- Joined
- Mar 11, 2001
- Messages
- 70,011
- Reaction score
- 1,007
Idaho man saves son from bear attack, shoots animal with arrow
‘He’s bitten up pretty bad all over,’ father says
Idaho Statesman
10/1/02
Jason Koller is recuperating at Bannock Regional Medical Center in Pocatello with his father, Nolan, by his side. Photo by Heather Ainsworth / Idaho State Journal
POCATELLO — A Soda Springs man killed a large female black bear that was mauling his son by shooting the animal through the neck with an arrow Saturday.
“When you hear your son yelling for help, there´s only one thing going through your mind, and that´s, ´Get down there and save him,´ ” said Nolan Koller, the father of 29-year-old Jason Koller.
“It happened too fast to really think,” said Jason Koller, also of Soda Springs, who is recuperating at Bannock Regional Medical Center. “I was just hoping my dad could get there as quickly as possible, and he did. He saved me.”
Nolan Keller shot the bear from close range as it left his son and charged him. The arrow “stopped him in his tracks,” said Larry Hlavaty, a senior conservation officer with the Idaho Fish and Game Department.
“These guys are really good archers,” said Hlavaty, who investigated the attack. “But still, even at that, it was a darn lucky shot.”
Hlavaty said the bear weighed more than 200 pounds.
The Kollers were archery elk hunting at Stump Peak, near Lane´s Creek, northeast of Soda Springs, when the female and her yearling cubs encountered Jason Koller.
“The wind was in our favor, so there was no scent for the bear to pick up, and she just walked right into him,” Nolan Koller said.
“She was right there and nailed him,” Hlavaty said. “She swatted the bow out of his hand.”
Using a walkie-talkie, Jason Koller had told his father — who was uphill about 100 yards — moments before the attack that he had spotted the bears. When Nolan Koller heard his son yelling for help, he went sprinting down the hill “about as hard as I could go.”
When he arrived, the elder Koller said, the bear was on top of his son, mauling him.
Nolan Keller said he immediately thought, “I´ve got to kill her, and it´s got to be a good shot. It was a serious situation; a life-or-death situation.”
The Kollers said the attack occurred at about 8:30 a.m. Jason Koller was flown to Bannock Regional Medical Center by Life Flight at about 3 p.m.
Nolan Koller radioed a friend and that man´s young son, who were about half a mile away, for help. After a lengthy journey to get to their all-terrain vehicle, the four-wheeler flipped, Nolan Koller said. Even after the family friends were able to right the vehicle and restart it, they still faced a 2-mile trek over rough roads.
Luckily, the pair ran into police officers from Washington who were hunting in the area, and they went for help.
“He´s doing much better today,” Nolan Koller said of his son, who received several serious bite marks in his legs close to the femoral artery, and to his head and arms. “He´s bitten up pretty bad all over.”
Jason Koller had surgery Saturday and is expected to remain at Bannock Regional for few more days. “It will take a little while to recover, but I´ll live,” he said. “It could have been worse.”
‘He’s bitten up pretty bad all over,’ father says
Idaho Statesman
10/1/02
Jason Koller is recuperating at Bannock Regional Medical Center in Pocatello with his father, Nolan, by his side. Photo by Heather Ainsworth / Idaho State Journal
POCATELLO — A Soda Springs man killed a large female black bear that was mauling his son by shooting the animal through the neck with an arrow Saturday.
“When you hear your son yelling for help, there´s only one thing going through your mind, and that´s, ´Get down there and save him,´ ” said Nolan Koller, the father of 29-year-old Jason Koller.
“It happened too fast to really think,” said Jason Koller, also of Soda Springs, who is recuperating at Bannock Regional Medical Center. “I was just hoping my dad could get there as quickly as possible, and he did. He saved me.”
Nolan Keller shot the bear from close range as it left his son and charged him. The arrow “stopped him in his tracks,” said Larry Hlavaty, a senior conservation officer with the Idaho Fish and Game Department.
“These guys are really good archers,” said Hlavaty, who investigated the attack. “But still, even at that, it was a darn lucky shot.”
Hlavaty said the bear weighed more than 200 pounds.
The Kollers were archery elk hunting at Stump Peak, near Lane´s Creek, northeast of Soda Springs, when the female and her yearling cubs encountered Jason Koller.
“The wind was in our favor, so there was no scent for the bear to pick up, and she just walked right into him,” Nolan Koller said.
“She was right there and nailed him,” Hlavaty said. “She swatted the bow out of his hand.”
Using a walkie-talkie, Jason Koller had told his father — who was uphill about 100 yards — moments before the attack that he had spotted the bears. When Nolan Koller heard his son yelling for help, he went sprinting down the hill “about as hard as I could go.”
When he arrived, the elder Koller said, the bear was on top of his son, mauling him.
Nolan Keller said he immediately thought, “I´ve got to kill her, and it´s got to be a good shot. It was a serious situation; a life-or-death situation.”
The Kollers said the attack occurred at about 8:30 a.m. Jason Koller was flown to Bannock Regional Medical Center by Life Flight at about 3 p.m.
Nolan Koller radioed a friend and that man´s young son, who were about half a mile away, for help. After a lengthy journey to get to their all-terrain vehicle, the four-wheeler flipped, Nolan Koller said. Even after the family friends were able to right the vehicle and restart it, they still faced a 2-mile trek over rough roads.
Luckily, the pair ran into police officers from Washington who were hunting in the area, and they went for help.
“He´s doing much better today,” Nolan Koller said of his son, who received several serious bite marks in his legs close to the femoral artery, and to his head and arms. “He´s bitten up pretty bad all over.”
Jason Koller had surgery Saturday and is expected to remain at Bannock Regional for few more days. “It will take a little while to recover, but I´ll live,” he said. “It could have been worse.”
