山友注意 - 啤啤熊已從冬眠甦醒

ALEXYIM

一名測量師正在樹林工作時, 冷不防有一頭灰熊從後攻擊, 差點命喪。幸好臨危扮死, 終避過一劫。但背部, 頭部側及前臂都被咬傷, 還要開車25km到附近一小鎮求救。傷者被送到VGH縫了百多針, 幸沒有生命危險。

夏季 Hiking 正逐漸開始, 山友們要帶備防熊劑。在路上也要盡量制做多點聲音及要湊合一小組行動。

Man drives 25 km for help after surviving grizzly-bear mauling

Staff Reporter, The Province
Published: Wednesday, May 07, 2008
An Ocean Falls man "thought he was going to die" after being mauled by a grizzly bear just east of Bella Coola.

The man, who has worked in the bush for decades, was doing surveying work for a power company when the bear attacked.

He suffered severe gashes to his head and upper arm and at one point the 900-pound grizzly dug his teeth into the man's head, almost killing him.

The stitches are stapled all over the back and the side of his head, and over his upper arm," his son told Global News.

Miraculously, the man managed to drive himself out of the bush and get help following Saturday's attack.

"He's a pretty smart guy and he kept his face down when it was happening," said the victim's son. "So he doesn't have any damage to his face."

The man is recovering in Vancouver General Hospital.

The bear attacked without warning and the man had no time to react.

"[The bear] initially grabbed him and he was thrown to the ground," said the son who was identified only as Dean.

"It was kind of boggy where he was and he fell down and there was a log nearby, so he tried to get under and put himself under the log. But the bear grabbed him by the other arm and pulled him out from under there.

"He said that after the bear pulled him back out and chomped on the back of his head, he thought he was going to die."

The man played dead while the bear jumped on him over and over again. Moments later, the grizzly wandered off.

Bleeding profusely, and with potential life-threatening injuries, he managed to drive his pickup about 25 kilometres before coming to a small town. He was taken by ambulance to hospital in Bella Coola and then airlifted to VGH.

Although seriously injured, he has no broken bones and is expected to walk out of hospital in a few days, said his son.

ALEXYIM

Victim of grizzly-bear mauling resting in hospital

By Susan Lazaruk, The Province
Published: Thursday, May 08, 2008

An Ocean Falls man who survived a ferocious attack by a grizzly bear and then drove himself to get help was resting in hospital Wednesday.

"I'm doing OK," said Brent Case in a strong voice from the burn unit of Vancouver General Hospital. "But I'm not a pretty sight. It's been pretty traumatic. I just need to relax."

He said he was limiting his exposure to visitors because doctors were concerned about a possible bacterial infection in his wounds.

But he said he appreciates the interest in his story and was overwhelmed by calls of support. "I just want to say thank-you to everybody," he said, his voice cracking.

About a dozen people have been killed by bears over the past 20 years in B.C. and 10 times that number have been injured.
Fred Seiler file photo - for The Province

Case, a 50-something father of two sons, was taking pictures last Saturday while surveying the area for his job about 50 to 60 kilometres east of Bella Coola, when he was attacked by a grizzly estimated at 900 to 1,000 pounds, said his friend and employer Tony Knott.

"[The bear] had him by the head and he was shaking him," said Knott, who visited Case in hospital. "He said he felt like [the bear's] teeth were in his brain. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to make it through."

He credits Case, whom he called "bear savvy," with saving his own life because he didn't struggle. "When you have a bear shaking you and tearing away your scalp, to play dead is a very difficult task," said Knott. "He's a very tough customer. If anyone would survive a grizzly attack, it would be Brent."

And he said: "And to show you how much jam this person's got, he doesn't drop the camera. He keeps the camera."

Knott also said Case drove past a number of residences and a bed-and-breakfast where he knew the residents because he didn't want to frighten the homeowners. Instead, he drove to the gas station in Hagensborg 25 kilometres away, where he knew the workers.

Case, who never lost consciousness, drove to Mecham Sales and Service on Highway 20, where employee Rob Sanford was on duty. "He was just a blob of blood," said owner Keith Brekke, who happened to arrive at the station soon after Case. "He said, 'I need help.' Just one look and I called the ambulance."

Case's scalp was almost torn off, his right bicep was ripped in half and the flesh was torn away from the bone on his left arm, said Knott. He said the bear, which would have been grumpy and hungry after ending his winter hibernation, was jumping up and down on Case in the bog where the attack occurred.

Case also had puncture wounds on his neck and claw marks on his back, and needed hundreds of stitches, but managed to save his face from damage. "You could see a huge part of his skull," said Brekke. "He had to be one tough old bird to withstand that."

A customer had a first-aid kit and wrapped Case's wounds. An ambulance arrived 10 minutes later.

Environment Ministry spokeswoman Kate Thompson said a team of conservation officers set snares and live traps for the animal.

"He probably just trundled off again," she said. "There have been no further sightings."

Officers killed four grizzlies in the area after a number of attacks in 2005, including one where a 74-year-old man's ear and part of his scalp were torn off.

Dave Andrews, who knows Case well and works with him in the coast guard, said the mauling was "the talk of the town."

"If anyone would manage to survive, it would be Brent," Andrews said.

Ocean Falls, a "ghost town" that now has about 60 residents compared with 5,000 in its lumber heyday, doesn't get a lot of grizzlies so it hasn't heightened fear of attacks, said Andrews.

The town does get visits from a fair number of black bears and last summer an orphan cub had to be killed after becoming a virtual resident of the town with a sibling, feeding on berries, pet food and even raiding people's kitchens.

Knott said he doubts Case would call for the killing of the grizzly because he, like most townspeople, opposed the killing of the cubs.

About a dozen people have been killed by bears over the past 20 years in B.C. and 10 times that number have been injured.

Knott is very grateful that his friend is among the survivors. "This is a big sucker [bear] that's capable of serious, serious damage," he said. "People do not get away from grizzlies. He's very, very lucky."

slazaruk@png.canwest.com