Life sucks in bear country.
That’s how Todd Orr summed up his morning last week.
Many of you will have heard Todd Orr’s thoughts on life in Montana after this weekend. If you haven’t, then I imagine like me, you’ll be in awe after reading his account of not one, but two bear attacks that he survived the other morning. He posted the details on Facebook and has since gone viral.
For those of you who aren’t too squeamish, here’s the video he made just after the second attack.
My imagination paints a picture not too dissimilar to that scene in The Revenant. His encounter with the grizzly is horrific and it’s a wonder that he survived, much less managed to document it in such a cool, collected manner. I honestly wondered a couple of times if it was a prank.
I originally caught the story on Facebook from one of the many wildlife pages I follow. The video came first and then, the next morning, Todd’s somewhat harrowing written description of what happened. As I watched and read (and tried not to squirm) my instinct was that this was a case of exceptionally bad luck. Todd had, from what I could tell, behaved in such a way that should help prevent an attack. He made noise and called out to the bear to try not to startle it and he carried (and used) bear spray. When the attacks happened he had the wits to protect his neck and lie motionless to try to prevent triggering further bites.
As with pretty much everything on the internet these days, the response has been mixed. The majority are praising Todd and wishing him well but there are some who have caught my attention as I try to further understand the struggles that arise when humans and large predators coexist.
Most of the people who comment are well meaning and have animal rights and protection in mind. However, sometimes the comments and behaviour of “animal lovers” can be more destructive than helpful to this cause. I sadly read a few comments which implied that Todd had somehow received some kind of justice for daring to venture into bear country. Some have even embellished the story without further evidence, suggesting Todd provoked the attack by bugling for elk (who he was scouting for to hunt). Many have shown little sympathy for what appears to have been terrible luck.
I can see the point they are trying to make but they miss it with their barbed and often distasteful remarks. When animal lovers behave like this they forget to be rational advocates for the species they are trying to protect. In their haste to speak up, they forget that for humans and animals to coexist, compromise is needed because nature happens and things don’t always go to plan. Yes, the bears absolutely have a right to protect themselves from something they are concerned is a threat but in this instance, from my understanding, Todd is the victim of the story. Perhaps the only thing he could have done differently is not hike alone.
On the other hand, some people are calling the sow dangerous and suggesting she should be destroyed. From what I’ve read, Todd Orr is not one of these people. We don’t call protective human mothers “Mama Bears” for no reason. Experts have looked at this case and think that because Todd was behind the bear, he still startled her despite his best efforts not to. For bears, this time of year is very difficult. It will soon be time to hibernate, the weather is becoming less predictable and food is rapidly becoming scarce. This means increased competition between bears. Experts think that being approached from behind would have worried the sow. Another bear would have meant trouble for her cubs as they would likely kill them. It triggered her motherly response to protect her offspring. And so she did. There was nothing predatory about her behaviour. She was looking after her babies.
This is nature. This is the wild. This is what we need to be prepared to accept when we want to coexist with animals. With all things, there are risks and from what I’ve seen, people are more often the cause of the conflict instead of the other way around. There are times I’ve been in Yellowstone National Park when people actually get out of their cars and approach bears as well as many other wild animals. These cases have been well documented and as more and more visitors travel to see wild animals, we need to be sure people are well educated and know how to behave for both their and the animal’s safety.
A tourist in Yellowstone taking unnecessary risks to get a photograph of a young black bear.
In Todd’s case however, he was experienced, he was prepared and he knew what to expect. He was unfortunate. The bear? She was also just doing her job. I hope this is the message that everyone gets from this story.
Find out more about Todd Orr and his recovery via his website.
For more of my wildlife photography work please visit Jo Foo Wildlife Photography.
Wildlife by Jo 