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MacNut

macrumors Core
Original poster
Jan 4, 2002
22,995
9,971
CT
When Robert Biggs finished gazing at a cute, cuddly family of black bears and turned to continue on his day-hike in northern California on Monday, he thought he was safe.

The 69-year-old man from the town of Paradise was anything but.

He'd been watching a mother bear, her yearling and a newborn from about 40 feet away, but he had no idea that he was being stalked by a ferocious mountain lion. As he turned to leave, the cat pounced on his backpack with all four paws.

"He grabbed me from behind and knocked me to the ground," Biggs told The Huffington Post. "I was on my knees. I had my rock pick out because i was on a steep incline, and I smashed the cat in the head with it. He screamed, but he didn't let go."

His backpack and rock pick were the only things standing between him and certain death, Biggs said. He raised his weapon again for another swing at the hulking feline.

"That's when a blur on my left side grabbed the lion by its throat -- turns out it was the momma bear," he said. "I heard a tremendous screeching, some growling noises."

Biggs said that the bear ripped the cat's grip from his backpack, and the two titans clashed for another 15 seconds. The bear won the battle, probably because it "outweighed the cat 400 pounds to 100 pounds." The cat ran away, and the bear went back down on all fours, humbly making eye contact with Biggs before regrouping with her young.

Biggs -- who had been hiking the same two-mile trail in the Bean Soup Flat area for years -- left with a few scratches and bruises on his arm. Being a mountain man, he refused his wife's pleas that he go to the hospital, and instead put some peroxide on his wounds.
ht_man_attacked_by_lion_saved_by_bear_thg_120329_wmain.jpg


He told The Huffington Post that he owes everything to that bear.

"I'm 100-percent sure it did want to save my life," he said. "We made eye contact. I'd seen the bears before and I know she knew who I was."

Mountain lion attacks in California are reportedly rare. There were only 14 verified attacks on humans between 1890 and 2007, according to the California Department of Fish and Game's website.
http://main.aol.com/2012/03/29/bear-saves-man-from-mountain-lion_n_1391286.html
 

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
They always say the golden rule of thumb with bears is NOT to make eye contact. If you do you run the risk of being attacked, but if you are not, a bond can be established. That is perhaps what happened here. The guy had been observing these bears for a while, and the mother knew he was around...She was, however far more likely to be protecting her young than going out of her way to save his life.

Good story though.
 

.Andy

macrumors 68030
Jul 18, 2004
2,965
1,306
The Mergui Archipelago
I'll be honest (and a grump) and say it all sounds like a load of bollocks. Bruises look less like a mountain lion attack and more like an elderly man who had a fall and takes regular aspirin.

And it is in the huffington.....
 

MacNut

macrumors Core
Original poster
Jan 4, 2002
22,995
9,971
CT
I'll be honest (and a grump) and say it all sounds like a load of bollocks. Bruises look less like a mountain lion attack and more like an elderly man who had a fall and takes regular aspirin.

And it is in the Huffington.....
Huffington isn't the only one that has the story, and I admit to being skeptical as well since there are no other witnesses.
 

carlgo

macrumors 68000
Dec 29, 2006
1,806
17
Monterey CA
Hoax.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/01/SPGO1NSU3S.DTL

In case the link doesn't work, the wounds are inconsistent, as is everything else. He accuses Fish and Game dept as Gestapo, makes all sorts of claims that he is One with wild animals and plays with them, etc. Claims about his healing powers... the more he talks, the less you can believe.

All bogus, yet fun reading about. My favorite outdoor hoax continues to be the Bigfoot in the freezer one. Absolutely guaranteed to be proven a hoax, a gorilla suit in the freezer, yet people with something to lose went ahead with it.
 

Consultant

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,314
34
Hoax.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/01/SPGO1NSU3S.DTL

In case the link doesn't work, the wounds are inconsistent, as is everything else. He accuses Fish and Game dept as Gestapo, makes all sorts of claims that he is One with wild animals and plays with them, etc. Claims about his healing powers... the more he talks, the less you can believe.

All bogus, yet fun reading about. My favorite outdoor hoax continues to be the Bigfoot in the freezer one. Absolutely guaranteed to be proven a hoax, a gorilla suit in the freezer, yet people with something to lose went ahead with it.

Wow. That guy seems nutty.
 

jpine

macrumors 6502
Jun 15, 2007
393
71
IFF the story is true, I suspect momma bear saw the cat as a treat to her young and acted accordingly as opposed to deliberately going out of her way to save the man.
 

MikaelThib

macrumors member
Feb 9, 2012
61
69
Next os x major release

this clearly hints at OS X 10.9 Bear followed by OS X Polar Bear :D... Following the pattern of the Leopard and Lion.
 

mscriv

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2008
4,923
602
Dallas, Texas
I admit to being skeptical as well since there are no other witnesses.

What do you mean "no other witnesses", the mountain lion and bear obviously saw the whole thing. It's my understanding that thus far they have simply declined to comment. ;)
 

snberk103

macrumors 603
Oct 22, 2007
5,503
91
An Island in the Salish Sea
... i have read bears are not that dangerous if not threatened and intruded by humans. ....

Not entirely true. Polar bears will eat you if you they hungry. Even a little bit hungry. Humans are seen as just another source of food, and you aren't the biggest or meanest thing they eat. Unless you have a gun. And know how to use it. A Grizzly may try to eat you if they are really hungry, and may attack you just because they are grumpy (like being sick or injured, or having just woken up from a nap).

There's an old anecdote from around here, where we have black bears and occasionally Grizzlies.
1) When walking around in the forest, carry a walking stick with bells (the jingling warns the bear to your approach) and carry pepper spray just in case.
2) Pay attention to any scat you find on the trail to determine if there is a bear, and what kind they are. A black bear's scat will often include berries and the bones of small mammals. A Grizzly bear's scat will often include bells and smell like pepper.

:)
 
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