SPANISH FORK CANYON — Robert Rasmussen of Payson was hiking in Spanish Fork Canyon, as he often does, when he discovered a 250-pound black bear sitting in the middle of the trail.
Thinking the bear would run off as he approached, Rasmussen yelled and tossed some rocks — but the bear didn't leave. Instead, the burly animal started rambling toward the timberline, then suddenly changed its mind, wheeled and charged.
Rasmussen ran for his life, ending up on Steve Henline's cabin porch 50 yards away, pounding frantically on the door.
Fortunately, Henline was home, opened the door and let Rasmussen in as the bear was closing in. He was 10 feet from Rasmussen when the door slammed shut.
"This bear was definitely different," said Henline. "Normally, when someone starts throwing rocks and hollering, as Rasmussen did, the bear would have immediately vacated the area."
"They usually run away," Rasmussen said. "I always thought they would be intimidated. After this, I'll always carry something with me, a pistol or a spray."
About 30 minutes after Rasmussen left for his truck, the bear returned. This time, he lumbered right into the house, startling Henline as he stepped out of the shower.
Henline grabbed a shotgun loaded with birdshot and fired. The bear retreated and Henline again slammed his door.
"Just the right medicine," he told himself, "He won't be back."
Henline was wrong. A short time later, He heard a commotion outside. He again grabbed the shotgun, loaded this time with a heavier load and flipped on the porch light as he opened the door.
The bear was only inches away.
"I started hollering and the bear started backing away," he said. "He had gotten 10 feet when he stopped and turned his head and popped his jaws — a sign of aggression for a bear."
Henline pulled the trigger and blasted the bear at point-blank range. He slept that night on the couch with his loaded gun next to him. The next day, the bear was found by dogs, 125 yards away. That was a remarkable distance for the animal to have traveled with major wounds.
"It was a harrowing experience. I thank God the bear didn't come when my wife and grandchildren were there alone. I hate to think what might have transpired had this uncharacteristically aggressive wild animal come into the cabin or if the bear had encountered one of the many groups of hikers who pass along the trail nearly every day."
"The whole situation bothered me," Henline said. "I think I know bears as well as any biologist, and I have a great respect for them. In fact, I have a great passion for them. I cannot imagine a world without bears, and I certainly wouldn't want to live in one, but I have learned through the years that they are very unpredictable and to downplay how dangerous they can be is shortsighted and foolish."
Henline produces hunting videos and promotional videos for guides and outfitters. He has operated two hunting and fishing lodges in Alaska on the Chuitna River and on the peninsula of the Ugashik River, which support large populations of black bear and Alaskan grizzly. He has spent considerable time in Russian Siberia around bears.
Henline owns a cabin on Loafer Mountain a mile above the Elkridge and Woodland Hills communities. He has often seen bears when he stays at the cabin during the spring and summer.
This is the first time a bear has not only confronted him and his neighbors without provocation but returned twice without reason after being chased away.
When Henline skinned the carcass he was again surprised. There were no old wounds or broken teeth or any sign of anything that might explain the bear's irrational behavior.
And the 6-foot, 4-year-old bear had almost no stored fat.
"If hunger was the reason, he surely would have eaten the deer I had killed during the muzzleloader hunt and left hanging in the tree outside the cabin," Henline said. "The bear could have easily eaten the deer but did not even touch it."
Henline wonders if perhaps the bear has eaten from a carcass of a mule deer infected with disease.
Alan Clark, section chief for the Division of Wildlife Resources says that's very unlikely as bears are extraordinarily disease-resistant.
"I don't know. Hunger still doesn't explain the odd behavior," Henline said. "All I know it that it has changed my life and not for the better. I'm just not comfortable anymore, and I know there's another one, a bigger one, still up here."
Jordan Pederson, regional supervisor for the division, said he believes the bear was starved because it's been such a dry water year, leaving no feed on the top of the mountain. He doesn't think there's cause for great concern.
"I don't know of any other incidents this year with bears," he said.
Henline said he believes there have been several, including sheep maulings in Strawberry Valley and troublesome bear in Springville Canyon.
"I think it is accurate to say dry conditions have resulted in higher-than-usual incidents of bear-human contacts," Henline said.
Clark said that's true for the La Salle and Book Cliffs area of the state and in the Price area but not in Utah County.
"In other areas, we've had a big problem, a lot more activity with bears coming into town and with campers," he said. "We think it's related to the dry year."
The wildlife officer who investigated the incident said he believes Steve Henline was justified in killing the bear. The bear appeared unusually dangerous and refused to leave Henline's porch.
"These bears aren't acting normal. They're not afraid. I've never seen behavior like I've seen," Henline said. "And I've been around bears for 45 years."
E-MAIL: haddoc@desnews.com