Bear attacks can be fatal, but they're usually ground-based. This bear killed a grandfather as a parting shot using a rarely seen aerial attack technique from a tree.
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Falling bears aren't something you usually need to be aware of. However, after a grandfather dies when a bear falls on his head from a tree, you may want to look up while walking through the woods. This weird fatality happened during a hunting accident, and I can't say I have much sympathy.
While on a hunting trip, Lester C. Harvey, 58, of Phoenix, Virginia, and his hunting party were chasing a bear through the woods. It ran up a tree to escape the gunmen, and one of them took the opportunity to get the kill. It was trapped, and an easy target.
Most of the other hunters had cleared the area surrounding the tree, but as the bear dropped, there was still one man in the way. Grandfather Harvey was directly beneath the bear as it falls, and took the full weight of it. It fell a total of three meters, which was enough for the fat bear to kill him.
Bear Falls From Tree, Trading A Life For A Life
You can't go hunting an animal to death and get upset when someone dies. An eye for an eye and all that. Or, in this case, a bear for a grandfather.
I think, once the bear had run up the tree, it should have been left alone. It was clearly trying to escape the hunters, so maybe there is a lesson to be learned here. If something is obviously trying to escape, maybe let it go. You can't even eat bear as far as I am aware.
This isn't the only case of a bear falling on a hunter and killing them either. There have been numerous cases of bears dropping down from places where they have been killed and crushing whoever is beneath. Those big muscular animals weigh a lot and can pick up some serious speed. So, beware of falling bears, they can be fatal.
