell you, for example, that if you're in the open and a brown bear comes for you, under no circumstance should you run.

"Now this is the kind of fool advice you get from someone who's safely behind a desk while he's typing it. Folks, take it from me: If you're in the open and a brown bear comes from you, run. You might as well. If nothing else, it will give you something to do for the last seven seconds of your life. When the bear overtakes you, however, as it most assuredly will, you should fall to the ground with your hands clasped behind your neck, as this will generally cause a brown bear to lose interest with you and shuffle off."; 11/28/14, 12:22 PM
Yancey Ward said...: I'm guessing the attempted selfie with the bear didn't go well.; 11/28/14, 12:25 PM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: I came upon a small brown bear, or nutria, while hiking along Fanno Creek in Beaverton yesterday. It beared it's teeth when I approached it to take a picture with my cell phone. I got several snaps before it charged and killed me.; 11/28/14, 12:41 PM
Trashhauler said...: "In the Infantry, where you have to carry ammo, the rules for conservation is:

'two in the chest and one on the head'"

While shooting with my nephew (two Iraq tours with 2ID Strykers), he demonstrated the combat advance with pistol - keeping firing until you reach the target and then fire down into it. Seemed a bit excessive with a 15 round magazine. :)

He carried a SAW in his first tour and a sniper rifle in the second. What can I say - the kid likes to shoot stuff.; 11/28/14, 12:46 PM
rcocean said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/28/14, 12:51 PM
Rusty said...: 5. The most important shot is the first
one. If not properly placed, it may also
be the last shot fired. If a bear goes
down on the first shot, continue to
shoot. Do not stop to observe the
effects of the shots but continue to aim
at vital areas and shoot until the bear
stays down and is still. When the bear
has stopped moving, reload, work your
way around behind the animal, staying
as far away as practical and possible,
and shoot again into the brain or spine.
Make sure the bear is dead. If the bear
is still active and the rifle is empty, try
to avoid the bear, reload, and continue
to try to kill it.

There have been instances of a hunter emptying all five rounds of a heavey caliber gun into an angry brown bear and the bear kept on coming.
More people are killed by black bears in N.America than brown bears.
You are prey.; 11/28/14, 12:54 PM
Anonymous said...: Is this post a furthering of the cruelly neutral theme of past posts? Because, as written by Henry David Thoreau, about the scene from atop Mt. Khatadin, in Maine, nature is at best neutral, not the Disney vision of singing flowers and bees with mice wearing gloves.

If the state of New Jersey were a private game preserve wouldn't it be liable for not allowing its visitors to arm themselves before entering and liable for not warning about the possibility of attack or doing more to prevent the attack?; 11/28/14, 1:06 PM
Clyde said...: The bear obviously hated paparazzi and went all Alec Baldwin on the guy: "For the last f***ing time, no f***ing pictures!"

Alternatively, perhaps the bear just was looking for some Indian takeout. *rimshot*

Also, it should be noted that the bear was black, about 300 pounds and unarmed, just like Michael Brown. "Paws up, don't shoot!"

*eyeroll*; 11/28/14, 1:19 PM
richard mcenroe said...: It's a freaking BEAR!
We are raising a generation with the survival instincts of freaking plankton.; 11/28/14, 2:05 PM
richard mcenroe said...: The Bears of Chicago, not so much...

Depends on who sent them...; 11/28/14, 2:22 PM
ken in tx said...: In the old McGuffey's readers, there is a story about a boy being eaten by a bear. The thrust of the story was that the pain of the boy was very short lived, but the pain of his parents was greater and much longer. Thus, the moral was, if you love your parents, obey them and don't wander off in the woods by yourself.; 11/28/14, 2:58 PM
DavidD said...: Darsh Patel, eh? Maybe he thought it was Baloo.; 11/28/14, 5:50 PM
Goju said...: Maybe he thought the bear had a six pack of Hamms; 11/28/14, 6:52 PM
Whitey Sepulchre said...: I can't bear anymore of this.; 11/28/14, 8:20 PM
Whitey Sepulchre said...: Someone must bear responsibility for this.; 11/28/14, 8:20 PM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: When I was a cheechako in Alaska an old-timer and survivor of two brown bear attacks told me that brown bears will kill you but not eat you. Their primary motivations in killing you are 1)Defending their food 2)Defending their young and 3)Being disturbed while mating. Then he added 4) Sometimes the bear is just in a shitty mood.

On the other hand he said, black bears will consider you to be legitimate prey, and will stalk you, kill you, and eat you. In following years, just such a fate befell a coworker of mine who was killed and eaten by a black bear in Glacier Bay NM.

It turns out my old-timer was incorrect about brown bears not eating people. The numbskull "bear whisperer" Tim Treadwell was eaten by the bear that killed him.; 11/28/14, 8:29 PM
Opinh Bombay said...: I'll bet we can find stats that say each year more people eat bears than bears eat people....; 11/28/14, 9:13 PM
T. A. Hansen said...: This bear-eats-man story lead me to revisit the bear-eats-Treadwell story. There is a great piece written by Kevin Saunders that rekindled in me my dislike of Treadwell. I wonder if this hiker was a tenderfoot.; 11/28/14, 9:34 PM
Unknown said...: "The bears of Jersey are dangerous. The Bears of Chicago, not so much."

Not even to Lions, or Vikings, or Packers -- who travel in packs.; 11/28/14, 10:56 PM