Use A Friend As Bear Bait?

When I read the story below from Cowboy State Daily, it immediately reminded me of an old joke about "the best firearm to carry for defense against bears." It is a very old joke that I remember first hearing in the Marine Corps about 50 years ago. The joke goes like this:

When asked what is the best firearm that should be carried in case of a bear attack, one experienced hunter and hiker said that he always uses a small .22 caliber pocket pistol. Seeing the shock on the face of the person asking him that question, he went on to explain. Whether hunting or simply hiking, he liked to carry a small .22 pistol in his pocket in case of a bear attack -- and went on to say that he always has one in his pocket when in bear country. 

He then explained that many years ago he learned that he should never hunt or go hiking alone. When asked what that had to do with his choice of firearm, he related a story of the time that he was hiking with his brother-in-law. Unbeknownst to the both of them, they got too near a Mama Bear and her cubs by accident. That Mama Bear came out of nowhere angry and charging them.

Being an experienced hunter and hiker, he pulled his small .22 pistol from his pocket. It was right then and there that he knew what he had to do to survive. He aimed and fired one shot -- right into his brother-in-law's knee. He said by doing so, he was able to escape by just walking at a brisk pace. He later admitted that he was never really that close to his brother-in-law anyway.  

Yes, that's what I thought about after reading the following story in the Cowboy State Daily:

If A Bear Charges You While Skiing, Go Fast Or Trip Someone, Says Ski Instructor

Video of a bear charging across a Lake Tahoe ski slope on Sunday has a Wyoming ski and snowboard instructor advising a skier’s best options are speed, or putting a slower skier between you and the bear.

Story by Mark Heinz, Cowboy State Daily

December 12, 2023 

While rare, it’s not unheard of for adrenaline-fueled bears to chase after skiers on the slopes or out in the backcountry.

Recent video of a bear charging through skiers on the slopes of a California resort has some Wyoming outdoorsmen experienced with recreating in bear country advising the best course of action if a bear crashes your ski outing is to pile on the speed.

And it doesn’t hurt knocking somebody else down in the process, joked a former Wyoming ski and snowboard instructor.

If confronted by a rampaging bear on the slopes, “I would simply ski as fast as I could to get out of harm’s way as soon as possible,” noted outdoorsman Paul Ulrich of Pinedale told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday.

“If you get some decent speed, you might be able to outpace a bear. Bears are incredibly fast, but if you’ve got a steep hill, you could get to 70 mph and blow him away," Ulrich said.

Don’t think it couldn’t happen. A skier missed getting in the path of a galloping black bear’s chunky butt by mere inches Sunday in Lake Tahoe and caught the wild encounter on video.

Wildlife biologists say that although bears are typically snoozing by the time the snow piles up to skiing depth, a few bears might still venture out during the winter.

Close Encounter Of The Bear Kind

In the video, the skier initially spots the bear lurking alongside an open slope at Heavenly Ski Resort near South Lake Tahoe.

At first, the bear seems confused about what to do, but then starts barreling across the slope into the paths of skiers and snowboarders.

The skier taking the video utters an expletive when it seems apparent that he and the bear are on a collision course. But the bear manages to just barely avoid him before barging past other skiers and down the far side of the slope.

Use A Friend As Bear Bait

Ulrich said he’s never found himself in such a predicament. But if he did, he said the natural law of every man for himself would probably kick in, and the best tactic could be to find somebody else to distract the bear.

“I’ve never been chased by a bear on skis before so this is all speculation, of course, but one thing you could do if the bear is really aggressive: Find another skier and purposely drive them into the snow,” Ulrich said. “The bear will likely quit following you and just attack that poor sap.

“I’m not saying that’s the best advice, but sometimes there are no good choices. I would try to find someone who was particularly slow if that’s my only option.”

Ulrich even has a particular person in mind should a bear ever show up on the Wyoming slopes.

“Like Jonathan Downing, for example,” he said, mentioning his old friend who is a well-known lobbyist in Wyoming. “I would hope I could spot Jonathan on the slopes and trip him.”

Winter Bears Rare, But Not Impossible

Cowboy State Daily has been told by wildlife biologists that winter bear encounters are extremely rare, but not unheard of.

The good news is, Wyoming grizzly bears are smart enough to avoid places where people might annoy them during the winter. So, they’re far less likely to show up on ski slopes than the California black bear was.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department large carnivore specialist Dan Thompson said that “grizzlies especially tend to be in higher altitudes and away from any human activities” when denning for the winter.

That was echoed by Jennifer Fortin-Noreus, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife grizzly bear biologist with the University of Montana’s grizzly bear recovery program.

“Remember that most bears den at very high elevations on steep slopes, so the likelihood of encounter is rare, but they have been seen by backcountry skiers, snowmobilers, etc.,” she said.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.

Use a friend as bear bait? Well, at least you know why I was thinking about that old joke. It seems that there may actually be people out there who may in fact practice such acts of self-preservation. This may be something to think about if someone asks you to go hunting, hiking, or fishing in bear country. 

Tom Correa