06-04-2006, 12:42 PM
Animal attacks on hunters do happen
By Terry Knight Record-Bee outdoors columnist
Hunting can be hazardous to your health. Thats a lesson a pair of Nevada
turkey hunters learned on that states opening weekend of the 2006 spring
turkey season.
According to a story in the Reno Gazette-Journal newspaper, Tom Bird and
son Ryan of Smith Valley were hunting turkeys in the Mason Valley Wildlife
Refuge, where they had an unusual encounter with a mountain lion. They had set
out a pair of turkey decoys and were calling from a blind when a mountain suddenly attacked the decoys. Tom fired his shotgun to scare away the lion and thats when it turned and attacked the hunters. Tom fired again and killed the lion, which was an adult weighing about 120 pounds. Apparently
the lion had been drawn to the area by the sounds of a yelping hen simulated by
the hunters.
Actually this is nothing new. A few years ago a friend of mine was turkey
hunting near Redding and a coyote responded to his turkey call and actually
jumped on the hunter. The hunter said that once the coyote realized that the
hunter wasnt a turkey, it took off running.
Many turkey hunters say they have called in coyotes and even the occasional
mountain lion. One turkey hunter even told me he once called in a
hungry bear.
I had a similar experience many years ago while turkey hunting near Lake
Shasta. I left Lakeport at 2 a.m. in order to arrive in the hunting area
before daylight. I hunted hard all day and didnt see a turkey. I planned to
sleep in the back of my pickup and took along some fried chicken for dinner.
That evening I was sitting near the pickup eating the chicken when a huge
bear showed up. He walked right up to me. I yelled at him and he just
trotted away.
About 9 p.m. I decided to go to bed. I laid my sleeping bag in
the bed of the truck and placed my pillow on the tail gate. In a few minutes
I was fast asleep. About midnight I felt someone shaking me. It turned out
to be another hunter that was driving by and saw the bear actually sniffing
my face. He yelled at the bear and it ran off. We figured that the bear had
smelled the chicken on my lips. I can just imagine what would have happened
if the hunter hadnt come along to wake me up.
Another time I was out scouting for turkeys in the Mendocino National Forest
prior to the opening of the season. It had been raining and the roads were
muddy. I was walking down an old logging road near Elk Mountain when I
spotted fresh mountain lion tracks in the road. The tracks were so fresh
that water was still running into them. Needless to say I beat a hasty
retreat back to my truck.
A friend of mine was once even attacked by an angry bull while turkey
hunting. The hunter had gained permission to hunt on a ranch and was sitting
beneath a large tree calling turkeys when a large bull showed up. The bull
ran the hunter up the tree and then stayed under the tree for more than an
hour. The hunter finally attracted the attention of a nearby field hand, who
chased away the bull.
A few years ago a bowhunter that I know wounded a large wild boar near
Redding. The wounded boar charged the hunter and knocked him down and then
gored him with his tusks. Another hunter shot and killed the boar. The
injured hunter was hospitalized for nearly
a month.
Most wild creatures are very wary and stay away from humans. Its called
survival. However, every once in a while a wild animal will ignore common
sense and react to a humans presence. Its the old story of we being in
their territory.
Mvh
Kim
Jeg er ikke fejlfri,men det er så tæt på at det skræmmer mig.
By Terry Knight Record-Bee outdoors columnist
Hunting can be hazardous to your health. Thats a lesson a pair of Nevada
turkey hunters learned on that states opening weekend of the 2006 spring
turkey season.
According to a story in the Reno Gazette-Journal newspaper, Tom Bird and
son Ryan of Smith Valley were hunting turkeys in the Mason Valley Wildlife
Refuge, where they had an unusual encounter with a mountain lion. They had set
out a pair of turkey decoys and were calling from a blind when a mountain suddenly attacked the decoys. Tom fired his shotgun to scare away the lion and thats when it turned and attacked the hunters. Tom fired again and killed the lion, which was an adult weighing about 120 pounds. Apparently
the lion had been drawn to the area by the sounds of a yelping hen simulated by
the hunters.
Actually this is nothing new. A few years ago a friend of mine was turkey
hunting near Redding and a coyote responded to his turkey call and actually
jumped on the hunter. The hunter said that once the coyote realized that the
hunter wasnt a turkey, it took off running.
Many turkey hunters say they have called in coyotes and even the occasional
mountain lion. One turkey hunter even told me he once called in a
hungry bear.
I had a similar experience many years ago while turkey hunting near Lake
Shasta. I left Lakeport at 2 a.m. in order to arrive in the hunting area
before daylight. I hunted hard all day and didnt see a turkey. I planned to
sleep in the back of my pickup and took along some fried chicken for dinner.
That evening I was sitting near the pickup eating the chicken when a huge
bear showed up. He walked right up to me. I yelled at him and he just
trotted away.
About 9 p.m. I decided to go to bed. I laid my sleeping bag in
the bed of the truck and placed my pillow on the tail gate. In a few minutes
I was fast asleep. About midnight I felt someone shaking me. It turned out
to be another hunter that was driving by and saw the bear actually sniffing
my face. He yelled at the bear and it ran off. We figured that the bear had
smelled the chicken on my lips. I can just imagine what would have happened
if the hunter hadnt come along to wake me up.
Another time I was out scouting for turkeys in the Mendocino National Forest
prior to the opening of the season. It had been raining and the roads were
muddy. I was walking down an old logging road near Elk Mountain when I
spotted fresh mountain lion tracks in the road. The tracks were so fresh
that water was still running into them. Needless to say I beat a hasty
retreat back to my truck.
A friend of mine was once even attacked by an angry bull while turkey
hunting. The hunter had gained permission to hunt on a ranch and was sitting
beneath a large tree calling turkeys when a large bull showed up. The bull
ran the hunter up the tree and then stayed under the tree for more than an
hour. The hunter finally attracted the attention of a nearby field hand, who
chased away the bull.
A few years ago a bowhunter that I know wounded a large wild boar near
Redding. The wounded boar charged the hunter and knocked him down and then
gored him with his tusks. Another hunter shot and killed the boar. The
injured hunter was hospitalized for nearly
a month.
Most wild creatures are very wary and stay away from humans. Its called
survival. However, every once in a while a wild animal will ignore common
sense and react to a humans presence. Its the old story of we being in
their territory.
Mvh
Kim
Jeg er ikke fejlfri,men det er så tæt på at det skræmmer mig.