Man kills grizzly in self-defense, keeps claws as a memento

[HD]

Man kills grizzly in self-defense, keeps claws as a memento

by Associated Press

KALISPELL, Mont. — A Montana man told authorities that he cut off a grizzly bear’s claws as a memento after shooting it in self-defense because he was mad that the bear was going to eat him, according to court records.



Bryan Berg, 35, appeared in court last Thursday in U.S. District Court in Missoula after pleading guilty to illegal transport of grizzly bear claws, a misdemeanor, according to the Flathead Beacon. A judge sentenced the man from the northwestern Montana town of Marion to three years of probation and ordered him to pay $5,000 in restitution.

Grizzly bears in northwestern Montana are classified as a threatened species.

Prosecutors said Berg shot the bear in self-defense in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in 2017. He cut off its claws and pushed the carcass over the side of the mountain.

Berg never reported the shooting to law enforcement and he later took the bear claws to Washington state, prosecutors said.

Acting on a tip, authorities interviewed Berg in March 2018. He admitted he shot the bear in self-defense, handed over the claws and provided investigators with photos and videos of the scene, according to records.

He added that he didn’t report the incident because he was “terrified” and said he knew taking the claws was illegal. “I was hoping I would never run into you two,” he told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents investigating the case.

Berg was also charged initially with failure to report the shooting of a grizzly bear within five days. That charge was dropped as part of a plea deal with prosecutors Berg signed in December.

[Leech~~]

Umm, I wonder what the going price for a Grizzly Hunt is?  $5000 bills maybe a deal!   

[LPS]

It is a story for sure.  What kind of story is the question.

[Leech~~]

It is a story for sure.  What kind of story is the question.

I'd give his story a 9 Pinocchio's! 

[Rebel SS]

Maybe the bear tried to swipe his picnic basket.............🐻

[snow1]

I lived/worked in Alaska for several years,had a great job in the oil fields,red necks from around the country came to work in this industry as well, during hunting season the honcho's with choppers would trophy hunt,sheep,raindeere etc... brown bears (grizz and browns both) were protected unless a situation like above BUT you best have a witness to back up shooting a brown bear,well I got in on a moose hunt with yahoo's from work,we agreed we'd shoot one critter and split the meat,well no one told mr grizz,buddy downed a huge moose,back then the moose needed a inside spread of 48"s to be legal(tuff call with a 10x scope) this bad boy had 55"s,we spilt up in to groups to hunt so my buddy and I  caped the critter,quarted it as dark was setting in  fall  alaska only has afew hours of daylight so we hung the critter in a scrub tree.as big tree's are less than 10' tall  has to do with the climate and low altituide.plan was we'd pack out the rest following morning with the other guyz,next morning we approached the kill site,moose we hung was gone,damn bear found where we tied off the rope on another tree,chewed thru it,dropped the critter hauled 100yds up a ravine,buried it in under brush ,pissed all over the area(strong urine smell),so needless to say we were on guard as we boned out the moose to pack out,well as two of us left the clearing loaded with moose meat  we noticed big bear tracks over our foot tracks from earlier,as we turned to warn the others the bear stood up on hind legs no more than 20' from the other two guyz,ready to charge,one guy had his 454 pistola on his hip,(revolver) emptied it on the charging bear which dropped at their feet,we skunned /capped the bear.head weighed 235lbs alone,contacted state troopers(wardens in ak) when we made it back,holy cow we were interigated like we killed someone as grizz were also protected in ak due to idiots shooting them from choppers and aircraft today because of pig hunters that ruined big game hunting as we knew it,it is illegal to transort firearms in helicopters these days,for those that don't know the diff between a brown bear and a grizz.

the grizzely is a interior bear and the brown much like the kodiak brown is a coastal bear and much larger than a grizzly due to there fish diet,oh in alaska trophy hunters are required to donate the meat to local villages they welcome this except for grizz they only take the heart n liver discard the meat as un eatable seemed strange to me at the time as these folks live on seal meat and whale blubber year round.

[Steve-o]

Man kills grizzly in self-defense, keeps claws as a memento

KALISPELL, Mont. — A Montana man told authorities that he cut off a grizzly bear’s claws as a memento after shooting it in self-defense because he was mad that the bear was going to eat him, according to court records.
...
Acting on a tip, authorities interviewed Berg in March 2018.
...
Berg was ... charged initially with failure to report the shooting of a grizzly bear within five days.

Honesty is always the best policy when it is time to deal with Conservation and Law Enforcement.  Unless you're guilty, then you got to learn to keep your mouth shut.

[Rebel SS]

"I dunno...the gun just went off by itself!!!"