Arctic Tundra LTER

Bears vs. Scientists

Two research assistants at the Arctic Tundra LTER site in Alaska had a close encounter with grizzly bears this past July. Jacques Finlay and Neil Bezzez were hiking in the Itkillik Valley of the Brooks Range, about 30 miles from the LTER site. A light snow was falling in a strong wind; it was so windy, in fact, that a sow bear with two small cubs did not hear them coming, and suddenly appeared from some willows about 25 feet away. The sow made one false charge and then charged again. Jacques turned just as she reached him, her claws ripping the sleeping pad on the back of his pack. The blow knocked him to his knees, and he received a bite on his shoulder that bruised but did not break the skin. At that point, the bear ran off.

The encounter was a classic one, with everyone following the rules. The hikers deliberately made a lot of noise, and the surprised bear made a false charge. Even when contact was made, however, she did not follow through—despite the fact that a sow with cubs is considered the most dangerous of bears.

Jacques works with Breck Bowden at the University of New Hampshire. Neil is a graduate student with Parke Rublee of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and was employed by the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts for the summer.