Depending on where you are in the Rockies this year, the annual summer bear season could mean black-bear sightings in your front yard or a near-death experience while looking through the jaws of a hungry bear.

Already, the list of bear attacks across the Rockies this summer is beginning to mount.

On Saturday morning, a bear attacked a homeless man sleeping in Durango near the Animas River. The man survived, but the bear didn’t after Colorado Division of Wildlife officials turned their guns on it after the attack. A necropsy of the bear’s carcass was completed at CSU.

Last Thursday, a bear broke into a home in Bailey, southwest of Denver, biting a man.

Other bears have been sighted plundering porches and backyards in Livermore and Rist Canyon.

In the past month, bears have turned outright hostile in New Mexico, where they’ve developed an affinity for tents and a taste for the people sleeping in them.

“They’re coming down and acting kind of aggressive right now,” said Dan Williams, spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

New Mexico wildlife officials killed a bear at the end of June after it jumped on a tent and took a swipe at the man sleeping in it at Philmont Boy Scout Ranch, a 137,000-acre camping and backpacking ranch just south of the Colorado state line west of Raton.

There were two more incidents there: The same day, another bear was found with a goat in its mouth, and a Philmont staffer killed it. On Wednesday, a bear bit a 14-year-old Boy Scout through his tent, leaving a deep gash in his head.

“It kind of peeled back the scalp there,” Williams said.

Both campers who were attacked were carefully following strict bear-safety protocols in place at Philmont, he said.

Those incidents followed another in June when a bear swatted a man tent-camping in the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque.

But all the ursine nastiness in some parts of the West doesn’t mean there’s anything unusual going on this year, particularly in Colorado and Wyoming.

Bear activity is quite normal throughout Colorado, DOW spokesman Tyler Baskfield said.

The bears’ habitat is normal and healthy, he said, and there is no sign of increased bear sightings or attacks in any localized area, he said.

“We haven’t noticed anything that is different than we’ve seen in years when there’s decent, natural food,” said Ken Wilson, a professor of wildlife and conservation biology at Colorado State University.

“A bear has been into some trash cans in Rist Canyon,” he said. “One bear can decide it’s going to get into something, (but) it’s not all of them.”

Few bears have been seen at all in southern Wyoming, where wildlife officials consider black-bear habitat and natural food supply excellent, said Al Langston, spokesman for the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish.

In New Mexico, dry weather hurt the bears’ food supply and dried out the forbs and grass that usually get black bears through the spring.

The lack of food there is so dire that this year’s number of bear attacks hasn’t been seen in New Mexico for almost a decade, Williams said.

There are plenty of things homeowners and backcountry adventurers can do to keep bears away.

For people camping in the mountains, store food in bear-resistant containers away from your sleeping area, Wilson said.

The best way to keep plundering bears away from homes is to keep birdseed, trash and other potential food sources inside where bears can’t have easy access to them, Baskfield said.

“There’s no reason to feed birds this time of year” because natural bird food is plentiful, he said.

And, he warned city dwellers, just because you might live in Fort Collins doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep your home bear resistant.

“We get bears who wander into Fort Collins on a regular basis,” he said.

via List of bear attacks this summer grows | coloradoan.com | The Coloradoan.

WEST MILFORD — The female bear hunted by New Jersey wildlife officials since it attacked a West Milford man and his dog on June 24 in Norvin Green State Park was trapped and euthanized Thursday night near where the incident occurred, the state Department of Environmental Protection said today.

The 188-pound, female bruin was caught at about 4:45 p.m. near a West Milford home where it had been causing new problems, said DEP spokesman Lawrence Ragonese, explaining the bear had just ripped into a chicken coop at the house before it ran into the baited, culvert trap set up by wildlife officials days earlier. The bear had three, six-month-old cubs which authorities said should be able to survive on their own.

“We had two previous aggressive incidents with this bear, and when it was caught it was being aggressive again. It was euthanized,” Ragonese said, adding that ten aggressive bears have been put down by wildlife officials and police this year.

The hiker was knocked down, but not seriously injured in the June 24 incident, and his dog is recovering from its wounds. The attack prompted a portion of the park to be closed and the postponement of a local fireworks display as authorities searched for the bruin.

via Bear who attacked West Milford hiker is captured, euthanized | NJ.com.

The wife and daughter of a Park Ridge man fatally mauled by a grizzly bear in Wyoming voiced anger today at a research team that snared and collared the bear involved in last week’s attack.

Countering authorities’ account of the mauling, the family of Erwin Evert says he knew little about what the research team was doing and did not go looking for the team’s trap site during the hike that ended with his death.

“He just knew they were doing some sort of research. He had no idea they were going to be baiting, trapping and collaring bears in our backyard,” said his daughter, Mara Evert Domingue of Louisiana.

“If he had known that, he never would have walked up that trail.”

The danger should have been more clearly marked, his family said.

For weeks before the attack, a yellow ribbon warned about a dangerous bear along the trail Evert walked, his family said. But there were no other warning signs, and Evert and his neighbors were never told specifically about the activities of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, a group of state and federal agencies that monitor the local bears, his family said.

Evert did not go past the warning ribbon before the day of the attack, said his widow, Yolanda Evert. She said she isn’t sure where her husband encountered the bear, but she said she doesn’t think he would have disregarded the warning and walked past the tape.

“He was curious about it, but he wouldn’t go beyond that. He stayed on the trail,” she said.

Authorities have said the research team collared a 430-pound male bear and left the area near Yellowstone National Park about two miles from Evert’s cabin around 1 p.m. June 17. Evert went for a walk just before 1 p.m. and was found dead hours later. A sharpshooter later killed the bear from a helicopter.

Scott Steward, the sheriff of Park County, Wyo., said Evert questioned the bear research team and was “very inquisitive about their work.” Evert told a friend he planned to look for the trap site, Steward said.

“We’re not dealing with a case where someone didn’t know (the trap site) was there,” the sheriff said Wednesday. “The victim definitely knew it was there.”

via Family: Botanist killed by bear not aware of full danger – Chicago Breaking News.

A B.C. man is recovering from shock after narrowly avoiding a grizzly bear attack in Robson Valley, southeast of Prince George.

Leon Lorenz, a wildlife filmmaker from Dunster, had been following grizzly bear tracks and filming the animals feeding in the forested area for the last six weeks. Last Monday afternoon, he spotted a mother bear with her back to him about 23 metres away. He immediately put his camera down and started recording.

Lorenz said he had moved his camera slightly to get a better view. That was when the 400-pound bear caught his scent.

She sniffed the air, then turned around and looked right at him, he said. She quickly wheeled around a spruce tree about four metres away, and reappeared with her cub behind her, roaring and charging at high speed toward Lorenz.

The critical events after that, said Lorenz, occurred in about 20 seconds.

He remembers instinctively throwing his camera into wide-angle mode so it would capture all the action, before whipping out his handgun to fire a warning shot.

“I was blinded because she was zigzagging in and out between the trees — I didn’t know if she was going to come at me from the right or the left,” he said. “I had no target.”

Lorenz aimed high and pulled the trigger — right when the bear came crashing through the branches several feet away. Spooked, she turned back around with her cub and ran off, said Lorenz.

“If I had waited a split-second later, she would have had me,” he said. “She was a blur, going by me, she was so fast. Even if I had hit her, her momentum would have carried her forward. She was running on so much adrenalin, she would have made sure I was dead before she died, and her cub probably would have attacked, too.”

He said he has filmed this particular grizzly twice before — once at 18 metres apart, another at 45 metres.

Both times, he was able to stay out of sight so that even when the bear could smell him, she had no way of locating him.

Lorenz, a father of two sons, said he has encountered many bears before in his 19 years of filmmaking in the wild, but he has never been attacked by them. This was the first time he has had to use his handgun to protect himself. “God’s hand was on that gun,” he said. “The timing couldn’t have been more perfect — she was out to kill me.”

via Filmmaker fends off grizzly attack with handgun.

Some of you might remember that I have said previously that every year in the Cody, WY area there is one or more human versus grizzly encounters. Here is the current one thanks to KULR 8 News television broadcasting from Billings, MT. This is my “backyard” and part of where I have hunted for the last 30 years.

(Story Updated: Jun 18, 2010 at 1:24 PM MDT )

Press Release from Park County Sheriff’s Department:

At approximately 6:48 PM on June 17th the Park County Sheriff’s Office was notified that a subject had possibly been mauled and killed by a grizzly bear in the Kitty Creek Drainage located in the Shoshone National Forest west of Cody.

The victim, 70 year old Erwin Frank Evert of Cody was reported missing by his wife to Chad Dickinson, a member of the USGS Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) based out of Bozeman. Dickinson and his team were working within the Kitty Creek Drainage snaring grizzly bears for research. Dickinson rode back up Kitty Creek to an area where earlier they had caught a large adult male grizzly. Once at the capture sight, Dickinson found Evert dead as a result of fatal injuries caused by an encounter with the bear.

At approximately 8:30 PM Wardens of the Wyoming Game and Fish and a Park County Sheriff’s Deputy located Evert approximately 2 miles from the road in a remote rugged area. Park County Sheriff Search and Rescue was called in and Evert’s body was removed while Wardens provided armed security. The recovery was completed at approximately 12:18am on June 18th.

At this time it appears that members of IGBST had captured the bear and tranquilized the bear for research purposes, put a radio collar on the bear and then packed up their equipment and left the area. At some point Evert wandered into the capture area where he was fatally wounded. Evert was not armed nor was he carrying bear spray.

On June 18th The US Forest Service issued a closure order for the Kitty Creek Drainage. Game Wardens, US Fish and Wildlife Agents and USFS Law Enforcement Agents are diligently searching the area for the bear with the aid of an electronic tracking device. If located the fate of the bear will be determined by US Fish and Wildlife Agents.

via Bear attacks again | Field & Stream.

In the aftermath of a bear attack in Far North Bicentennial Park, state wildlife biologists continued Wednesday urging city officials to close the Rover's Run trail to prevent more human-bear encounters.

Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan said the city has no intention of doing that, arguing that people should use their own judgment rather than the city stepping in and declaring the trail off-limits.

“It really becomes a good common sense thing for the public to use their good common sense when an area has been identified … when there's potential danger there,” he said.

The city has closed Rover's Run the past two summers after two bear maulings in the summer of 2008 and continuing concerns over bear encounters there. Other government agencies that manage land in Alaska, including state and federal parks, regularly have closed trails or sections of parks because of bear danger.

Black bears and the occasional grizzly are seen from time to time on trails throughout Bicentennial Park, as well as other areas of the Hillside, but Rover's Run has been problematic the past three summers. Spawning salmon in the South Fork of Campbell Creek have long attracted bears, and the narrow, bumpy dirt trail, which winds alongside the creek, can make it easy for people to surprise the animals.

Rick Sinnott, the Anchorage area biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, thinks people should avoid Rover's Run, and said he's having trouble understanding the city's rationale for not posting signs making the trail off-limits.

“The city closes trails all the time,” he said.

Tuesday morning, a 45-year-old man riding his bike to work was attacked by a grizzly sow with a cub at the east end of the trail. The bicyclist suffered a torn ear and puncture wounds to his calf, but was able to ride to the Alaska Native Medical Center for treatment. Sinnott said the biker surprised the bear, and that Fish and Game has no plans to go after the animal because it wasn't acting aggressively.

Two people were mauled in separate incidents on Rover’s Run in the summer of 2008, including a 15-year-old mountain biker who was badly mauled by a grizzly near where this week’s attack occurred.

The 2008 attacks led the city to immediately close the trail. That decision carried over to last year when the trail was shut down again for the summer, Sinnott said.

This year, under Sullivan, who took office last summer, the city changed course. Sinnott said he was in talks with the city to again close Rovers’ Run starting June 10 but that didn’t happen.

Sullivan said in an interview Wednesday that he thinks a bright colored warning sign telling people of the recent encounter is adequate. He also says the city doesn’t have the ability to enforce a closure.

Sinnott said not closing the trail is confounding to him. “Ship Creek Trail is closed because of an erosion problem,” he said. Similarly, he said, a foot bridge across Campbell Creek near where this week’s attack occurred has had a sign saying it was closed until further notice, Sinnott said. It’s ironic, he said, that the city would close the bridge but now choose to leave Rover’s Run open.

“It seems like an ideological argument, ‘We’re not going to let the bears push us around,’ ” he said.

“Some people have the theory that if you cede territory to the bears, then the bears will get bolder, and they’ll take it over.

“There’s no reason to believe that,” he said. The bears are drawn to city streams because that’s where salmon are, he said. Putting people in their paths won’t necessarily make them go away, he said. Closing the trail won’t necessarily keep people off it, he noted. But it does send a strong message that there’s potential danger in the area, he said.

There is an idea to build a new trail 100 to 200 yards south of Rover’s Run so trail users can still cross the park and link up to its northwest corner, and Sinnott said he supports that.

A recent telephone survey conducted for Fish and Game found 63 percent of Anchorage residents say it is acceptable to have brown bears in Far North Bicentennial park. The survey found 89 percent said they support temporary closures of trails at times when the risk of encountering a brown bear in the area is high.

State and federal land managers in Alaska regularly close trails when there are potential dangers, spokespeople say.

Tom Harrison, superintendent of the Chugach State Park, said it’s a subjective call. “If we anticipate a high-risk situation we will probably err on the one side (of caution),” he said.

“However,” he said, “there are bears in the woods.”

This year, the park hasn’t closed any parts or trails because of bears, Harrison said. But last year, it closed an area of Bird Point because of reports of an aggressive bear. The Albert Loop near the Eagle River Nature Center has been permanently closed in the summer for years because of a history of maulings, he said.

Morgan Warthin, spokeswoman for the National Park Service in Alaska, said closing decisions are made by park superintendents. On Tuesday, a backcountry unit in Denali National Park was temporarily closed because a bear ripped a tent, she said.

Sullivan said city parks are not state or national parks.

“Do we want our urban parks to be brown bear sanctuaries or do we want them to be places where people can recreate? … I think (that) is what the purpose of these parks were when they were created, as well as the trails.”

Sullivan said the city needs to critically examine the state’s effort to reintroduce salmon into the city’s waterways. Those fish, he said, are bringing bears into the city.

Read more: http://www.adn.com/2010/06/16/1327231/bear-conflicts-create-dispute.html#ixzz0r5f9CBo9

via Bear encounters create dispute over trail status: Bears in Alaska | adn.com.

“At what point do you say, this is not good policy? This is a city first. It’s not a wildlife viewing area. It’s not a sanctuary. It is first and foremost an urban environment,” he said.

VAIL — Justin Young was hoping he'd see a bear while working in the Vail Valley this summer, but he never wanted to see one as close as he did last Friday.

Young, 25, was working for his father's construction business at a home in the 1500 block of Spring Hill Lane in East Vail when he took a break and took a stroll behind the home around 9 a.m. The next thing he knew he was about 20 feet from a black bear that he said weighed about 400 pounds.

“I spooked him,” Young said. “He immediately charged at me.”

Young, who lives in Florida full-time, said he feels incredibly fortunate to have survived the encounter. The bear hit him on the side of his head and again on the left side of his body before Young fell down. The bear knocked him out, he said, and when he regained consciousness the bear was gone. He got up and ran back to the house and told his coworkers what happened.

Young doubts his coworkers would have believed him if it wasn't for the bear hair.

“They assumed I fell down the stairs and was full of it, until they saw I was covered in bear hair,” Young said.

He walked away with some cuts and bruises, and a nasty black eye, but that was it.

His parents, Chuck and Terry Young, of Eagle, saw pictures of their son's cuts and bruises from his cell phone camera that morning. Terry Young said she got a picture message that said her son had quite the story to tell her.

“Now he has a whole new respect for bears,” Terry Young said.

Justin Young said he's pretty sure he scared the bear because it was facing away from him as he approached it. The bear reacted and went on the defensive, he said.

“I'm very fortunate the bear was on the defensive and not the offensive,” Justin Young said.

After the bear hit him once near his left eye and temple, he put up his arm to protect himself. The bear got a pretty good scratch at his left arm, and that's when Justin Young thinks he was knocked out.

He said he thinks his lifeless body as he laid there unconscious was what saved him. If he continued to fight back and try to protect himself, he said the bear may have done even more damage.

“It's probably good he knocked me out,” Justin Young said. “I'm glad I wasn't conscious for it.”

Justin Young said he has a lot of bruises and scratches on his body, too, which makes him think the bear continued to smack him around a bit while he was unconscious. He said the Division of Wildlife officer who responded to the scene told him a bear that size could exert 1,000 pounds of force.

The Vail Police Department responded to the call along with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Justin Young said he refused an ambulance ride to the hospital because he felt fine and doesn't have health insurance.

“Now that it's done and over with, and I know that I'm not going to die from it, it's kind of a cool story,” Justin Young said.

Randy Hampton, spokesman for the Division of Wildlife, said the agency tracked the bear for more than 12 hours Friday and could see the bear a few times but couldn't catch him. They tracked him with hound dogs but lost the scent when the bear's trail led across asphalt, a surface much harder for dogs to smell.

“Any situation in Colorado where we deal with an aggressive animal injuring a person, the policy is typically that the animal is going to be put down,” Hampton said.

Hampton said that while it's not exactly common to hear of a bear attacking or charging at a person, it does happen several times a year in Colorado. There were three incidents last year in the Aspen-area alone where people were physically injured by bears, he said.

“That being said, it's more common to get attacked by your neighbor's dog than a bear,” Hampton said.

Hampton said he didn't have information on the size or sex of the bear that attacked Justin Young. He said 400 pounds sounds pretty large, though, for a black bear this time of year.

“What we find is that most often, because of their hair and how much hair they have it makes them appear much larger,” Hampton said. “Guessing the weight of a bear is extremely difficult.”

via Bear attacks man in East Vail | VailDaily.com.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTVA-CBS 11 News)

The bear attack on Rover's Run is a reminder of what happens when people encounter bears. But is our city being proactive in protecting us from bears on the trails?

Although officials are saying Tuesday's mauling at Far North Bicentennial Park was minor, they do admit that it could have ended a lot worse.

They say it's time to explore what other options are out there to keep residents safe from bear attacks.

“I had to use bear spray to get my way out of a sow with some cubs and called 911,” said Rep. Charisse Millett, R-Anchorage, who had a dangerous encounter with bears before. 911 dispatchers told her they don't respond to bear attacks. “They said if the bears are threatening you and you are in dire straights we'll respond. I said with all due respect, at that point I am not going to be able to call you,” she said.

Millett says that flaw in the system is one of many in a city where so many people use trails that bring them face to face with bears that flock towards the salmon streams.

“We stock the streams and we get upset when bears come to feed,” said Millett. “We are creating our problems by stocking the streams. There is a whole group of people who love to fish and there is a whole bunch of people who love to view wildlife and there is a whole lot of people in Anchorage who like to use the trails.”

“Most of those encounter areas are places where people live or play everyday but there are also

Advertisement

bears there,” said Rick Sinnott, a wildlife biologist, for the state Fish and Game.

In light of Tuesday's mauling, Fish and Game biologists strongly recommended closing down Rover's Run until they figured out the series of events that led to the attack.

“That's what we are hoping to avoid–situations where you've got a trail where we've had encounters before,” said Sinnott. “People have been mauled before. It seems like those situations for a few months in the summer time with all the other hundreds of miles of trails in town that those few miles of trails could be closed.”

But with the trails under the city's control, state officials say the municipality needs to work with them to come up with other options.

“Let's do a good job of marking our trails, and then when you go use the trails, file a trail plan,” said Millett.

“Relocate the real trail, the real Rover's Run, a little bit further away from the creek, so people have a safer place to exercise, run and stuff.”

A plan that could work two-fold for everyone's safety, to keep bears away from the trails while also keeping people away from the bears.

“Right now the bears are using it, they are fishing for salmon there, if you put a new trail in there you are kind of asking for these kind of maulings,” said Sinnott.

Sinnott says another idea is to make Rover's Run an winter-use only trail, when the bears are hibernating. Officials say this tactic has proved successful with the Albert's Loop Trail in Eagle River.

City officials say they're going to put up multiple signs around Rover's Run and encourage folks to check out their bear aware site.

via Protection Against Bear Attacks – KTVA.

NELSON – A recent bear attack on a four-year-old girl and her grandmother in their yard has prompted a call for diligence.

Conservation officer Len Butler killed the mature male black bear after it clawed Nine Mile resident Jane Tillotson and visiting granddaughter Megan Chapple.

The young girl required six to eight stitches on her leg following the Aug. 24 attack.

“I was babysitting my granddaughters, who are four and six, and we went out to work in my vegetable garden,” Tillotson said.

“We'd been there for maybe 15 or 20 minutes making lots of noise. My littlest granddaughter just yelled for me and I turned and looked at her and a big bear was right behind her.

“The bear swiped at her and cut the back of her calf so she fell. It looked like that bear was going to bite her.”

Tillotson said she scooped up Megan and slowly backed away from the bear with her other granddaughter right behind her.

The bear swiped at the child again, scratching Megan's belly and — though she didn't feel it at the time — Tillotson's thigh.

“I was just shrieking hysterically at the top of my lungs,” said Tillotson. “It was probably no more than a few seconds but it seemed like forever to me [before] it stopped and ambled out of the garden.”

Butler said he doesn't think the attack was predatory in nature.

“Basically the bear was there to get something to eat and these people were in the way,” he said. ” If the bear wanted to kill the little girl, [it] could have.”

When he arrived at the home, Butler said he found a “fairly large” black bear in the neighbour's compost. He had his dog chase the bear into a tree where it was shot.

Garth Mowat, the B.C. Environment Ministry's senior wildlife biologist for the Kootenay region, said it's rare for a black bear to attack and knew of only one other human-related attack by a bear in the past 18 months. “I've not heard of black bears attacking people over food very often,” he said. “There might have been something else going on.”

Mowat suggested the bear may have been afraid or it took the child for a dog that was bothering it.

A few days after the attack, Nelson police shot a black bear hunkered down in a residential area along a road frequented by school children.

Part of the problem, say wildlife experts, is people leaving garbage and compost accessible to bears.

Butler said conservation officers will be issuing more wildlife protection orders to clear garbage, compost and fallen fruit. People who don't comply could be fined $345.

via Public warned after bear attacks girl, woman.

(June — Jim Cole knew he had to get up and get moving.

After unknowingly stepping on a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park in May 2007, Cole was knocked down and mauled by the mother bear. Bloodied and severely injured, though he didn’t know how badly at the time, Cole had to flee to survive.

“I just knew I had to get right up off the turf,” the photographer, who has studied grizzlies for many years, recalled in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show this morning. “I knew that if I sat there for one minute, I’d be dead.”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The attack happened in the park’s Hayden Valley in a wide-open, off-trail area. It’s the subject of Cole’s new book, “Blindsided: Surviving a Grizzly Attack and Still Loving the Great Bear.”

It was not the first time Cole was attacked by a grizzly — he was mauled by one in 1993. Still, he believes they are smart, inquisitive and calm. The two attacks happened when the bear saw him first.

“I’ve never had a problem when I’ve seen the bear first,” Cole said.

“I apparently walked right on her without knowing it,” he said of the 2007 attack. “And she was on me — bing! — she was on me real quick. She drove me into the ground like a linebacker driving a running back into the ground.”

Cole, who was 57 at the time, tried to get his bear spray from his belt but couldn’t reach it. The bear was attacking his face with her claws.

“She raked, actually raked my face off,” said Cole, an eye patch over his left eye. “Had she been using her mouth, I wouldn’t be here doing this interview.”

Cole, a photographer who has written other books on grizzlies, said he had no time to react. “I was at her mercy,” he said. “If she had wanted me dead, I would be dead. I had absolutely no chance. None.”

He believes the bear was protecting her cub. “Most grizzly bear attacks are defensive,” he said. “They’re bigger, they’re faster, they’re stronger than us. If they wanted to be killing us and stalking us, they could be.”

Alone in the valley miles from his van, Cole could “just barely see the sunlight” through his injured right eye. “So I followed the sun out,” he said, hiking about three miles to come within 50 yards of the road, where passersby found him.

He had hours of surgery to repair his face. A friend said he was unable to speak, breathing through a ventilator and attached to a feeding tube. “He’s lucky to be alive,” longtime friend Rich Berman said at the time of the attack.

Cole, who said he’s back out in the field and is “almost 100 percent,” described his life’s work.

“My mission is to educate people about bears so they understand the true nature of bears,” he said. “Attacks are defensive and they’re not out there stalking us, and they’re peace-loving animals and they’re just the most fascinating, interesting animals I’ve ever known.”

via Twice-Mauled Grizzly Photographer Jim Cole Still Loves His Subject – AOL News.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The 2010 bear season is here, and so far the bears are paying the price for encounters with humans in the Anchorage area.

On Friday, an Eagle River homeowner killed a young black bear that sneaked into a chicken coop and killed a bird. This occurred hours after a different bear “mouthed” the leg of a girl at a neighborhood playground near Elmendorf Air Force Base.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says so far six young bears have been shot in the municipality of Anchorage – most of them in Eagle River – over roughly the past two weeks.

The attack on the chicken occurred at about 10 p.m. Friday, as George Drummond sat dozing in front of the television at his home. A neighbor banged on his door and told him there was a bear in his coop.

Drummond, 62, looked outside to see a 150-pound black bear eating his favorite chicken, an Araucana named Goldie.

Drummond said he picked up a garden hose, set it on “jet” and sprayed.

“I was squirting it in the head and the face, and it just looked at me,” he said.

He then fired his tiny .25-caliber handgun four times into the ground to scare the animal away. The bear moved toward his neighbor, Drummond said.

“It kind of made an advance towards him. So he gave it a couple shots with the .45,” he said.

Dying, the bear crossed the road where Drummond said he killed it with two more gun shots from the .25.

A ranger also shot a black bear at the Eagle River Nature Center on Friday, said Department of Fish and Game area biologist Greg Sinnott. “It was trying to get in all the doors and couldn't be driven away.”

A black bear also reportedly walked up to four girls at a playground in the Moose Crossing military housing between Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson, said Elmendorf Deputy Public Affairs Officer Stephen Lee.

“Three of them, I'm told, hit the ground, to kind of just play dead,” Lee said.

The fourth girl stood and talked to the bear, “Trying to make herself as big as possible to scare the bear away,” he said.

The bear, which looked to be about 3 years old, approached one of the girls who was laying down and “mouthed” her leg, Lee said.

The girl screamed and the bear split, running for the woods.

The girl had a mark on her leg but no puncture wounds.

Military wildlife agents searched for the animal but couldn't find it, Lee said.

Playing dead is normally considered a last resort and isn’t a good idea with all bears, said Valerie Connor, conservation director for the Alaska Center for the Environment.

The theory is if attacked by a black bear, fight back, but curl into a ball and protect your neck from brown bears.

via Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – Alaska bears paying price for human encounters.

Link

BOISE, Idaho (AP) State wildlife managers say they used DNA to locate a radio-collared grizzly bear that attacked an Idaho Falls hunter near Harriman State Park in June.

The state Department of Fish and Game says saliva left on one of the victim’s bite marks was matched earlier this month to a FEMAle grizzly traveling with three cubs in the same area where the attack occurred.

Keith Klingler, 38, was bitten in the right arm when he and two other black bear hunters came across the grizzly June 28. He was treated for lacerations at a hospital in Rexburg.

The hunters were tracking black bears near the Bishop Mountain area of the Harriman State Park.

Wardens say one of the hunters fired a shot during the attack, but the grizzly was found unharmed.

Link

Jogger survives bear attack

June 10, 2009 11:40am

A JOGGER who was jumped from behind by two agitated grizzly bears on an isolated national park trail seems to have had a lucky escape.

The man – Thomas Nerison, 60, from Kalispell in far north of the US state of Montana – was bitten twice on the leg by one of the bears in a remote area of the Glacier National Park which straddles the US-Canadian border.

Mr Nerison told park rangers he was bitten about 9.45am on Sunday when two grizzly bears charged up from behind while he was jogging on the Lake McDonald Valley Trail on the park’s western side.

He said the bears appeared to be running from something that startled them.

Mr Nerison was able to walk to a nearby road, got a ride from a visitor back to his own car and then drove himself to the hospital.

His wife, Doreen Nerison, said her husband had emergency surgery at Kalispell Regional Medical Center after a grizzly bit him Sunday morning on the calf and thigh of his right leg.

While Mr Nerison was released from hospital Monday night, Ms Nerison said her husband’s doctor had told him he would likely undergo a second operation on Wednesday.

Ms Nerison said her husband had been wearing heavy running tights, which may have prevented the bear from taking a big chunk out of his leg.

She said the bear pierced his calf and his thigh.

“He’s lucky to have had so few injuries,” she said.

During an interview after the incident, Mr Nerison reporedly told a ranger that he normally carried bear spray.

However, he did not have bear spray with him that day when he encountered the bears.

Park rangers are investigating the incident and, based on their findings, park managers will determine whether any further actions will be taken.

Link

Bear Attacks And How To Avoid Them

Link

Bear wanders into Camarillo [Updated]

8:36 AM | May 6, 2009

Residents of a Camarillo apartment complex received an unexpected visitor this morning: a bear.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department received a report at about 5 a.m. that a large brown bear had been spotted wandering through a densely populated part of town, said Capt. Bill Ayub.

Sheriff’s deputies followed the bear into the Avalon Camarillo Apartment complex in the 1500 block of Flynn Road, where they corralled the animal until shortly before 8 a.m. when wardens from the California Department of Fish and Game shot it with a tranquilizer dart, Ayub said.

Residents were advised to remain in their apartments until the animal had been taken away. [Updated at 8:50 a.m.: The 300-pound male was being trucked to a wilderness area in the hills to be released, Ayub said.]

It was not immediately clear where the bear had come from, but Ayub said it probably emerged from a creek bed about half a mile away and wandered into Camarillo in search of food.

“It was pretty far into town, though,” he said.

Link

Bear goes to lunch on Metro Parkway

FWC to trap and relocate wild animal

By Rachel Myers
rmyers@news-press.com

• Photos: Black bear spotted in south Fort Myers

Home-hunting had caused him to work up quite an appetite. 

After meandering the streets a while, he found a cozy haunt in the shade, where a bag of salty Lays potato chips hit the spot.

But anyone would get self-conscious with a crowd gathering to watch you dine. 

Too bad the spot was inside a Dumpster, the streets were busy and he was a 6-foot, 150-pound black bear wandering just off Metro Parkway. 

“He jumped in the Dumpster, grabbed a bag and jumped out,” said Dan Peterson, manager of Caloosa Tent & Rental Dumpster. “He brought it to the woods and then jumped back in. Once the police showed up, he took off. It was as if he recognized the uniforms.”

Experts with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission say their approach is typically hands-off. But after seeing the bear’s boldness and lack of fear toward people, the decision was made to trap and relocate him.

“This bear has obviously been fed,” said Gary Morse, FWC spokesman. “It’s a shame, because it often leads to nuisance behaviors, and I hate to say it but people need to know: A fed bear is a dead bear. Once they learn these behaviors, it’s very difficult to get them to behave normally.”

The bears are rarely aggressive, Morse said. But if a bear has been fed by humans, it loses its fear and will come dangerously close. 

The Metro Parkway sighting and another reported later Monday on Franklin Street in Fort Myers make four in three days in Lee County, with another also in Fort Myers off Daniels Parkway on Saturday and the fourth at Jenna Avenue and Seventh Street Southwest in Lehigh Acres.

At the latter location, parents were concerned because the bear was wandering close to a school bus stop. But the wildlife commission declined to respond, saying the best approach is to leave bears alone as they rarely are aggressive unless they’ve been fed. 

Media images Monday show a man taking a picture of the bear on Franklin Street less than 10 feet away as the bear relaxes on the edge of the trash bin before diving in, paying no mind to the half-dozen humans gathered around him.

“That’s not normal,” Morse said.

While the hope is relocation, Morse said, unfortunately habits die hard; if the bear continues to find its way to people, it may need to be killed. 

“The prognosis in these cases is usually bad,” Morse said. 

It’s unknown if the bear seen Monday on Franklin Street is the same one seen earlier on Metro Parkway. 

“It could be one adventurous bear, or it could be a couple,” Morse said. 

There are five main black bear territories in Florida, and one of the larger sites is south of Lee County.

Sightings are more common this time of year, Morse said, because mother bears prepare to bear new offspring, and force the young adolescent males away from their home territory so they aren’t a danger to cubs. The young males search for new space, and sometimes end up in urban environments. 

They are attracted to food — any food — including bird feeders, trash and pet food. 

“Bears will do incredible things to get food,” Morse said. “You’ve got to make it as hard for them as possible so they won’t be tempted to get close.”

Peterson, who spotted the Metro Parkway bear after the furry visitor scaled the fence and dove into the Dumpster, said it’s not uncommon for smaller scavengers to frequent the grounds. But seeing a bear was unnerving — and he almost didn’t believe it.

After running away, Peterson returned, just to make sure he had seen what he thought he saw.

“It looked like it was going to knock the tree down,” Peterson said. “He looked healthy. Usually you think of a bear living in the woods as scrawny. But he looked like a healthy animal.”

— Staff Writer Terry Brady contributed to this report.

Additional Facts

Bear sightings in Lee County
View Bear sightings in a larger map

Link

People or Sheeple?

by  Ted Nugent 

The cute chimp attacks the owner’s best friend and eats her face and hands off. The primate’s owner calls 911 and cries for help that, as always, comes much too late. 
 
A nine year old little girl takes the 160 pound bull mastiff for a walk and loses control. The giant dog clamps down on her head and all people can do is scream and yell.
 
Another nine year old little girl steps off the school bus in rural Michigan and is instantly attacked by a pack of feral dogs, all wearing collars. Again, all anybody can do is scream as the helpless girl’s face and head is ripped to shreds.

The elderly lady leisurely strolls along the causeway like she does every evening, when out from the canal lunges a prehistoric monster, its rows of teeth clamping down on her torso, nearly cutting her in half. The 12 foot alligator drags the gasping senior citizen into the shallow water and devours her.
 
The insane lady lifts herself over the barrier so she can pet the 1000 pound polar bear, but instead is clawed into the jaws of the carnivore as all the zoo goers wail pathetically to no avail.
 
A young athletic gal enters her apartment building in San Francisco after her daily jog and is met by a pair of snarling Doberman pincers that savagely attack and kill her.
 
The Michigan farmer enters the breeding pen of his whitetail deer and is gored and nearly killed by the dominant buck. His cries for help are heard by no one.
 
Two punks taunt the regal Indian tiger in its cage at the San Francisco zoo. The giant killer cat leaps up and over its moat and easily catches and kills one punk and severely injures the other. No one hears their cries (and in this case, that’s just as well.  I’m on the tiger’s side).
 
The animal control officer responds to an emergency call about a pit bull attacking neighbors, but she arrives with only a flimsy net and the powerful dog nearly kills her.
 
A bobcat crashes through a window at a local tavern and begins chasing patrons, clawing and biting people at will. Everybody scurries about helplessly and cannot stop the rabid kill crazy cat.
 
The bicycler pedals through a curve on the bike path near San Diego when a hungry mountain lion catapults onto him, biting his neck, and dragging him off into the brush. Other cyclists scream and holler but the cougar ignores them and kills its victim.
 
A young boy zips up his sleeping bag in the Canadian park for a night of camping, but is savagely attacked by a large black bear. The boy’s family yells and throws pots and pans at the bear who is dragging the helpless boy off into the wilderness, where it kills and eats him.
 
The stoned hippie spends years in the Alaskan wilderness, and in a drug induced stupor, he pretends to befriend grizzly bears and give them names. He and his girlfriend are killed and eaten by his new friends.
 
A family is picnicking in Northern California when a mountain lion stalks their picnic table and grabs the mother by the throat and drags her off into the forest. All anybody can do is scream and yell and cry.
 
I could go on, but I just thought I would mention that carrying a gun might be a good idea. Nah.  Some people are sheeple. 

Link

State: Cougar killings come down to liability

The debate over what should happen when cougars encounter humans is heating up again. After a New Mexico Department of Game and Fish warden darted a female cougar in the backyard of an Eldorado home April 20 and later euthanized it, angry callers and letter writers lambasted the agency for “trigger happy” tactics. Albuquerque resident Charlotte Salazar thinks just the opposite. Her 5-year-old son was attacked by a cougar last May during a family hike on a popular Sandia Mountain trail. Salazar believes wildlife officers aren’t doing enough to control the cougar population. The debate over what should happen when cougars encounter humans has changed little in 30 years, said Marty Frentzel, public information officer with the state Department of Game and Fish. For the state, the decision over euthanizing a captured cougar comes down to one word: liability. Game and Fish Department officials worry about getting sued if someone is attacked by a cougar that was captured and released elsewhere. That fear isn’t unwarranted. In a 1996 incident in Arizona, a black bear that had been captured, tagged and released into a mountain range near Tucson badly mauled a teenage girl in her tent. The girl’s family sued the Arizona Game and Fish Department, claiming the agency shouldn’t have released a bear when it knew the animal had previously shown no fear of humans. The state settled the case out of court for $2.5 million…Santa Fe New Mexican

Link

US Geological Survey Releases Bear Safety Fact Sheet

For all you northern hemisphere parents getting ready to take your little troopers out for spring and summer backpacking into bear country (or just to the parking lots of the major National Parks), the USGS has recently published its information sheet for how to more safely deal with aggressive bears. This fact sheet is ostensibly for USGS employees, but it contains good information for anyone who expects to be in bear country.

Some salient statistics showing that bear deterrent is better than a firearm: Those who defend themselves with firearms suffered serious injury in about 50 percent of encounters. Those who used bear deterrent suffered far fewer and less serious injuries and were subjected to shorter durations of attack than those who defended with firearms alone (original research article). I highly recommend leaving the firearm at home (for the non-hunters) and just carrying the bear deterrent, especially when camping with children.

Even better bear safety information comes from the various links in the fact sheet. For instance, you should know that the pepper spray sold as personal defense is not a bear deterrent; pepper spray is pretty much useless against bears. The EPA regulates bear deterrent, so follow that link to get an idea of who sells the good stuff. The Center for Wildlife Information has a good “Be Bear Aware” fact sheet as well.

Regardless of which bear deterrent you carry, you’re safest if you avoid the bears altogether. The Be Bear Aware site has a lot of good information on how best to avoid encounters of the bear kind; explore their sidebar.

Have fun and stay safe!

Link

I definitely think that people should leave these animals be, but I do think if the bear was charging him he was justified to shoot it. We’ll never know what really happened though.

Roper not guilty in grizzly bear shooting

Crown cannot convince judge not a case of self-defence

Posted By By Hamish MacLean/hamish@canmoreleader.com

Posted 3 hours ago

Hamish MacLean/Canmore LeaderJoe Lucas, and his son Kyle, stand outside the Provincial Building in Canmore after Lucas was acquitted for shooting a grizzly bear in Kananaskis Country in 2007.

A Carstairs man was found not guilty on five charges stemming from an incident in Kananaskis Country at the end of October 2007.

Joe Lucas has always said that he shot the grizzly bear, Bear 103, in the Evan-Thomas area in self-defense and out of fear for his 13-year-old son, Kyle’s, safety — and in Canmore Provincial Court Judge John Reilly acquitted the man Thursday.

Reilly said he had a hard time swallowing the testimony of the Crown’s expert witnesses.

One side of the courtroom, which was filled with both Lucas supporters, burst into applause at the verdict.

While supporters for the conservation officers who brought the charges forward appeared defeated.

After the trial, Lucas called the decision a great relief.

“I thought it went as it should,” he said. “When you feel you’re right, you’re right.”

During Crown prosecutor Bev Shugg’s cross examination, Lucas, who spends most of his time with horses, leading roping events for kids — yet in November acts as a guide and professional hunter of white-tailed deer — became visibly upset and said, “What do you want from me, blood?”

The Carstairs man, who “grew up in the backcountry” near Sundre said he quit hunting grizzly bears years ago. Lucas testified that in his many encounters with bears in recent years he has scared them off successfully, but called the grizzlies in Kananaskis “killing machines.”

Lucas said that when he heard his friend James Carson Nutting calling out that the grizzly bear they had seen charging their horses in a grazing meadow after breakfast was coming around again, he knew he would shoot it.

“I heard him (Nutting) yell, ‘He’s coming right back,’” he said. “That’s when a chill went down my spine and I thought, ‘I’m being hunted.’”

Bear 103 was an average-sized sub-adult grizzly sow at 268 pounds (122 kilograms) she had been a part of the aversive conditioning program employed by conservation officers in the Alberta park and had been responding well to the conditioning court heard.

Michael Gibeau, carnivore specialist for Mountain National Parks, listened to the testimony of Nutting and another member of the hunting party, Bruce Pierson, as well as four conservation officers.

He said that bears were no more unpredictable than any other animal and said that the bear was not acting aggressively, but perhaps was being cocky or testy when it charged the men’s horses.

Further, Bear 103 was hoping that the men would “yield the trail” to it, Gibeau said.

He said that the bear was in the process of being taught to avoid people and that the bear if left alone, would have disappeared.

“That’s my impression: that the bear was trying to move around camp and that that’s what it was doing until it was shot,” he said.

Nathan Brown, a conservation officer and the lead investigator of the incident testified that the hunting party’s campsite was a mess when he arrived the day after the shooting, with food left out, and that there was more that the party could have done to scare away the bear than shout at it.

None of the group was carrying bear spray, he noted, and he decided to investigate Lucas’s story after surveying the area.

“There was no way he could have seen what the bear was doing until he entered the sight of his scope,” he told court.

The Crown prosecutor suggested that if the bear had not been wearing a collar, Lucas would not have reported it and instead would have kept its hide as a trophy.

She said that the angle of impact of Lucas’s bullet was a telling detail in the case. Lucas hit the bear broadside.

“I could credit you with self-defense if it were anything other than 90 degrees,” Shugg told Lucas, saying there was no way the bear could have been charging him when shot at a distance of 14.1 metres.

“He decided he would take the ‘noble way out’ and report it as a bear attack, when in truth, it wasn’t,” she said.

The judge, though, was unimpressed by the list of expert witnesses that came before him. He called one conservation officer “evasive” when asked about the bear’s supposed signs of aggression and expressed disbelief with Gibeau, “when he refuses to admit that bears are unpredictable.”

Reilly suggested that the familiarity of the experts with bears might lead them to the opinion that bears are not unpredictable. But, dangerous, he said, is a proper term for bears.

“When you scare it away, you don’t expect it to come back — and this bear came back,” Reilly said. “He is justified in shooting it.”

After the trial Lucas admitted that this was the first and only courtroom he had ever been in and that the support he received from the Carstairs community, Thursday, was a great boost for his morale. The ranching community he calls home has been tremendous for the past year-and-a-half, he said, with petitions proclaiming his innocence circulated and individuals raising money for his defence fund.

Link

Use common sense in rattlesnake country

By Terry Knight — Record-Bee outdoors columnist

Updated: 04/28/2009 11:23:29 PM PDT

Along with its many deer, bears, birds and other wildlife, Lake County has an abundance of rattlesnakes and the spring months are when they begin to appear. Rattlesnakes can be found beneath old lumber piles, in barns and sheds, and even in backyards.

According to the Depart-ment of Fish and Game (DFG), rattlesnakes are the only native poisonous snake in Northern California. The most common rattlesnake in Lake County is the Pacific rattlesnake.

Whereas few things can raise the hair on your neck such as the sound of a rattler buzzing, the chances of getting bitten by a rattler are about the same as winning the lottery.

If you spend anytime hiking in the woods, sooner or later you’re going to come face to face with one of these critters. This is especially true for fishermen and hikers. Of all the years I have spent hiking and hunting in the woods of Lake County, I have encountered dozens of rattlesnakes but never have I been threatened by one. A few have buzzed at me but most have just crawled away.

They are secretive animals and would rather hide than fight. Actually, just about every outdoor person at one time or another has passed within a few feet of a rattler and not known it. Most of the time they just silently slither away unseen when approached by humans.

The rattlesnake is preyed upon by many predators in the wild despite its venomous bite. A coyote or a bobcat will never pass up the chance to make a meal of a rattlesnake. Hawks and crows can easily kill a rattler.While rattlesnakes do carry enough venom to kill an adult, deaths are rare. In fact, of the approximately 800 recorded rattlesnake bites in California every year, only one or two victims die. About 25 percent of the bites are “dry,” meaning no venom is injected. However, because of the bacteria in the snake’s mouth any bite requires medical attention.

The type of venom in a rattlesnake breaks down the tissue around the bite. When a rattlesnake bites its prey this action of breaking down the tissue hastens the digestive process and allows the snake to swallow its prey. If a human is bitten there is often a loss of tissue around the bite.

A rattlesnake’s fangs also contain bacteria and the venom suppresses the victim’s immune system, making it harder to fight this infection. While this rarely causes death it can result in the loss of a limb.

While the odds of getting bitten by a rattlesnake are low, there are certain precautions one must take when in rattlesnake country. More than 50 percent of all rattlesnake bites occur on the hands or arms. Normally a person will place his hand on a rock while climbing or picking up something. A nearby rattler will strike out in surprise.

Children are five times more likely to be bitten than adults. Most of the children are bitten because they often go barefoot or will actually pick up a rattlesnake out of curiosity.

Rattlesnakes are often found near old buildings or lumber piles. They also like rock piles. Like all wildlife, they are drawn to an area because of food, usually mice. By avoiding these areas you can reduce your chances of coming in contact with a rattlesnake.

What do you do if bitten by a rattlesnake? According to the DFG, the first thing to do if bitten is to stay calm. Generally the most serious effect of a rattlesnake bite to an adult is local tissue damage that needs to be treated. Children, because they are smaller, are in more danger if they are bitten. Get to a doctor as soon as possible, but stay calm. Frenetic, high-speed driving places the victim at greater risk of an accident and increased heart rate. If the doctor is more than 30 minutes away, keep the bite below the heart and try to get to the doctor as quickly as possible.

Wash the bite area gently with soap and water. Remove watches, rings and other jewelry that may constrict swelling. Immobilize the affected area. Transport safely to the nearest medical facility. All of the local hospitals are equipped to handle rattlesnake bites.

According to DFG regulations, the daily limit for taking rattlesnakes is two. No license is required and they can be taken by any method.

Most biologists say not to indiscriminately kill a rattlesnake. They eat gophers, moles and other pests and are a big part of our ecosystem. If they don’t bother you, don’t bother them. After all, they were here millions of years before us and will probably be here long after we’re gone.

Link

City to close trail where bear attacked cyclist

The Rover’s Run trail in Far North Bicentennial Park will be closed this summer. (Rich Jordan/KTUU-TV)

There is also a plan to limit access to creeks. (Rich Jordan/KTUU-TV)

 

by Ashton Goodell
Tuesday, April 28, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Anchorage Department of Parks and Recreation plans to close Rover’s Run this summer at Far North Bicentennial Park.

Last summer, a bear mauled a cyclist riding along the trail during a bike competition. The trail was closed after that attack, and this year officials say they don’t want to wait for another problem.

The Arctic Bicycle Club plans to find a new venue for its 24-hour bike race and said that after the attack last year it only made sense to find a new location. This year people will scout the trail, making noise before the cyclists ride through.

Right now the trail is closed to bikers, but hikers can still use it. The plan is to close the trail to all users early in the summer before the salmon run, though a closing date hasn’t been set.

Joshua Ream hikes the trails near Rover’s Run. He says he’s more aware of bears than ever before.

“It’s important just to be bear savvy and to know what you are doing,” he said. “I think a lot of people get bear-a-phobic and that keeps them from venturing into areas that they normally would like to.”

There’s also a plan to stop making trails within 100 feet of certain creeks.

“The biggest thing the municipality can do is really do that outreach and education component, and make people aware and encourage people to be safe,” said Brad Dunker, an engineering technician with Parks and Rec.

The city installed bear-proof garbage can lids to help keep bears away from trails. Parks and Rec says the bear problem is correlated to trash along hiking trails.

 

Link

Bear Killed After Attack On Camper

Campground Closed Following Attack

 

POSTED: 6:21 p.m. MDT August 21, 2001

UPDATED: 11:20 a.m. MDT August 22, 2001

 

WESTCLIFFE, Colo. – State wildlife officials killed a bear after it attacked a camper who was sleeping in a tent in south-central Colorado.

BEAR ENCOUNTERS Should tagged bears be destroyed? Are you concerned about bear attacks when camping? Bears And Campers Tips For Surviving In Bear Country Slideshow: Clever Bear Eludes Officials

 

The attack happened around midnight Tuesday at the Lake Creek Campground, about 10 miles northwest of Westcliffe in Custer County. 

Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Todd Malmsbury said a 21-year-old camper from Sawyer, Kan., whose name wasn’t released, was attacked. 

The victim told wildlife officials that he was sleeping in a tent with two other people when the bear broke through the side. The man woke up to find the bear standing on top of him and kicked to get the animal to leave. 

The bear bit his hand and the man grabbed a hatchet and began swinging at the animal. The bear then left the tent after a scuffle that lasted 20-30 seconds. In addition to the bite to his right hand, the man also received injuries to his head, back and upper-right arm. 

He was treated at a clinic in Westcliffe before being taken to a hospital in Pueblo, where he was treated and released. 

 

Wildlife manager Al Trujillo said Colorado Division of Wildlife officers, using dogs provided by a local hunting outfitter, tracked and destroyed the bear about 7 a.m. 

 

As a precautionary measure, wildlife officers asked the U.S. Forest Service to close the campground while they monitor other bears in the area. 

Trujillo said that the Forest Service had placed bear-proof trash containers at the Lake Creek Campground and that there was no trash lying around to attract bears. But bears had been reported in the area feeding on trash. 

Also on Tuesday, authorities tranquilized a bear after it wandered into a neighborhood near an elementary school in Jefferson County. Authorities said the bear would be tagged and moved to another area. 

Four campers have been injured by bears in southern Colorado this year. 

Wildlife officials killed two other bears after attacks at a Boy Scout camp near Salida earlier this month. The camp has been closed until next season to allow for the installation of bear-proof garbage cans. 

In each case, food and trash left in or around campsites attracted bears to the area, wildlife officials say. The three previous attacks — two near Poncha Springs in Chaffee County and one west of Gardner in Huerfano County — required campers to be treated and released at nearby hospitals for bite and scratch wounds and bruises. 

Drought and a late-spring freeze have combined to leave black bears with little food in areas of south-central Colorado, officials said. 

Campers, home and cabin owners and visitors to the state are urged to avoid leaving food, trash, bird feeders, livestock feed, pet food or other attractants outside and accessible to bears. Homeowners should also close and lock lower-story windows and doors in areas where bears are active. 

Black bears will be actively feeding from now through early October as they attempt to put on enough fat to get them through hibernation. Bears eat for up to 20 hours a day during this period and can consume up to 20,000 calories in a single day. 

State wildlife policy calls for bears that are caught causing twice causing problems in areas populated by humans to be killed.

Link

Great resource from Colorado.

Living with Bears in Colorado 

Be Bear Aware Do Your Part to Keep Bears Wild

---

Welcome to the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s Living with Bears online resource center. You’ll find lots of information on living, vacationing, and spending time outdoors in bear country. Plus, practical guidelines that will help you do your part to prevent human-bear conflicts, and keep bears wild.Today, bears are sharing space with a growing human population. Curious, intelligent, and very resourceful, black bears will explore all possible food sources. If they find food near homes, campgrounds, vehicles, or communities, they’ll come back for more. Bears will work hard to get the calories they need, and can easily damage property, vehicles, and homes. Bears that become aggressive in their pursuit of an easy meal must often be destroyed.

Every time we’re forced to destroy a bear, it’s not just the bear that loses. We all lose a little piece of the wildness that makes Colorado so special. So please, get the information you need, and share it with your friends, neighbors, and community. If you need more, we’re here to help!

Please do your part to keep bears wild.

Living with Bears

---

• Living with Bears
• Bear-proofing Your Home  
• Keep Bears Wild Pledge and Home Checklist (You will need to copy—or print two copies—so you will have one to mail in after you have reviewed and completed the form. The directions on the form refer to a carbonless version used in the field.)
• Attracting Birds, Not Bears
• Bear-resisitant Trash Containers (Commercially available trash containers.)

 

Outdoors in Bear Country

---

• Camping & Hiking in Bear Country
• Bear Encounters

For Kids

---

• Black Bear Profile
• Black Bear Challenge (An interactive game.)
• Bears (The “Bears” issue of Colorado’s Wildlife Company.)
• Be Bear Aware in Colorado Bear Country—an activity booklet 
• Images of Bears (To search the database, type “bear” in the ‘description’ field.) 
• Black bear activities for kid’s in the primary through middle school grades.

Link

I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t even know there were bears in India. But I looked it up, and there are actually 3 different species of bear there.

Four survive bear attack

RAJ KUMAR

Ranchi, April 24: Four people were injured when a wild bear attacked them at Lathgaon village in Gumla district, about 132km from the state capital, this morning. The injured — Mohammed Nasir (60), Sukru Oroan (35), Bande Oroan (55) and Narayan Singh (40) — have been admitted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) and Sisai primary health centre. Nasir was on his way to a neighbouring village to buy cattle, the bear appeared from nowhere and attacked him. “I was on my way to finalise a deal when the bear attacked. I somehow managed to struggle free and ran for dear life. However, my right hand was badly hurt,” he said. The next incident took place a kilometre away. Sukru was harvesting onions in his field when he saw the bear. Before he could do anything, the animal attacked him and the struggle continued for over 15 minutes. Sukru was saved by villagers who came to rescue him with traditional weapons. Scratches and bite marks were found on Sukru’s body and they took him to a health centre first. He was later referred to RIMS. The wild bear attacked two others barely 500m away. Bande and Narayan were also working in their fields when the animal pounced on them. Both managed to escape though not without injuries. The villagers, after coming to know about the incidents, chased the bear, which disappeared into a forest, about 5km from the Lathgaon. Principal chief forest conservator (wildlife) A.K. Singh said that such incidents were quite common because there were many bears in the forests around Gumla.

Link

DEP: It’s Time to Prepare for Bears

With the arrival of spring, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is reminding residents to be aware of and prepare for bears that become more active this time of year looking for food, territory, and mates. The state’s bear population, which is estimated at over 300, continues to grow and expand, increasing the need for people to know how to prevent problems. In 2008, over 2,700 sightings of bears were reported from 133 of Connecticut’s 169 towns.

“As the bear population increases, conflicts with humans will be inevitable. However, many of these conflicts are preventable, said Ed Parker, Chief, Bureau of Natural Resources in a DEP press release. “Most problems occur when bears are attracted close to homes by human-provided food sources. If bears find food rewards near homes, they can become habituated and lose their fear of humans. The best step in preventing problems with bears is to avoid intentionally or unintentionally feeding bears.”
Homeowners can often prevent bear problems by making unavailable or simply removing food attractants that draw bears into populated areas. The two most common attractants are bird seed at feeders and household garbage. Residents who maintain backyard birdfeeders should take down their feeders in spring and store them until late fall. Wild birds do not require this supplemental food during spring, summer, and fall. Garbage should be stored in a garage or secure shed. Unwanted visits by bears and other wildlife can be reduced by adding ammonia to garbage and placing it in airtight containers. Other potential attractants include pet or livestock food stored outdoors, grease and drippings on barbecue grills, sweet or fatty food scraps placed on compost piles, and fruit on or fallen from trees.
Bears will attack and kill livestock, such as sheep, goats, pigs, and fowl. They also can destroy unprotected beehives. One of the best precautions for these problems is well-maintained electric fencing. Other recommendations for livestock growers include moving animals into sheds at night, keeping feed contained, keeping animals as distant from forested areas as possible, and using guard dogs.
“To assure the welfare of bears and the people who live near them, public understanding and tolerance of bears is critical,” said Mr. Parker. “Learning to live with bears requires all of us to take the proper precautions for preventing problems.”
The DEP encourages residents to take the following simple steps to avoid problems with black bears:
1. Never intentionally feed bears to attract them to your yard for viewing.
2. Take down, clean, and put away birdfeeders by late March. Store the feeders until late fall. Clean up spilled seed below feeder stations.
3. Store garbage in secure, airtight containers inside a garage or shed. Double bagging and the use of ammonia will reduce odors that attract bears. Periodically clean garbage cans with ammonia to reduce residual odor. Garbage for pickup should be put outside the morning of collection and not the night before.
4. Avoid leaving pet food or dishes outdoors at night.
5. Keep barbecue grills clean. Store grills inside a garage or shed.
6. Avoid placing meat scraps or sweet foods in compost piles.
7. Protect beehives, livestock, and berry bushes with electric fencing.
8. Keep dogs on a leash outdoors. A roaming dog might be perceived as a threat to a bear or its cubs.
If you encounter a bear while hiking, make your presence known by yelling or making other loud noises. Usually, a bear will move from an area once it detects humans. If a bear does not retreat, slowly leave the area and find an alternate hiking route. While camping, be aware that most human foods are also attractive to bears. Keep a clean campsite, and store food and garbage away from your campsite and in secure containers (for example, in a cooler stored in the trunk of a car).
Prevention of problems and tolerance are the basis for learning to live with bears in Connecticut. It is important to remember that although black bears regularly travel near houses, they are rarely aggressive toward humans and can usually be frightened away by making loud noises, throwing sticks or spraying with a hose. However, it is not uncommon for bears that have found food, such as birdseed from feeders, to ignore such disturbances. In the rare instance when a bear appears to be overly bold or aggressive toward people, residents should contact the DEP Wildlife Division’s Sessions Woods office at 860-675-8130 (Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or the DEP’s 24-hour dispatch line (860-424-3333) during weekends and non-business hours.
The DEP Wildlife Division monitors the black bear population through sighting reports received from the public. Anyone who observes a black bear in Connecticut is encouraged to report the sighting on the DEP’s Web site (www.ct.gov/dep) or call the Wildlife Division’s Sessions Woods office. Some bears have been ear-tagged for research. Information on the presence or absence of tags is valuable. To obtain informational fact sheets about bears, visit the DEP’s Web site or call the Sessions Woods office.

Link

It’s amazing how often wild animals show up in non-wild areas.

Black bear living on I-5 median

10:29 PM PDT on Wednesday, April 22, 2009

By ROB PIERCY and JIM FORMAN / KING 5 News 

Video: Bear makes itself at home in freeway median

STANWOOD, Wash. – Of all the places to call home, a black bear near Stanwood has chosen, perhaps, the noisiest.

Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Randy Lambert says an adult black bear appears to be living in the median of Interstate 5, near Exit 215 in the Stanwood area, a few miles north of Smokey Point.

“He’s foraging on the fresh spring grass and plants growing in the median,” Lambert said.

Video

SkyKING video of bear on median

Bears showing up in unusual places

Since the weekend, hundreds of drivers have called the State Patrol, reporting sightings of the bear. He’s described as an adult weighing between 200 and 250 pounds.

“Very exciting to see on the side of the freeway for sure,” said Liane Johnson, who saw the bear. “My boyfriend slammed on the brakes. We’re going 60 and I’m thinking, what the heck – we’re gonna crash!”

Johnson got out and snapped two grainy pictures of the bear munching on spring grass.

“I didn’t think I was getting very close, but my boyfriend was very stressed that the bear was gonna attack me,” she said.

There were reported bear sightings in the same area last year. Lambert believes the one spotted this year is the same bear.

Fish and Wildlife agents set a trap last year, but were unsuccessful. They’re hoping for better luck this year.

Lambert set up a trap along the interstate Monday evening.

“So far it’s bear 1, Fish and Wildlife, zero,” Lambert said.

Fish and Wildlife experts just want to trap the bear so they can move it to a more bear-friendly environment – away from the busy freeway.

Wednesday evening the trap was reset with an odiferous concoction of pickled herring, bacon grease, honey and doughnuts – sure to please the average bear.

The State Patrol hopes the trap is sprung sooner than later. They are so concerned the bear could wander into traffic causing a horrible accident, airborne troopers are conducting aerial surveillance.

And while the bear doesn’t seem to mind hanging out alongside the busy, noisy freeway, biologists say it is time for the bear to go.

 

Link

Some interesting advice here! Not sure how “official” any of the advice is, but it’s a fun read.

What’s the best way to do away with a bear if it attacks you when you don’t have a big rifle along?

I am going to go deer hunting up north this November in a big woods that always has tons of bear tracks in it. I asked my pa what I should do if one of those bears gets hungry and starts drooling on my boots while I’m hunting. He says that a bear’s heart beats so slow that it doesn’t pay to shoot it in the heart and that he heard that a bullet from a .22 won’t make it through a bear’s skull. I don’t think that I’ll have any problems with a bear as I’ll be with other people, but now I’m curious as to what to do in such a situation.

I deer hunt with a Savage 30-30 … pretty small and old, but it gets the job done, & I would never trade it in for anything! The clip can carry 3 bullets; so, I can have 4 bullets in there at a time. One for each kneecap on the bear, right?

I haven’t been bear hunting which is why I have no idea about this stuff, and I’m sure that bear hunters use much bigger rifles, but what does one do while carrying only a small rifle during a bear attack?

 

20 Answers »

1. If you’re entering bear territory, you should make loud, consistent noises the entire time as you’re walking around, so as not to startle them. This gives bears a chance to move away from the noise source. When bears are startled, that’s when they’re most aggressive and deadly.

   If you DO come across a bear standing on his hind legs – that’s when he’s in attack mode – I’ve heard that you should crap a big load in your pants. Seriously. It supposedly drives them away. You DON’T want to attack with a small gun – it will only piss the bear off more.

   Comment by Dien — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

2. use what you have

   Comment by hill bill y — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

3. You should pack some of the bear sprays that are sold at local sporting good stores. Also I was in Alaska a couple of years ago and was told that any form of scent will attract them so no scented deordant, purfume or cologne. In an attack you are susposed to lie still in a curled up position. A 30-30 can stop a bear, especially a black bear but a grizzly, brown or kodiak, you’re on your own lol

   Comment by William — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

4. Get some of the Hornady leverevolution ammo for your 30-30, if you’re a good shot with it, and can hit the bear in the eye (the bone tissue is thinnest in the ocular socket) this ammo will kill the bear with 1 shot.

   Comment by boker_magnum — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

5. Id shoot it with the 30-30. If its a black bear, it will probly kill it it anyway, but a Grizzly would be a different story. The idea of making noise while hunting is retarded. How are you supposed to see der when you are scaring off bears? If you hit it in the head, it will more than likely kill it.

   Comment by Aaron — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

6. better go with a 338 win mag thats what the alaska dnr said will pud dawn a kodick grizzy. and thats what i got and i going 2 get a s&w500 mag the stroungert handgun in the would

   Comment by joshuagertsch — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

7. if its a black bear fight back and bite it, but if it is a grizzly or brown like in Alaska kiss your butt good by

   Comment by fishslayer1986 — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

8. I’ve seen this show, and if you are hiking without a weapon, get on the ground and cover your vital areas (head. neck)
   This makes the bear think that you are not a threat to the bear. Good luck out there.

   Comment by surfer dude — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

9. Black bear will try to avoid you, they are more afraid of you than you are of them*.. You could always bare your teeth at them, it worked for Daniel Boone*…

   Comment by dca2003311@yahoo.com — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

10. Crap your pants???!!!!
    First off carrying that bear spray is the best idea here. While carrying a second large caliber rifle is unpractical what about a handgun? Six shots from a a .44 mag into a 250 pound black bear’s chest will witout a doubt drop it. If can’t buy or access a heavy revolver than aim at his head with the 30-30. It will kill it. Black bear are not that big a .30 size round won’t penetrate it’s skull. But the bear spray is best cheapest most proven way to go.

    Comment by kyle h — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

11. The .30-30 has killed more Black bear and deer than any other caliber. Although it is not my first choice if I am in bear country and I find myself in a predicament with a bear and its all I have, I’ll try for a head shot. With your Savage you get four tries (one round in the chamber and three in the magazine). And your Dad is right, bears can absorb a lot of lead so body shots may not drop him fast enough.

    Lot’s of hunters carry .44 Magnum revolvers as backup in bear country. The .44 Mag. is not better than a .30-30 carbine, so there you have it.

    Good luck and happy hunting.

    H

    Comment by H — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

12. I wouldn’t worry about it too much to be honest,I have seen black bears while hunting where I live in MI,they have always beat feet the opposite way,and although I have no expierence with the Grizzly or Kodiak,I would probably take a sidearm if i am hunting in the Grizzly area,but in black bear areas,no problem,if a sidearm is unavailable I would buy a bigger rifle I suppose.

    Comment by Boris859 — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

13. remember that all wild animals (unless they are rabid or starving) will run away before they attack. but as every hunter should know, bear will attack if you get between them and their cubs, or between food/water. and just like all other animals, if you give it no other escape rout, it will attack.
    now, for your question:
    people use the .30/30 win for black bear withing 100 yards, whether you will believe this is another matter. if i ever hunt where i know that there is a possibility that i will encounter dangerous animals like Kodiak bear i will be hunting with a buddy that has a gun or by myself with a revolver. don’t go for body shots, as bear can absorb bullets like nothing, but if you but two in its head, it will go down.
    when I’m 21, i will be getting my concealed carry permit and a pistol, somewhere in the .38, .40, .357 or .45 ACP area. nothing smaller than a .38.
    good luck hope you get the deer you want this year.

    Comment by burnzwater — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

14. if you aren’t using a ” big” rifle, then you better have a “big” back-up revolver, like a .44 magnum. also, bear spray and know how to take the safety off it and use it in a hurry. especially, keep a good look out while field dressing your deer or better yet, have a friend with you to look out while you field dress your deer. in many bear areas, they will come running to the sound of your rifle because they have become conditioned to know the sound of a gun may mean an easy meal for them.

    Comment by bghoundawg — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

15. your 30-30 deer rifle is also a good black bear gun.
    shoot a bear in the same place you shoot deer, in the heart or head a 30-30 will do the job just fine. as for the 44 mag pistol its pretty marginal. here’s the ballistics. 30-30 150 or 170 grain =more than 1600 ft. lbs. energy .44 mag pistol 7 1/5 in barrel 240 grain bullet = 971 ft lbs energy. use the same bullets for black bear as you do for deer. they probably wont exit as they are made to expand & dump all their energy inside the animal so you wont ruin the hide with a big exit wound.
    if your deer hunting in brown bear country a 338 would be a more appropriate deer rifle or at a minimum a 30-06 with controled expansion bullets, 180 gr. in the chamber for deer, 220 gr. in the magazine for back up. dont take a 30-30 into brown bear country they dont have enough penetration for grizzly.

    Comment by crash — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

16. We usually carry a big Knife as well as a firearm. Big guy + Big knife + Bear = Bloody mess = Hopefully dead Bear.
    We of course live in the land of Daniel Boone who happened to kill bears with a knife. If he can do it ,we sure can , Right?

    Comment by dirtydan2 — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

17. S&W 460 or 500 as a back up pistol. Practicing running and short sprints may help….lol

    Comment by Big D — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

18. 30 30 is plenty for blackbear, also you can get bear pepper spray so you wont have to kill in self defense hopefully

    Comment by tater — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

19. Wear Sneakers,,,,you can’t outrun a Bear,,,,,You just have to Outrun Your Pa.

    Comment by Mad Dog — April 22, 2009 @ 7:12 am

20. I had no gun and saw some black bears in Tennessee. I had watched a show about a man (I can’t recall his name) who studied bears. He said that sometims they get very juvinile and frisky. When the begin to menace you, he said to throw your arms over your head and yell at them.
    So I tried this, I yelled jibberish like I was at some pentecostal sunday meeting. This confused the bear and gave us both a chance to think about a different situation…”I think I’ll go over there, now.” He also said (and it makes sense to me) never to lay on the ground. Bears are omnivores and do eat carrion. I won’t sit still and die without giving the bear “what-for” !
    I would honor the bear but if it came down between us and I had my .45 I would aim for the eye. The eyes are also good for other situations. Most battles will end with a gouged out eye.

Link

Third Black Bear Sighting Reported In Weston

For the third time since Saturday, residents of a Weston neighborhood reported spotting a black bear in their back yards.

The million dollar estates in Windmill Reserve border suburban life and wildlife, but what Tomas Fernandez saw Sunday in his backyard was extremely wild.
 
“I was eating breakfast when I saw the bear behind the house in the lake. He was walking,” said Fernandez. “I called my dad to see.” 

His dad watched as the black bear spent a half hour in the backyard. This was enough time for Tomas to video tape his new neighbor. On the tape the bear is browsing around and then seen walking away toward trees. 

“It was about three feet tall on four legs, about that tall, but I guess if it stands up it would be much bigger,” said Tomas. 

Florida Fish and Wildlife has been searching for the bear, but haven’t found anything yet. They hope the bear is finding his way home. Jorge Pino with the FWC said finding a live black bear in South Florida is rare.

“Extremely rare, the last sighting of a live bear was in 1978 in Broward County,”  said Pino.

Occasionally black bears have had run-ins with cars. In February, a 200 pound bear ran into a car on the Turnpike near US27. Black bears are typically found in the Big Cypress Preserve but sometimes travel in search of food. The preserve is more than 30 miles away from Weston. When asked if the community should be worried about a bear attack Pino responded, “Oh no, absolutely not, there has not been a documented bear attack on human being in the state of Florida, ever.”

 Some residents are scared, but Fernandez’s mother is not worried about their furry visitor. She still goes in the backyard hoping he’ll return. Laughing Isabel said to us “why not”. 

Security guards at Windmill Reserve say they spotted the bear walking along South Post Road. If you live in the area, FWC is advising you to bring all food indoors, including pet food. You should secure your garbage cans so that a bear cannot access what is inside. If you spot a bear in your neighborhood you should call 911.

Link

To live with bears, we may need to kill some bears


CRAIG MEDRED 
OUTDOORS

(04/20/09 22:07:41)If you are coming to Anchorage this summer, be afraid — beary, beary afraid.

If you live here, go inside now. Bar the doors. Lock the windows. And start loading the guns.

It’s spring and time for “Bear Attack!”

Discovery Channel, the cable TV network, was all over this last week on its Alaska Week, where everything about the 49th state became X-treme!

Here was the “Bear Attack!” promo:

“In a short time, three people are viciously mauled by a bear in the Anchorage area, and many more have dangerously close encounters. Could one aggressive bear be responsible for all these attacks? What is increasing the rate of bear-human urban encounters?”

In the video itself, “Bear Attack!” producers go on the hunt for an imaginary bear that mighta, coulda, we-only-wish-it-woulda been a “rogue bear” terrorizing the city.

They eventually concede such a bear never existed, before pointing out that it could have.

Why, in Kamchatka last year, or so it is portrayed, a whole gang of bears went on a rampage at a mine, feasting on two guards and injecting terror into the hearts of miners who then apparently locked themselves in the mine tunnels, or so it would appear in the “Bear Attack!” video.

As with most tall tales, there is a grain of truth to this one. The world press had a field day with the mauling deaths of two mine guards last summer.

The Times of London reported it this way:

“Terrified workers at a mining compound in one of Russia’s most isolated regions are refusing to go to work after a pack of giant bears attacked and ate two of their colleagues.

“At least 30 of the hungry animals have been seen prowling close to the mines in northern Kamchatka in search of food, where the mangled remains of the two workers, both guards, were found last week.

“The co-workers at the compound in the Olyotorsky district are trapped and frightened: the gruesome discovery has left them too scared to venture out. A team of snipers, with orders to shoot the bears, is now being dispatched to confront the invasion.”

As it later turned out, the guards were apparently killed, but not eaten, by bears attracted to community garbage. Gatherings of bears to feast on human refuse — garbage to us, easy calories to them — used to be a common thing in Alaska.

If you wanted to see a grizzly on Admiralty Island west of Juneau back before it became a national monument, the easiest thing to do was go to the dump in the nearby village of Angoon. “Packs” of bears were sometimes there feeding.

Over the past two decades, Alaska has made a concerted effort to clean up its dumps so they are not bear magnets. But several bears were killed in and around a waste transfer station in Cooper Landing last year, and a young woman was mauled not far away at the Kenai Princess Lodge. She survived.

There remains little doubt that if you bait bears into a community with garbage or a big run of salmon in a midtown stream and you then throw a bunch of people into the mix, something bad will happen.

As Anchorage discovered last summer, most of the bears will avoid most of the people most of the time. And some of the bears will avoid all of the people all of the time. But you can’t expect all of the bears to avoid all of the people all of the time.

It’s likely one of the maulings here began with a human attacking a bear, albeit accidentally. Teenage mountain-bike racer Petra Davis may have collided — or nearly collided — with a bear in the dark along Campbell Creek, setting off the attack that left her seriously injured.

Not that it was her fault. Davis could have been any of us who mountain bike regularly around Anchorage. One of my Hillside neighbors and I have both come close to T-boning bears on area trails. The risk goes with living in bear country.

How big is the risk?

Discovery contends there were nine violent brown bear “attacks” in Anchorage city limits over six weeks last summer. The reality is more like two violent attacks, six scary encounters and one who-knows-what — the latter being 18-year-old Devon Rees’ street fight with a bear at 2 a.m. out in Eagle River. Rees ended up nipped a few times.

It was pretty clear early on that there was no rogue bear. There were two bear attacks — Rees and Davis — which involved rare, chance encounters between people and bears at very close range in the dark or near dark.

And there were a whole bunch of incidents, including a mauling involving an unusually aggressive Hillside Park-area sow with cubs.

In “Bear Attack!”, Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist Rick Sinnott portrays this bear as the “good mother,” which has pretty much been the agency’s position from the get go.

So let’s see, I’m the father of a daughter. She attracts male friends. If I get aggressive with some of them, and then pound the snot out of one because I just don’t like the looks of him, does that make me the “good father”?

It’s time to give some thought to this because bears are emerging from their dens in the mountains above Anchorage. They will soon start coming down into town. Most will try to avoid us. A few will probably prove less than vigilant at all times and thus encounter people before fleeing in terror.

But there is always the possibility there will again be a rare bear unable to grasp the idea of how to behave properly around humans. There are two things that can be done about that bear:

Fish and Game can try to identify it quickly, kill it and remove the threat to public safety.

Or we can give our green spaces over to the bear, much like we did last year; wait for the inevitable mauling sure to come anyway and get ready for the next TV crew to arrive.

This doesn’t seem like a difficult choice. To live with the bears, we may need to kill some bears.

I know this will be troubling to a few, but people killing bears to make our joint living arrangements work is largely the way it has been with Alaskans and bears for about 10,000 years.

Then again, I guess we could go inside now. Bolt the doors. Lock the windows. And stay until the snow flies.

Link

It’s nice to see the Black Bear population has made such a recovery in Massachusetts.

Bears making a mess in Middleton

By Brendan Lewis/blewis@cnc.com

Tue Apr 21, 2009, 01:24 PM EDT

MIDDLETON - Winnie the Pooh has been known to say that it’s funny how much a bear loves honey. But for a Middleton family the thought of a bear stomping through their backyard isn’t exactly hilarious.

Mill Street resident Linda Wilkins said a bear visited her home twice in the past two weeks to feast on her husband’s honeybees, destroying beekeeping equipment and colonies of the nectar-bearing insect. With the bear still believed to be in the area, Wilkins said she wanted something done.

“This is a dangerous situation,” Wilkins said. “If you frighten a bear, it will come right after you.”

While no one has spotted the bear, the creature left a paw print in a honeybee hive shortly after knocking around several others that were set up around the Wilkins’ property. After help from fellow beekeepers to set them back up, Wilkins said the bear returned exactly one week later to do it all over again.

“There is a bear in this area and he is still here,” Wilkins said.

In addition to the Wilkins property, she said bears stopped by their next door neighbor’s porch to attack a few bird feeders.

“We would both like to have this thing trapped and move to another [area],” Wilkins said.

With thousands of dollars worth of water foul, such as swans and ducks, in their backyard, Wilkins’ husband, Alan, said he also worried that the bear might endanger the birds as well.

Middleton Police responded to all the incidents over at Mill Street and have referred the matter to the state Environmental Police, who stopped by the home this week. However, unless the bear causes more property damage, officials simply recommend refraining from storing any type of food, including honeybees and birdseed, outside, according to police.

“He just woke up and he’s hungry,” said Middleton Police Sgt. James DeCosta.

Marion Larson, an information and education biologist for MassWildlife, said that unless the bear cannot find its way back to a wooded area or represents an “imminent” public safety threat, the Environmental Police would not attempt to relocate the bear.

“The mere presence of a bear is not a public safety or health threat,” Larson said. “the best thing to do is not to panic.”

While the bear is coming out of hibernation now, the Wilkins family still cannot explain why they are seeing one this year.

“We’ve lived here for over 30 years, and haven’t ever seen a bear,” Wilkins said.

Larson said that the bear is most likely a young male black bear that recently left its mother.

Black bears are native to the state but reside almost entirely west of the Connecticut River. In that area of Western Massachusetts, MassWildlife said black bears have a density of 1 per square mile of forest.

With recent construction in the area, DeCosta said the bear might have been pushed from its home.

“There is so much building they are losing [habitats],” DeCosta said.

Larson said that this is not the case, though, as MassWildlife believes the black bear has not inhabited Essex County for hundreds of years.

There have been no other reported bear sightings recently in Middleton.

According to MassWildlife, the black bear population in Massachusetts has grown over the past 30 years, from only 100 in the early 1970s to 3,000 recorded in 2005.

Black bears may become aggressive when approached or teased, but will typically flee into the woods when people are around. If a bear is sighted in your neighborhood, MassWildlife suggests leaving the animal alone and letting it return to the woods.

If the bear situation occurs in a densely populated area, law enforcement officials advise calling the Environmental Police at 1-800-632-8075.

Link

Evidence mounts for Wisconsin cougars

April 21, 2009 at 02:23 PM

JAMES A. CARLSON

Associated Press Writer

CALEDONIA, Wis. (AP) – Anna Lashley can’t forget her surprise when she looked out her kitchen window three years ago and spotted a big cat.

“I looked up and there’s this lion in the back yard, and I thought it must have gotten away from the zoo,” she said. “I called the zoo, and they said they hadn’t lost one.”

She’s convinced the animal that quickly departed was a cougar, also known as a mountain lion. The animals were wiped out in most of the eastern U.S. a century ago but have recently shown up again, migrating from the Black Hills of South Dakota into places like Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Deer commonly graze on Lashley’s rural property just south of Milwaukee. During the past three years, she has seen cougars from her window several times. Her 47-year-old son, Joel Lashley, said he was there for the most recent sighting on March 28.

“It was a big one,” he said, estimating the cat was bigger than a German shepherd, wi th a tail about half as long as its body.

“It turned to the side and then just leaped right through there,” he said, pointing to the row of pine trees at the edge of the property.

The Lashleys aren’t alone in their encounters with the cats.

State game managers get scores of reported sightings each year. They try to determine which are false, which are other animals, such as bobcats, and which are cougars.

Only two cougars have been confirmed. One was seen and left clear tracks in the snow in the Milton area of Rock County in January 2008. It was killed that April by police in a Chicago alley, some 100 miles away.

Bear hunters treed the second near Spooner in Barron County in March. An attempt to tranquilize it and attach a tracking collar failed, and the animal ran off.

Along with reported sightings have come suspicions mountain lions might have injured two young horses.

Gary and Sandy Kenner of Chippewa Falls suspect a cougar mauled their 3-month-old colt last summer before the mare interceded.

“We came out, and he had a big bite out of his chest and terrible scratches on its legs,” Gary Kenner said. The colt survived.

Jim and Amanda Saxby of rural Watertown had the same suspicions about the death of their yearling quarter horse in January.

In both cases, investigators from the U.S. Department of Agriculture ruled out a cougar and suggested something else, possibly fencing, caused the injuries.

But both couples have their doubts after hearing many people tell of seeing cougars.

“There’s just too many sightings,” Sandy Kenner said. “You can deny it all you want, but when that many people have seen them, they have to be there.”

The stories are familiar to Ken Jonas, a wildlife biologist supervisor with the state Department of Natural Resources in Hayward.

He said the DNR has no interest in trying to conceal how many cougars are in Wisconsin. But the only way to c onfirm sightings is with photos, good tracks or other physical evidence. In the case of the confirmed sightings, blood, hair, urine and droppings were recovered.

Cougars once lived throughout the eastern U.S., but they were eliminated in most areas by hunting and settlement at the same time a favorite prey, whitetail deer, declined in population. Until last year, a wild cougar had not been confirmed in Wisconsin since the early 1900s.

Researchers learned a lot from the cat that roamed the Milton area for three months before being shot, said Eric Anderson, a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

“Here’s a cat wandering across the landscape of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, a fairly heavily populated area, and nobody saw it,” he said.

Male cougars like that have been moving out from the Black Hills. Anderson said an estimated 20 to 25 young males are believed to leave there each year and go looking for fe males, as well as food.

He expects Wisconsin will eventually have resident cougars.

But if the state had a breeding population now, some cougars would be killed on roads and found feeding on livestock and more evidence would be found in areas where the animals spent time, Jonas said.

Still, he said people venturing outdoors should be aware of potential dangers. He noted the state also has black bears and a healthy wolf population, and even a deer in rut can pose a threat.

The Lashleys said they have nothing against cougars, but they want people to be aware of their presence.

Sandy Kenner said she has no doubts the cats are here.

“I’m totally convinced. I wouldn’t jog at night anymore,” she said. “It doesn’t scare me. Just don’t be stupid.”

Cougar facts

Some facts about the cougar, also known as mountain lion, puma, panther and catamount: – The animal once ranged throughout North America, except in the extreme north. It was gradually wiped out in most of the eastern U.S. as land was cleared for agriculture and forests were cut. Hunters also killed the cats. – A favorite prey is deer, an animal whose population in the eastern U.S. dropped extremely low by the early 1900s because of hunting. – Wild cougars probably never lived in Wisconsin in very high density, but they were not uncommon. They are believed to have been eliminated in Wisconsin by about 1910. – Adult male cougars can weigh 115 to 200 pounds and females are 80 to 120 pounds. The cougar is the fourth largest cat in the world and the second largest, behind the jaguar, in North America. – Attacks on humans are rare but have occurred in the western U.S. and Canada as people moved into cougar habitat. – Cougars are a protected wild animal in Wisconsin, meaning a permit from the DNR is required before anyone can kill one.

Link

Great write up by a blogger who had an unexpected visitor in her neighborhood backyard – a very large Black Bear! Imagine looking out the window of your apartment and seeing that!

Please note that I live in a city of 85,000, nowhere near the edge of town or even near any woodsy places bigger than half a block or so, and that my apartment is sandwiched between three very busy streets. All the same, there’s a freakin’ bear in the yard.

This photo was taken on Thursday evening, and when I woke up that day I saw that the birdfeeder had been pulled down, but the prospect of a bear in the yard was so absurd that I didn’t seriously consider it, and i figured that the ground was soft from thawing and freezing, and maybe a really fat racoon tried to climb the shepherd’s hook or something and it tipped over. But then Mr. Bear made his presence known that evening while I was making dinner. My dinner companion called 911, but apparently the authorities don’t care about bears unless they become threatening, and are, like, actively mauling babies or something. It’s great that they’re respecting the bear’s bearness and all, but I also don’t think this is the greatest place for a very large black bear to be hanging out.

Link

While Black Bear attacks are incredibly rare, stories like this highlight that caution must still be used when traveling in their domain.

Surviving a bear attack Ohio family returns on anniversary of fatal bear attack on child

William Wright 

Banner Staff Writer 
Sunday, Apr 19, 2009

Susan Cenkus recently returned to the scene where her daughter was killed by a black bear on April 13, 2006. 

She and her children came from Ohio back to the camping area near Benton Falls in the Chilhowee Campground to honor 6-year-old Elora Petrasek, who did not survive the attack. 

As she stood under the waterfall last Wednesday, watching the icy waters tumble and flow, remembering her ever cheerful daughter and the joy they felt on that fatal day, Cenkus said her thoughts turned toward eternity.

“I have a real connection here. This was the place I would go to feel the presence of God. I had taken Elora here many times but I had never taken her to the waterfall — until that day.”

Images of Elora, the sound of her voice, the laughter of that day, was not hard to recall. Cenkus said she even remembers “Two weeks earlier Elora said, ‘mommie I may go to heaven before you.’”

Neither that comment nor the fact Elora was fascinated with animals stood out. Now everything about her has special meaning to her mother.

“Elora was a big animal lover,” said Cenkus. “Most little girls her age were buying Barbie dolls. Not my daughter. She was always buying stuffed animals. She would have veterinarian clinics and she would have all her animals lined up to take care of them. I learned so much from her. She had such a love for life.”

During her visited to the Sunrise Rotary Club Thursday, Cenkus spoke about the horrific day that went beyond sheer terror. 

“That morning we decided we would go up to Chilhowee. My son Christopher was performing at a Lee University program that evening. We drove up to Benton Falls and Elora wanted to go to the waterfall. I wasn’t feeling really well that day,” Cenkus recalls. 

“These are truly the last words I specifically remember Elora saying to me. She said, ‘But mommie I really want to go.’ So we traveled down to the falls. 

“When we got to the falls another couple was there, a man and wife and their two children. As we were scanning down to the creek area I looked up in the foliage and saw a black bear.”

Cenkus said because she had walked that area many times and had never seen a bear, she sensed they needed to leave. 

“I said to the couple I believe we need to get out of here. We immediately started to leave the area. As we were coming up I reached back and grabbed hold of my son Luke, who was only 2 years old.”

Elora was already ahead of everyone and had gotten back under the waterfall, according to Cenkus. 

“I remember looking at her and saying, ‘Come on we need to go.’ I turned around to reach for her hand and we started going up toward the camp.”

Cenkus said as soon as she turned back around the black bear had her son.

“He had his right paw going around my son’s head. I immediately ran toward the bear. I pulled my son from him. When I pulled Luke from the bear, I then looked at the bear. I realized he was staring at me.”

That chilling moment, nearly frozen in time, seemed surreal as a mother stood between a bear and his food, daring to put her life on the line without any hesitation. Cenkus explained that in such an unbelievable moment, “people do what needs to be done.” 

“I remembered thinking, OK what do we do here? Because that bear was staring at me and I knew he was intent on hurting me. The group had come up and around as I went back from the bear. Then the bear attacked me,” she said. 

As the 211-pound bear bit down on her neck, Cenkus said she remembers looking in the family man’s face. It was the look of horror. 

“That’s when I recognized the bear had me,” she said. “I thought, ‘I am not going to survive this but if the bear stays busy with me, the rest will survive.’”

Cenkus said she looked over to the man and yelled, “Save my children.” 

“At that point I said to the Lord, ‘I’m ready to go. Please Lord, let me go out.’ At that point I did lose consciousness.”

Cenkus said she remembers waking up later on the ground thinking what a horrible nightmare she just had.

“Then I recognized it wasn’t a nightmare. Being a nurse I was trying to assess myself — trying to find out what my pulse was. I knew I had lost a lot of blood and needed to get out of there. But I didn’t know how bad I was. I found I was totally unable to do anything whatsoever. 

“I wondered if I should call out for help or just be quiet because I knew help would come. I don’t know how much time elapsed. I had lost so much blood I was coming in and out of consciousness.”

At some point she heard a voice saying, “It’s OK, ma’am. We’re here to help you.”

It was Tennessee State Park Ranger Brad Hamby who was the first one to reach Cenkus. Her daughter was not as fortunate. Since the hike was nearly 2 miles, the speculation was that little Elora was the easiest target for the black bear to chase and catch. 

Word of the unusual bear attack swept the nation until the bear was captured, positively identified by FBI Forensic DNA specialists and finally destroyed.

Cenkus was flown to Erlanger, thankful to have survived such a vicious attack. She spent nine days in intensive care and underwent seven surgeries before being made physically whole again.

“I lost two major blood vessels in the back of my neck. My vertebra was almost torn off. Tendons were severed. My arm was almost torn off. I had stitches all through the back of my head and surgery all around my neck.”

Cenkus said it was truly a miracle that she survived and is forever thankful that she and her son Luke, who also suffered injuries, had such excellent care from Erlanger’s medical team who worked on them.

“When I woke up the first thing I remember thinking is that I know who God is. My help is built on my relationship with Jesus Christ and I hold an amazing sense of hope,” said Cenkus.

She remembers feeling compelled to tell her daughter throughout her short life that if she could not protect her, the Lord will.

“We have the hope of glory,” Cenkus said. “Maybe not in this world but in the world to come. It doesn’t mean we won’t go through perilous times. Sometimes we go through amazing tragedy and trauma in this world. There are so many people who have gone through worse than I have.

“My struggle was trying to understand what happened to my daughter. Who was with my daughter? I knew in my mind that God was with her but I kept struggling with it. That was my struggle with God. 

“Then God spoke to my heart and said, ‘You remember all the times you told Elora if I cannot be with you Jesus would be with you? 

I said, ‘Yes, I remember that.’ He said, ‘Did you believe it?’ I said, ‘Yes I did.’ And in my spirit He said, ‘There’s your answer.’”

Cenkus said the anniversary of her daughter’s death on April 13, led her to look at a corresponding scripture in the Bible — John 4:13. 

She started reading where Jesus told a woman at a well, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

“As I stood under that waterfall (Wednesday) to honor my daughter, I could hear that beautiful water rushing over the mountains,” said Cenkus. “And I thought of the eternal life that is promised us.”

Monte Williams of the U.S. Forestry Service told media representatives the attack was unusual, adding, “Black bears usually don’t attack people.”

There are approximately 1,200 to 1,500 black bears in the Cherokee National Forest, according to officials.

Link

I don’t really understand why W made hunting Grizzlies legal when their numbers had barely recovered.

Bear facts: As bears die, hunters and climate change blamed

Bozeman, Mont. – Hunters are killing grizzly bears in record numbers around Yellowstone National Park, threatening to curb the species’ decades-long recovery just two years after it was removed from the endangered species list.By: Associated Press, Associated Press

Bozeman, Mont. – Hunters are killing grizzly bears in record numbers around Yellowstone National Park, threatening to curb the species’ decades-long recovery just two years after it was removed from the endangered species list.

Driving the high death rate, researchers say, is the bears’ continued expansion across the 15,000-square-mile Yellowstone region of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

Bears are being seen –and killed – in places where they were absent for decades. And with climate change suspected in the devastation of one of the bear’s food sources, there is worry the trend will continue as the animals roam farther afield in search of food.

“Last year may have been one those fluke years,” said Chuck Schwartz, a bear biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “Last year could be the beginning of a trend.”

Yellowstone’s 600 grizzlies were removed from the endangered species list in 2007, following a recovery program that cost more than $20 million. If the death rate stays high for a second consecutive year, that would trigger a review of the bear’s endangered status.

Federal officials say there were 48 bears killed by humans last year, out of 71 total deaths. At least 20 of the bruins died at the hands of hunters who shot bears in self-defense or after mistaking them for other animals.

“It’s kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. All you see is a big bear coming at you full speed,” said Ron Leming, a Wyoming elk hunter who survived an attack from a 500-pound male grizzly after his father shot it dead with an arrow.

“If you play dead he might sit there and eat you,” Leming said.

Schwartz and other biologists who study grizzlies insist the population remains strong for now, growing on average 4 percent to 5 percent a year. Yet they acknowledge climate change could prove the wild card that puts that growth in check.

An epidemic of beetles in Yellowstone’s high country has laid waste to tens of thousands of acres of whitebark pine trees, which have seeds that some grizzlies rely on as a dietary staple.

Beetle epidemics are cyclical in the Northern Rockies. The latest one has been prolonged by several consecutive winters in which subfreezing temperatures did not last long enough to knock back the infestation.

If a warming world leads to less whitebark pine, environmentalists fear grizzlies will become more aggressive in challenging hunters – contests that bears usually lose.

“The prospect is that every year is going to be a bad food year because of what’s happening to whitebark,” said Doug Honnold, an attorney for the group Earthjustice.

Citing dying pine forests as a major threat, Honnold’s group sued the federal government in an attempt to get Yellowstone grizzlies back on the endangered species list.

Christopher Servheen, bear recovery coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said his agency is closely monitoring the population and already crafting a plan to stem the death rate.

Promoting hunters’ use of bear spray – a mace-like substance that deters charging bears – tops the list of non-lethal strategies for handling bears.

But some hunters including Leming, who narrowly escaped his bear run-in near Cody, Wyo. last fall, say they would rather rely on a gun. Bear spray, Leming said, is great to have on hand when he’s sleeping in his tent. In the woods, he’d rather have a handgun at his side.

Gregg Losinski, an education specialist with Idaho Fish and Game, said promoting the possibility of future grizzly bear hunts might convince more people to buy into bear conservation.

Hunts currently are not allowed, but Losinski said the mere possibility could give hunters a sense that they will get a “payback” for conservation.

Other measures being considered to curb bear deaths are stepped-up public education efforts and restrictions on livestock grazing, to prevent bear attacks on sheep and cattle.

Even with those measures, researchers say bear deaths are inevitable as the animals returns to a different landscape than that occupied by their ancestors.

Before early European settlers drove bears to near extinction, there were an estimated 50,000 grizzlies in the western half of the United States.

Yellowstone’s bears are among about 1,500 that have since repopulated the Northern Rockies. They must compete for space with several million tourists, and property owners.

“Some people say, ‘This is terrible, there’s more bears killed now than in many years,’” Servheen said. “Well, there’s more bears now.”

Link

I had no idea. So now what should we carry to defend ourselves? Or should we just not worry about it?

Is Bear Pepper Spray Legal or Illegal to have in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

With more than 2 black bear per square mile and around 900 miles of hiking trails and roadways in the Great Smoky Mountains national park, your chances of having a bear encounter up close or from a distance are quite good. Because of this many hikers and campers carry cans of bear pepper spray they have purchased from either outfitters or online.

Regardless of what these stores or web sites are telling you, it is ILLEGAL to carry, posses or use any form of bear spray, pepper spray, mace or any other irritant gas spray in the Great Smoky Mountains national park. This is not just a “park rule” but a weapons law on federal property – not something you want to break at any cost.

Don’t kill the messenger as I was in complete shock when I learned of this through the kindness of a park employee who read on one of my web sites my recommendation to purchase and carry bear spray when hiking or camping in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

It’s pretty obvious to anyone who hikes or goes camping in the Great Smoky Mountains national park that it is against the law to have a loaded firearm in the park. There are signs at every trailhead and this general rule – make that law – applies to most national parks.

The fact that guns are prohibited from the Great Smoky Mountains national park also appears on the back of park maps, in written park literature, is stated in lectures given by both park personal and volunteers and on the parks web site.

What is virtually impossible for the average park visitor to find anywhere is the fact that you can not carry bear spray or on your person – that includes in your backpack while in the park.

Even more confusing is the fact that if you do a general search on theGreat Smoky Mountains national park web site under “National Park Service for the term “bear spray” it describes the use of bear spray in other national parks.

Yesterday I went to a handful of local outfitters or their web sites in the Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville area and they all have bear pepper spray for sale. When I asked not one told me I could not carry bear spray in the park.

As a mater of fact one of the best known outfitters in Gatlinburg whose store is so close it is almost in the GSM national park has on their web site “Bear Spray & Personal Protection For A Safe Hike In Great Smoky Mountains National Park Or In Your Own Neighborhood”.

To be further confusing many other companies online, web sites, hiker forums etc all advocate the use of Bear Pepper Spray in national parks – often specifically referencing the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

As mater of fact it is also used as a reason why guns should not be needed against a bear attack in a national park. I myself recommended it many times as a viable non lethal alternative to guns with a far lower chance of serious collateral damage to others.

I see Appalachian Trail through hikers in the Great Smoky Mountains national park as a group unknowingly breaking this law quite regularly and since their travels take them through various jurisdictions with varying laws they are at a greater risk of being caught up in breaking this weapons law on federal property.

In case you are wondering what the exact law is and if it has been misinterpreted by me here it is:

TITLE 36–PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY

CHAPTER I–NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

PART 2_RESOURCE PROTECTION, PUBLIC USE AND RECREATION–Table of Contents
Sec. 2.4 Weapons, traps and nets.

(a)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section and parts 7 (special regulations) and 13 (Alaska regulations), the following are prohibited:
(i) Possessing a weapon, trap or net
(ii) Carrying a weapon, trap or net
(iii) Using a weapon, trap or net
Definition of a weapon is described below:

TITLE 36–PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY

CHAPTER I–NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

PART 1_GENERAL PROVISIONS–Table of Contents

Sec. 1.4 What terms do I need to know?
Weapon means a firearm, compressed gas or spring-powered pistol or rifle, bow and arrow, crossbow, blowgun, speargun, hand-thrown spear, slingshot, irritant gas device, explosive device, or any other implement designed to discharge missiles, and includes a weapon the possession of which is prohibited under the laws of the State in which the park area or portion thereof is located.

If you have purchased bear pepper spray through one of my web sites for use only in the GSMNP and you wish to return it, contact me through the site and I will arrange for you to be able to return it for a full refund.

If you own bear spray, don’t bring it into the Great Smoky Mountains national park and I suggest you call any other place you wish to carry it before you bring it there.

If you are not happy with the law banning the use of Bear Spray in the GSMNP, don’t harass the park employees, complain to your congressman or Washington.

As for my recommendation to the national park, I would consider adding a written notice that bear spray or any irritant gas device is illegal to posses in the GSMNP on:

• Park bulletin boards – the first one being at the beginning of the AT in Fontana.
• The black bear page on the parks web site
• Printing it on future bear, hiking and camping literature
• On the back of future issues of park maps where other park rules are located right next to where it says firearms are prohibited.

There are questions as to the effectiveness of Bear Spray and well as potential safety issues for those not properly trained in its use.

I also as that if you have a hiking or camping forum you post in, blog, MySpace or Facebook page you let others know about this law by linking to this page at:

http://yoursmokies.blogspot.com/2009/04/is-bear-pepper-spray-legal-or-illegal.html

As always comments are not only welcome but encouraged.

Link

Check out this horse related blog for a discussion of the recent mountain lion study.

What to do if you encounter a mountain lion

We have mountain lions here in the Pinenut mountain range where I live and ride.  I’ve encountered them on a few occasions over the years and have seen their tracks often.  Usually they are far away or running for cover and the sighting is brief.

I remember riding once on Weaver years ago and we were walking along through the pinion pines winding our way up a steep climb and all of the a sudden my heart rate monitor went sky high.  I stopped the horse and fiddled with it.  I figured that something must be wrong.  Weaver spun around and turned, his hair was standing on end kind of like it had done when we’ve encountered bears on the Tahoe Rim Trail or else out at Wolf Creek (also, they were always running away from us, thank goodness).  Almost immediately after he spun around I heard the cat make a screeching sound and that’s when I knew it was a large cat of some sort.

This same week our neighbors at the end of the street had been spotting the cat on top of their chicken coop.  It was a good sized mountain lion and I’m pretty sure they shot it.  We learned to keep an eye out for tracks after that.  We now have a bobcat that has taken up residence and that I’ve seen once and think the horses have reacted to it’s presence more than once on a ride.

I ran across this article online at the Scientific American website and thought it was interesting.  It is called “Should You Run or Freeze When You See a Mountain Lion Here is an excerpt – sounds to me like the best thing to do is to move away slowly, eh?

“half of the 18 people who ran when they were attacked escaped injury. The study also found, however, that those who ran had a slightly higher chance of being killed in an attack—28 percent (five) of those who fled died as a result of injuries, compared with 23 percent (eight) of those who remained motionless during big cat attacks. About 39 percent, or 28 people, who moved away slowly when approached by a mountain lion escaped without injury”

Link

There have to be better ways to end it all than jumping into a Polar Bear enclosure.

Woman mauled at zoo was suicidal – report

From correspondents in Berlin

April 14, 2009 08:23pm

A GERMAN woman mauled by three polar bears after she leapt into the moat surrounding their pen at a Berlin zoo was apparently suicidal after a string of setbacks, a newspaper reports.

The daily Bild reported today that Sandy K, 32, who is still in intensive care after the attack, went to the zoo alone on Friday while her eight-year-old daughter spent the Easter holiday weekend with her father, Sandy’s estranged partner Lars. 

Sandy had long had financial problems and in February, the electricity was cut off to her flat, which she had been lighting since then with candles. 

“She occasionally came over with the kettle so she could heat up her water,” a neighbour told Bild. 

In the summer of 2007, she nearly lost her apartment due to rent arrears and mounting debts from internet shopping and was threatened with jail time unless she started paying them off. 

Sandy had evidently been alone since Lars, whom she met during her studies, left her four years ago. 

“She had been studying too long and I was working too much. We lost our love,” Lars told Bild. 

The mauling made front page news, in part due to the celebrity of the polar bears at Berlin Zoo. 

They shot to global fame in 2007 after the birth of the cub Knut, which was abandoned by its mother and survived only by being fed from baby bottles by a keeper. 

Neither Knut nor his mother was involved in Friday’s attack. 

Link

It’s the season when bears emerge from hibernation and gators get active. Add snakes to the list, too. Watch yourselves out there, folks.

Snakes Active in Spring   Lauderdale County, Miss. This is the time of year snakes come out of hibernation. Dr. Jarrod Fogarty, a biology instructor at MSU Meridian, says many people are afraid of all snakes. But he says of the fifty varieties in Mississippi, only eight are actually venomous. “One of the most important things is if you don’t know how to identify snakes, just stay away from them,” Fogarty said. “Don’t try to handle them. That’s one of the mistakes a lot of people make.” Fogarty said keeping your grass cut and removing things like fallen limbs in your yard are good ideas, because snakes like to hide there.

Link

Bears are waking up in the Pacific Northwest, so caution is always advised.

ODFW Offers Tips for Avoiding Problems With Bears

Salem-News.com

A wildlife biologist says a few precautions can prevent most of the problems that people have with bears.

(CLACKAMAS, Ore.) – Spring is a time of renewal in Oregon and around the Pacific Northwest. It is also the time of year when bears wake up from their long winter naps and come out of their dens to look for food.

Unfortunately, many of these animals get themselves into trouble by looking for meals in all the wrong places – porches, sheds, garages, garbage cans, barbecues, kennels and bird feeders, where they can become a nuisance … or worse.

Not only do these incidents pose a threat to the bear, which may have to be destroyed if the behavior continues, they can also pose a threat to humans who may have a run-in with one of Oregon’s largest wildlife species.

Every spring, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife responds to calls from individuals from all over the state concerned about some kind of encounter they have had with a black bear.

Oregon is home to about 25,000 to 30,000 bears. While sightings are not unusual, bear attacks on humans are extremely rare. Even so, any contact with a bear, or any other wild animal for that matter, should be considered potentially dangerous and be avoided if at all possible.

A few precautions can prevent most of the problems that people have with bears, according to Dave Bostick, assistant district wildlife biologist for the North Willamette Watershed District.

“The fixes are pretty simple,” said Bostick. “Don’t feed the bears – intentionally or unintentionally.”

Unsecured garbage is one of the leading causes of conflicts between bears and humans, according to Bostick, who recommends keeping garbage cans inside a garage or shed until the morning of pick-up service.

“Don’t put it out the night before or you’re asking for problems,” said Bostick.

Pet food bowls left out side and bird feeders improperly hung are the other primary sources of problems, he said. Pets should be fed inside, and bird feeders should be hung away from the side of a building or trunk of a tree so bears cannot get to them. Store extra bird seed in a secured location, and keep the area under bird feeders clean. Compost piles should be covered and outdoor barbecues kept clean.

The object is to take away any incentive for bears to come around, and it usually boils down to food. These precautions are much more effective if everybody in the neighborhood follows them.

“If you follow these tips but the person down the street doesn’t, they could still cause bear problems for you and your neighbors,” Bostick said. He suggested that if bears are found venturing into a neighborhood that people work cooperatively with each other and ODFW to resolve the problem.

All of these precautions are aimed at keeping bears from habituating themselves to humans because if they lose their fear of people it can become a potentially dangerous situation.

ODFW recommends that in the unlikely event a person encounters a bear they react as follows:· Give the bear a way to escape· Steer clear of bear cubs· Stay calm and do not run or make sudden movements· Back away slowly as you face the bear· Consider talking to it in a firm tone of voice to let it know you are a human· Avoid direct eye contact with the bear.· If you are attacked, fight back, shout, be aggressive, use rocks, sticks and hands to fend off an attack

For more information about living with black bears, visit the ODFW Web site at: dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/black_bears.asp.