Yes, Bears Falling Out Of Trees And Killing People Is A Real Thing

In what seems a nearly impossible stroke of bad luck, a Virginia hunter was struck and killed by a black bear tumbling from a tree earlier this month after another hunter shot it. 

A large animal — either a bear or a mountain lion — falling from a tree and hitting somebody is a real danger to watch out for, a veteran Wyoming predator hunter said. 

“I’ll bet there’s been a lot of close calls where it (a falling animal) almost got ’em,” Doug Boykin told Cowboy State Daily. 

Lester C. Harvey Jr., 58, of Phenix, Virginia, died from injuries he suffered Dec. 9 when a bear was shot, fell from a tree and landed on him, according to news reports. 

Has Seen Dogs Get Hammered 

Boykin grew up in Encampment, Wyoming, and has decades of experience as a houndsman, a hunter who uses hounds to pursue and tree predators. 

In the 2010s he moved to Snowflake, Arizona, where he continues to run hounds after mountain lions. He’s kept his hometown connections and brings hound puppies to Wyoming to give to aspiring young hunters. 

During his long hunting career, he said he luckily never saw a person get hit by a falling bear or mountain lion. 

But he’s seen dogs get hammered. 

“Yeah, you’ve really got to pay attention if you’re getting an animal out of a tree,” he said. “I’ve had them fall on my dogs. I didn’t lose the dogs, but they got hit by mountain lions.”

A Tragic Accident 

Harvey, a father of five, was well-known in his community, where many were shocked and saddened by his death, according to local news reports. 

On Dec. 9, he was among a group of hunters that pursued and treed the bear, according to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. 

The group retreated to what they thought was a safe distance from the tree before one of the hunters shot the bear.

However, as the mortally wounded animal fell, it hit Harvey, who was about 10 feet from the base of the tree, according to Wildlife Resources. 

While bears may not be hunted with hounds in Wyoming, it is legal to use hounds to pursue and tree mountain lions here. 

There have been no reports in Wyoming of people being struck by predators falling from trees, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. 

“We are unaware of this occurring in Wyoming, but accidents can happen. This is unfortunate for the hunter's family and friends,” said Rene Schell, Game and Fish Lander Region information and education specialist. 

Houndsman Logan Wilson of Buffalo told Cowboy State Daily that he was baffled by the circumstances of Harvey’s death. 

“I have never heard of that happening, and don’t understand how it could have happened,” he said. 

Watch That Downhill Side

Although people getting clobbered by tumbling animals is rare, it’s a risk that should be taken into consideration, Boykin said. 

“They darn sure do come out of the tree fast, and you’ve got to stay away from there,” he said. 

That hazard of getting clobbered by a 100-plus-pound cat can exist even when hunters aren’t trying to kill a mountain lion.

Treeing a mountain lion and then letting it go is a common practice. 

The Wyoming Legislature last year passed a bill allowing hunters to continue pursuing and treeing mountain lions even after hunting tags for the big cats have been filled. 

Backers of the bill said that will allow hunters to keep their hounds’ skills sharp. Also, it allows hunters to haze mountain lions away from settled areas, where they might cause trouble. 

Boykin said sometimes when mountain lions are shot, they will “spring” when a bullet hits them, and that spring can carry them quite a distance from the base of the tree. 

And even when they’re not being shot, or shot at, they will occasionally bail out of trees without warning, he added.  

Boykin said he pays close attention to the downhill side of the tree, which is a good place to avoid. 

“I always watch them and try to figure which way they want to go,” he said. “They usually want to go off the downhill side.”

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.