“I Was Sure I Was Going To Be Mauled.” The Season The Grizzlies Went Crazy

TL;DR

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An Outdoor Life report published Oct. 23, 2026, recounts a backcountry encounter in which a grizzly followed two hunters toward their Alaska camp despite repeated shouting and gunshots. The account describes the bear eventually giving ground, but the supplied excerpt ends before the encounter’s full outcome is reported.

Outdoor Life published an account on Oct. 23 of a grizzly that followed two hunters toward their remote Alaska camp despite repeated shouts and gunshots, a departure from the mostly timid bears the author said he had encountered over nearly a decade. The supplied report excerpt describes the bear approaching the camp and eventually beginning to give ground, but it ends before the full encounter and season are recounted.

The author, an Alaska backcountry hunter who said he had spent five to eight weeks each year in the mountains for nearly a decade, described seeing hundreds of grizzlies without a serious incident. He characterized the season as unusually difficult, while acknowledging that the reason was uncertain. He suggested a warm, wet summer might have played a part, but did not establish a cause.

The encounter began during a sheep hunt with friend Cheri Flory. After traveling by small plane, river and backpack, the pair reached a camp above a river. A large bear grazing near the site ran off after the hunters shouted and fired a warning shot. Over the next few days, they saw other bears that moved away when they noticed the people, according to the account.

On a later morning, Flory spotted a bear lying on a slope about a quarter-mile downwind of camp. The hunters shouted and fired several shots over its head, but it did not leave. When they turned back toward camp to protect their equipment and food, the bear followed. The author wrote that it approached the camp, then advanced toward him as he banged an aluminum pot and pan. At about 30 yards, he said, he took the safety off his rifle. The excerpt ends with the bear beginning to retreat.

A Remote Camp Raises the Stakes

The report’s immediate stakes were the hunters’ safety and ability to continue their expedition. The author said the planned journey involved about 300 miles of wilderness travel and would take six weeks. If a bear damaged the camp, the pair had no spare tent or sleeping bags; losing those supplies could have left them exposed far from help.

The episode also shows why a persistent bear near a remote camp can pose more than a momentary danger. The hunters had medical supplies for a possible injury, the author wrote, but a mauling or destroyed equipment could have complicated a long trip back to civilization. Those details are part of the author’s account; the supplied material does not independently establish the broader frequency of aggressive encounters or a change in bear behavior across Alaska.

Nearly a Decade of Earlier Encounters

The author contrasted this season with previous trips to the Alaskan interior and Arctic, where he said grizzlies generally had been timid or curious and seldom dangerous. He described the northern bears as relying largely on vegetation and said they are generally smaller than salmon-fed coastal bears. His expectation, based on prior encounters, was that a bear would move away once it detected people.

The account gives a short timeline: the first bear near camp fled after a shout and warning shot; other bears seen over the following days also moved away; then the bear on the slope remained despite repeated efforts to scare it. The author speculated that the animal might have become accustomed to such treatment and that food smells around camp could have attracted its interest. Those explanations are presented as possibilities, not confirmed causes.

““It was a bad season for grizzlies.””

— The author, in the Outdoor Life report

The Excerpt Stops Before the Outcome

The supplied material does not include the complete account. It says the bear eventually gave ground, but does not explain what happened immediately afterward, whether the animal returned, or how the hunting trip ended. The report also does not state the exact date or location of the encounter beyond describing the setting as remote Alaska.

It is unclear whether the season’s behavior reflected a wider pattern or a series of incidents experienced by the author. The suggested links to warm, wet weather, food odors or prior exposure to people are speculation in the account; no supporting wildlife data or expert assessment is included in the supplied material.

The Full Account Would Add Detail

The next step for readers seeking the complete narrative is to consult the full Outdoor Life report, which may provide the rest of the encounter and the author’s account of the season. The supplied excerpt gives no scheduled follow-up, official investigation or wildlife-agency response. Until more information is available, the bear’s motives and whether the reported behavior was part of a broader trend remain unresolved.

Key Questions

What happened in the reported grizzly encounter?

According to the Outdoor Life account, a grizzly stayed near two hunters and followed them toward their remote camp after they shouted and fired warning shots. It later approached the camp before beginning to give ground, according to the excerpt.

When was the account published?

Outdoor Life published the report on Oct. 23, 2026. The supplied text does not give the encounter’s exact date.

Did the hunters report being injured?

The supplied excerpt does not report an injury. It ends while the bear is beginning to retreat, before giving the full outcome of the encounter.

Why did the bear follow the hunters?

The reason is unknown. The author suggested the bear might have become less wary of people or been drawn by food smells, but presented those ideas as possibilities rather than confirmed explanations.

Does the account establish that Alaska grizzlies were more aggressive that season?

No. It documents the author’s experience and his impression of the season, but the supplied material includes no wildlife data or independent evidence establishing a broader change in grizzly behavior.

Source: rss