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[pct-l] Re: Not True. WAS: Monster bear



12 foot grizzlies in the lower 48??  No way, I don't think even the largest 
brown bears in the world (on Kodiak Island, AK) reach that size, you're 
talking Polar Bear size here!  Now if there were Polar Bears on the PCT I 
might think long and hard about taking a hike.

FYI, buzzards do not occur in North America but you might be referring to 
Turkey Vultures?  However, they don't occur in Alaska so maybe it was a few 
hungry Bald Eagles wanting to diversify their diet?


>From: Kevin Corcoran <kevin@antelecom.net>
>To: CMountainDave@aol.com, pct-l@backcountry.net
>Subject: [pct-l] Re: Not True. WAS: Monster bear
>Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2003 09:08:45 -0700
>
>>In a message dated 6/7/03 12:58:29 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
>>kevin@antelecom.net writes:
>>
>><< Did you check out the story before forwarding to the List?  Facts
>>  surrounding the photos are at the Urban Legends website:
>>  http://www.snopes.com/photos/bearhunt.asp
>>  Those photos got passed around a few years ago.  Recently it seems
>>  that someone added the gruesome picture of an accident victim as a
>>  hiker "killed by the same bear".  After that, the email gained new
>>  life and it's going around again.
>>   >>
>>Well, like, I went to the website you listed and it said the story itself 
>>was
>>basically true except for the pictures which I did not and could not 
>>attach
>
>	Oh yes, the photos themselves are absolutely real, no doubt about that. 
>It's a monster bear (my guess is an Alaskan brown bear like the ones on 
>Kodiak Island, they are even bigger than the inland grizzlies. Does anyone 
>else know for sure?)  But the email narrative is false. Every other 
>circumstance seems to have been fabricated or altered as the message got 
>passed along, or conflated with the other account, all well before it got 
>sent to Dave.
>	For instance it wasn't a forest service worker who shot it, but a deer 
>hunter. The airman didn't state that the bear charged, but that he saw the 
>bear first and dropped it with a single shot to the head. The bear was then 
>killed with two more bullets, but none the caliber mentioned in the email. 
>No mention of the bear "getting mounted in the Anchorage Airport to remind 
>visitors of the dangers of bears".  And whatever the origins of that third 
>photo of the accident victim, it wasn't attached to this account so we 
>can't label the bear as a "maneater"!  It was attached with the phony 
>narrative by someone else later (not Dave!). Truthfully, whatever ate that 
>guy could have been buzzards, for all we know.  My bet is that Snopes will 
>update the page once they research the origins of the other photo, because 
>it truly has regained life with that third photo. (Listers, it ain't for 
>the squeamish).
>	But the email account sets off BS detectors immediately because it is 
>written in the third-person account.  It's not a genuine news story, nor 
>was it written by the airman or by a witness. Urban legends are commonly 
>written as 'story' form e.g: "There once was this guy...." Yet no name, 
>specific place, sources/links, first-hand accounts or dates are offered. Of 
>course any story can be altered as it finds its way around the world like 
>that.  And on this one, person(s) unknown seem to have had themselves a 
>fine time fitting the photos with a compelling story that horrifies and 
>confirms our worst fears, the stuff of sucessful urban legends.
>	Although not knowledgeable myself about the issue, I might agree that the 
>Sierras are not big enough for grizzly bears, FWIW.
>Kevin Corcoran
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>pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
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