Post by: Tom Reichner on July 06, 2009, 10:54:46 PM
We visited Yellowstone last week, and saw this Grizzly both on Wednesday evening and again on Thursday morning. As you can see in the photos, he had a bad encounter with what must have been another Griz.
Park rangers that were on the scene Wednesday evening know this bear, and claim that he's 16 years old! He's a huge specimen of a Grizzly, but his age must be getting the better of him.
As you can see in the photos, the right side of his face is mauled and bloody. The left side of his face is also chewed up. His head's a mess with a bunch of frizzled hair that's either matted down or falling out, and if you look close at his right forepaw in photo #3, you'll see that one of his claws is missing. I never got a good, close look at his teeth, but they must be worn down to gum level by now.
He can't have many more years left (if any). I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to observe him in the "twilight" of his life.
Post by: bowhunterforever on July 06, 2009, 11:08:58 PM
Post by: JoeVon on July 06, 2009, 11:22:31 PM
Post by: popeshawnpaul on July 06, 2009, 11:31:06 PM
Post by: jager on July 06, 2009, 11:36:50 PM
owww.....he doesn't look very friendly!
Nice pics! Thanks!
Post by: BLKBEARKLR on July 06, 2009, 11:44:33 PM
Post by: javman on July 06, 2009, 11:58:13 PM
Post by: shanevg on July 07, 2009, 12:03:50 AM
Post by: Huntbear on July 07, 2009, 01:14:17 AM
Post by: saylean on July 07, 2009, 08:39:07 PM
Post by: MuleySniper on July 07, 2009, 08:56:09 PM
MS
Post by: luvtohnt on July 07, 2009, 09:10:28 PM
Brandon
Post by: Tom Reichner on July 07, 2009, 10:29:26 PM
I wonder, if he had a collar on that got snagged or he just simply ripped it off? He has a definate collar mark as well as similar markings on both sides of his face. Just a thought what do you guys think? Also there arent really any gapping slashes or large open cuts wich would make me think that he wasn't actually in a fight. just something to ponder.
Brandon
These pics were all taken Thursday morning. When we saw him Wednesday night, the cuts on his face were very fresh. They do alot of drying up and scabbing over in just 12 hours or so. Couldn't get decent pics Wed when they were fresh because he never came very close, and there were too many tree trunks in the way.
Post by: hogsniper on July 07, 2009, 10:42:36 PM
Post by: Aneoakleaf on July 07, 2009, 10:43:37 PM
Post by: blindpig on July 08, 2009, 05:11:25 AM
Post by: GoldTip on July 08, 2009, 06:59:09 AM
I wonder, if he had a collar on that got snagged or he just simply ripped it off? He has a definate collar mark as well as similar markings on both sides of his face. Just a thought what do you guys think? Also there arent really any gapping slashes or large open cuts wich would make me think that he wasn't actually in a fight. just something to ponder.
Brandon
I would agree, I wonder if the collar was ripped off during a fight, or if he just got sick and tired of the damn collar and self inflicted those wounds getting it off. Those are some awesome pictures by the way. It's a damn shame we can't hunt those bears back home anymore.
Post by: C-Money on July 08, 2009, 09:43:51 AM
Post by: bearpaw on July 08, 2009, 09:51:45 AM
Super cool photos..... :tup:
Post by: TeacherMan on July 08, 2009, 10:16:12 AM
Post by: DOUBLELUNG on July 08, 2009, 10:30:16 AM
Park rangers that were on the scene Wednesday evening know this bear, and claim that he's 16 years old! He's a huge specimen of a Grizzly, but his age must be getting the better of him.
He can't have many more years left (if any). I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to observe him in the "twilight" of his life.
16 years would almost certainly put him in the second half of life, but is too young to be geriatric; wild grizzlies commonly live into their 20s, and sometimes early 30s. If he's in his twilight, it'd be more due to some factor other than longevity (e.g., disease, injuries). He may very well heal up and live another 10 years.
Wonderful pics as always - thanks for sharing.
Post by: Tom Reichner on July 08, 2009, 10:30:52 AM
You have got pics of two great bears in Yellowstone this year already. How far off the road are you going? What would the likelyhood of me and my family seeing bears there be? My daughter is obsessed with bears :chuckle:Hey, Teach! This time we were in the park for 5 days, and had 8 grizzly sightings. Two of the sightings were of the same bear, but to the best of our knowledge the other 6 sightings were of 6 different bears. This is not at all usual, especially at this time of year. But for some reason we kept seeing grizzlies.
The last time we were there for two days. That was back on Memorial Day weekend. We had 6 Grizzly sightings that time. Again, that is quite unusual. When we were there for a day last August we didn't see a single bear. And when I was there for 3 days last Labor Day weekend I didn't see a single bear - not even a Black Bear. So there's really not much rime or reason to it. Except for the spring. If you go in May you will see grizzlies unless you're the unluckiest person on earth.
If you go and really want to see bears, you'll spend most of your time on Dunraven Pass, which is the road from Roosevelt to Canyon. You'll also hang out at the area around Petrified Tree alot. It can be boring just driving the same stretch of road over and over again, especially if you don't see any bears there time after time. But if you stick it out you will eventually see them. It just takes persistence and a willingness to do the same thing over and over and over. Your family might get sick of this.
As for proximity to the road, I've learned one thing about Yellowstone's wildlife: the farther you are from the road, the spookier they are. They normally won't allow a hiker to get within a hundred yards of them. Yet if you're on the road or close to the road they allow you to approach remarkably close. I've spent quite a few days hiking the backcountry, and never seem to get very close to anything when doing so.
While on the road from the car, there are areas where you'll be able to see them hundreds of yards away. Heck, you'll see people with spotting scopes set up on Grizzlies that are over a mile away. Most of these folks are very willing to allow you to look thru their scopes to see the bears. They are eager to share their find with anyone who's interested. Same with the wolves. There are also times you'll see them very close to the road. Then there are times you may even see them on the road. They have to cross some time, so you can get very lucky and get very close photos if you intercept them when they cross.
Post by: Austrian Hunter on July 08, 2009, 11:15:30 AM
I am glad you didn't get too close of look at his teeth... :chuckle:
Super cool photos..... :tup:
:yeah:
Post by: actionshooter on July 08, 2009, 12:16:58 PM
Kinda feel sorry for the old boy :(
Post by: Jeffrey on July 08, 2009, 03:45:57 PM
Post by: Tom Reichner on July 08, 2009, 06:55:33 PM
I wonder, if he had a collar on that got snagged or he just simply ripped it off? He has a definate collar mark as well as similar markings on both sides of his face. Just a thought what do you guys think? Also there arent really any gapping slashes or large open cuts wich would make me think that he wasn't actually in a fight. just something to ponder.
I would agree, I wonder if the collar was ripped off during a fight, or if he just got sick and tired of the damn collar and self inflicted those wounds getting it off. Those are some awesome pictures by the way. It's a damn shame we can't hunt those bears back home anymore.
He does have a collar imprint in his fur!!! Interesting!!!
I too see where he wore a collar. He must have wore it for a while.
Someone who was also on the scene Thursday morning just contacted me, and said that he actually still has a collar on. They were able to see it when he came very, very close to them. It was too deeply buried in his fur for me to see from my angle and distance. So he didn't inflict those wounds himself ripping a collar off, because it's still on.
Post by: Birdguy on July 08, 2009, 08:41:14 PM
Post by: zackmioli on July 09, 2009, 08:27:07 AM
Post by: PacificNWhunter on July 09, 2009, 10:07:43 PM
Post by: Timmybob on July 09, 2009, 11:56:10 PM
That guy is a baller!!!! Did anyone ever think that maybe this old brute may have won the fight and there is an even more messed up bear out there ??? Just a thought. That dude just looks mean man !!! Totally cool pictures !!