Five Bizarre Bear Attacks

The Grizzly that Came to An Elk Call
In September 2008, the elk rut was firing up and the bow season was on, so Ron J. Leming and his father, Ron G. Leming, of Cody, Wyo., headed for their favorite elk hotspot in the Shoshone National Forest’s Washakie Wilderness. During the first few days of the hunt Ron G. Leming missed two bulls. Because of the misses, as the two men sat around a campfire, he bowed his head and “asked God to guide his arrow the next day.” At about 9 a.m., the next morning they called in a 5-point bull that suddenly bolted. Moments later the younger Leming saw a grizzly charging. Ron sprinted downhill past his father. His father drew back his bow, swung with the bear and shot. The next moment the bear overtook Ron. But then, in the midst of the attack, the bear paused, walked away and died. The hunters were later told by game wardens that the arrow Ron’s father shot struck the grizzly’s heart. They’d forgotten their handgun in their tent. Perhaps in the future they’ll take it along. Thanks to lobbying from the NRA, Wyoming now allows bowhunters to carry handguns and even rifles for self-defense.

The Black Bear Came for My Kids
In October 2010, after Jim Moore killed a bear in Pennsylvania in self-defense, he told “Channel 11 News” that “the bear was coming at me, fast. It was about 10 yards away, and I grabbed my arrow out of my quiver and shot. A bear attacks to protect its young. I did what I had to do to protect my young.” Wildlife Conservation Officer Lawrence Hergenroeder cleared Moore of any wrongdoing.

Vegan vs. Urban Monster
Laverne Potter, an 85-year-old woman who lives in southern Oregon, never expected to face down a bear with a shotgun. “I’m a vegetarian and I’ve never killed anything in my life,” she told the Medford Mail Tribune, but “to have him break in and throw my stuff all over the place was scary.” The bear broke in several times before game officials killed it.

Let Us Pray They Catch this Marauding Bear
The Nevada Department of Wildlife has been perplexed with a bear that locals dubbed “Bubba.” This huge black bear has done over $70,000 in damage to more than 50 homes in communities around Lake Tahoe. After it broke into the Village Church in Incline Village, Nev., and feasted on peanut butter, cornflakes and other food destined for the needy, Rev. Dick Randall wrote in an email asking people to “pray” that this bear will be stopped. At press time the bear was still on the run and had already survived one bullet. In one incident in mid-2009, a frightened homeowner shot a bear that fit Bubba’s description between the eyes with a .44 Magnum, but the bullet apparently deflected off the front of the bear’s skull, leaving it scarred but still free to live a life of crime.

A 20-Gauge, Birdshot and a Grizzly
In October 2009 Montana wildlife authorities reported that a man in a party of four hunting pheasants with dogs north of Choteau, Mont., was justified when he shot a charging grizzly. Rod Duty, a warden with Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said Galen West, 68, jumped the bedded bear with three cubs at 20 feet and fired three times with his 20-gauge semi-auto. The third and fatal shot hit the bear between the eyes.