Bears as Predators ~

[brotherbear]

The Bear Almanac by Gary Brown.

Horses - Bears and horses or mules, in general, appear to have a healthy and mutual respect. They each prevent surprise encounters due to their acute hearing and smell and so normally avoid confrontation, and a horse's hooves pounding on the trail is an excellent warning to the bear. However, there are exceptions to this mutual avoidance. Bears, whether surprised and threatened or protecting a food source or cubs, have been aggressive, and horses and mules are defensive as well.
In 'American Bear', ( Paul Schullery ), Theodore Roosevelt relates that the bear ... " has much respect for the hoofs ... of it's should be prey. Some horses do not seem to know how to fight at all; but others arte both quick and vicious, and prove themselves very formidable foes, lashing out behind and striking with their fore-hoofs."
A park biologist in Yellowstone National; Park in 1966, on horseback and leading a pack mule, encountered a grizzly bear on an elk carcass. As the bear charged, the biologist threw the mule's lead-rope upon the pack so the mule would have the freedom t5o run and escape. As the biologist rapidly retreated, he heard a "screaming bray" from the mule, and turning, he expected to see the worst. However, the grizzly bear was departing as the mule with hackles raised, head down and outstretched toward the bear, was expressing its dominance of that moment.

n 1872, near Fort Wingate, New Mexico, two soldiers of a cavalry regiment came to their death at the claws of a grisly bear. The army surgeon who attended them told me the particulars, as far as they were known. The men were mail carriers, and one day did not come in at the appointed time. Next day, a relief party was sent out to look for them, and after some search found the bodies of both, as well as that of one of the horses. One of the men still showed signs of life; he came to his senses before dying, and told the story. They had seen a grisly and had pursued it on horseback, with their Spencer rifles. On coming close, one had fired into its side, when it turned with marvelous quickness for so large and unwieldy an animal, and struck down the horse, at the same time inflicting a ghastly wound on the rider. The other man dismounted and came up to the rescue of his companion. The bear then left the latter and attacked the other. Although hit by the bullet, it charged home and threw the man down, and then lay on him and deliberately bit him to death, while his groans and cries were frightful to hear. Afterward it walked off into the bushes without again offering to molest the already mortally wounded victim of its first assault.
At certain times the grisly works a good deal of havoc among the herds of the stockman. A friend of mine, a ranchman in Montana, told me that one fall bears became very plenty around his ranches, and caused him severe loss, killing with ease even full-grown steers. But one of them found his intended quarry too much for him. My friend had a stocky, rather vicious range stallion, which had been grazing one day near a small thicket of bushes, and toward evening, came galloping in with three or four gashes in his haunch, that looked as if they had been cut with a dull axe. The cowboys knew at once that he had been assailed by a bear, and rode off to the thicket near which he had been feeding. Sure enough a bear, evidently in a very bad temper, sallied out as soon as the thicket was surrounded, and, after a spirited fight and a succession of charges, was killed. On examination, it was found that his under jaw was broken, and part of his face smashed in, evidently by the stallion's hoofs. The horse had been feeding when the bear leaped out at him but failed to kill at the first stroke; then the horse lashed out behind, and not only freed himself, but also severely damaged his opponent. Reply