"My daughter’s eyes were as big as saucers and she was elbowing me in the ribs," Glenden re-called.
His sweet, talkative eight-year-old daughter stood frozen and quiet where they were set up to hunt deer.
As Kelley turned away from his daughter, he caught a glimpse of the animal.
"We’re setting up in the woods, and a bear came out on the right side of us," he said.
Nested behind trees and positioned for deer hunting, he aimed his rifle and shot the bear – in one quick motion. Then, it ran towards them.
"The bear ran to us and he came over the ridge and it tipped him over and he fell," he said after firing a shot at him.
"It didn’t directly charge us, but it moved quick," he recalled.
"You can’t outrun one," he added.
Eventually the enormous black bear fell dead at their feet. Although the bear hadn’t come close enough to touch them, Kelley found he had a slight injury to the back.
"My daughter put claw marks in my back," he recalled. "She was holding onto me tight."
She stood behind him. It took four friends to help lift the 520-pound bear into a truck. The taxi-dermist measured the bear at seven feet, five inches, and its skin measured just under 22 inches.
According to Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Biologist Adam Hammond, the largest black bear in Georgia weighed 581-pounds and was killed by a vehicle in Union County in 1992.
While the bear population remains uncertain in Gordon County, it is the season for bears.
“We have actually seen more and more bears harvested,” he said. “There’s a healthy bear popu-lation in Georgia, and the population is growing and expanding.”
Seven bears have been killed in Gordon County over the past two years, said Hammond.
“Three were hit by vehicles and four were killed during hunting season,” he added.
Kelley is part of Gordon County Game and Fish Hunting Club, located in the northeast corner of Gordon County near Carter’s Lake, and has been a hunter for years. Hunting is also a hobby he uses to bond with his children.
"’This was our first kill together,’ were the first words out of her mouth," said Kelley.
She was jumping up and down, he recalled.
Since then they’ve continued to hunt … even returning to the same spot.
Shaylan is proud of her dad.
"Now, I know they can’t hurt me anymore," she said.
While the interaction with the bear was sudden, it’ll remain a lasting memory.
"She told me I was her lucky charm," he said in the aftermath.
“I just smiled back at her,” he said.
Lydia Senn contributed to this story
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