PETOSKEY -- Michigan wildlife officers plan to euthanize a "pretty aggressive" bear that mauled a young hunter as he sat in a tree stand last weekend, officials said today. But only if they can trap the female black bear that was with three nearly grown cubs when the attack occurred Saturday. "There have been several other reports of this bear and her cubs wandering around houses, so we have no choice but to err on the side of caution," said Russ Mason, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment's top wildlife official. The cubs are old enough to make it on their own, he said. Chad Fortune, 21, was near Petoskey when the bears appeared at dusk Saturday. Two cubs climbed up his ladder. He knocked both to the ground. Their growls upset their mother, which climbed the tree and bit and clawed Fortune before he beat it away. Fortune said he thought of his fiancé and their 3-month-old twin sons as he furiously fought off the attack. The mother bear eventually retreated, as well and Fortune initially didn't think he was badly injured. "I could feel some blood dripping, but I didn't know how bad I was hurt. I thought at first that it had just kind of scratched me," said Fortune, who could see and hear the bears prowling around 12 feet below him. He said the cubs were 200 pounds or more and the mother at least 400, although he admitted that adrenalin may have made them appear bigger.
Being from the U.P. I have, of course had my fair share of run ins with Ursus Americanus. Bears, to the lay person. Most notably when my Winchester Mag launched an178 grain torpedo straight through the heart of one during my sophomore year of high school. I ate the shit outta that thing and now she hangs in Ann Arbor at Coach & 4 Barber Shop under the watchful eye of Jerry Erickson, the best barber in the world.
But my best bear story was when I was deer hunting from a tree stand and my bro Jmase was sitting directly below me in a ground blind. I don't remember why he was there, maybe he was gonna film the shot or maybe it was just Jarett being Jarett needing some quiet time in the woods, but either way he didn't have a gun. After an hour or so of sitting I heard what sounded like a four wheeler smashing through the woods. You could hear trees snapping and the noise just kept getting closer and closer. But instead of seeing some 15 year old on an ATV come busting out into the clearing I looked up and saw roughly a 350-400 lb black bear come waddling out. This thing could do some serious damage but I wasn't too concerned considering I had a rifle with me. The thing kinda just meandered around for awhile as I threw my gloves and hat at Jarett to try and get his attention. Slowly the bear made its way towards the walking path and got within 40 yards I suddenly remembered Jarett had smeared apples all over the blind to get the sent out. The bear sniffed for a bit and then began walking straight down the path for us. Jarett looked up at me and told me to shoot it if he started messing with the blind. At the time my pops was running for probate judge in menominee and I just remember thinking how I was gonna have to explain to the papers that I shot a bear outta season. Anyway, the bear walked up to the blind and stopped. It looked calmly inside, saw Jarett and froze. I clicked off the safety and saw Jarett cover both his ears. If the bear took one more step I was gonna squeeze one off. But even with all the apple sent in the air and a rather tasty looking Jmase sitting there helpless, the bear calmly continued down the path and into the thick swamp. Obviously that bear knew not to fuck with the Masons.
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