27 August 2013

Survivor Says: "I Got Complacent"

Jim Tuttle knew the bear that mauled him.

Its nickname was Buddy. Tuttle and the hunters he guided often spotted the small female grizzly in the rolling tundra northwest of Anaktuvuk Pass.

They joked that it was the most photographed bear north of the Brooks Range. It had even snuck into camp, stealing the hanging chunks of caribou meat that Tuttle would save for dinner.

The hunters would toss rocks or clap their hands to scare the bear away. But it had never been aggressive -- until two weeks ago, when Tuttle, walking alone along a creek, heard a grunt and turned to see Buddy charging straight at him, snapping her teeth.

He hoped it was a false charge. It wasn't.

Hunting guide Jim Tuttle was mauled by female Arctic grizzly bear known as Buddy while he was walking alone between his campsite and the carcass of a caribou killed by the hunting party a half-mile away earlier this month.
BILL ROTH — Anchorage Daily News

Read the whole story at the link. Like my friend Jenny says, Alaska can turn "stupid" into "dead" faster than anyplace else.  Tuttle was lucky.

6 comments:

Cathy said...

Whoa. I mean seriously: Whoa.

That's the stuff of nightmares.
Look at that swollen hand.
He's one lucky dude to be sitting up for a picture.

Rev. Paul said...

Indeed, Cathy, he's a VERY lucky dude.

Sandy Livesay said...

Bears can't be trusted. After teasing and playing with this bear these guys should have known better.

Rev. Paul said...

Agreed, Sandy. It's not like having a neighbor's pesky dog hanging around your grill, after all!

PioneerPreppy said...

c'mon now we all know he was profiling the bear and asking for it.

Rev. Paul said...

Exactly, Preppy - the bear was brown, after all!