Remember to wash your clothes!!!!

[passinthru]

Emmet County Hunter Injured by Black Bear

Contact: Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014


A Walloon Lake man was injured Saturday night (Oct. 9) in his treestand when he was attacked by a female black bear and her three cubs in Bear Creek Township in Emmet County, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Chad Fortune, 21, was treated at Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey for a bite to his left calf, thigh and shoulder. Investigation of the incident is ongoing and is being conducted by the DNRE, with assistance from the Emmet County Sheriff's Department.


Fortune told law enforcement officials that he was bow hunting for deer just before dark on farmland in Bear Creek Township Saturday night when the bears approached and then climbed up his treestand and attacked him.


Fortune said at first two cubs climbed up the treestand ladder, and when he shouted at them, they dropped to the ground. A third bear then climbed up the tree, and the hunter punched and elbowed it until it fell from the tree. Then a bear climbed up the treestand ladder and bit Fortune on the leg.
Fortune remained in the treestand for two hours until his fiancee and father came looking for him, worried that he had not returned from hunting after nightfall. After helping him down from the treestand, they transported Fortune to the hospital for treatment.


The DNRE's preliminary investigation of the incident indicates that Fortune may have been wearing clothing underneath his camouflage hunting gear that smelled like fried food items from a family party he attended just prior to going hunting. A DNRE conservation officer and wildlife biologist who are investigating the incident theorize the bears were lured by the food scents on the hunter's clothing.


"Anytime you are dealing with a sow and her cubs, you have a potentially dangerous situation," said DNRE Wildlife Chief Russ Mason. "A sow will do whatever it takes to protect her cubs if she perceives a threat. In this case, the hunter was not threatening the cubs, but the sow apparently thought he was, and she attacked him."


The black bear is the only bear species native to Michigan, with approximately 90 percent of the bear population living in the Upper Peninsula. Black bears are shy by nature, and have a fear of humans. The fear of humans should remain intact, and the DNRE encourages Michigan residents and visitors to not leave food accessible to bears. Once a bear associates food with a human, the situation can become dangerous. For more information on bears in Michigan, including how to prevent problems between bears and humans, go to www.michigan.gov/bear.

[JD]

If I ever go bear hunting, I'll take some french fries for bait!

[passinthru]

Good idea!!!!!! That is one crazy story there. Just glad it wasnt me!!

[deerslayer]

Ummm, I think if I had a bow, and there was a bear climbing my tree stand trying to eat me, there would be a dead bear at the bottom of my deer stand, in season or not!

[allhunter]

Oct 18, 2010 10:19:41 GMT -5 deerslayer said:

Ummm, I think if I had a bow, and there was a bear climbing my tree stand trying to eat me, there would be a dead bear at the bottom of my deer stand, in season or not!

I thought the same thing something like this

[passinthru]

Oct 18, 2010 15:38:59 GMT -5 allhunter said:

Oct 18, 2010 10:19:41 GMT -5 deerslayer said:

Ummm, I think if I had a bow, and there was a bear climbing my tree stand trying to eat me, there would be a dead bear at the bottom of my deer stand, in season or not!

I thought the same thing something like this

If it was that easy i would still have another pair of undies in my drawer. :-*I was on a bear hunt in Ontario a few years back and had a bear come up my tree. There was no way to shoot through the base of the stand and i was basically trapped in the tree. I ended up hitting it in the head with my thermos to get it out of the tree. It happened quick and there wasnt much time to react by the time i realized what happened. Very scary experience that ill never forget!!!

[allhunter]

dang my bear came in stopped at about 20 yards and felt the 06 hard never climbed the tree but i was wondering about that because i have heard stories

[deerslayer]

I dont know, guess its hard to say what you would do until your in that situation, but I still believe, if I watched this bear walk up to my stand, look up, and start to climb, I would take my chances leaning over the front of the stand and letting at least one arrow scream down at it, might not kill it but it would think twice before continuing the climb.........then again I might have just started screaming like a little girl..........

[passinthru]

Yeah i thought i was a tough guy till it started climbing and i had nowhere to go. Not so tough after all.

[FaTbOyE]

Wow that would really suck... Can't think how I would fair in that mans shoes!! Think I may be more like deerslayer myself and start screaming like a little girl..

[terminator]

When hunting in bear country during bow season I carry my Glock 10mm for protection. It not only works on dead beats, but it will also deter a bear. I will never track a bow shot bear without a handgun. It would be a bad day to find him still alive and p.o.'d to the max!!!