Camper in Labrador attacked by Polar Bear

Matt Dyer describes his encounter with a Polar Bear while camped in Newfoundland.

A man camped with eight others was attacked while he slept in his tent in the Torngat Mountains National Park in Newfoundland. The attack happened on July 24 during an outing sponsored by the Sierra Club. The campsite was surrounded by a 4,000 volt electrified fence that apparently was not enough to keep the bear away from the sleeping campers. No one in the group was armed as the Canadian government only allows the native Inuit people to carry guns in the park.

The man suffered severe injuries to his face, neck, and back as the bear dragged him away from the campsite. Others in the group shot flare guns at the bear which then dropped the man and retreated. The man was evacuated by helicopter and spent three weeks recovering in a Montreal hospital. He is now home but will have to undergo more surgeries to repair a broken jaw and other injuries.

 

Bear attacks injure four people in and around Yellowstone National Park

 

On Thursday Aug. 15 two hikers on a trail near Canyon Village in Yellowstone Park were attacked by a female Grizzly Bear after the hikers came across the bear’s young cub on the trail. Both victims used their bear spray on the animal then dropped to the ground and played dead. One victim suffered bite and claw wounds and was taken to the hospital for treatment and then released. The other victim was treated at the scene.

On the same day, 70 miles west of Yellowstone, two Bureau of Land Management workers were attacked by Grizzly Bear while working in the field. The bear bit one man on the leg and the other on his hand before that man was able to chase the bear off with a shot of pepper spray. Both men were treated at the hospital in Rexburg, Idaho and then released.

Grizzly attacks have become more frequent in the area over the last twenty years as the bears populations have increased. Grizzlies have killed four people in the area around Yellowstone in the past three years.

To read more about the recent bear attacks across North America visit:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/maulings-by-bears--what-s-behind-the-recent-attacks-/

Appalachian Trail hiker from Tennessee disappeared in Maine

 

Geraldine Largay, a 66 year old Appalachian Trail hiker from Brentwood, TN, went missing from the trail in Maine on July 21.
Authorities have been searching for the missing hiker along a 14 mile stretch of trail in the Carrabassett Valley region in western Maine.
More than 100 searchers have been looking throughout an area consisting of thick brush, steep drop-offs, and hazardous rock slides.
Other Appalachian Trail hikers have been asked to be on the lookout for Ms. Largay.