Bears strand hunters by destroying their raft

By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com

Published: November 4th, 2009 05:01 PM
Last Modified: November 4th, 2009 05:02 PM

Several members of a bear-hunting party found the tables turned early this morning near Klukwan when a sow with two cubs shredded their raft and left them stranded, according to Alaska State Troopers.

None of the hunters was injured in the rampage, which was reported about 1:50 a.m., troopers said.

According to troopers, a Klukwan resident took a canoe across the Chilkat River after hearing rifle shots and yells for help from the other side. The resident learned the hunters were stranded after their Zodiac inflatable raft was "torn to shreds" by the bears, troopers said.

The group had walked up the river from the scene to Klukwan and fired the shots to get someone's attention, troopers said. They were taken back across the river in the canoe and returned to their vehicles.

No medical attention was required, troopers said.

yep, i just got off the phone with the hunting guide he is a good friend of mine. he made it sound like no big deal, i dont think the zodiak was torn to shreds either, just popped. A lot of sows with cubs around in the last few years though.

Sounds like the bear won. They should have brought a roll of duck tape.

You can do a lot of temporary repairs to a raft with duct tape......been there done that.

Rubber boats aren't good in coastal bear country. It's not the bears fault, they just can't help themselves.

I was just up in that area not too long ago doing chum eggtakes. Very glad we didnt meet that bear!

bear ate my bearcat seat this fall.350 bucks. bear does win at times. well here in the wilderness anyways. not on sundays thou

they must have had strawberry juice on their raft! Thats what a local pilot was told by our warden this summer when a bear shredded his airplane tires.

Being the curious critters that they are, they just don't seem able to resist inflatables, or Styrofoam, either. You can hardly find a piece of flotsam along the beach that hasn't been chewed around here.

Or red plastic gas cans...doh!!!!

Maybe they will leave cammoed gas cans alone? Nothing is safe from their curiosity.

Had a black bear bite into a full can of Raid Yard Guard one time. Bet he got a surprise!

Thats the age old method of running a black bear out of your deer stand...hanging a can of raid with a piece of bacon wrapped around it...They do NOT like it!!!