Bear kills cyclist in Montana

[north woods gal]

On a sobering and tragic note, I just read that a grizzly bear kills cyclist (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/30/grizzly-bear-kills-cyclist-riding-forest-trail-in-montana) on a MTB trail outside of Glacier NP in Montana. NOT something I wanted to read to start the day, but given that I do live in bear country (black bears, not grizzlies), I have educated myself on living in bear country. For those of you who do bike in grizzly or even black bear country, you have a greater chance of being hit by lightning, but please educate yourself to the danger, all the same. The two species of bears are distinctly different in their behavior and surviving an attack requires different tactics. Also, with black bears, a lot of the information about the dangers and the survival tactics needed is badly out of date. (Sows with cubs are NOT the most dangerous when it comes to black bears.)

Be safe, my sisters.

[Pax]

So sad to read. We are definitely vulnerable when we go into their world, those of you who do, read up on the skills and be safe.

[Trek-chick]

Very sad to hear. I pray for his family and friends

I have done some backcountry hiking in Yellowstone and come face to face with both Black and Grizzly bears. We were charged by a young Grizzly bear at one point on the trail. He ran up to me a skidded to a stop about 5 feet in front of me (huffing and carrying on) then ran off when he saw my husband behind me. Very scary situation but, it happened so fast I did not have time to be scared, until after the fact. We even had bear spray with us but never got a chance to pull it out....

[north woods gal]

Very much the problem with grizzlies. The charge comes fast and without warning.

[emily_in_nc]

I heard this on the news this morning, and it shook me up. I am terrified of just the thought of grizzlies. Thanks for the post, NWG.

[north woods gal]

You're welcome, though I am always reluctant to post such horrible news. My intention was not to instill fear of bears, just for anyone who bikes in bear country to educate themselves on how to deal with encounters.

As someone who lives in black bear country and has had bears right in out backyard, I regard bears to be as much a part of our north woods as our lakes and trees. I wouldn't have it any other way.

[azfiddle]

We just got back from Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and were quite aware that bears were a possibility, but didn't see any. We didn't go into the back country though. We didn't ride in Yellowstone, but we did ride in Grand Teton and I wondered what the best option would be if we were on the bikes on one of the main roads. We had bear spray in Yellowstone on the day we hiked but really didn't even get it out as we were on highly populated trails.

I'm very sad for this cyclist and his family.

[Sky King]

Heard that both he and his riding partner were very experienced outdoor folks so again, best made plans can always go astray. Sad indeed. Of course, our chances of getting killed by an automobile vs a bear...

[Jolt]

I was actually in Montana for vacation when this happened (just got home today) and heard about it…the latest I have heard is that the cyclist probably actually collided with the bear which of course led to it defending itself, with tragic results. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time!

[north woods gal]

Az, I think being on a main road would greatly reduce any odds of having a problem with any animal, especially bears. You and the bears would have plenty of time to see each other. In most bear attacks, it's being back in the woods and brush and coming upon an animal, suddenly, unknowingly getting too close and violating what it considers its safe zone and so on. I would regard it as much more of an issue for mountain biking back on the trails. We have black bears and wolves in the area and neither species cares for main roads. They only cross them when absolutely necessary. They do not like any automobile traffic.