Father of toddler mauled to death by bear while hiking

Richard White, 49, father of 21-month-old daughter, killed while snapping photo of grizzly bear. Photo via Linkedin.

A 49-year-old father, from San Diego, California was mauled to death by a bear in the Denali National Park in Alaska last week while snapping photos of the enormous grizzly. Richard White was known to family and friends as an avid outdoors-man. He would often take trips to the secluded wilderness by himself, backpacking across the open tundra and forests.

Clues surrounding the details of the mauling emerged after state troopers recovered his camera. Photos of the incident were captured by White up until minutes before he was attacked. The pictures reveal a distracted grizzly bear, grazing in willows, said Denali Park Superintendent Paul Anderson. White reportedly took 26 pictures before the animal got spooked and noticed his presence. Hikers discovered White’s clothing and bloodied backpack and called park rangers.

Rangers flew into the area and discovered White’s body which was being closely protected by the bear, as if it were hunted prey. Rangers believe White got too close to the bear to be safe.  The bear has since been euthanized.

White leaves behind a wife and a 21-month-old daughter, Mona.

White’s father, Byron said of his son, “He had a real zest for seeing the phenomena in the world and interacting with people all over the globe.  He also liked hiking alone in these remote places. He enjoyed being out in the wilderness.”

Source: Radar Online