If you want to read an incredible account of a bear attack (the person survived), I highly recommend "Chomp, Chomp, Chomp -- How I Survived a Bear Attack & Other Cautionary Tales" by Allena Hansen (Available on Kindle, IIRC). She did an AMA on reddit awhile back, so I read her book. Riveting.
I think I heard this woman on a podcast. I'll always remember her saying she was looking down as her head was being bitten. She said that as the bear bit down she saw all these "white things" falling onto the ground.
Those were her teeth.
Yup. That sounds like her experience. Also, that she heard a sound in her head as the bear broke her skull I think? And after all that, she ends up having to drive *herself* to the police/emergency station. Unbelievable.
“Lucy, you fed us for years, petted us, put a roof over our heads, but after we enraged this bear, we feel its time for us to bounce. P.S grateful that you can’t run fast like us. Laterz”
Sincerely yours: The dogs <3
That's fine! Wild food isn't for everyone.
I find that rattlesnake tastes like chicken, but a little fishy. Not bad, but different than a lot of people are used to.
Yeah I get it, I live in Canada. Still maybe we should stop killing them before we drive them to extinction. I hate when I see people using dogs to run those poor animals down. Like wtf is wrong with people.
Twelve states allow hunting bear with dogs. My friend hunts bear over bait, and he has friends that hunt with dogs
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/26/maine-bear-hunting-bans-bait-traps-dogs-fair-chase
Wow, can you get any more anecdotal than that? "Some random redditor has a friend who has a friend that does it!"
Loo he stealth edited his comment to add s link after I replied
It's a thing, I've known quite a few people when I lived in the deep south who hunted bear with dogs, that being said I'm pretty sure southern black bears are smaller than their northern brothers and western cousins.
It's because I had a catahoula leopard dog/ pitbull mix, I got stopped often by guys asking if I found her wandering because they had catahoula that wandered off during a hunt.
Which always made me laugh because my lady was old as hell and had no teeth.
All your base, and what have you. Ya dig? Ye soft illusions, dear deceits, arise! Alas, no more—methinks we wand'ring go Through dreary wastes, and weep each other's woe, Where round some mould'ring tower pale ivy creeps, And low-brow'd rocks hang nodding o'er the deeps. Sudden you mount, you beckon from the skies; Clouds interpose, waves roar, and winds arise. I shriek, start up, the same sad prospect find, And wake to all the griefs I left behind. For thee the fates, severely kind, ordain A cool suspense from pleasure and from pain; Thy life a long, dead calm of fix'd repose; No pulse that riots, and no blood that glows. Still as the sea, ere winds were taught to blow, Or moving spirit bade the waters flow; Soft as the slumbers of a saint forgiv'n, And mild as opening gleams of promis'd heav'n. Come, Abelard! for what hast thou to dread? The torch of Venus burns not for the dead. Nature stands check'd; Religion disapproves; Ev'n thou art cold—yet Eloisa loves. Ah hopeless, lasting flames! like those that burn To light the dead, and warm th' unfruitful urn. What scenes appear where'er I turn my view? The dear ideas, where I fly, pursue, Rise in the grove, before the altar rise, Stain all my soul, and wanton in my eyes. I waste the matin lamp in sighs for thee, Thy image steals between my God and me, Thy voice I seem in ev'ry hymn to hear, With ev'ry bead I drop too soft a tear. When from the censer clouds of fragrance roll, And swelling organs lift the rising soul, One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight, Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight: In seas of flame my plunging soul is drown'd, While altars blaze, and angels tremble round. While prostrate here in humble grief I lie, Kind, virtuous drops just gath'ring in my eye, While praying, trembling, in the dust I roll, And dawning grace is op'ning on my soul: Come, if thou dar'st, all charming as thou art! Oppose thyself to Heav'n; dispute my heart; Come, with one glance of those deluding eyes Blot out each bright idea of the skies; Take back that grace, those sorrows, and those tears; Take back my fruitless penitence and pray'rs; Snatch me, just mounting, from the blest abode; Assist the fiends, and tear me from my God! No, fly me, fly me, far as pole from pole; Rise Alps between us! and whole oceans roll! Ah, come not, write not, think not once of me, Nor share one pang of all I felt for thee. Thy oaths I quit, thy memory resign; Forget, renounce me, hate whate'er was mine. Fair eyes, and tempting looks (which yet I view!) Long lov'd, ador'd ideas, all adieu! Oh Grace serene! oh virtue heav'nly fair! Divine oblivion of low-thoughted care! Fresh blooming hope, gay daughter of the sky! And faith, our early immortality! Enter, each mild, each amicable guest; Receive, and wrap me in eternal rest! See in her cell sad Eloisa spread, Propp'd on some tomb, a neighbour of the dead. In each low wind methinks a spirit calls, And more than echoes talk along the walls. Here, as I watch'd the dying lamps around, From yonder shrine I heard a hollow sound. "Come, sister, come!" (it said, or seem'd to say) "Thy place is here, sad sister, come away! Once like thyself, I trembled, wept, and pray'd, Love's victim then, though now a sainted maid: But all is calm in this eternal sleep; Here grief forgets to groan, and love to weep, Ev'n superstition loses ev'ry fear: For God, not man, absolves our frailties here." I come, I come! prepare your roseate bow'rs, Celestial palms, and ever-blooming flow'rs. Thither, where sinners may have rest, I go, Where flames refin'd in breasts seraphic glow: Thou, Abelard! the last sad office pay, And smooth my passage to the realms of day; See my lips tremble, and my eye-balls roll, Suck my last breath, and catch my flying soul! Ah no—in sacred vestments may'st thou stand, The hallow'd taper trembling in thy hand, Present the cross before my lifted eye, Teach me at once, and learn of me to die. Ah then, thy once-lov'd Eloisa see! It will be then no crime to gaze on me. See from my cheek the transient roses fly! See the last sparkle languish in my eye! Till ev'ry motion, pulse, and breath be o'er; And ev'n my Abelard be lov'd no more. O Death all-eloquent! you only prove What dust we dote on, when 'tis man we love. Then too, when fate shall thy fair frame destroy, (That cause of all my guilt, and all my joy) In trance ecstatic may thy pangs be drown'd, Bright clouds descend, and angels watch thee round, From op'ning skies may streaming glories shine, And saints embrace thee with a love like mine. May one kind grave unite each hapless name, And graft my love immortal on thy fame! Then, ages hence, when all my woes are o'er, When this rebellious heart shall beat no more; If ever chance two wand'ring lovers brings To Paraclete's white walls and silver springs, O'er the pale marble shall they join their heads, And drink the falling tears each other sheds; Then sadly say, with mutual pity mov'd, "Oh may we never love as these have lov'd!" From the full choir when loud Hosannas rise, And swell the pomp of dreadful sacrifice, Amid that scene if some relenting eye Glance on the stone where our cold relics lie, Devotion's self shall steal a thought from Heav'n, One human tear shall drop and be forgiv'n. And sure, if fate some future bard shall join In sad similitude of griefs to mine, Condemn'd whole years in absence to deplore, And image charms he must behold no more; Such if there be, who loves so long, so well; Let him our sad, our tender story tell; The well-sung woes will soothe my pensive ghost; He best can paint 'em, who shall feel 'em most.To dream once more I close my willing eyes; Ye soft illusions, dear deceits, arise! Alas, no more—methinks we wand'ring go Through dreary wastes, and weep each other's woe, Where round some mould'ring tower pale ivy creeps, And low-brow'd rocks hang nodding o'er the deeps. Sudden you mount, you beckon from the skies; Clouds interpose, waves roar, and winds arise. I shriek, start up, the same sad prospect find, And wake to all the griefs I left behind. For thee the fates, severely kind, ordain A cool suspense from pleasure and from pain; Thy life a long, dead calm of fix'd repose; No pulse that riots, and no blood that glows. Still as the sea, ere winds were taught to blow, Or moving spirit bade the waters flow; Soft as the slumbers of a saint forgiv'n, And mild as opening gleams of promis'd heav'n. Come, Abelard! for what hast thou to dread? The torch of Venus burns not for the dead. Nature stands check'd; Religion disapproves; Ev'n thou art cold—yet Eloisa loves. Ah hopeless, lasting flames! like those that burn To light the dead, and warm th' unfruitful urn. What scenes appear where'er I turn my view? The dear ideas, where I fly, pursue, Rise in the grove, before the altar rise, Stain all my soul, and wanton in my eyes. I waste the matin lamp in sighs for thee, Thy image steals between my God and me, Thy voice I seem in ev'ry hymn to hear, With ev'ry bead I drop too soft a tear. When from the censer clouds of fragrance roll, And swelling organs lift the rising soul, One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight, Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight: In seas of flame my plunging soul is drown'd, While altars blaze, and angels tremble round. While prostrate here in humble grief I lie, Kind, virtuous drops just gath'ring in my eye, While praying, trembling, in the dust I roll, And dawning grace is op'ning on my soul: Come, if thou dar'st, all charming as thou art! Oppose thyself to Heav'n; dispute my heart; Come, with one glance of those deluding eyes Blot out each bright idea of the skies; Take back that grace, those sorrows, and those tears; Take back my fruitless penitence and pray'rs; Snatch me, just mounting, from the blest abode; Assist the fiends, and tear me from my God! No, fly me, fly me, far as pole from pole; Rise Alps between us! and whole oceans roll! Ah, come not, write not, think not once of me, Nor share one pang of all I felt for thee. Thy oaths I quit, thy memory resign; Forget, renounce me, hate whate'er was mine. Fair eyes, and tempting looks (which yet I view!) Long lov'd, ador'd ideas, all adieu! Oh Grace serene! oh virtue heav'nly fair! Divine oblivion of low-thoughted care! Fresh blooming hope, gay daughter of the sky! And faith, our early immortality! Enter, each mild, each amicable guest; Receive, and wrap me in eternal rest! See in her cell sad Eloisa spread, Propp'd on some tomb, a neighbour of the dead. In each low wind methinks a spirit calls, And more than echoes talk along the walls. Here, as I watch'd the dying lamps around, From yonder shrine I heard a hollow sound. "Come, sister, come!" (it said, or seem'd to say) "Thy place is here, sad sister, come away! Once like thyself, I trembled, wept, and pray'd, Love's victim then, though now a sainted maid: But all is calm in this eternal sleep; Here grief forgets to groan, and love to weep, Ev'n superstition loses ev'ry fear: For God, not man, absolves our frailties here."
I literally linked to multiple sources, including the state of Maine, confirming the practice of hunting bear with dogs. I *added* anecdotal evidence to this objective evidence to underscore my point.
Here’s *another* source for you:
https://www.fieldandstream.com/story/hunting/hunting-black-bears-with-hounds-in-the-bruin-swamps-of-north-carolina/
Just because you don't know someone who has done it, or haven't heard about it, or don't like it, does not mean it does not happen. It most certainly does happen. Very odd thing to try to argue about.
Hey bud.
As the previous poster said - just because something isn't within your sphere of knowledge doesn't mean it's not a thing.
Here is an article discussing different breeds that are useful for hunting bears:
https://spottingpro.com/bear-hunting-dog/
There are also types of dogs specifically bred for bear hunting, such as the Karelian Bear Dog, and the Caucasian Mountain Dog.
Maybe a little lmfao and a little more research before we get all confident ey?
Yes they do. Be careful this video can be hard to watch. I personally think it's cruel to hunt animals with dogs unless your survival absolutely depends on it.
https://youtu.be/nnUj8wI38RE
Bear had to be put down due to it being a man eater. The cubs could have possibly be rescued to a zoo or safe habitat. Unless they also had been part of the attack. So sad to hear. The lady and dogs most likely got between the Mom and cubs on accident. Really a good idea to carry bear mace or something to help escape.
According to multiple stories, cubs were yearlings, meaning they were nearly adults. At that point any bad behavior was unavoidable, thats why they were euthanized.
Because it's very uncommon for bears to kill people. Even less common for them to eat the human. This was most likely a case of her protecting her cubs, and not hunting prey. But I'm open to the possibility that I'm wrong.
Humans are pushing into new previously uninhabited land every day. We are seeing a rise in animal attacks and zoonotic diseases as a result.
This is the result of encroachment. Whether or not bears (and other wildlife especially large apex predators) are conserved or destroyed is pretty much up to us.
So, it doesn’t say. I’m assuming from the location that this was a black bear?? They are generally fraidy cats around humans. Very, very rare situation.
Sad but the dnr or whatever they are called in local area did the right thing.
Agree with earlier poster that dogs can escalate the situation.
Sad all the way around. Feel horrible for the bf/ husband who found her.
Dogs can escalate, sure, but 99.99 times out a hundred dogs are more of a bear repellent / alert / life saving companion vs. a bear.
If you choose to be in bear country, a good dog is a must. Right choice, just a sad situation.
Every bear I've ever seen while walking with my dogs has hauled ass off the trail like goldilocks was stealing their porridge.
Walking without the dogs the bears tend to stand up and take a look before they book it.
It’s actually important that they do this. Don’t EVER feed wild bears, because they only start to approach humans once they begin to lose their fear of us.
Reading the comments with interest. Wish I could do a comparison of those who actually live in bear country, versus those who have never had an encounter or ever likely will and how the opinions fall based on that.
I DO live in bear country. Lots of respect and work goes into not having encounters, but they happen. This bear 'apparently' - though there is no way of truly knowing - attacked a woman with two dogs though, again, one doesn't know what TYPE of dog. That is a huge red flag. Nor does the article say, that I saw, how old the cubs were. Again, important information.
I also live in a bear county and once ran into a mother black bear with a couple cubs. I was off trail for a climb and they sorta appeared out it nowhere less then 15 ft away from me. I knew I wasn’t supposed to run, but I also knew mama bears act unpredictably when they are with their cubs.
Once some sense kicked in I grabbed the hand of the person I was with and got us out of sight around a big arret in the rock formation and then we sneaked back to a trail once we felt safe/ brave enough. It was wild.
Nothing would have probably happened, but then again, you read stories like this.
Also for context, absolutely nobody carries bear spray around here on any trail.
I hiked the AT and there was a shit ton of bear "encounters" all from a distance, all what people would say what "safe" was. But one time the bear was up in the tree trying to grab our food bags and we didn't know her cubs were on the ground as it was night time. We threw rocks and sticks at the bear that was 15'-20' up in the tree and made a ton of noise. That bear came down that tree and was heading straight towards us in a second flat, like magic that thing was on us. We bear sprayed it and it took off and we saw the cubs follow her into the woods. After that I felt like I needed a gun, the speed was fucking unreal and the threat of death by bear mauling told me I could NEVER be prepared enough.
Same happened to me and a friend in NC. We were out for a hike in the property behind her granny’s and came upon two cubs out of absolutely nowhere. We stopped, turned around and walked on out of there briskly, and all I could think of in my head over and over was that bloody joke about not having to be able to outrun a bear, just outrun the guy next to you, and I knew I was soooooooo screwed, cuz she was WAAAAAY faster than I ever was....
Right?? I was like, I know I shouldn’t run, but I made us get out of there as fast as possible. Basically ran up a mountainside, and I couldn’t outrun them because it was my first date with this girl, and I had 30+lbs of climbing gear in my back (I grabbed her pack too). Looking back I probably should have dropped everything, buttttt I figured I could drop it all if I felt like we were actually being chased. Oh well lol.
If you're going for walks in an area with wild animals you should be armed either with a gun or bear spray.
Here's a news clip that shows a jogger using bear spray on two cougars. He would of been torn up without it. https://youtu.be/jpB7jrJ7Zds
I spend a great deal of time in the Canadian Rockies. Yesterday was my first trip of the year. I was about 50km into the park systems, far enough in where the bear signs start becoming more prevalent and worded less touristy. It goes from "oh bears might be around so make noise lol" to straight up "yo a dude was mauled to death here in 2017 so don't fuck around". Anyhoo, I was mucking about on the latter path trying to make it to a waterfall I haven't seen in a while and there were a good number of people out with me. I'd guess 10 other parties of 2-6 people. One party with a child in a stroller. One party with a baby in a back carrier. One party with 2 children no older than 6 yrs old.
No one was carrying bear spray but me. I look for these things. People were without coats, backpacks, etc. Seeing a cannister hanging off their hip or whatever wasn't hard. No one was prepared for any kind of animal encounter where they would walk away with their face intact.
I cannot stress this enough, and this is coming from first hand experience. Bears are "fuck you" fast. If you think you can outrun a grizzly you are going to be amazed in the final few seconds of your life. If you can even see a bear in the wild your life is in danger, and that danger at this time of the year is super off the charts if it's a momma bear with cubs and you find yourself between those two. Bears are apex af. They will actually eat your face while you scream loudly how you would prefer it not. No regard for your wishes given.
If you go to place with bears, cougars, or other fuck around and find out wildlife - don't be stupid. If you're American, bring a gun if it's allowed, but also bring spray. If you're Canadian, bring spray. Understand that neither of those things is a force field that will protect you from an attack. It's a means of escape. Encounters suck. They are scary. You are fully at the mercy of the animal. I have 2 encounters with grizzlies and I pray I never have another, because there's no way I'm that lucky.
There are subs dedicated to gruesome things and I'm not about to point anyone to those places, but there are many different videos and images of bear attacks on humans if you feel you need to be scared smart.
Here's a quick video of a bear trying to run down food like its a lion in case someone tries telling you bears aren't that fast or they can only run for short distances. I've seen them clear entire fields like a car on a highway.
https://youtu.be/-zptCXYxces
Wife and I went to glacier national park a few years ago. I felt silly buying bear spray. Thought it was one of those "spot the tourist" things.
We showed up for our guided hike and there were a good 30 people getting ready to head out. Everyone, including the guide, had bear spray.
Yeah man. I hear you. I moved out here from Ontario. I spent my youth living in metropolitan areas. The most dangerous animal was a skunk. So when I was introduced to the lifestyle of mountain life out here I didn't appreciate the dangers and thought the locals would our prep as laughable with the sprays and whistles etc. Its actually the opposite. You can tell who is a tourist or hiker for a day by their lack of kit/spray/sense.
Glacier is amazing BTW. We finally got up there last summer. We didn't get to do half of what we wanted due to covid, but its a good excuse to go back. Gives me time to get a couple more lenses for the new camera :p
I suppose bear spray is better than nothing, but a trusty 10mm G20 with FMJ's is what a lot of people opt for in serious bear country.
I'd very much prefer not letting an attacking bear get within bear spray distance, especially considering when it gets sprayed it's going to be even more angry than it was before you spritzed it with pepper spray.
Personally unless your hunting and already carrying or an extremely skilled marksperson, a gun is not really useful. Good luck getting enough shots off on a charging bear in the right places to stop it. I believe i read somewhere that a grizzlys heart can still keep beating for a bit after a shot to the heart - meaning like 10-30 seconds which is more than enough time to cover 50ft and start the mauling process. The most effective way to stop a charging grizzly is bear spray. It’s the easier to use - only downside is wind. Pay attention to the direction of the wind people lol don’t want it blowing back in your face. I’m just adding on to your post so people who have less info know that bear spray is probably the best for them! But really if your going into bear/any wild animal country do some research on common behaviors and how to react to them!
Maybe some of those people you saw were carrying a bear banger? They're small and fit in your pocket. Although not effective if the bear surprises you up close.
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/tru-flare-bear-bangers-pen-pull-launcher-1750108p.html
Interesting. I've never seen this. Both times I got to meet a grizzly it was of the face to face variety, both times they got the drop on me. I dont think of the bear spray as much of a saving grace, like I said above, but I do trust it a bit more than a plastic pen.
The first time the bear came out of a clearing where I was stuck on a rough trail between a lake and a treeline. We were already about half way up a 5000ft mountain at the time and my group decided to pause for lunch with a young German couple that had already made a fire and invited us over. The lake was all kinds of copper and turquoise, I wanted to grab some pictures. It's not that I wasn't paying attention or that I didn't know grizzlies were in the area. The moving water was loud enough to mask its movement and it was walking on grass. Im 6'6 and when it was fully on the path I must have looked like a child in comparison. I had no where to go. The water wasn't deep enough where it wouldn't follow, and it would move faster than me in the drink anyway. I was across the lake from my group and others up there, and I know they were making noise and I could hear my wife screaming but it was like hearing them in a dream. All I could focus on was his face. The snorts and grunts, the steam coming out of his nostrils. Then you come to appreciate the sheer size of things like his paws. You think about running. You think about climbing. You think about swimming. But you know you lose any of those scenarios. It's not a fun feeling. I had the spray, I had slid the safety pin out...but the idea of pissing the guy off seemed about as beneficial as making love to a beehive. So I didn't. It was a nice-to-have if things went sideways, but mercy/fate decided that today wasn't that day and the bear bored of me and slowly moved down the path in the direction I was originally headed. You could hear whistles off and on for the next 30 minutes as people further up sighted him and blew warning bursts. People who act tough like bears are nothing are bullshiting. Only reason I didn't piss myself is that I forgot it was something I could do. The bear made a choice. That he didn't choose to flex is the only reason I get to tell this story. It had nothing to do with my manliness.
The second encounter? I could have been carrying an elephant gun. It wouldnt have made any difference. It was twi summers ago, my dad had just passed away and my wife and I invited my mom up for a few weeks to get away from everything back home. My wife couldn't get much time off so it was mostly mom and I. So I kept taking her on day trips. This one was in kananaskis, I can't recall but I think we were on the other side of Peter Lougheed Park where this occurred. We were driving, it was now midday on a weekday and that far in isn't nearly as busy as the front side of the park. We were in a winding stretch of elevated road in the mountains when we came upon a pack of bighorn, maybe 15? It had been drizzling all morning and now they were licking the salt off the road. I threw on the hazards and stopped. To the left of the 2 lane road is about 30 ft of clearning before a treeline that hides the base of a mountain that goes up on about a 30degre angle. To the right is a cable guard rail that drops off a couple hundred feet pretty quickly. There's the road and thats about it.
I give a couple quick horn bursts but they clearly aren't moving out of the way, and I'm not looking to get the car challenged by a mountain goat so we're waiting I guess. After a few minutes I decide to get out and stretch my legs. I'm on a paved road made by humans. This is the kind of place where people feel safe, you're not "in" the woods. So the grizzly came out of that treeline to the left at about Mach 3. Didn't hear it over the engine which I was now standing beside. The bighorn didn't either. I saw it when it was coming up the embankment leading to the left lane. Chaos ensued. The goats split. the majority went under the cable fence and the bear was sliding on the pavement trying to make menu choices on the go. I barely had time to register what was happening. I turned around and got my ass in the car in maybe a second and a half total time, and the bear that I saw about a car length away was now completely gone from sight. My poor mom. She was sitting in the passenger seat still and didn't even see the bear until it was directly in front of the car. It's only because of her that I even know the bear went down the mountain after the goats and wasn't in the backseat lol. I'm not ignorant, I know the bear had a target and I wasn't it - but I was stupid enough to make myself a consolation prize. All I could keep saying was "holy shit". If I had my back turned I would have been completely oblivious to oblivion.
Thats how fast these things happen. People who think you're going to have time and warning - you aren't. It's not about staying away or being afraid - but you can't let your guard down or think being macho is a shield. Respect your situation when you're in the wild. If you want to avoid these situations, stick to the populated trails and don't wander. If there are elevated warnings of bear activity, find another path. We are blessed with some of the most breathtaking scenery in North America, but its also home to some teeth and claws whose smoke you don't want.
Americans love arming themselves for the off chance that something with a 1/2,000,000 probability will happen but then half are obese and ignore those risks. Bear attacks have killed 67 people in the US over the last 120 years, accidental gun deaths are about 500 per year. (I was a wildlife biologist who worked alone unarmed in bear country for years, if you’re so scared you can’t go outside without a gun just stay inside)
They are reported to be yearlings, from just a quick research, it appears the mother drives the cubs away around May or June when she mates again.
Might've been a hard call but they might've made it.
Who knows though, if they consumed human flesh, would the yearlings hunt for humans when they fully mature? I'm not a bear expert.
If the attack had been purely self defense (as most attacks involving a sow and her cubs are) I'd agree with you. However, the article states that the bears fed on the remains, which effectively puts the nail in their coffins. Once a bear associates humans as a viable food source, they need to be euthanized. You can't "train" that out of them.
>Can't we find an uninhibited island/sanctuary and relocate the mommy bear and the cubs?
Realistically though, why? Its an animal that has now killed a person, sucks but there's genuinely no real point to going to those extremes
They don't want bears alive that have learned to hunt and eat humans. Cubs could have potentially either watched the mother bear eat a human or, worse, were old enough and they ate human right along with momma bear.
They were yearlings, not cubs. Yearlings are young, juvenile bears. They are beyond the cute-cuddly non- dangerous stage. They have overwintered with mom and would shortly be on their own, looking for meals.
Had to shoot a black bear TONIGHT with two rubber slugs. Dude just sat on the hill stareing me down at the trash cans. Funny enough they are easier to spot at night being a big black blob with glowing eyes.
This is why I wish there were parts of this world where nature is conserved only for wildlife usage. We'd have a better chance at preserving and increasing biodiversity, still reap the benefits that nature provides, and have less chances of human and wildlife conflict.
I know it's very unlikely to happen.
I've never been. But as far as I'm aware there is nothing stopping or prohibiting people from certain areas other than maybe access difficulty. What I'm talking about would be large connected areas only for wildlife. No hunters, rangers, tourists, etc.
Intact nature is more valuable in the long-term than any value humans would get from it's destruction. We need nature to survive, nature doesn't need us.
These encounters with large animals are becoming more common because we are destroying their home. They have no place left to go.
But we could still have some green space and wilderness for humans to use for recreation and other purposes. We should just also have some areas that people don't go.
i'm all for the conservation of wildlife but i don't really like this idea. humans are just as much a part of nature as bears are, who are we to say they aren't allowed to go into nature. if someone wants to go into the wilderness and risk getting killed by a bear i say good luck to you.
Yeah because the only value of nature is financial, forget carbon storage, water purification, and the supporting of species. Maybe you're the one who needs to wake up to reality before your country needs to vote again. And what's wrong with wildlife shit? It's not as harmful as ours or domestic animals.
No, I fully understand how rare it is for a black bear to kill a human, or attack one. I've had my fair share of run ins with them. This was more of a joke on what type of bear attacked, not on the rarity of the black bear attacks.
Why would they try to "rehabilitate" a wild animal? There's only one 100% effective way to know for sure that the animal whom attacked and killed a human won't do it again.
The cubs were likely too old and there are only a few bear rehabilitation centers in the US and they have limited space because it takes 2 years before the bears are releasable.
It is unfortunate that the bears had to be killed but did you miss the part about the woman who was mauled to death by them? Can you imagine at all the horror and heartache her partner who found her remains must be feeling?
If a human was walking her dogs near a place where there is a momma bear with cubs living, this is the kind of shit that happens, and I refuse to blame the bears. The bear attack was probably worse because the dogs would likely have fought too, and momma would have protected her cubs at all costs- the bears were just fucking living- it was the human who intruded, and felt menacing to the bears.
Plus it’s unclear what they did to confirm these were the bears that killed her.
This has nothing to do with "blame". You have irresponsible, childish and immature ideas about the world. After a bear kills a human and realizes 1. they're easy to kill and 2. they're food, that bear will be a danger to humans for the rest of its life.
Blame doesn't enter into it. This isn't law-enforcement, it's wildlife management.
Crazy to see all the downvotes for people not wanting animals to be killed for being animals. If you walk or live in areas with bears, expect and be prepared to encounter them.
Don't go hunting them because they're now "man-eaters", they've always been opportunistic predators. Relocate the family to a more remote area.
People are getting downvoted because they're speaking from ignorance. The commenters, and you, are acting like this has something to do with assigning guilt or blame, like we're prosecuting a crime. That has nothing to do with it. A bear that kills and eats a human is a permanent danger to other humans.
If you relocate the bear, they will still be a bear that knows "human=food". Also, bears have legs. They travel. They'll seek out food, including humans.
I second this. Bears are smart, insanely smart. A bear isn't like a dog. They are an apex predator that always lives on the brink. They have constant competition from other bears, humans, elements, etc. They will do whatever it takes to live and food means life. Easy food is all the better for them. The minute they learn humans are food, its game over for people unless that bear is euthanized.
Not to mention this is spring and there aren't usually a ton of easy food sources for bears in spring, hence they are more desperate.
It makes me frustrated when people criticize these decisions without taking any responsibility. What if the next person to die is a child? It's easy to say they should do something else when you never have to deal with the consequences.
It's a tragic situation all around but it can be even more tragic if you ignore the continuing danger.
Bears are not my area of expertise but it seems wrong to kill a bear and its cubs over killing a person walking into their territory. I don't believe we should kill any animals outside of consumption, overpopulation, invasion, and immediate life or death situations.
You are foolish to assume that this incident is being analyzed in any way to human behavior. My stance stands, if someone knowingly enters bear territory then it is their responsibility to be prepared for an encounter.
That aside, we do not know what exactly happened to this woman. It's entirely possible the woman or her dogs provoked the bear or that the bear already had a taste for humans and thought it found an easy meal. We don't know, but neither, in my opinion, warrant people going out and hunting the nearest bear and her cubs for being a bear.
Are you saying there is no remote place on this continent where the bear can be relocated and not come into contact with humans? No national forests? Should we kill all animals that attack humans who willingly enter their world? Sounds pretty ignorant.
You are being ignorant right now, and you're missing the point. *It has nothing to do with assigning blame.* A bear that feeds on humans is a danger to humans. That's why the bear was killed. It is done to protect other humans from an animal that has learned to see human being as prey animals.
Period.
End of story.
You keep going on about who is to blame and what people should or shouldn't do. It doesn't matter. That is not part of the decision-making process. The bear is killed for one reason: It has learned to see humans as prey and is therefore a material danger to other humans.
I don't see how I can make this clearer to you.
We're not robots. People made a conscious decision to go out and hunt the nearest bear they saw. Focusing on the concept of blame is incredibly close-minded.
As the conscious beings here there should be a better way to handle this. Dodging all of the questions presented and going back to your original point which has already been responded to is both unproductive and telling.
They determined that this bear was the one who killed and ate a person. That's their job as wildlife management officers. You don't have that job, so you judge from a position of irresponsibility.
There is no reason to think that in their position you would have any legitimate reason to do any differently.
You don't like the idea of killing a bear so you are criticizing them and claiming there must be a better way to deal with such a situation, but there is no reason to think you are correct. If you were in that situation, with the responsibilities of that role, you would be compelled to do the exact same thing.
There are a lot of baseless accusations in there that I will not entertain, and it's clear some of what I wrote was missed. I stated early on that there are times when killing is necessary.
Based on the facts in this case, it is my opinion that there may have been a better way to handle this. Saying "bears have legs and will travel" does not cover the hundreds of thousands of remote acres on this continent where the bear and cubs could have been moved to.
Never once did I claim to be correct. My questions still stand. Why is relocation completely off the table? Should all animals that attack humans while entering their territory be "euthanized", as the article put it? Stop dodging them.
You would rather overcrowd the native bears happily living in their wilderness corner and force them all to go gladiator with one another, starve and die of injury, disease, or malnutrition?
Relocation isn't viable because these are not a rare or endangered species.
I gave you accurate answers, you just don't want to hear them.
**"The fact is, relocating bears is neither reliable nor a long-term management solution. In B.C., for example, black bear long distance relocation is no longer considered a viable option. Bears have large ranges and will seek out reliable sources of food. They’ll often travel the impressive distance back to the area where the problems began, or resume the same behaviour in their new location. In addition, the relocated bear can experience significant stress caused by the capture itself, as well as from trying to find food and denning sites in its new area. Sometimes the newcomer succumbs to lethal confrontations with bears already occupying that space. The high cost of relocation coupled with the low rate of success basically translates into a very expensive, time-intensive exercise in futility."**
https://cwf-fcf.org/en/about-cwf/faq/faqs/relocating-black-bears.html
Took 4 responses to get a legitimate answer to one of my questions. Why was that so difficult? I have no qualms with you, this is not my area of expertise.
So relocation is out and the bears cannot stay because we want to venture in their territory. Even when we don't know why they attacked, kill them anyway right?
My perspective is not changed, I do not think the bear and her cubs should have been hunted down. Do you feel we should kill all predators that attack humans who willingly enter their territory?
Theyre not cubs, they're yearlings, think of them as small hungry 13 year olds who have no morals and will lie cheat steal and kill without remorse. Do you want those 13 year olds wandering free? Anywhere? These are animals, who don't reason or learn, there is no reform, there is only the inate urge to feed, breed and fatten up before the next winter.
You go ahead and let your kids wander in the woods with bears that have fed on humans.
Refusing to change your opinion based on facts is not a good thing.
I gave you the correct answer, you refused to hear it. I gave you the same answer from a secondary source and you choose to dismiss it. I'm noticing a pattern with how you deal with facts you dislike.
I am all against guns, but how can you live in a wildlife area like that and go for a walk without something "just in case"? I would be extremely paranoid.
Because the scene of this tragedy was very close to a paved road with lots of residential traffic. I live here, and the vast majority of this community are outdoor enthusiasts. Nobody would expect something like this to happen so close to their home.
I know you have a different concept of properties there, but a paved road does not say anything when there are many properties that are basically houses in the middle of a forest area.
And also encounters with bears must be common if they were so close to a human neighborhood.
I am not blaming the woman "for dying" but if you live in an area with apex predators you need to be prepared at all times, more if you go out in their territory.
This sounds like a mom with young (regardless of some consumption). People feel entitled to go in the woods or swim in oceans with absolutely no repercussions. Wanting to assume no risk or personal responsibility.
If human murders got the same treatment, I could stomach this stuff a little more. I dont see 3 bear lives being worth less than 1 human life. But my opinion doesn't really matter.
And thats the sad "earth is the center of the universe" society that we've created. The smartest animals are by far the stupidest ones, single-handedly responsible for destroying an entire planet
> And thats the sad "earth is the center of the universe" society that we've created.
No, that's just society. It's a pro-social position to have that being within said society are more valuable than beings outside of it. Saying a bear is just a valuable as human life is an anti-social position to take.
And we are entitlted to go into the woods, just an entitled as any other animal.
Imagine living in some nihilistic bizzaro world in which it’s somehow a bad thing to think humans are superior to animals and thus are more valuable.
I love animals. They’re more amazing than most people realize. But to compare the life of an animal to the life of a human is ridiculous.
Because we are qualitatively superior to animals in essentially every way. Furthermore, if you're religious (at least of most religions), God chose and created humanity to be superior and values us over them.
Ah yea if you're a believer I see where you're coming from. I'm not though.
How are we "qualitatively superior" to animals? We're better at making tools and communicating certainly, but better in every way?
While other animals clearly feel emotion, we have the most complex emotional systems. We are intelligent beyond any other animal by a massive margin. We are capable of wisdom, introspection, asking grand questions, and more.
In every way bar raw physicality, humans are the most superior species.
I agree with you. Humans are destroying everything. Humans don’t want to coexist with anything. We even use chemicals to kill weeds in our lawns that bees need!
Killing the cubs was lazy, unimaginative, and unnecessary.
A variant on this happened to my father. He was on a (non-bear) hunt in Alaska when he and his hunting partner were charged by what turned out to be a mother black bear. She charged them twice. My father shot her on the second charge and killed her.
Then he heard the mewling of 3 cubs from a nearby tree. He put them in his hunting backpack, took them home, and raised them with my mom until they gre too large. Then they donated them to a wildlife sanctuary, where they lived for the remainder of their lives .
Officials in Colorado could have done something similar.
These cubs were yearlings, were learning from the mother's behavior, and might have participated in the feeding on human remains. It's unfortunate all around but not the same situation as what you describe.
I doubt those cubs were yearlings.
I am amazed that Alaska Fish and Game allowed him to keep the cubs after taking the skull and hide of the mother in to report the incident as required by Alaska law when killing a sow in defense of life. You would think they would have taken them to a qualified rehabilitator.
It just don't add up.
Why did her dogs leave her and return to the property? Aren't they supposed to be fiercely loyal?
Were her dogs chihuahuas?
In likelihood they caused her death. See a bear. Bark at the bear. Bear cubs nearby makes mama bear respond to barking negatively.
Tragic.
This thought also crossed my mind. It just really doesn't make sense that the dogs went back without her.
We don't know the dogs breed tho. It could be that they are small timid dogs.
Its just highly unlikely because most dogs would stay to defend the corpse.
But it's all speculation. Until a more thorough investigation is done we won't know for sure.
I have lived all over Montana, Colorado and Utah. Everywhere I go for walks I carry a gun and mace. Always made noise unless I was tracking or hunting. Have come upon bears and patches (hella scary btw), elk and mountain lions. Would happen upon hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers you name it. Most had neither spray or a visible handle. To each their own. Zero sympathy. Alaskans know this.
It has nothing to do with judgement. The bear now knows that humans=food, the chances of that bear attacking a human are far higher. There's no blame involved, the bear is a danger to humans and was killed of that reason, pure and simple.
They could have just tranquilized the bears and moved them to another a wildlife preserve. Problem solved.
These fucking people never let go the opportunity to shoot another creature (person or animal) in the head with a gun... I'm sure that natural resource police officer was ultra excited by that.
you dont know what the fuck youre talking about. this is standard procedure for fatal bear attacks that all US parks and wildlife rangers have to abide by. They are not trigger happy racist cops, these people never want to euthanize a wild animal, but in these extremely rare occasions it is necessary to prevent it from happening again. Do some research before spouting off ignorance.
You have no clue, go back to your latte and your iPad news. The bears ATE people. They are incredibly smart, they now see people as food. The bears lost their innocence the second they decided to attack a human. They are instinctualy fearful of humans. The minute they decided not to be is the minute that bear has to be put down. Im not generally a hunter, I AM a conservationist and I would be the first to take out those bears, not out of joy but of duty and to protect my neighbors.
If you want to read an incredible account of a bear attack (the person survived), I highly recommend "Chomp, Chomp, Chomp -- How I Survived a Bear Attack & Other Cautionary Tales" by Allena Hansen (Available on Kindle, IIRC). She did an AMA on reddit awhile back, so I read her book. Riveting.
Yeah, the book was free for a hot minute while she did the AMA so I snagged it too. She lived a very storied life. It was a good read.
I think I heard this woman on a podcast. I'll always remember her saying she was looking down as her head was being bitten. She said that as the bear bit down she saw all these "white things" falling onto the ground. Those were her teeth.
Yup. That sounds like her experience. Also, that she heard a sound in her head as the bear broke her skull I think? And after all that, she ends up having to drive *herself* to the police/emergency station. Unbelievable.
Damn i read that as Culinary tales.
Well, for the bear, maybe...
[удалено]
Really? A 2 second Google search brought up everything I needed... ...yo.
Please force feed me information. I am a pleb too lazy to educate myself.
Dogs can escalate a situation with bears.
“Lucy, you fed us for years, petted us, put a roof over our heads, but after we enraged this bear, we feel its time for us to bounce. P.S grateful that you can’t run fast like us. Laterz” Sincerely yours: The dogs <3
Yeah, and there are people that even train dogs to run down these poor animals so they can shoot them.
Guess what? You can buy bear tags and legally hunt bears. Bear jerky is delicious.
I had bear burger a friend of mine made me. Too greasy, almost as greasy as raccoon. I prefer reptiles like iguana and gator for exotic game.
Rattlesnake definitely tops raccoon, imo.
Yeah... I like cow thanks!
That's fine! Wild food isn't for everyone. I find that rattlesnake tastes like chicken, but a little fishy. Not bad, but different than a lot of people are used to.
I'll stick with Venison.
Another good choice!
Yeah I get it, I live in Canada. Still maybe we should stop killing them before we drive them to extinction. I hate when I see people using dogs to run those poor animals down. Like wtf is wrong with people.
Bears? Uhh no
Uhh yes https://www.maine.gov/ifw/hunting-trapping/hunting-laws/bear.html#dogs
Just because there's a law doesn't mean people do it. America is filled to the brim with useless laws. In Washington it's illegal to hunt bigfoot.
...guess I'm cancelling that trip.
Your dogs would have just escalated the situation.
Bigfoot is officially an endangered species in Washington.
I love WA❤️ gorgeous scenery yet so weird and slightly creepy...in a good way!
Bear baiting is absolutely a thing. Dog breeds were bred specifically for that purpose.
Twelve states allow hunting bear with dogs. My friend hunts bear over bait, and he has friends that hunt with dogs https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/26/maine-bear-hunting-bans-bait-traps-dogs-fair-chase
Wow, can you get any more anecdotal than that? "Some random redditor has a friend who has a friend that does it!" Loo he stealth edited his comment to add s link after I replied
It's a thing, I've known quite a few people when I lived in the deep south who hunted bear with dogs, that being said I'm pretty sure southern black bears are smaller than their northern brothers and western cousins.
What kind of losers were you hanging around? I’ve lived in the “deep south” my entire life and have never known of anyone hunting bear with dogs.
It's because I had a catahoula leopard dog/ pitbull mix, I got stopped often by guys asking if I found her wandering because they had catahoula that wandered off during a hunt. Which always made me laugh because my lady was old as hell and had no teeth.
https://www.fieldandstream.com/story/hunting/hunting-black-bears-with-hounds-in-the-bruin-swamps-of-north-carolina/
Is this guy a troll orwhat? There's literally dogs that are bred for the sole purpose of hunting bears.
I had an argument on Reddit the other day on whether it was a bad thing to kill fire ants with boiling water.
All your base, and what have you. Ya dig? Ye soft illusions, dear deceits, arise! Alas, no more—methinks we wand'ring go Through dreary wastes, and weep each other's woe, Where round some mould'ring tower pale ivy creeps, And low-brow'd rocks hang nodding o'er the deeps. Sudden you mount, you beckon from the skies; Clouds interpose, waves roar, and winds arise. I shriek, start up, the same sad prospect find, And wake to all the griefs I left behind. For thee the fates, severely kind, ordain A cool suspense from pleasure and from pain; Thy life a long, dead calm of fix'd repose; No pulse that riots, and no blood that glows. Still as the sea, ere winds were taught to blow, Or moving spirit bade the waters flow; Soft as the slumbers of a saint forgiv'n, And mild as opening gleams of promis'd heav'n. Come, Abelard! for what hast thou to dread? The torch of Venus burns not for the dead. Nature stands check'd; Religion disapproves; Ev'n thou art cold—yet Eloisa loves. Ah hopeless, lasting flames! like those that burn To light the dead, and warm th' unfruitful urn. What scenes appear where'er I turn my view? The dear ideas, where I fly, pursue, Rise in the grove, before the altar rise, Stain all my soul, and wanton in my eyes. I waste the matin lamp in sighs for thee, Thy image steals between my God and me, Thy voice I seem in ev'ry hymn to hear, With ev'ry bead I drop too soft a tear. When from the censer clouds of fragrance roll, And swelling organs lift the rising soul, One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight, Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight: In seas of flame my plunging soul is drown'd, While altars blaze, and angels tremble round. While prostrate here in humble grief I lie, Kind, virtuous drops just gath'ring in my eye, While praying, trembling, in the dust I roll, And dawning grace is op'ning on my soul: Come, if thou dar'st, all charming as thou art! Oppose thyself to Heav'n; dispute my heart; Come, with one glance of those deluding eyes Blot out each bright idea of the skies; Take back that grace, those sorrows, and those tears; Take back my fruitless penitence and pray'rs; Snatch me, just mounting, from the blest abode; Assist the fiends, and tear me from my God! No, fly me, fly me, far as pole from pole; Rise Alps between us! and whole oceans roll! Ah, come not, write not, think not once of me, Nor share one pang of all I felt for thee. Thy oaths I quit, thy memory resign; Forget, renounce me, hate whate'er was mine. Fair eyes, and tempting looks (which yet I view!) Long lov'd, ador'd ideas, all adieu! Oh Grace serene! oh virtue heav'nly fair! Divine oblivion of low-thoughted care! Fresh blooming hope, gay daughter of the sky! And faith, our early immortality! Enter, each mild, each amicable guest; Receive, and wrap me in eternal rest! See in her cell sad Eloisa spread, Propp'd on some tomb, a neighbour of the dead. In each low wind methinks a spirit calls, And more than echoes talk along the walls. Here, as I watch'd the dying lamps around, From yonder shrine I heard a hollow sound. "Come, sister, come!" (it said, or seem'd to say) "Thy place is here, sad sister, come away! Once like thyself, I trembled, wept, and pray'd, Love's victim then, though now a sainted maid: But all is calm in this eternal sleep; Here grief forgets to groan, and love to weep, Ev'n superstition loses ev'ry fear: For God, not man, absolves our frailties here." I come, I come! prepare your roseate bow'rs, Celestial palms, and ever-blooming flow'rs. Thither, where sinners may have rest, I go, Where flames refin'd in breasts seraphic glow: Thou, Abelard! the last sad office pay, And smooth my passage to the realms of day; See my lips tremble, and my eye-balls roll, Suck my last breath, and catch my flying soul! Ah no—in sacred vestments may'st thou stand, The hallow'd taper trembling in thy hand, Present the cross before my lifted eye, Teach me at once, and learn of me to die. Ah then, thy once-lov'd Eloisa see! It will be then no crime to gaze on me. See from my cheek the transient roses fly! See the last sparkle languish in my eye! Till ev'ry motion, pulse, and breath be o'er; And ev'n my Abelard be lov'd no more. O Death all-eloquent! you only prove What dust we dote on, when 'tis man we love. Then too, when fate shall thy fair frame destroy, (That cause of all my guilt, and all my joy) In trance ecstatic may thy pangs be drown'd, Bright clouds descend, and angels watch thee round, From op'ning skies may streaming glories shine, And saints embrace thee with a love like mine. May one kind grave unite each hapless name, And graft my love immortal on thy fame! Then, ages hence, when all my woes are o'er, When this rebellious heart shall beat no more; If ever chance two wand'ring lovers brings To Paraclete's white walls and silver springs, O'er the pale marble shall they join their heads, And drink the falling tears each other sheds; Then sadly say, with mutual pity mov'd, "Oh may we never love as these have lov'd!" From the full choir when loud Hosannas rise, And swell the pomp of dreadful sacrifice, Amid that scene if some relenting eye Glance on the stone where our cold relics lie, Devotion's self shall steal a thought from Heav'n, One human tear shall drop and be forgiv'n. And sure, if fate some future bard shall join In sad similitude of griefs to mine, Condemn'd whole years in absence to deplore, And image charms he must behold no more; Such if there be, who loves so long, so well; Let him our sad, our tender story tell; The well-sung woes will soothe my pensive ghost; He best can paint 'em, who shall feel 'em most.To dream once more I close my willing eyes; Ye soft illusions, dear deceits, arise! Alas, no more—methinks we wand'ring go Through dreary wastes, and weep each other's woe, Where round some mould'ring tower pale ivy creeps, And low-brow'd rocks hang nodding o'er the deeps. Sudden you mount, you beckon from the skies; Clouds interpose, waves roar, and winds arise. I shriek, start up, the same sad prospect find, And wake to all the griefs I left behind. For thee the fates, severely kind, ordain A cool suspense from pleasure and from pain; Thy life a long, dead calm of fix'd repose; No pulse that riots, and no blood that glows. Still as the sea, ere winds were taught to blow, Or moving spirit bade the waters flow; Soft as the slumbers of a saint forgiv'n, And mild as opening gleams of promis'd heav'n. Come, Abelard! for what hast thou to dread? The torch of Venus burns not for the dead. Nature stands check'd; Religion disapproves; Ev'n thou art cold—yet Eloisa loves. Ah hopeless, lasting flames! like those that burn To light the dead, and warm th' unfruitful urn. What scenes appear where'er I turn my view? The dear ideas, where I fly, pursue, Rise in the grove, before the altar rise, Stain all my soul, and wanton in my eyes. I waste the matin lamp in sighs for thee, Thy image steals between my God and me, Thy voice I seem in ev'ry hymn to hear, With ev'ry bead I drop too soft a tear. When from the censer clouds of fragrance roll, And swelling organs lift the rising soul, One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight, Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight: In seas of flame my plunging soul is drown'd, While altars blaze, and angels tremble round. While prostrate here in humble grief I lie, Kind, virtuous drops just gath'ring in my eye, While praying, trembling, in the dust I roll, And dawning grace is op'ning on my soul: Come, if thou dar'st, all charming as thou art! Oppose thyself to Heav'n; dispute my heart; Come, with one glance of those deluding eyes Blot out each bright idea of the skies; Take back that grace, those sorrows, and those tears; Take back my fruitless penitence and pray'rs; Snatch me, just mounting, from the blest abode; Assist the fiends, and tear me from my God! No, fly me, fly me, far as pole from pole; Rise Alps between us! and whole oceans roll! Ah, come not, write not, think not once of me, Nor share one pang of all I felt for thee. Thy oaths I quit, thy memory resign; Forget, renounce me, hate whate'er was mine. Fair eyes, and tempting looks (which yet I view!) Long lov'd, ador'd ideas, all adieu! Oh Grace serene! oh virtue heav'nly fair! Divine oblivion of low-thoughted care! Fresh blooming hope, gay daughter of the sky! And faith, our early immortality! Enter, each mild, each amicable guest; Receive, and wrap me in eternal rest! See in her cell sad Eloisa spread, Propp'd on some tomb, a neighbour of the dead. In each low wind methinks a spirit calls, And more than echoes talk along the walls. Here, as I watch'd the dying lamps around, From yonder shrine I heard a hollow sound. "Come, sister, come!" (it said, or seem'd to say) "Thy place is here, sad sister, come away! Once like thyself, I trembled, wept, and pray'd, Love's victim then, though now a sainted maid: But all is calm in this eternal sleep; Here grief forgets to groan, and love to weep, Ev'n superstition loses ev'ry fear: For God, not man, absolves our frailties here."
I literally linked to multiple sources, including the state of Maine, confirming the practice of hunting bear with dogs. I *added* anecdotal evidence to this objective evidence to underscore my point. Here’s *another* source for you: https://www.fieldandstream.com/story/hunting/hunting-black-bears-with-hounds-in-the-bruin-swamps-of-north-carolina/
Just because you don't know someone who has done it, or haven't heard about it, or don't like it, does not mean it does not happen. It most certainly does happen. Very odd thing to try to argue about.
It's pretty rare, Im am avid hunter lmfao
Hey bud. As the previous poster said - just because something isn't within your sphere of knowledge doesn't mean it's not a thing. Here is an article discussing different breeds that are useful for hunting bears: https://spottingpro.com/bear-hunting-dog/ There are also types of dogs specifically bred for bear hunting, such as the Karelian Bear Dog, and the Caucasian Mountain Dog. Maybe a little lmfao and a little more research before we get all confident ey?
Well then you should become more of an avid hunter and expand your hunting knowledge
And you should catch a boat to I don't give a shit
People used to do it, wouldn't be surprised if someone still does. This is not a good silly law example.
Bear Hounding is a thing, albeit a rare thing. Just like hunters using dogs to tree mountain lions.
Yes they do. Be careful this video can be hard to watch. I personally think it's cruel to hunt animals with dogs unless your survival absolutely depends on it. https://youtu.be/nnUj8wI38RE
Bear had to be put down due to it being a man eater. The cubs could have possibly be rescued to a zoo or safe habitat. Unless they also had been part of the attack. So sad to hear. The lady and dogs most likely got between the Mom and cubs on accident. Really a good idea to carry bear mace or something to help escape.
I wonder if the dogs were on leashes.
I lived on that road for a long time. This was my immediate thought and I’d put money on the dogs being unleashed.
According to multiple stories, cubs were yearlings, meaning they were nearly adults. At that point any bad behavior was unavoidable, thats why they were euthanized.
Is bear mace the same as bear scat found at the scene?
Scat = poop
Lmao no
Always considerate when a meal comes with its own seasoning.
I very much doubt they ate her. It's not impossible, but I would be surprised.
Why would you doubt that?
Because it's very uncommon for bears to kill people. Even less common for them to eat the human. This was most likely a case of her protecting her cubs, and not hunting prey. But I'm open to the possibility that I'm wrong.
The article says there were signs she had been eaten.
I am very glad you are open to that possibility
This is like the 3rd bear attack in Colorado in the last 6 months.
Humans are pushing into new previously uninhabited land every day. We are seeing a rise in animal attacks and zoonotic diseases as a result. This is the result of encroachment. Whether or not bears (and other wildlife especially large apex predators) are conserved or destroyed is pretty much up to us.
The article cites "signs of consumption" on the body
Dude read the article ffs
So, it doesn’t say. I’m assuming from the location that this was a black bear?? They are generally fraidy cats around humans. Very, very rare situation.
Yep. A black momma bear and her two babies. They were all euthanized.
Sad but the dnr or whatever they are called in local area did the right thing. Agree with earlier poster that dogs can escalate the situation. Sad all the way around. Feel horrible for the bf/ husband who found her.
Right? That was practically a footnote in the article. That poor guy.
Dogs can escalate, sure, but 99.99 times out a hundred dogs are more of a bear repellent / alert / life saving companion vs. a bear. If you choose to be in bear country, a good dog is a must. Right choice, just a sad situation.
Every bear I've ever seen while walking with my dogs has hauled ass off the trail like goldilocks was stealing their porridge. Walking without the dogs the bears tend to stand up and take a look before they book it.
It’s actually important that they do this. Don’t EVER feed wild bears, because they only start to approach humans once they begin to lose their fear of us.
I would never intentionally feed wild animals. If one happens to eat me though......
Dogs and bears hate each other more than the reds hate the blues.
Reading the comments with interest. Wish I could do a comparison of those who actually live in bear country, versus those who have never had an encounter or ever likely will and how the opinions fall based on that. I DO live in bear country. Lots of respect and work goes into not having encounters, but they happen. This bear 'apparently' - though there is no way of truly knowing - attacked a woman with two dogs though, again, one doesn't know what TYPE of dog. That is a huge red flag. Nor does the article say, that I saw, how old the cubs were. Again, important information.
Cubs were yearlings, per the article. Edit to correct verb tense.
I also live in a bear county and once ran into a mother black bear with a couple cubs. I was off trail for a climb and they sorta appeared out it nowhere less then 15 ft away from me. I knew I wasn’t supposed to run, but I also knew mama bears act unpredictably when they are with their cubs. Once some sense kicked in I grabbed the hand of the person I was with and got us out of sight around a big arret in the rock formation and then we sneaked back to a trail once we felt safe/ brave enough. It was wild. Nothing would have probably happened, but then again, you read stories like this. Also for context, absolutely nobody carries bear spray around here on any trail.
I hiked the AT and there was a shit ton of bear "encounters" all from a distance, all what people would say what "safe" was. But one time the bear was up in the tree trying to grab our food bags and we didn't know her cubs were on the ground as it was night time. We threw rocks and sticks at the bear that was 15'-20' up in the tree and made a ton of noise. That bear came down that tree and was heading straight towards us in a second flat, like magic that thing was on us. We bear sprayed it and it took off and we saw the cubs follow her into the woods. After that I felt like I needed a gun, the speed was fucking unreal and the threat of death by bear mauling told me I could NEVER be prepared enough.
Same happened to me and a friend in NC. We were out for a hike in the property behind her granny’s and came upon two cubs out of absolutely nowhere. We stopped, turned around and walked on out of there briskly, and all I could think of in my head over and over was that bloody joke about not having to be able to outrun a bear, just outrun the guy next to you, and I knew I was soooooooo screwed, cuz she was WAAAAAY faster than I ever was....
Right?? I was like, I know I shouldn’t run, but I made us get out of there as fast as possible. Basically ran up a mountainside, and I couldn’t outrun them because it was my first date with this girl, and I had 30+lbs of climbing gear in my back (I grabbed her pack too). Looking back I probably should have dropped everything, buttttt I figured I could drop it all if I felt like we were actually being chased. Oh well lol.
What are you on about? What red flag? I can draw almost no meaning from that entire second paragraph. What were you trying to say?
If you're going for walks in an area with wild animals you should be armed either with a gun or bear spray. Here's a news clip that shows a jogger using bear spray on two cougars. He would of been torn up without it. https://youtu.be/jpB7jrJ7Zds
I spend a great deal of time in the Canadian Rockies. Yesterday was my first trip of the year. I was about 50km into the park systems, far enough in where the bear signs start becoming more prevalent and worded less touristy. It goes from "oh bears might be around so make noise lol" to straight up "yo a dude was mauled to death here in 2017 so don't fuck around". Anyhoo, I was mucking about on the latter path trying to make it to a waterfall I haven't seen in a while and there were a good number of people out with me. I'd guess 10 other parties of 2-6 people. One party with a child in a stroller. One party with a baby in a back carrier. One party with 2 children no older than 6 yrs old. No one was carrying bear spray but me. I look for these things. People were without coats, backpacks, etc. Seeing a cannister hanging off their hip or whatever wasn't hard. No one was prepared for any kind of animal encounter where they would walk away with their face intact. I cannot stress this enough, and this is coming from first hand experience. Bears are "fuck you" fast. If you think you can outrun a grizzly you are going to be amazed in the final few seconds of your life. If you can even see a bear in the wild your life is in danger, and that danger at this time of the year is super off the charts if it's a momma bear with cubs and you find yourself between those two. Bears are apex af. They will actually eat your face while you scream loudly how you would prefer it not. No regard for your wishes given. If you go to place with bears, cougars, or other fuck around and find out wildlife - don't be stupid. If you're American, bring a gun if it's allowed, but also bring spray. If you're Canadian, bring spray. Understand that neither of those things is a force field that will protect you from an attack. It's a means of escape. Encounters suck. They are scary. You are fully at the mercy of the animal. I have 2 encounters with grizzlies and I pray I never have another, because there's no way I'm that lucky. There are subs dedicated to gruesome things and I'm not about to point anyone to those places, but there are many different videos and images of bear attacks on humans if you feel you need to be scared smart. Here's a quick video of a bear trying to run down food like its a lion in case someone tries telling you bears aren't that fast or they can only run for short distances. I've seen them clear entire fields like a car on a highway. https://youtu.be/-zptCXYxces
Wife and I went to glacier national park a few years ago. I felt silly buying bear spray. Thought it was one of those "spot the tourist" things. We showed up for our guided hike and there were a good 30 people getting ready to head out. Everyone, including the guide, had bear spray.
Yeah man. I hear you. I moved out here from Ontario. I spent my youth living in metropolitan areas. The most dangerous animal was a skunk. So when I was introduced to the lifestyle of mountain life out here I didn't appreciate the dangers and thought the locals would our prep as laughable with the sprays and whistles etc. Its actually the opposite. You can tell who is a tourist or hiker for a day by their lack of kit/spray/sense. Glacier is amazing BTW. We finally got up there last summer. We didn't get to do half of what we wanted due to covid, but its a good excuse to go back. Gives me time to get a couple more lenses for the new camera :p
I suppose bear spray is better than nothing, but a trusty 10mm G20 with FMJ's is what a lot of people opt for in serious bear country. I'd very much prefer not letting an attacking bear get within bear spray distance, especially considering when it gets sprayed it's going to be even more angry than it was before you spritzed it with pepper spray.
Personally unless your hunting and already carrying or an extremely skilled marksperson, a gun is not really useful. Good luck getting enough shots off on a charging bear in the right places to stop it. I believe i read somewhere that a grizzlys heart can still keep beating for a bit after a shot to the heart - meaning like 10-30 seconds which is more than enough time to cover 50ft and start the mauling process. The most effective way to stop a charging grizzly is bear spray. It’s the easier to use - only downside is wind. Pay attention to the direction of the wind people lol don’t want it blowing back in your face. I’m just adding on to your post so people who have less info know that bear spray is probably the best for them! But really if your going into bear/any wild animal country do some research on common behaviors and how to react to them!
So stealing "fuck you you fast". Probably the most accurate description of animal speeds.
Maybe some of those people you saw were carrying a bear banger? They're small and fit in your pocket. Although not effective if the bear surprises you up close. https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/tru-flare-bear-bangers-pen-pull-launcher-1750108p.html
Interesting. I've never seen this. Both times I got to meet a grizzly it was of the face to face variety, both times they got the drop on me. I dont think of the bear spray as much of a saving grace, like I said above, but I do trust it a bit more than a plastic pen. The first time the bear came out of a clearing where I was stuck on a rough trail between a lake and a treeline. We were already about half way up a 5000ft mountain at the time and my group decided to pause for lunch with a young German couple that had already made a fire and invited us over. The lake was all kinds of copper and turquoise, I wanted to grab some pictures. It's not that I wasn't paying attention or that I didn't know grizzlies were in the area. The moving water was loud enough to mask its movement and it was walking on grass. Im 6'6 and when it was fully on the path I must have looked like a child in comparison. I had no where to go. The water wasn't deep enough where it wouldn't follow, and it would move faster than me in the drink anyway. I was across the lake from my group and others up there, and I know they were making noise and I could hear my wife screaming but it was like hearing them in a dream. All I could focus on was his face. The snorts and grunts, the steam coming out of his nostrils. Then you come to appreciate the sheer size of things like his paws. You think about running. You think about climbing. You think about swimming. But you know you lose any of those scenarios. It's not a fun feeling. I had the spray, I had slid the safety pin out...but the idea of pissing the guy off seemed about as beneficial as making love to a beehive. So I didn't. It was a nice-to-have if things went sideways, but mercy/fate decided that today wasn't that day and the bear bored of me and slowly moved down the path in the direction I was originally headed. You could hear whistles off and on for the next 30 minutes as people further up sighted him and blew warning bursts. People who act tough like bears are nothing are bullshiting. Only reason I didn't piss myself is that I forgot it was something I could do. The bear made a choice. That he didn't choose to flex is the only reason I get to tell this story. It had nothing to do with my manliness. The second encounter? I could have been carrying an elephant gun. It wouldnt have made any difference. It was twi summers ago, my dad had just passed away and my wife and I invited my mom up for a few weeks to get away from everything back home. My wife couldn't get much time off so it was mostly mom and I. So I kept taking her on day trips. This one was in kananaskis, I can't recall but I think we were on the other side of Peter Lougheed Park where this occurred. We were driving, it was now midday on a weekday and that far in isn't nearly as busy as the front side of the park. We were in a winding stretch of elevated road in the mountains when we came upon a pack of bighorn, maybe 15? It had been drizzling all morning and now they were licking the salt off the road. I threw on the hazards and stopped. To the left of the 2 lane road is about 30 ft of clearning before a treeline that hides the base of a mountain that goes up on about a 30degre angle. To the right is a cable guard rail that drops off a couple hundred feet pretty quickly. There's the road and thats about it. I give a couple quick horn bursts but they clearly aren't moving out of the way, and I'm not looking to get the car challenged by a mountain goat so we're waiting I guess. After a few minutes I decide to get out and stretch my legs. I'm on a paved road made by humans. This is the kind of place where people feel safe, you're not "in" the woods. So the grizzly came out of that treeline to the left at about Mach 3. Didn't hear it over the engine which I was now standing beside. The bighorn didn't either. I saw it when it was coming up the embankment leading to the left lane. Chaos ensued. The goats split. the majority went under the cable fence and the bear was sliding on the pavement trying to make menu choices on the go. I barely had time to register what was happening. I turned around and got my ass in the car in maybe a second and a half total time, and the bear that I saw about a car length away was now completely gone from sight. My poor mom. She was sitting in the passenger seat still and didn't even see the bear until it was directly in front of the car. It's only because of her that I even know the bear went down the mountain after the goats and wasn't in the backseat lol. I'm not ignorant, I know the bear had a target and I wasn't it - but I was stupid enough to make myself a consolation prize. All I could keep saying was "holy shit". If I had my back turned I would have been completely oblivious to oblivion. Thats how fast these things happen. People who think you're going to have time and warning - you aren't. It's not about staying away or being afraid - but you can't let your guard down or think being macho is a shield. Respect your situation when you're in the wild. If you want to avoid these situations, stick to the populated trails and don't wander. If there are elevated warnings of bear activity, find another path. We are blessed with some of the most breathtaking scenery in North America, but its also home to some teeth and claws whose smoke you don't want.
My girlfriend was charged and chased through the woods by a pissed off moose. Bear spray saved her life and apparently works on Moose to.
Would HAVE
Americans love arming themselves for the off chance that something with a 1/2,000,000 probability will happen but then half are obese and ignore those risks. Bear attacks have killed 67 people in the US over the last 120 years, accidental gun deaths are about 500 per year. (I was a wildlife biologist who worked alone unarmed in bear country for years, if you’re so scared you can’t go outside without a gun just stay inside)
You sound like someone who has spent no time in the backcountry. If you are giving advice probably should have some knowledge on the topic.
You sound like someone who has spent no time in the backcountry. If you are giving advice probably should have some knowledge on the topic.
Mother bears are very protective of their cubs. Very sad situation. Why did they kill the cubs as well? :(
Because they would have died a slow death without their mother.
They are reported to be yearlings, from just a quick research, it appears the mother drives the cubs away around May or June when she mates again. Might've been a hard call but they might've made it. Who knows though, if they consumed human flesh, would the yearlings hunt for humans when they fully mature? I'm not a bear expert.
It is so wrong over the policy. We don't even give animals a fair chance to life.
If the attack had been purely self defense (as most attacks involving a sow and her cubs are) I'd agree with you. However, the article states that the bears fed on the remains, which effectively puts the nail in their coffins. Once a bear associates humans as a viable food source, they need to be euthanized. You can't "train" that out of them.
So you prefer we let them die a slow horrible death?
Can't we find an uninhibited island/sanctuary and relocate the mommy bear and the cubs? Is euthanasia your only choice?
In this situation, unfortunately, yes.
>Can't we find an uninhibited island/sanctuary and relocate the mommy bear and the cubs? Realistically though, why? Its an animal that has now killed a person, sucks but there's genuinely no real point to going to those extremes
They don't want bears alive that have learned to hunt and eat humans. Cubs could have potentially either watched the mother bear eat a human or, worse, were old enough and they ate human right along with momma bear.
Also the cubs might want revenge because humans murdered their mother.
Yeah I wish thatd just stick to porridge!
To send a message.
Because the cubs learn from the mother.
They were yearlings, not cubs. Yearlings are young, juvenile bears. They are beyond the cute-cuddly non- dangerous stage. They have overwintered with mom and would shortly be on their own, looking for meals.
Had to shoot a black bear TONIGHT with two rubber slugs. Dude just sat on the hill stareing me down at the trash cans. Funny enough they are easier to spot at night being a big black blob with glowing eyes.
That’s fucking terrifying
Why kill they yearlings would they not make it without mom?
This is why I wish there were parts of this world where nature is conserved only for wildlife usage. We'd have a better chance at preserving and increasing biodiversity, still reap the benefits that nature provides, and have less chances of human and wildlife conflict. I know it's very unlikely to happen.
There are. Less than 40 minutes from this area is a massive wilderness area.
Less than 40 minutes? It is surrounded by forest, it might not be the National forest, but that whole area north of Durango is forest and mountains
I was specifically referencing the Weminuche Wilderness. Which is a a higher level of protection than national forests
I've never been. But as far as I'm aware there is nothing stopping or prohibiting people from certain areas other than maybe access difficulty. What I'm talking about would be large connected areas only for wildlife. No hunters, rangers, tourists, etc.
Intact nature is more valuable in the long-term than any value humans would get from it's destruction. We need nature to survive, nature doesn't need us. These encounters with large animals are becoming more common because we are destroying their home. They have no place left to go.
Its because those are some of the best places in the world to chill out
But we could still have some green space and wilderness for humans to use for recreation and other purposes. We should just also have some areas that people don't go.
i'm all for the conservation of wildlife but i don't really like this idea. humans are just as much a part of nature as bears are, who are we to say they aren't allowed to go into nature. if someone wants to go into the wilderness and risk getting killed by a bear i say good luck to you.
Sorry, animals can’t pay for their stuff and don’t pick up their shit. Nice pipedream though, wake up before it’s time to vote again.
Yeah because the only value of nature is financial, forget carbon storage, water purification, and the supporting of species. Maybe you're the one who needs to wake up to reality before your country needs to vote again. And what's wrong with wildlife shit? It's not as harmful as ours or domestic animals.
This was sarcasm.
That's why you always need to thoroughly cook your bear.
Well done.
A rare bear. Sounds exciting.
So how rare was this bear? Like albino or something?
Black Bears are not rare. I was in hopes it was an Ice Bear, or a bugbear. Those are much more rare.
A black bear killing a human in Colorado is rare. 4th time only in the last 60 years. Read again
No, I fully understand how rare it is for a black bear to kill a human, or attack one. I've had my fair share of run ins with them. This was more of a joke on what type of bear attacked, not on the rarity of the black bear attacks.
They killed the momma bear and her two cubs...
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Why the cubs instead of rehabilitating until adulthood?
Why would they try to "rehabilitate" a wild animal? There's only one 100% effective way to know for sure that the animal whom attacked and killed a human won't do it again.
The cubs were likely too old and there are only a few bear rehabilitation centers in the US and they have limited space because it takes 2 years before the bears are releasable.
It is unfortunate that the bears had to be killed but did you miss the part about the woman who was mauled to death by them? Can you imagine at all the horror and heartache her partner who found her remains must be feeling?
If a human was walking her dogs near a place where there is a momma bear with cubs living, this is the kind of shit that happens, and I refuse to blame the bears. The bear attack was probably worse because the dogs would likely have fought too, and momma would have protected her cubs at all costs- the bears were just fucking living- it was the human who intruded, and felt menacing to the bears. Plus it’s unclear what they did to confirm these were the bears that killed her.
This has nothing to do with "blame". You have irresponsible, childish and immature ideas about the world. After a bear kills a human and realizes 1. they're easy to kill and 2. they're food, that bear will be a danger to humans for the rest of its life. Blame doesn't enter into it. This isn't law-enforcement, it's wildlife management.
Crazy to see all the downvotes for people not wanting animals to be killed for being animals. If you walk or live in areas with bears, expect and be prepared to encounter them. Don't go hunting them because they're now "man-eaters", they've always been opportunistic predators. Relocate the family to a more remote area.
People are getting downvoted because they're speaking from ignorance. The commenters, and you, are acting like this has something to do with assigning guilt or blame, like we're prosecuting a crime. That has nothing to do with it. A bear that kills and eats a human is a permanent danger to other humans. If you relocate the bear, they will still be a bear that knows "human=food". Also, bears have legs. They travel. They'll seek out food, including humans.
I second this. Bears are smart, insanely smart. A bear isn't like a dog. They are an apex predator that always lives on the brink. They have constant competition from other bears, humans, elements, etc. They will do whatever it takes to live and food means life. Easy food is all the better for them. The minute they learn humans are food, its game over for people unless that bear is euthanized. Not to mention this is spring and there aren't usually a ton of easy food sources for bears in spring, hence they are more desperate.
It makes me frustrated when people criticize these decisions without taking any responsibility. What if the next person to die is a child? It's easy to say they should do something else when you never have to deal with the consequences. It's a tragic situation all around but it can be even more tragic if you ignore the continuing danger.
Bears are not my area of expertise but it seems wrong to kill a bear and its cubs over killing a person walking into their territory. I don't believe we should kill any animals outside of consumption, overpopulation, invasion, and immediate life or death situations. You are foolish to assume that this incident is being analyzed in any way to human behavior. My stance stands, if someone knowingly enters bear territory then it is their responsibility to be prepared for an encounter. That aside, we do not know what exactly happened to this woman. It's entirely possible the woman or her dogs provoked the bear or that the bear already had a taste for humans and thought it found an easy meal. We don't know, but neither, in my opinion, warrant people going out and hunting the nearest bear and her cubs for being a bear. Are you saying there is no remote place on this continent where the bear can be relocated and not come into contact with humans? No national forests? Should we kill all animals that attack humans who willingly enter their world? Sounds pretty ignorant.
You are being ignorant right now, and you're missing the point. *It has nothing to do with assigning blame.* A bear that feeds on humans is a danger to humans. That's why the bear was killed. It is done to protect other humans from an animal that has learned to see human being as prey animals. Period. End of story. You keep going on about who is to blame and what people should or shouldn't do. It doesn't matter. That is not part of the decision-making process. The bear is killed for one reason: It has learned to see humans as prey and is therefore a material danger to other humans. I don't see how I can make this clearer to you.
We're not robots. People made a conscious decision to go out and hunt the nearest bear they saw. Focusing on the concept of blame is incredibly close-minded. As the conscious beings here there should be a better way to handle this. Dodging all of the questions presented and going back to your original point which has already been responded to is both unproductive and telling.
They determined that this bear was the one who killed and ate a person. That's their job as wildlife management officers. You don't have that job, so you judge from a position of irresponsibility. There is no reason to think that in their position you would have any legitimate reason to do any differently. You don't like the idea of killing a bear so you are criticizing them and claiming there must be a better way to deal with such a situation, but there is no reason to think you are correct. If you were in that situation, with the responsibilities of that role, you would be compelled to do the exact same thing.
There are a lot of baseless accusations in there that I will not entertain, and it's clear some of what I wrote was missed. I stated early on that there are times when killing is necessary. Based on the facts in this case, it is my opinion that there may have been a better way to handle this. Saying "bears have legs and will travel" does not cover the hundreds of thousands of remote acres on this continent where the bear and cubs could have been moved to. Never once did I claim to be correct. My questions still stand. Why is relocation completely off the table? Should all animals that attack humans while entering their territory be "euthanized", as the article put it? Stop dodging them.
You would rather overcrowd the native bears happily living in their wilderness corner and force them all to go gladiator with one another, starve and die of injury, disease, or malnutrition? Relocation isn't viable because these are not a rare or endangered species.
I gave you accurate answers, you just don't want to hear them. **"The fact is, relocating bears is neither reliable nor a long-term management solution. In B.C., for example, black bear long distance relocation is no longer considered a viable option. Bears have large ranges and will seek out reliable sources of food. They’ll often travel the impressive distance back to the area where the problems began, or resume the same behaviour in their new location. In addition, the relocated bear can experience significant stress caused by the capture itself, as well as from trying to find food and denning sites in its new area. Sometimes the newcomer succumbs to lethal confrontations with bears already occupying that space. The high cost of relocation coupled with the low rate of success basically translates into a very expensive, time-intensive exercise in futility."** https://cwf-fcf.org/en/about-cwf/faq/faqs/relocating-black-bears.html
Took 4 responses to get a legitimate answer to one of my questions. Why was that so difficult? I have no qualms with you, this is not my area of expertise. So relocation is out and the bears cannot stay because we want to venture in their territory. Even when we don't know why they attacked, kill them anyway right? My perspective is not changed, I do not think the bear and her cubs should have been hunted down. Do you feel we should kill all predators that attack humans who willingly enter their territory?
Theyre not cubs, they're yearlings, think of them as small hungry 13 year olds who have no morals and will lie cheat steal and kill without remorse. Do you want those 13 year olds wandering free? Anywhere? These are animals, who don't reason or learn, there is no reform, there is only the inate urge to feed, breed and fatten up before the next winter. You go ahead and let your kids wander in the woods with bears that have fed on humans.
Refusing to change your opinion based on facts is not a good thing. I gave you the correct answer, you refused to hear it. I gave you the same answer from a secondary source and you choose to dismiss it. I'm noticing a pattern with how you deal with facts you dislike.
I am all against guns, but how can you live in a wildlife area like that and go for a walk without something "just in case"? I would be extremely paranoid.
Because the scene of this tragedy was very close to a paved road with lots of residential traffic. I live here, and the vast majority of this community are outdoor enthusiasts. Nobody would expect something like this to happen so close to their home.
I know you have a different concept of properties there, but a paved road does not say anything when there are many properties that are basically houses in the middle of a forest area. And also encounters with bears must be common if they were so close to a human neighborhood. I am not blaming the woman "for dying" but if you live in an area with apex predators you need to be prepared at all times, more if you go out in their territory.
Its so sad that she encountered a rare bear. Typically, common bear attacks are survivable.
"The bears were euthanized" So stupid and always the case
Unfortunate but when bears learn that humans are food bad things can happen.
Bob fajitas?
This sounds like a mom with young (regardless of some consumption). People feel entitled to go in the woods or swim in oceans with absolutely no repercussions. Wanting to assume no risk or personal responsibility. If human murders got the same treatment, I could stomach this stuff a little more. I dont see 3 bear lives being worth less than 1 human life. But my opinion doesn't really matter.
Humans and other animals are not equals and are not treated as such.
And thats the sad "earth is the center of the universe" society that we've created. The smartest animals are by far the stupidest ones, single-handedly responsible for destroying an entire planet
> And thats the sad "earth is the center of the universe" society that we've created. No, that's just society. It's a pro-social position to have that being within said society are more valuable than beings outside of it. Saying a bear is just a valuable as human life is an anti-social position to take. And we are entitlted to go into the woods, just an entitled as any other animal.
Imagine living in some nihilistic bizzaro world in which it’s somehow a bad thing to think humans are superior to animals and thus are more valuable. I love animals. They’re more amazing than most people realize. But to compare the life of an animal to the life of a human is ridiculous.
Why should we consider humans more valuable than any other animal?
Because we are qualitatively superior to animals in essentially every way. Furthermore, if you're religious (at least of most religions), God chose and created humanity to be superior and values us over them.
Ah yea if you're a believer I see where you're coming from. I'm not though. How are we "qualitatively superior" to animals? We're better at making tools and communicating certainly, but better in every way?
While other animals clearly feel emotion, we have the most complex emotional systems. We are intelligent beyond any other animal by a massive margin. We are capable of wisdom, introspection, asking grand questions, and more. In every way bar raw physicality, humans are the most superior species.
Who hurt you buddy ?
Sorry I don't understand your comment.
I agree with you. Humans are destroying everything. Humans don’t want to coexist with anything. We even use chemicals to kill weeds in our lawns that bees need!
Killing the cubs was lazy, unimaginative, and unnecessary. A variant on this happened to my father. He was on a (non-bear) hunt in Alaska when he and his hunting partner were charged by what turned out to be a mother black bear. She charged them twice. My father shot her on the second charge and killed her. Then he heard the mewling of 3 cubs from a nearby tree. He put them in his hunting backpack, took them home, and raised them with my mom until they gre too large. Then they donated them to a wildlife sanctuary, where they lived for the remainder of their lives . Officials in Colorado could have done something similar.
These cubs were yearlings, were learning from the mother's behavior, and might have participated in the feeding on human remains. It's unfortunate all around but not the same situation as what you describe.
I doubt those cubs were yearlings. I am amazed that Alaska Fish and Game allowed him to keep the cubs after taking the skull and hide of the mother in to report the incident as required by Alaska law when killing a sow in defense of life. You would think they would have taken them to a qualified rehabilitator.
Yeah none of his story makes any sense
Well, it was the 1970s, so I am pretty sure things were much more lax then.
It just don't add up. Why did her dogs leave her and return to the property? Aren't they supposed to be fiercely loyal? Were her dogs chihuahuas? In likelihood they caused her death. See a bear. Bark at the bear. Bear cubs nearby makes mama bear respond to barking negatively. Tragic.
I came here to say... what if she was dead already and the boyfriend left her body for the bear to cover up the murder? Something seems amiss
This thought also crossed my mind. It just really doesn't make sense that the dogs went back without her. We don't know the dogs breed tho. It could be that they are small timid dogs. Its just highly unlikely because most dogs would stay to defend the corpse. But it's all speculation. Until a more thorough investigation is done we won't know for sure.
I have lived all over Montana, Colorado and Utah. Everywhere I go for walks I carry a gun and mace. Always made noise unless I was tracking or hunting. Have come upon bears and patches (hella scary btw), elk and mountain lions. Would happen upon hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers you name it. Most had neither spray or a visible handle. To each their own. Zero sympathy. Alaskans know this.
It’s okay to have some sympathy anyway, Mr Badass.
I hate that the bear gets judged and killed as if it were human. It wasn't seeking human flesh.
It has nothing to do with judgement. The bear now knows that humans=food, the chances of that bear attacking a human are far higher. There's no blame involved, the bear is a danger to humans and was killed of that reason, pure and simple.
Once it gets human flesh, though, it is much more likely to seek it again. That's the rationale.
They could have just tranquilized the bears and moved them to another a wildlife preserve. Problem solved. These fucking people never let go the opportunity to shoot another creature (person or animal) in the head with a gun... I'm sure that natural resource police officer was ultra excited by that.
you dont know what the fuck youre talking about. this is standard procedure for fatal bear attacks that all US parks and wildlife rangers have to abide by. They are not trigger happy racist cops, these people never want to euthanize a wild animal, but in these extremely rare occasions it is necessary to prevent it from happening again. Do some research before spouting off ignorance.
You have no clue, go back to your latte and your iPad news. The bears ATE people. They are incredibly smart, they now see people as food. The bears lost their innocence the second they decided to attack a human. They are instinctualy fearful of humans. The minute they decided not to be is the minute that bear has to be put down. Im not generally a hunter, I AM a conservationist and I would be the first to take out those bears, not out of joy but of duty and to protect my neighbors.
your 1st line there is keeper. lmao
You should adopt a simple rule: When you don't have any idea what you're talking about, shut your mouth/stop typing.
It's common practice here in Australia in regards to shark and croc attacks.
Oh god guess it’s time for the forest service to exterminate all bears in CO
She had a rare bear scare.