4: I Wrestled a 400lb Bear and Lost

Bears

This is a story about how I really feel about bears and hunting big game. They are magnificent animals. The grizzly bear can be fierce and dangerous, but in reality, they try to avoid humans as much as possible. We have killed 95% in the last 200 years. During the time of the “great herds of buffalo” (30 million) in the 1800’s there were estimated to be over 100,000 Grizzly bears that roamed over the most of the western states. From Alaska and part of western Canada down into the states of Montana, Idaho, California, Wyoming, southward into Mexico. Most were and still are in Alaska and Canada. Grizzly bears are competitors for most food valued by humans. Between the 1800s and 1900s settlers killed an estimated 95% of their original range. Unregulated killing of bears continued through most places until 1950. Now Grizzly bears are found only in remote areas and are regulated as an endangered species act in 1975. Like deer, elk, and moose. Endangered species act regulated hunts in Alaska, the place to go see grizzlies out in the open, hunting for the salmon run. To get the necessary food for hibernation in the winter. The Alaskan bear and polar bear are the largest, standing 10 to 12 feet tall and can weigh as much as 1500 pounds. The grizzly bear with the most noticeable hump on the back would be 6 to 9 feet tall and 800 to 1000 pounds. The black bears are 300 to 600 pounds. The black bear has been recorded killing over 1,970 people since the 1800s.

A black bear, in American Ford Canyon, near my home in Alpine, Utah, went into a camping tent to get apples he could smell. The boy inside the tent screamed. The bear drug him out and not so far from there, ate him alive. The parents were drinking and didn’t hear the screams of their son. I carry bear spray even for hikes in the mountains in this area to this day. I have been to Alaska three times with my dad and once with Scott and Troy driving the Alaskan highway and flying by ships and busses.

Brian, Asia, and Afton are all from Alaska with some great stories. Ask Brian about one of their hikes up to the lake Salmon. He admitted going that time without their bear spray. They saw a lot of activity on the trail (bear poop), turned around and made it back to their car. Don’t come up suddenly on a bear eating berries, or young cubs where you can't see their mother. She will be moving around for the best way to attack you and kill you. Bears can run up to 32 miles an hour and will decide if you are lunch or not.

The old bear joke is where the guys are hiking in the mountains and see a bear with cubs so instinctively, they take off running and suddenly one hiker stops and is digging into his backpack. The other one with panic on his face says, “What are you doing?” The one getting running shoes from his hiking bag says, “I don’t have to out-run a bear, only you.” Always be the faster runner.

It’s not so bad being killed by a bear. The fish and game service are careful to record anyone who has been killed by any bear since the 1800’s. You will be “famous” with your name in the prestigious printout of anyone who has been killed by a bear!

Bear Encounters

My love of bears, especially the Grizzly Bear, started as a young man when we lived in the mountains in Western Montana. My father was a “Cat Skinner” (Operation of Earth Moving Equipment) in those early days clearing out the trees of the lake that would be behind Hungry Horse Dam. It took 3 summers of working near Glacier National Park, while workers built the huge concrete dam for hydro-electric power. As a young boy (ages 10 – 12) it was the best! The trailer park where we were during the summer months powered their electricity from a DC8 Caterpillar Engine, running 24 hours a day. An area nearby the camp was dug up for us to throw our garbage. As kids we would go out and throw rocks at the bears. The bears were so intent going through the garbage, looking for food, that they ignored our throwing rocks at them. We would only get so close and were quick to retreat with one glance from a bear. 

My mother would drive 60 miles once a month to the little town named Hungry Horse to buy groceries. There were three bars in Hungry Horse where the men and wives went every Saturday night after work to dance and get drunk! My parents were always with his four other skinner friends, and they were known for their dancing the Jitterbug. Mom was thrown over dad’s back and between his legs, dad slapped the floor and twirled mom across the floor. We had seen them dance this way at Christmas time. My grandparents would play the piano and grandpa played the violin. They were playing at other dances during the year to earn extra money raising 12 children. (My mom was one of 12). One time driving back from Hungry Horse and buying groceries, a bear got in front of the car in a cut so it couldn’t get off the road. We had fun trying to drive up and carefully bump the bear in the butt. Finally, the bear was able to run down the slope from the road. When we got home we found the bear had “pooped” all over the radiator with berry juice each time we bumped the bear. Luckily we never hurt the bear! 

Later in life we came up from California, bought property in the center of Montana (23 acres) and built a “Hunting Cabin.” A place for family members and friends could hunt for bear, deer, elk, antelope, with great success. Some of us trapped in the winter for bear. 

So it was natural for me to wrestle a tamed (pulled teeth & claws) 400 lb. bear. 

Wrestling a Big White Bear (and Losing) at age 18

It was late in the fall of 1959 with baseball, track and football seasons over and basketball was in full force. Being athletic, you could say my fighting weight was a solid 160 lb. and I was buffed up as much as it was going to happen to me in high school.

A new challenge came to town: a 400 lb. white, dirty colored bear. I told Patty and Jeanie I was going into that steel cage and wrestling that dirty bear to win $1,000 by throwing him down. It would be against the law today to pull the bear’s teeth and claws, but even without his teeth and claws, he could still be rough and throw you around the cage. My strategy was to get in line, mostly with high school seniors and a few older guys out of high school, pay my $10.00 fee and stay back about 5 guys to figure out how I could throw the bear down and win. You already know I lost, but it’s important for you to now how I lost (For future reference, in case I have to take out a bear in the woods.)

It's a true story: ask Jeanie and Pat (my sister). They were actually there watching the spectacle. As soon as a person would enter the huge cage, the white bear would stand about 9 feet tall and 400 lb. and back into a corner, like it knew what was coming from the human being, standing about an average of 5’10” weighing at the most 195 lb. (The underdog you might say.) My strategy began to come to me: get close, but not too close at first, suddenly burst right in tight, hitting the bear in the gut as hard as I could with both fists to distract the bear, and then trip the bear with my right foot! The bear didn’t like my sudden move and pounding on his fat stomach. He started biting (or gumming) my right arm (which hurt a lot, even without teeth) and pounding my left side with his clawless paws.

The match was over. When he was gumming my arm, the bear pulled my nose right into his hairy, smelly armpit! The smell was putrid. Like decaying matter and rotting meat. My natural urge was to jerk my head back and I only wanted to get away from that smell and the bear. That stench stayed with me for 20 to 30 years later.

I turned and told my fan club that I thought the bear had enough and walked away. Haha!

My arm where he had gummed me was black and blue. The manager and trainer of the bear told me the bear hadn't lost since he was first trained at 300 lb. I also complained about the smell and he just laughed. (Like the smell was one of their weapons). Remember that bears get to be 500-1,200 lb. in the wild with teeth and claws. When they are hungry, they kill you first, eat a little, then cover you with leaves and sticks. The bear will then come back 3-5 days later when you are riper (easier to chew). 

Moral of the Story

Stay away, far away from a mother bear and its cubs. Same for any animal: deer, elk, moose. They are very protective. If you see a cute cub bear and want to get closer to feed it, you are already dead. Torn apart. When hiking in the woods, carry bear spray, and know how to use it. Practice and don't get any in your eyes. I know these things because I'm Papa Bear!