Although there is no video of the "battle", the local 6:000 pm news just had a good segment and interview with the man. He has a certain sense of self confidence and toughness that no doubt saved his life. The conservation officers found 2 cubs close to the dead mother bear that were put down as they probably would not survive without mama and there were also worries that the cubs would pick up on their mother's aggressive behaviour.

Once the news is over, I'll check their website to see if they posted the interview and will post a link here.

The interview video is online here. Click on the "News Hour" link then the "Bear Attack" link

"West blames himself for the attack." If the wind is blocking your scent to the point a mother bear is suprised at @ 6' you've just enrolled in the 'I had to amputate my own arm Hall of Honour and admiration in cyberworld chatrooms roster.' Ditto the two 'conservation' officers who destroyed two cubs fearing they would inherit the mother's aggressive personality.

Unless your doing ninja flips past freeway overpasses bugging out, the best defense in wilderness is to be a loudmouth; blow your whistle, sing Hollywood musicals offkey, part wind, smash underbrush with your exotic survival blade,machete,kukhri, spetznas survival tool, make a joyfull noise praising Jesus.

I promise most wildlife will clear out like Bambi shouting MAN IN THE FOREST.

Leslie Nielson canadians 3

Canadian black bears -3

Not to hijack anything, but this is what I would like: a very strong hiking staff with a metal fixture on the end that will allow a substantial survival-type sheath knife (read: "larger than average") to be quickly and securely snapped onto the end to form a potentially very useful defensive implement. No doubt a design like this exists somewhere, but I haven't actually searched (yet) and I don't recall seeing any.

And not this one. It unscrews and screws together which would be way too slow, and the blade looks too long and flimsy:

Crawford Knives

I hope most people don't think all you need is a stick to defend yourself from a bear He was lucky, and I`m sure he thinks the same.

Ah yes. This is more like what I had in mind:

Hunting spear and survival tool.

In the recent thread on horsedrawn vehicle I didn't mention why metal carts are so unpopular. In a wreck the metal shafts will bend and often impale the horse.
A wooden shaft is more likely to shatter, or 'all to shiver' like the jousting lances in Mallory's King Arthur.
I assure you, a good sized bear will bend the fanciest aircraft grade hollow pole.
Anyone who has skinned bears knows there is actually a smaller animal under very loose hide and fat. Penetration demands a very stout thrusting spear, aka Anthony Hopkins v s Bart.
These elaborate hiking sticks, and there have been others, are just hollowhandled survival knives.

Griz or black, here's the general rule.

If you are wandering around and come across a bear and startle it, do not run, do not confront, veer your eyes away and slowly back away. If you do get attacked, play dead. You are a perceived threat, and the bear will likely leave once it feels the threat is minimized.

If you are being stalked, do not play dead, do not run. You will have to fight or otherwise intimidate or subdue the animal.

The best response is still to discharge one of those fire extinguisher sized pepper spray tanks into the face of the bear. Regardless of motive, it is the best detterant to an attack(short of a well placed belted magnum round in 375 or larger caliber).

Regarding the original story:

If this guy had made some noise and carried pepper spray, this would have been a happier story. But in fairness, there are some areas and trails where you don't expect to encounter a mama bear and cubs.

He was ridiculously lucky. Lucky to find a club of suitable size and strength in the midst of the fight, lucky to stun the bear with a hit.

It may seem harsh to destroy the cubs, but I doubt they would survive the winter on their own. So the other option is slow death by starvation and exposure. The wildlife officer on the ground is generally better informed than anyone else to make that call.

Point well taken. Of course, a pole is much easier to bend with side-ways pressure than compression pressure lengthwise down the shaft. A spear generally is used in the compression mode, of course. When I was about 11 years old, my 10 yr old sis and my 9 yr old bro and I were hiking a short distance behind our cabin up near the Boundary Waters in Minnesota. There was an old trapper/hermit shack up there in some thick woods with the old gentleman's extensive diary inside and a bunch of other curios. Anyway, on the way up the trail, we ran smack into a big black mama bear and a cub. We were within about 20 yds of each other. Nothing happened, but looking back it sure would've been more comforting to have had one of those aircraft aluminum pointy things rather than just loud offensive language.