Montana hunter fends off grizzly by sticking arm into its throat

A hunter tracking elk in the Montana mountains said he fended off an attacking grizzly bear by shoving his arm into its throat to induce a gag reflex that would frighten it away, according to state wildlife managers. Chase Dellwo, 26, was hunting with a crossbow for elk with his brother in the rugged foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northwestern Montana on Saturday morning when he surprised a 400-pound (180-kg) male grizzly lumbering along a creek, said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Bruce Auchly. "It was startled, he was startled; the bear engaged in a defensive attack," he said on Monday. Dellwo later told wardens he crammed his arm crosswise into the back of the grizzly's jaws because he had read an article that said large animals have pronounced gag responses. Wildlife managers were not acquainted with the literature or purportedly excessive gag reflexes among the massive, hump-shouldered bruins, but Dellwo's action prompted the bear to break off its attack and lumber away, Auchly said...more