Video: Mountain Biker Recalls Fighting off Grizzly Bear with Pocket Knife
Caution: graphic content
A Vancouver mountain biker has recalled a recent encounter with a grizzly bear that left him near death.
Colin Dowler was exploring routes on Mount Doogie Dowler, named after his grandfather, when he saw the bear lumbering up the road towards him. Unsure of what to do, Dowler stood his ground and tried banging a hiking pole against his bike frame. When that didn't work, he prodded the bear on the forehead with the same pole and even tried reasoning with it. He recalls saying: "We don’t have to have a problem here. Everything’s OK.”
Dowler then threw his backpack on the ground as it had food in it but the relentless bear ignored it. It swiped at him then dragged him to a ditch about 50 feet away. Dowler describes how he tried to eye gouge the bear and prize open its jaws but these tactics seemed to have little effect. The bear was biting him on the abdomen, hands and both legs, Dowler says the sound he remembers most of all was bones grinding on teeth.
Thankfully, Dowler remembered he had a knife in his pocket, a gift from his father just a few weeks before, and managed to retrieve it from his side and stab the bear in the neck. The bear let go of him immediately but remained metres away from him and despite its deep wound, kept its attention on him. He said, “I wasn’t really sure if it was dying faster than I was or what was going on." He then cut a section of his sleeve using the same knife as a tourniquet for his deeply lacerated thigh.
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He mounted his bike, losing track of the bear in the process, and rode seven kilometres, while bleeding profusely, to a logging camp, where he collapsed immediately. The loggers called for help and Dowler was airlifted to hospital, where he spent his 45th birthday on Tuesday.
In the following days, rangers set about tracking the bear but there was a final twist in the tale as they soon realised the bear was tracking them and eventually came within metres of them. Sgt. Dean Miller of the BC Conservation Officer Service told CTV News, “It was definitely a little threatening. It actually probably stalked us for about half an hour while we were thinking we were stalking it – it was just happenstance that one of the officers actually picked up on the bear’s odour from behind us and alerted the second officer who then destroyed the bear.”
The bear was determined to be between four and five years old and in healthy condition.
Dowler is expected to make a full recovery from the attack.
A Vancouver mountain biker has recalled a recent encounter with a grizzly bear that left him near death.
Colin Dowler was exploring routes on Mount Doogie Dowler, named after his grandfather, when he saw the bear lumbering up the road towards him. Unsure of what to do, Dowler stood his ground and tried banging a hiking pole against his bike frame. When that didn't work, he prodded the bear on the forehead with the same pole and even tried reasoning with it. He recalls saying: "We don’t have to have a problem here. Everything’s OK.”
Dowler then threw his backpack on the ground as it had food in it but the relentless bear ignored it. It swiped at him then dragged him to a ditch about 50 feet away. Dowler describes how he tried to eye gouge the bear and prize open its jaws but these tactics seemed to have little effect. The bear was biting him on the abdomen, hands and both legs, Dowler says the sound he remembers most of all was bones grinding on teeth.
Thankfully, Dowler remembered he had a knife in his pocket, a gift from his father just a few weeks before, and managed to retrieve it from his side and stab the bear in the neck. The bear let go of him immediately but remained metres away from him and despite its deep wound, kept its attention on him. He said, “I wasn’t really sure if it was dying faster than I was or what was going on." He then cut a section of his sleeve using the same knife as a tourniquet for his deeply lacerated thigh.
The knife Dowler used to fend off the bear. Photo: Screenshot CBC News.
He mounted his bike, losing track of the bear in the process, and rode seven kilometres, while bleeding profusely, to a logging camp, where he collapsed immediately. The loggers called for help and Dowler was airlifted to hospital, where he spent his 45th birthday on Tuesday.
In the following days, rangers set about tracking the bear but there was a final twist in the tale as they soon realised the bear was tracking them and eventually came within metres of them. Sgt. Dean Miller of the BC Conservation Officer Service told CTV News, “It was definitely a little threatening. It actually probably stalked us for about half an hour while we were thinking we were stalking it – it was just happenstance that one of the officers actually picked up on the bear’s odour from behind us and alerted the second officer who then destroyed the bear.”
The bear was determined to be between four and five years old and in healthy condition.
Dowler is expected to make a full recovery from the attack.
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@zede:
"SARRY ABAUT THAT" - muricans
LYYYY
FUUUUCK!!!!
some body tell Joe Rogan. He'd love this
"My dearest bear, I humbly request that you refrain from doing me physical harm." (Manners will get you everywhere with bears.)
"I am also a bear!" (Classic fakeout)
"The ground is lava!" (This will cause the bear to climb the nearest tree. To maintain the illusion, you must also climb a tree. Now you're stuck in a tree but, hey, it's better than getting mauled by a bear.)
"You better have my money, bear!" (The bear doesn't have your money. Hopefully, it will feel awkward enough about it to avoid you.)
"Just a heads up, there's a bear about 200 feet down the trail." (The bear will thank you for the tip and carry on its way.)
"What's that over there?" (The bear will look over its shoulder, giving you time to escape.)
"Bear! I haven't seen you since... college? What have you been up to?" (This will make the bear feel uncomfortable as it struggles to remember you, and it will search for excuses to leave.)
Just belt out Nickelback. (Bears probably hate it as much as you do.)
"Protego!" (On the off-chance that you're a wizard)
“You shall not pass!” (On the off-chance that you're that other kind of wizard)
“Ooh, a bear-type Pokémon! Gotta catch ‘em all!” (Drawback: bear may want to battle you.)
"Oh you're just in time, I was about to explain why The Matrix may not be as far-fetched as you think.” (Your hiking partners might run too. Use with caution.)
What does “destroyed” exactly means?
Then you are wrong about the fact we killed everything. There are still bears over here, and the trend is to reintroduce them.
@teor The main reason they killed the bear is because it "assaulted" a human, not just stalked. Killing bears involved in incident is pretty much the current policy applied over here in Europe too so I don't see what is weird with that ?
I still don't get why they would employ the term "destroyed" though
This is really only half true and the "well done" at the end makes me think you might want to step down from your soap box. Plus I don't think anyone was lecturing you.
There are still predatory animals in Europe (not many in the EU-Countries mind you). Sure you won't find bears in the alps, but that could also have a lot to do with population density in millennia gone by and today and the effects on migration routes.
When you say things like this, you make it sound as though populated Europe has been around for the same amount of time as the populated US, and the US is doing and has done everything better. I can only assume that if you compared Europe a few hundred years ago to the last century in the US, the level of wildlife decimation (excluding total wars) would not be comparable (I'm not a wildlife historian, so forgive me if I'm wrong). The reality is North America has only been around for a fraction of the time that populated Europe has, and a vast majority of NA was left untouched throughout thousands of years of population in Europe and it's inherent destruction of wildlife over here.
No doubt that people had a hand in driving animals out/killing them, but I'm pretty sure anyone living today didn't have much to do with the extinction of any species. I'm pretty sure, though, that if North America had the same history of population that Europe does, it would appear very similar to Europe in respect to extinct species.
"They can explain to the bear that they're progressive peace-loving vegans, while the bear feasts on their insides Walking Dead style. "
Or you can shoot the bear with your roof mounted m60 while driving your lifted boosted v8 ford raptor (0.001mpg) and scream MURICA! Then you can cut yourself a 3kg (ah no sorry, you don't use metric) bear steak and insert it in your 200kg body
We had some bears shooting too in recent years, since they started to reintroduce them.. and I get that sometimes is the only way, but other times there are options (
Anyhow I didn’t want to start an argument EU vs USA
Cheers
Excellent.
Two dudes in the bush with guns vs. an adult predator bear is a fair match. More than a fair match, which is spooky as heck but true. Who is hunting who can switch in minutes or seconds.
They shot the f*ck out of that bear, buddy. That's what I'm trying to say "destroyed" exactly means.
In case TLDR: "The aboriginal population of Canada during the late 15th century is estimated to have been between 200,000[10] and two million"
"While it is difficult to determine exactly how many Natives lived in North America before Columbus,[6] estimates range from a low of 2.1 million[7] to 7 million[8] people to a high of 18 million." -even if it were 18 million, that's 18 million people spread over 2 times the surface area of Europe. And remember I am and have been referring to the past.
And Google:
Demographic tables of Europe's population
Year Total European population, millions
1000 56.4 —
1100 62.1 5.7
1200 68.0 5.9
1250 72.9 4.9
I'm not saying NA wasn't populated, but if you read my post, you would see that I am saying that (not even starting on their propensity to adapt to the environment) the sheer number of the indigenous people in North America in the past simply does not compare to the European population in the same period of time.
Bear: That's not a knife, this is a ...
Dude: Stabs bear in neck
Tip: lots of sporting good stores in the US have the good stuff (read: law enforcement grade) behind the counter. If it will repel a stinky hippie it will work on the most ornery grizzly.
bottom line is carry bear spray AND be aware of surroundings, terrain, time of year, etc.
This will undoubtably be unpopular but here goes...This guy is lucky & it is great that he survived however...he did almost everything wrong when encountering a grizzly. Do not stand your ground, back up slowly & talk softly, do not make any aggressive moves or behavior as this will almost assure an attack. Do not run as this will trigger the predatory nature of the bear & there is not a person alive who could out run a healthy adult grizzly. Do not shout or make eye contact this will be seen as aggressive behavior. Do not play dead, this is a myth. Do not run downhill this is also a myth, grizzlies are incredibly agile. A person could try climbing a tree but contrary to popular belief, grizzlies can & will climb trees. Only when an attack is imminent should you go on the offensive.
very vivid - thanks for that. I've smelled both but I don't think together...
Australia has snakes but you almost never see them.
North America has fking predators. All kinds of badass predators which can hunt you down and tear you to bits.
Wildlife goal is to stay away from human as much as possible. Being hunted by a bear really isn't something you encounter everyday.
And of those snakes, only a couple have been proper deadly ones. Seen a few carpet snakes that were too fat from eating something to piss off before we came nearby.
As for mtb, never seen one while out riding.
Living in the Middle of Finland - eventually saw a young Moose but for Bears - only the odd foot print on the ground. Only bear I have seen is up North in a Zoo although they are around but they keep to themselves.
Plenty of wild life in Finland and over the border to the East which is still Europe despite what the some claim. It's the insects that are worrying, that and poorly cut tracks with undergrowth that is Triffid like. Makes it hard to see the half meter tall stumps that like to tangle with ones front wheel and give you a lovely OTB moment.
Here is a link for what to do when encountering a Grizzly Vs.a Black bear: www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/safety.htm
More info on Grizzly encounters: www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/the-good-the-bad-and-the-grizzly-what-to-do-if-you-encounter-a-bear/117
A Grizzly is far more territorial than a black bear, so you want to act differently when encountering one. Be prepared and stay safe out there!