It was against a macabre backdrop that Saturday’s bear-mauling conference took place at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

In front of more than 100 medical professionals, students and forest workers, several bear-mauling experts showed photos of massive wounds that people suffered from tangling with the kings of the forest.

The theme of the Association of Surgical Technologists conference was “Bear Maulings: Before and After.”

The “after” portion included pictures, taken when the patients were stabilized in Kalispell, that showed the many lacerations and puncture wounds that an angry or hungry grizzly bear can inflict. 

Dr. Larry Iwersen, an orthopedic surgeon in Kalispell for 26 years, said the initial appraisal of wounds can hide some serious problems.

“Mauling wounds are deeper than they appear,” he said. “Grizzly bears have those curved claws that can puncture deep. That’s why we need to explore the full depth of the wounds.”

From 1988 to 2013 in Northwest Montana, there have been 29 bear attacks requiring 21 hospitalizations. Three people died by bear mauling during that time frame. Most attacks come when hikers are out in full force in July, August and September.

Most bear attacks are not due to predation or territorial aggression, but rather — as people near bear territory have learned for centuries — from bears protecting cubs. Thus, a bear might take a bite or claw the scalp but leave the victim alone once the perceived threat has been neutralized. 

Even if a bear doesn’t decide to kill, however, the threat is far from over after the attack ends.

“There is a lot of bacteria in their mouths,” Iwersen said of bear maws. “From samples we took there is 10 or 15 different cultures — some real nasty bacteria and many pathogenic ones.”

As one of the pre-eminent bear-bite experts in the world, Iwersen’s words came with experience. He had personally overseen the treatment of many of Montana’s bear-mauling victims.

Even after all he’s seen, the closeness many victims come to death continues to astound Iwersen. The lacerations and punctures, while extremely painful, often tend to miss major organs and arteries, sometimes by mere millimeters. 

Gary Moses, a Glacier Park ranger for 23 years, detailed how difficult it can be for rescuers to save victims.

In detail he went over the case of Johan and Jenna Otter, a California father and daughter who were violently attacked by a grizzly and painstakingly flown out of Glacier on the ALERT helicopter.

Because of the speed and violence of grizzly bears (and, to a far lesser extent, black bears), Moses, Iwersen and others espoused the practicality of carrying bear spray to fend off some of the more aggressive ursine residents of Glacier National Park.

“A fatal shot to a bear could still have it run another 80 feet before it knows it is dead,” Moses said. “If you are in its path, a gun might not be enough to avoid harm coming to you. The first line of defense should be your brain, then bear spray, then guns.”

For the scores of people in attendance, many of whom were familiar with dangerous situations or at least how to treat the aftermath, the lessons imparted were simple but held extra weight in front of the bloody injuries bears can cause in a matter of seconds.

Some of the lessons: Respect bears in their habitat, don’t try to get close to take photos, carry bear spray readily accessible, make noise on trails and try to travel in groups.

Hikers in Glacier National Park using these techniques could reduce an already low incident rate of one bear attack per 1.3 million visitors. 

The conference included talks by other health-care providers, rescuers and one bear-mauling survivor.

Saturday’s conference was spearheaded by Kalispell Regional Medical Center surgical technologists Cara Boka and Marsha Lyles for the Montana State Assembly of the Association of Surgical Technologists.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.