# Deer hunter attacked by bear in tree stand



## John Ingersoll (Apr 16, 2010)

[SIZE=+1]*Emmet County Hunter Injured by Black Bear

*[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]*Contact: *[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014 [/SIZE] 


[SIZE=-1]A Walloon Lake man was injured Saturday night (Oct. 9) in his treestand when he was attacked by a female black bear and her three cubs in Bear Creek Township in Emmet County, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1] Chad Fortune, 21, was treated at Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey for a bite to his left calf, thigh and shoulder. Investigation of the incident is ongoing and is being conducted by the DNRE, with assistance from the Emmet County Sheriff's Department.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] Fortune told law enforcement officials that he was bow hunting for deer just before dark on farmland in Bear Creek Township Saturday night when the bears approached and then climbed up his treestand and attacked him.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] Fortune said at first two cubs climbed up the treestand ladder, and when he shouted at them, they dropped to the ground. A third bear then climbed up the tree, and the hunter punched and elbowed it until it fell from the tree. Then a bear climbed up the treestand ladder and bit Fortune on the leg.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] Fortune remained in the treestand for two hours until his fiancee and father came looking for him, worried that he had not returned from hunting after nightfall. After helping him down from the treestand, they transported Fortune to the hospital for treatment.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] The DNRE's preliminary investigation of the incident indicates that Fortune may have been wearing clothing underneath his camouflage hunting gear that smelled like fried food items from a family party he attended just prior to going hunting. A DNRE conservation officer and wildlife biologist who are investigating the incident theorize the bears were lured by the food scents on the hunter's clothing.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] "Anytime you are dealing with a sow and her cubs, you have a potentially dangerous situation," said DNRE Wildlife Chief Russ Mason. "A sow will do whatever it takes to protect her cubs if she perceives a threat. In this case, the hunter was not threatening the cubs, but the sow apparently thought he was, and she attacked him."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] The black bear is the only bear species native to Michigan, with approximately 90 percent of the bear population living in the Upper Peninsula. Black bears are shy by nature, and have a fear of humans. The fear of humans should remain intact, and the DNRE encourages Michigan residents and visitors to not leave food accessible to bears. Once a bear associates food with a human, the situation can become dangerous. For more information on bears in Michigan, including how to prevent problems between bears and humans, go to www.michigan.gov/bear. [/SIZE]


----------



## Liver and Onions (Nov 24, 2000)

John Ingersoll said:


> [SIZE=+1][COL...............
> 
> The DNRE's preliminary investigation of the incident indicates that Fortune may have been wearing clothing underneath his camouflage hunting gear that smelled like fried food items from a family party he attended just prior to going hunting. A DNRE conservation officer and wildlife biologist who are investigating the incident theorize the bears were lured by the food scents on the hunter's clothing......


I'll bet he will practice scent control next time.

L & O


----------



## Swamp Monster (Jan 11, 2002)

Note to self; 
Leave the BBQ Chicken and Fried Chicken at home during archery season unless well armed.

Glad he is going to be ok.


----------



## tgafish (Jan 19, 2001)

Mustbe something with 3 cubbed sows. The sow that climbed my tree had 3 cubs


----------



## Swamp Monster (Jan 11, 2002)

tgafish said:


> Mustbe something with 3 cubbed sows. The sow that climbed my tree had 3 cubs


What county?


----------



## Big Game (Feb 7, 2002)

Emmet county. NW lower peninsula.


----------



## Big Game (Feb 7, 2002)

Tonight on 9&10 news at 6:00 they said they hope to have an interview with the hunter.


----------



## Swamp Monster (Jan 11, 2002)

Big Game said:


> Emmet county. NW lower peninsula.


I meant Tga's run in, sorry.


----------



## Kelly Johnson (May 22, 2005)

Tag or no, ticket or repercussions from the law ....that bear wouldn't make it to my treestand.:yikes:

Glad to hear the kid's ok though.


----------



## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

they would have been doing alot of slipping and sliding while climbing to my tree stand. He had to have a lot of restraint to not shot it.


----------



## tgafish (Jan 19, 2001)

Swamp Monster said:


> I meant Tga's run in, sorry.


Mine was in Ontario. White river area. Cubs saw me move, spooked and went into the trees all around me. Momma stood there looking at me popping her jaws. Walked right under the stand and I started to hear clawing on the tree. Permanant stand made out of plywood so I couldn't see what was going on till I looked behind me and saw her climbing about half way up. Yelled at her and she bolted off the tree, ran about 10 feet, then she turned around and started popping at me again. A minute later she moved off and thankfully about 40 minutes later her cubs came down and took off.

Next day one of the guys in our group shot a bear and was waiting to go track it when most likely the same sow and cubs came in and started popping at him. Tried to shoo them away and up went the cubs again. They came down at dark but he kept hearing noises in the bush so he wouldn't come down in the dark. We went in to get him and bring his bear out. She was a real b&^ch!


----------



## John Ingersoll (Apr 16, 2010)

Video on left - http://www.9and10news.com/Category/Story/?id=260617&cID=1


----------



## jakeo (Sep 14, 2004)

If it were me.....the fried food smell would have been mixed with a different odor as soon as that first bear started on up......:lol:


----------



## kmonty (Aug 26, 2009)

Glad to see he made it out of the woods in one piece.


----------



## GrtWhtHntr (Dec 2, 2003)

Seeing that he never felt the bear bite him, I'd say he had a little adrenaline flowing! :lol: I've never had an encounter with a bear in the woods, not sure what I'd do if I had one try to climb the tree.


----------



## old graybeard (Jan 19, 2006)

Guess he should have been wearing Scent Loc. Glad he's still alive.


----------



## NATTY BUMPO (May 12, 2001)

I saw the interview on TV with this young guy. He's lucky she didnt pull him out of that ladder stand and kill him. 

He was at a family BBQ just before this hunt. I dont think Scent Lok would have saved him.

NB


----------



## John Ingersoll (Apr 16, 2010)

New video with wounds - http://www.petoskeynews.com/videobe...13-4e4e-9cf0-e0167c3987de&cat=empty&src=front


----------



## Blueump (Aug 20, 2005)

Kelly Johnson said:


> Tag or no, ticket or repercussions from the law ....that bear wouldn't make it to my treestand.:yikes:
> 
> Glad to hear the kid's ok though.


AGREE! 
I would have emptied my quiver before she made it half-way up. License or not, if it's any animal vs. me in any type of attack - the hunting regulations go out the window! _(That red squirrel is going down!) _


----------



## buck37 (Aug 8, 2002)

The post on the Deer hunting forum said he dropped his quiver while hitting the cub to make it go away. So he couldn't shoot it. That would suck.


----------

