Bear Attack Survival

Over the past years, I have published many bear stories in the Coast Mountain News; in our heavily populated bear area these stories draw a lot of reader interest. Most of the stories indicate the complete helplessness of the individual involved - all of a sudden it isn't the scenario so often portrayed by the common belief "leave them alone, and they won't bother you" or "make lots of noise and they'll go away." Instead, the encounter often becomes a real life-and-death situation where your next decision could be your last. Unfortunately, until now, there hasn't been much available information about actual bear behavior. Mr. Shelton's book is timely. He not only addresses the problem, but takes the mystery out of bear aggressive behaviour and gives sound advice on what to do in different situations. The author's no-nonsense style of writing is not only refreshing, it is based on a lifetime of experience with bears. In this book he includes many bear encounter and attack stories to demonstrate the difficulty of surviving a bear encounter that goes wrong. During the last 20 years, Mr. Shelton has worked on many bear conservation projects, both through our local Rod and Gun Club, and as chairman of the Central Coast Grizzly Management Committee. Currently he has a seat on the steering committee of the South Tweedsmuir Park Atnarko Grizzly Study, and he is also a member of the Bella Coola Valley Local Resource Planning Committee (L.R.U.P.).

This book contains an assemblage of the most accurately detailed bear attack stories you'll ever read. But more than that, this is the only publication with a complete explanation of the underlying causes for these terrible events. In addition, there are two secondary themes running through these pages that distinguish this book from all other bear books: an exploration of how natural systems really operate and a thorough examination of the battle now raging in many areas of North America between conservationism and preservationism. The author's views are based on over 30 years of bush experience and research while living in the remote Central Coast of British Columbia. His knowledge is not that of an observer, but rather as a participant in nature. This material indicates that a significant portion of our cultural beliefs regarding bears and other predators is not only incorrect, but, unfortunately, dangerous.

T. J. could hear someone bellowing in pain, "Help me! Help! I'm being mauled by a bear!" He'd never heard any sound quite like the agonized cries he was listening to-then realized, 'That's me.' He was shaken violently and flipped over as the pack was ripped upwards from his body. Horrible pain set in as the sow bit into his side. After several more painful bites T. J. was flung downhill and landed with his back arched over a fallen tree. His head was hanging low, facing the bear. Through a red blur, he saw her blood-soaked muzzle approaching and desperately placed his right hand against her throat-she stopped. He thought he heard other animal's nearby, perhaps the cubs bawling, then suddenly the sow turned and ran off. It was finally over. (For about 45 brutal seconds the sow had her way with T. J. A section of the skull above his right eye was broken loose, and most of the facial bones were crushed. He had deep lacerations across his forehead, the top of his head, and on the side of his torso. The top of his right hipbone had been broken off. Still, he was fortunate because during the biting process the sow had not pulled back; most of the tissue was still there, much of it hanging loose, but connected.)