Bear Hunting Magazine Editor Clay Newcomb and his friends Mark and Ryan got a whole lot more than they bargained for on their spring bear hunt in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Newcomb shot a big, color-phase bear with his recurve bow after it tried to climb into the blind with him. While that was going on, Ryan got to see an incredible black bear fight unfold in front of him. A sow came in with her cub and didn't appreciate it when a big boar tried to run her off the bait.
The sow sent her cub up a tree and then started brawling with the much bigger boar. You're going to want to see how all of this went down for yourself. Make sure you keep watching after the shot, too.
Was that incredible or what!? And to think that happened while Clay was having a crazy hunt for himself only a few miles away.
That sow must have been really ticked off if she wanted to keep fighting that long after the boar was dead. She didn't leave even after she realized a hunter was there. Only some of Ryan's bear spray would scare her off.
As the saying goes, the size of the fight in the dog (or bear) is more important than the size of the dog in the fight. That sow clearly had plenty of fight in her.
Black bears are different from grizzly bears or brown bears, but bear-on-bear attacks seem frequent enough when mother bears have young cubs. American black bear attacks on people don't happen often, with 61 recorded in the United States since 1900.
There are more than one school of thought around how to handle black bear encounters. Most would advise you to avoid running away, and to make yourself big and imposing. Most importantly, pay attention to your surroundings, and carry bear spray when in bear country. Remember, they're almost always looking for an easy meal and an accessible food source, so always secure and lock trash cans, coolers and vehicles if you're in bear habitats.
Black bears in North America are awfully smart, and those that live around humans are learning to take advantage. That's not necessarily a good thing.
Like what you see here? You can read more great articles by John McAdams on his hunting blog. Follow him on Twitter @TheBigGameHunt or check out one of his Alberta bear hunts.
