A grizzly bear that emerged from a thicket and charged two backpackers in the backcountry of Denali National Park and Preserve was shot and killed by one of the two who was carrying a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, according to park officials.
The killing Friday is believed to be the first instance of a hiker killing a grizzly in the park's wilderness. The killing occurred in the original Mount McKinley National Park portion of the Denali, which was expanded by two-thirds in 1980.
Until February, when Congress changed the rules, it was illegal to carry a loaded firearm in that portion of Denali. While the rule change now allows hikers to carry firearms in all areas of Denali, it still is illegal to discharge them, park officials said.
Park officials did not speculate whether the killing was justified. This is believed to be the first instance of a visitor to a national park killing an animal with a firearm since the gun regulations were changed.
According to a release from the park, the two backpackers, a man and woman, were hiking in dense brush along the edge of Tattler Creek, which is at the west end of Igloo Canyon roughly 35 miles from the park headquarters.
"The man, who was in the lead, drew a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol when they heard a noise coming from the brush. When the bear emerged from the thicket and ran toward the other hiker, he fired approximately nine rounds in its general direction. The bear stopped, turned, and walked back into the brush, where it quickly disappeared from view," said the release.
The two then headed roughly 1.5 miles back to a road, where they encountered a park employee, who called in the incident and took the two backpackers to the Toklat Road Camp. A ranger there did a short preliminary interview with them at approximately 10:00 p.m. Because of the concern that a wounded bear was in the area, four backcountry units were immediately closed, and bus drivers were instructed to not drop off day hikers in the Igloo Canyon on Saturday.
"Early Saturday morning rangers and wildlife technicians flew to Toklat via helicopter to conduct a secondary interview with the two backpackers. Afterwards they flew over Tattler Creek and all of side tributaries, very low at times, to determine if there was an active, wounded bear," the park release said. "No bears were seen during the overflight, and late in the afternoon three rangers hiked into the site. The bear was found dead in a willow thicket approximately 100 feet from the pistol casings at approximately 6:00 p.m.
"The bear’s body was transported via helicopter to a landing site on the park road and brought back to headquarters on Sunday, where park wildlife biologists are assisting with the investigation of the bear carcass. The backcountry units have been reopened."
The case is still under investigation, and the names of the backpackers are not being released at this time. Park wildlife biologists and rangers are trying to determine if there was a justification for shooting the animal.
The estimated grizzly bear population in the park north of the Alaska Range north is 300-350 animals.
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Comments
These tree huggers make me sick. Not guilty, and let them go. They have had a really scary experience and they've been through enough . This is Alaska, these things happen.
Right on!!!
Who cares if an aggressive grizzly would be alive today, you don't wait to see if it's a fake charge before you take matters in your own hands
I'm not sure what has spurred the late comments on a story from over eight years ago. I frankly doubt that any of the (human) parties involved even reside in Alaska any more, including the investigator and the investigator's supervisor (me.) But I can say as the supervising investigator on this case that it was determined that the handgun was possessed lawfully and though there was a technical violation of park regulations when the owner used it, the situation was determined to be justifiable and thus no charges were ever filed.
Thank you for updating this thread about the case. I was wondering what happened.
I understand this is an old blog, but I wonder what Bruscinos' advice would be if it was a close family member in that same situation? Would he advise his son or daughte, husband or wife, Mother or Father to wait as a 400-600lb bear moving at just under 30mph is closing the gap. According to the report it wasn't until 9 rounds of .45 ammo were put into the bear, or at minimum, shot in that direction, and what did it do? Drop there? No, it stopped, turned, and walked back towards the brush. Bruscino....did your mother have any children that lived? If you don't get that, I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
I kinda figure it's about time the bears 'harvested' a few humans! I live in the bush, and pepper spray is a fine deterrent - have used it, effectively, twice in 20 years. Carrying a handgun as a defense against bears is stupid. Pack a longarm. Most people are terrible shots with a handgun, especially under stress. Most likely this guy was lucky to have mortally wounded the bear. 3 out of 4 times you're gonna have a wounded, very crabby animal tearing around the backcountry with a pistol wound(s). I used to carry a .357 mag in bear country, but never really figured it would be effectice unless I was being mauled and could get the muzzle in the bears mouth, or pressed just behind the critter's ear as someone else in my party was being chewed up. The only thing a handgun is good for is fighting your way to your rifle. Like I said, pack a longarm. And leave the bears alone.