There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
01-29-2016, 04:05 AM( This post was last modified: 01-29-2016, 04:07 AM by brotherbear )
California Grizzly by Tracy I. Storer and Lloyd P. Tevis, Jr.
The tenacity of life in grizzlies that had received a multitude of rifle balls -or one in a particularly vital spot - was remarked by many contemporary writers. The power of early day muskets was appreciably less than that of later rifles with grooved barrels, cylindrical bullets, and more powerful charges of powder. The ball from a muzzle-loader, fired at some distance, often had only enough to pierce the heavy skin and lodge in the thick body fat outside the muscles; such wounds were merely aggravating. Adams ( Hittell, 1860 : 161 ) said of one bear, "several balls had struck her in the sides, but had not gone through the fat."
"The grizzly is very tenacious of life, and he is seldom immediately killed by a single bullet. His thick, wiry hair, tough skin, heavy coats of fat when in good condition, and large bones, go far to protect his vital organs; but he often seems to preserve all his strength and activity for an hour or more after having been shot through the lungs and liver with large rifle-balls." ( J.S. Hittell, 1863 : 109 ) Near Livermore in 1854 one lived half an hour after a ball from a 5-inch Colt revolver had passed completely through the heart ( N 27 ). Another reportedly "turned and showed fight" after his skull was split with an axe, "scattering his brains on the ground" ( N 43 ).
In the somewhat lurid tale of "How Old Pinto Died," Allen Kelley ( 1903: 171 - 191 ) wrote that the bear was finally killed by a 45-70-450 bullet entering at the "butt" of the ear and passing through the base of the brain. The previous evening one shot "had nearly destroyed a lung." In all there were eleven bullet holes, but only two or three bullets had lodged, "the others having passed through, making large, ragged wounds and tearing organs all to pieces." Of another bear, which had been fired at repeatedly by members of a party, Vachell ( 1901 : 251 - 252 ) stated that "when we skinned him, we found that he had been shot through the heart, through the lungs, through the head, and through the loins!"
Survival Skills of Bears
