More bears

By Bob Difley

There was another bear attack (this time a grizzly) this week on campers. Kevin Kammer of Grand Rapids, Michigan was dragged from his tent in Soda Butte campground in the Gallatin National Forest in northeastern Yellowstone National Park near Cooke City, Montana. Kammer was dragged for twenty-five feet where he was killed. Fish and Wildlife personnel blamed the attack on a sow and her three yearling cubs. At least one of the bears fed on the man.

The bears were also believed to have attacked another man who started punching the bear as it was biting him on the leg and it ran off.  The bears attacked another woman and her husband who were tent camping nearby.  The woman received bites and a broken arm.  The woman said she had bear spray in her tent but couldn’t get to it when the bear attacked. She played dead and the bear wandered off. The sow and all three cubs have been captured and DNA tests determined that the sow was the attacker. She was destroyed and her cubs will be sent to a zoo.

This is at least the second incidence in the last few weeks of a person who had bear spray being attacked by a bear but did not have it handy enough to use it. The other was a trio of bicyclists in Alaska. The bear spray was in a backpack when the bear attacked. If you don’t have bear spray and are camping or boondocking in bear country, get some–and a holster or clip so you can attach it  to your belt to keep it handy. It  works!

Another disturbing aspect of this latest attack was that the campers seemed to have done everything right and had done nothing to provoke, frighten, or surprise the bears. (The Alaska attack came when the leading bicyclist rounded a bend on the trail and surprised a sow and cub.)

However, there are few incidences of bears invading campgrounds and attacking people, and no records (that I know of) of bears attacking people in RVs, though some bears have  rocked or banged on RVs. Black bears are more common than grizzlies, usually more docile and easier to frighten away than the more aggressive grizzlies.  And even though bear attacks are rare, and shouldn’t deter RVers from camping in bear country, a few bear country tips to follow would be a wise plan:

• Have bear spray (available from my Amazon store) and keep it handy at all times.
• Leave no food or traces of  food or  smelly articles (toothpaste, sunblock, etc.) outside in your campsite.
• Keep ice chests inside your rig.
• When hiking, make enough noise to let dangerous wildlife know you are there and can get out of your way.
• Don’t leave pets tied outside your rig when you are not around.
• Avoid camping near (or report to a ranger) any campers that keep a campsite likely to attract bears.
• Throwing objects, yelling, and banging pots and pans will likely frighten any bears away.
• Make every effort to avoid a sow and cubs.
• Report bear sightings to rangers or camp hosts.

Visit my Healthy RV Lifestyle website for RVing tips, and health & fitness and RV destination articles. Also check out my ebooks, BOONDOCKING: Finding the Perfect Campsite on America’s Public Lands, and 111 Ways  to get the Biggest Bang for your RVLifestyle Buck.