Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Fatal Bear Mauling In Hope

If it was Dan, I really hate to hear it. He always treated me fairly and was a good person to me.
Dave

It was Dan Schilling.

I see they have officially named Dan as the victim... which I had found out earlier this afternoon, too. Bummer...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Alaska State Troopers say around 10:07 p.m. Wednesday they were informed of a deadly bear mauling in the Hope area of the Chugach National Forest. On Monday, Troopers identified the victim of the bear attack as 46-year-old Daniel Schilling of Hope.

AST says Schilling was clearing a trail about 1 mile behind his property which is located off mile 8 of the Hope Highway. After some time, Schilling’s wife grew concerned when he didn’t return home and their dog, which had been with him, returned home alone.

“The body was located by family and friends in the area he had been working, deceased with wounds consistent with a bear attack,” troopers wrote in an online dispatch.

Cyndi Wardlow with Alaska Department of Fish and Game said the department is collecting evidence about the mauling. Wardlow says they believe the bear was a brown bear and that if they find the bear, they will put it down.

Fish and Game and the United States Forest Service responded to the scene and a recovery was made just after 1 a.m.

A friend of the victim and a member of the search party told Channel 2 off-camera that the man was an avid, experienced hunter who normally carried a firearm, but it is not clear if he was armed at the time of the attack.

Jack Thomas, another community member in Hope/Sunrise, said bear encounters are always a risk in the area. “Just realize that that same fishing hole you’ve been going to for 20 years... there might be a bear there that sneaks up on you,” Thomas said.

Copyright 2020 KTUU. All rights reserved.

Link above has been updated.

I got quite a bit more information from individuals on the scene and will only say it was probably not a preventable attack and Dan was likely taken totally by surprise.

He was a good guy...

City folks out trying to earn a Darwin award.

Stupid and inappropriate comment.

53 posts and already on ignore

MS9x56's post shows a reply to "ironbender". Perhaps he was only partway through the thread and hit "reply" to the below post. If so, then maybe some slack is appropriate. If not, then I agree, stupid and inappropriate. I won't make that assumptive jump just yet.


As to Mr. Schilling, may he R.I.P. Prayers and well-wishes to his family.

IF that had been quoted and then replied to, I agree.

The way it was posted, was as above. So many can’t drive the info superhighway.

I await evidence to the contrary.

I agree on all points. I'm just giving him an opportunity to save face.

There have been two serious maulings in the lower-48 involving Grizzlies. One was outside the West entrance to
Glacier NP, involving a US Forest Svc LawEnf officer on a mtn bike. The other was in the Wind River Range
NE of Yellowstone.

Guide and hunter returned to bull elk claimed by sow grizzly the night before. A Glock pistol (unk caliber)
was carried by them, but thrown short by hunter to guiode.
Bears are fast and unpredictable. I carry a 450 Alaskan on a pre-war Model 71.
Either a heavy revolver or auto is a good idea, with spray.

Bears of all types can be dangerous if surprised or threatened over claimed fish or game.

UPDATE:


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - After killing four bears in relation to a fatal bear mauling in Hope, Fish and Game says the samples from one of the bears match DNA collected at the scene of the attack.

The DNA comes from a female black bear, but investigators said DNA from a brown bear was also found at the scene. It is unlikely that both bears were present at the time of the attack, Fish and Game said, so they will continue to collect samples from brown bears.

The bear mauling in Hope happened at the end of July and resulted in the death of 46-year-old Hope resident Daniel Schilling.

Alaska State Troopers said Schilling was clearing a trail a mile from his property, but when his dog returned home without him, family was concerned.

An empty bear spray canister was found at the site of the mauling with the safety removed. Fish and Game said there was no evidence of cubs or a food cache in the area and it is unclear whether the attack was defensive or predatory.

The bear mauling is unusual because DNA from two different bear species was found at the scene. Fish and Game believes a brown bear was responsible for Schilling’s death but that a black bear encountered the body after he had been attacked.

In the search to find the bear, Fish and Game has killed three female black bears and one female brown bear near the location of the mauling. None of the bears were with cubs.

Since the location of the attack is “remote with challenging terrain and limited access,” Fish and Game said the department does not have further plans to conduct field operations in the area. The department will continue to collect DNA samples for brown bears that are harvested or killed to match against DNA collected at the site.

Copyright 2020 KTUU. All rights reserved.

https://www.ktuu.com/2020/08/18/1-o...ling-in-hope-matches-dna-from-the-scene/

First mention of spray... does not look like it worked and may be why they have not mentioned it previously.

Just two? What time frame?

The Wyoming fatality was last year. Montana fatal mauling -2018. I monitor these incidents and was in Glacier -talked to the
Park Director. In Calgary, BC the North American PhD. who is on the Inter-Agency Bear Committee for the
InterMtn area is Dr. Stephen Herrero. He wrote the book - Bear Attacks-Their Causes and Avoidance.

Books are fine but he also has spent a lot of time in the bush.

I prefer a heavy revolver because the action forces the shooter to
take careful aim-no guarantee of repeat shots. IF a handgun must be carried. Rifle is much better.

A good lever action Winchester or Marlin in 45-70, 348, or 450 AK
is the way to travel IMHO. They are much faster to get into action
than a bolt rifle-and they can deliver faster repeat shots.
A grizzly is a very fast animal-they can catch a quarter horse inside of 100 yards.
Best to carry something heavy and fast.

This spot reserved for Sd.

Get a life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If Herrero ever had a clue he was playing a board game and was just past a toddler!

The antipathy I feel for that POS is without measure. He had an agenda and ran with it as only a clueless POS can.

You are dead wrong on your numbers, incidents, chronology, and every other aspect of bears in the intermountain West.

But, please do regale us with your cluelessness by adding makes and models usually found leaning against a tree at attack sites...

Bastid!

Schitstirrer!

Several passes have been made at pretending SH had done anything other than plagiarize and pretend for other clueless, agenda-driven, POS "biologists" and frankly he can GFH!