Horrifying final moments of woman killed by bear with razor teeth in gory attack
Amie Adamson's gruesome death was likely a quick one — over in less than three minutes, an expert says.
The 47-year-old runner from Derby, Kansas, was the victim of a grizzly bear attack last Saturday. Her badly mauled body was discovered on the scenic Buttermilk Trail just west of West Yellowstone, Montana.
Tom Smith, a professor of plant and wildlife sciences at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, provided insight into what may have happened in Adamson's last few moments of life.
Smith has been studying bear-human conflicts for over three decades. He's examined over 2,200 encounters and runs experiments to study bear behavior and how they perceive their environments — the sights, the scents and the sounds.
The grizzly bear that attacked Adamson likely went for her head with its massive, sharp, powerful teeth.
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Tom Smith is a bear expert with more than 30 years of experience (Brigham Young University)"They don’t use their claws very much. They’ll use them, but their main weapon threat is their teeth," Smith said.
He said they go for the head and neck because "they're innately programmed" to do so.
"When you look at a grizzly bear in an ecosystem, the only real threat to it is another grizzly bear," he said. And the easiest way for them to disable their opponents is to go for their heads and necks.
"They treat us just like we’re another potential attacking animal," he said.
That behavior presents several problems, however, for human victims — bears often grow to be nearly 10 feet tall and can weigh over 700 pounds, according to the National Wildlife Federation, and they also have thick fur, a heavy hide, thick bones and lots of muscles.
"They can take a few whacks to the head and the neck. Humans? It’s severe. It’s tender skin, very thin skin, lots of blood, vascularized, a lot of vessels, a lot of nerves. When they take a swat or a bite, it’s devastating.”
In Adamson's death, the bear may have gutted her neck with its fangs, ripping open her carotid artery or jugular vein and spewing blood everywhere. She'd exsanguinated in seconds.
Yellowstone National Park is where Amie Adamson was killed (Getty Images)The beast may have also trapped her head in its massive maw, crushing her skull and instantly killing her.
Or, it may have nipped her spine, dispatching her via her nervous system.
"It's pretty grizzly stuff," he said. "The bottom line is, you don't ever want to get any body part in the mouth of a bear. They're way too powerful."
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"There’s no tissue on the human body that can resist the pressure of a bear bite," he added.
What causes bear attacks?
After the attack, however, the bear wouldn't have eaten Adamson's body. Smith said they aren't normally prone to eating humans.
"Their motivations are pretty clear," he said. "For brown bears, it’s almost always some sort of defensive-aggressive encounter — that is, you’ve frightened them and triggered some sort of defense response in them, like the recent death in Yellowstone."
In the case of Adamson, a mother bear was out with her cub when Adamson likely startled them as she ran along the trail. The heightened fear prompted an attack from the mother, who likely perceived the speed at which Adamson ran toward it as a threat.
"These animals have evolved to respond primarily to predatory attacks," Smith said. "When we frighten a bear, it’s an innate response to a very long history of defending itself against an animal that would most likely kill it."
A grizzly bear killed Amie Adamson (Getty Images)"Anything that startles them, comes at them quickly, is perceived as a predation threat," he continued. "It’s going to unleash the fury it has."
Once the bear realized that Adamson wasn't a threat to it, it likely stopped attacking and walked away.
"Predation’s not the motivation," he said. "It’s all about you setting off an innate response, and this is the result. Surprising bears is a bad idea because you trigger that."
Avoiding bear attacks — and what to do during one
Smith said it's important to make noise and give the bears enough time to move away from humans — which they're prone to do.
“If you give them a chance, they get up and they move. There’s nothing in it for them to have confrontations with other animals," he said. That’s just not how they roll. They avoid conflict. They’ll get up and get away. But if you don’t give them the option, things can be pretty ugly.”
He said it's best to travel in groups and to carry bear spray — two things Adamson wasn't doing.
"Group together, ready your defense, and when the bear crosses a line, you spray it," he said.
In an attack, you'll often have seconds to react. Bear spray is easy to use, carry and deploy and is exceptionally effective at turning bears away, he said.
Amie Adamson was a marathon runner and liked to train in Yellowstone (abc7)"It’s a horrific chemical. They choke. They can’t see. And all of a sudden, you’ve given this animal another priority in its life, which is to get the next breath — which gives you plenty of time to get the heck out of there and get away," he said. "Be ready. Be prepared. Be alert. Pay attention."
The most important step after that is to move away from the bear and leave it be.
"You should be leaving the bear alone and getting the hell out of there," Smith emphasized.
If you don't have bear spray on you and still find yourself in an attack, Smith said it then becomes important to take a defensive, face-down position.
"Cover your neck with your interlaced fingers," he said. "Hopefully, you've got a backpack or day pack. That'll take some of the brunt of the force."
"You're going to have to find some way to save your life," he added, but noted that if it's a brown bear attacking, they'll usually just take a few nips at you then leave.
Most importantly, however, he said it's important to understand bear behaviors and take precautions to avoid them — and be prepared if one is encountered.
Grizzly bears aren't usually prone to attacking people unless provoked (Getty Images/500px)"Ignorance doesn’t absolve you of the consequences of doing the wrong thing," he said. "If you’re going to go to bear country, do a tiny bit of research."
"The worst part about it is that the bears are the ones who pay for this," he added. People will often hunt them down after an attack, and, in some places, people will try to eliminate the entire population.
"It's not just about them," he said of those people. "It's also about the future existence of the species."
Cultural trends that trigger bears
Smith said increases in mountain biking and trail running have led to more attacks.
Both activities involve high-speed traveling that can startle bears and provoke them.
"It predisposes people to sudden encounters," he said.
He also said people intentionally or accidentally feeding bears can change their behavior and teach them that humans come with food. A hungry bear expecting food that doesn't receive it may attack.
Ultimately, he said it's important just to be aware and careful.
"America's a great place, but it isn't always as safe as we'd like," he said.
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