Mule Deer Fanatic

Bear attack in Utah

Last week I took a vacation to film mule deer in Southern Utah. The first night in camp, my friend and I had a bear visit us. Long story short, my friend insisted on leaving, but before and after that, some interesting events transpired.

About 3:00am on Thursday, August 6, my 72 year-old friend awoke and was having a difficult time breathing because of the change in altitude. He asked me to get him a chair to sit in. As I stumbled out of the tent, he followed up with a comment about hearing an animal outside the tent. I responded, “it’s probably a cow”. No sooner was I out the tent door and in the moonlight, than I could see a bear in our camp. I told Byron we had a bear. Sometime in the next few minutes, while I was involved with the bear, Byron escaped the tent to get in the truck.

I spoke to the bear and asked him to leave, but to no avail. While I was trying to keep track of the bear and assess his activities in our camp he would back off and then move in again. I got my spotlight and shined it on the bear which seemed to have no effect whatsoever on his desire to be in camp with us. I grabbed the video camera and filmed with one hand while holding the spotlight with the other. At the end of the taping session he was within 20 feet, and I again asked him (it) to leave. No success.

I started the fourwheeler, turned on the headlights and went after the bear. Reluctantly, it yielded to the four wheeler. I got in the truck with Byron and we decided to sleep there ’til daybreak. Byron was soon sleeping and breathing easily. At daybreak, I snuck out of the truck to go do some early morning filming. I left Byron asleep. When I returned, Byron was a little excited. He said he had been awakened by the truck rocking back and forth only to see the bear’s nose on the window of the truck. He kicked at the window (I’m glad he didn’t break it), yelled, and honked the horn. It didn’t have much effect, so he rolled down the window and yelled at the bear. Finally, it left, and then I returned.

Byron was ready to leave and I obliged him by taking him half way home where he met a friend. I returned to the mountain. The bear had eaten a loaf of bread and two bottles of soda, all of which were sealed. I surmised that this bear was experienced. I made sure all food was secured inside the truck and left everything else as it had been. That night the bear returned. I threw rocks and sticks at it and drove it off.

At daybreak, I again left to film mule deer. Upon my return, to my grief, the bear had done considerable

Black Bear Circling Camp

damage to all my containers and their contents. I stayed up ’til 1:00 in the morning cleaning up the mess. Among the damaged items was my cookstove. The propane had somehow been turned on in the frucas and all the fuel was gone. Anything that could be destroyed had been destroyed except the tent and the lantern. That included a gas can which was carried out into the trees and chewed up.

On the next visit, the bear broke the lantern which was hanging quite high in a tree and tore down the tent, chewing holes in it and ripping the foam mattresses up. I was mad as heck. I wished I had a weapon. I got together some fist-sized rocks and some good solid clubs and decided to fight back. The following day the bear returned in broad daylight, and I was in camp. I threw rocks and sticks at it but it wouldn’t leave. It started circling camp, so I decided to video and take photos of it. I kept myself between the bear and camp. It made several mock charges at me. I believe that it would have made good had I shown any fear. After filming for a while, I decided to run over the bear with my four wheeler. I went bouncing out through the trees over rocks, logs, and brush and the bear stayed ahead of me. It then began paralleling the road so I followed. I hoped catch it in an open area along the road where I could run over it.

We went along slowly and then the bear came up to some cows which behaved as though they were going to collectively challenge the bear. Mr. Bruin made a rush toward the cattle and they ran away. Then two deer came bursting accross the road. It looked like my antagonist was going to go after the deer. I started to close the gap. Once he was where I had a clear shot at him, the bear kicked it into high gear. So did I. I smoked the clutch pushing the four wheeler as hard as it could go, but I couldn’t catch the bear.

After that, I had cows in camp instead of the bear and the cows were welcome guests. I waited every subsequent night for the bear to enter the tent. I was ready with a spotlight and clubs. He never came. I did get some good footage of mule deer bucks and assorted other wildlife which will be shown in an upcoming DVD series.

Buck I filmed

When I left, I stopped at Quinn Howe’s Shamrock to get some gas. I told him about the bear and he said the DWR had just hauled a bear up on the mountain that was causing trouble in another area. He thought I might have been the victim of their foresight

Big buck mounts in Quinn's Store