Ed Wiseman Killed The Last Grizzly In Colorado by Stabbing It With An Arrow

Welcome back to Scary Bear Attacks! Today’s episode takes us to the majestic Rocky Mountains near the headwaters of the Navajo River. The San Juan Wilderness area is a rugged combination of forest and granite peaks ranging in elevation from around 8,000 ft to about 12,000 feet. The valleys flush with deer, elk, coyotes and black bear, but the ecological niche of the grizzly now goes unfilled. On the eve of September 23rd, 1979 Colorado native and hunting guide, Ed Wiseman slips quietly through the forest as the day of elk hunting winds down. Ed thinks of himself as a bit of a throwback mountain man who enjoys living as close to nature as he can get. That is why he enjoys archery hunting. It beckons to something primordial in his spirit. Mike Niederee is the 25 year old hunting partner of Ed and is about 300 yards from his hunting partner looking for an elk. The Kansan handles the steep terrain well and enjoys their time in the mountains. He glances ahead and sees what he thinks is a large black bear. The bear lifts its nose to the breeze and gets a good sniff of Mike and heads down the draw toward Ed. Ed hears a rustling in the bushes nearby. As he turns to take a good look at what is making the bushes shake so much, a 400 pound female grizzly erupts from the bush and steams toward him. He immediately recognizes her as a grizzly but knows they haven’t been observed in Colorado in over 27 years. The sow closes the short distance before Ed can do anything other than drop to the ground and pretend to be dead. This is what the textbooks and professionals say to do after all. He thuds to the ground but apparently this bear is not fooled by his acting performance. She immediately clamps her jaws on his right leg and bites over and over several times, tearing his pants, skin and flesh severely. Next, she bites into his right shoulder with her 2.5” canines puncturing tissue to the bone and creating massive wounds wherever she bites. Ed feels his flesh being torn and the pain is electrifying. When the sow continues the attack for more than a few seconds, he realizes he may need to fight for his life. As the rage of her attack continues Ed takes inventory of any possible weapons in his area. He is an avid bowhunter and does not carry a firearm and bear spray was still being developed. He looks to his left and sees his arrows, now knocked from his quiver, laying on the ground within arms reach. They are good and sharp from the time he spent sharpening before leaving camp this morning. Ed reaches over and grasps one of the aluminum arrows and in one fluid motion plunges it into the grizzlies neck like a long dagger. The arrow shaft breaks in two and blood sprays into his face. He hit paydirt with his first strike severing the sow's jugular vein. Unphased by the fatal wound to her neck, the grizzly continues to tear at him with her claws and bite him severely. Ed reaches up and removes the arrow shaft from her neck and plunges it into her chest just behind her leg. This blow strikes her in the heart, causing her to withdraw a short distance.