The Bear Almost Killed Him

Steve was an experienced hunting guide in Alaska. He had led many eager, and often unskilled, hunters to kill a bear. As Steve described his job, I shivered. Not a job I want.

On one of his last hunt tours, he had an encounter that affirmed my wariness. 

He had led his hunter to a wooded area where they thought a bear was scavenging for food near the coast. As they approached the brush-covered area, they squatted to stay out of the bear’s sight. Sure enough, there it was. They were on top of a 25-foot cliff, and the bear was at the bottom, walking along a creek to find fish. Steve motioned for his hunter to pull out his gun and shoot. The man did, but missed by quite a margin.

The startled bear whipped around. If Steve and the man had remained still, then it probably would have gone undetected. Though the gun was loud, the sound ricocheted off the cliffs and disoriented the bear. But they were so frightened by the suddenly aggravated bear that they jumped back. The bear looked right at them and charged.

At this point in the story, Steve had the hairs on my arms raised. I was holding my breath. “What happened next??” I blurted.

Steve explained that he panicked and pulled out his gun. The bear ran right up the cliff, which was no small feat in itself, and jumped over the edge right in front of Steve and his hunter. Steve fired twice. Bang! Bang!

The bear took a step backward and tumbled down the cliff. Steve instantly realized his folly. 

“I am so sorry. I should not have shot your bear that you paid to come shoot.”

The hunter responded, “No man. I was trying to scream, ‘Shoot! Shoot!’ but nothing came out of my mouth.”

I hear a lot of close-call stories, but some stay with me as a “what if” that haunts my thoughts. Steve has gone on to positively impact many people, and the world is a much better place with him here. But he almost wasn’t.

This story reminds me how grateful we should all be to be alive and to have stories to tell.