Concerning the Black Bear

[Snowpuppy]

This is one that I wish would not be published. Now all the local yocals will go out and shoot the bear just like they did when the forestry service previously had one caught in a trap to relocate it. This pisses me off-the damned hiker probably provoked the bear to begin with. Not to mention the bear has been there since early March this year when myself and a friend of mine stumbled upon the tracks in the snow!! Just leave the bear alone and it will leave you alone.

[DHB]

well, since the forest service sent out a press release concerning the attack, I think they wanted it to be published. I'm sure they're aware of the tendencies of the locals, but if they had kept it quiet and another person had gotten attacked, then they'd really be in deep shit.

[sharon9999]

It is a bit sad they are going to hunt this bear down and kill it for acting like a bear in the woods.But don't think the locals didn't already know there are bears in the gorge with out reading it some where.....

[chester]

Snowpuppy
Did you inform the forest service when you saw the bear tracks or possibly post it somewhere? I remember someone posting seeing bear tracks but thought that was deep in Muir Valley.

I sure wish I would have known. I've been on that trail alone many times this past spring during the weekday and have only seen one other person on it...which makes it perfect for some solitude. I even suggested it to my niece and her three year old daughter for berry picking last week. Two weeks ago it was covered with blueberries. I'm glad they decided not to come down.

I know there are bear out there but was under the impression they were deeper in the gorge since there had been no sightings registered. I think my solo hiking excursions are no longer going to be.

[mike_a_lafontaine]

This pisses me off-the damned hiker probably provoked the bear to begin with.

That's jumping the gun a bit. People seem to believe only in extremes about wild animals. Some people think they are harmless and will always leave people alone if left alone. There there is the opposite end of the spectrum, those that think that all wild animals are rouge and look for any opportunity to attack a person in the woods. Neither is true. While many bear attacks are certainly provoked by the person's actions, not all are. Bears, while most of their diet is roots, grubs, and larva, are still capable of being formidable predators. Read the eye witness accounts of this attack. The bear FOLLOWED THEM DOWN THE TRAIL EVEN AFTER THE ATTACK WAS THWARTED! That is predatory behavior! In the bear's mind, something (the people in the hiking party) was taking away it's prey (the victim) and he was hoping for a chance to get it back, thankfully he was unsuccessful.

Nature is unpredictable. For everyone's safety, it is best if nature is scared shitless of people. When someone goes into the woods and acts inappropriately, whether they are feeding wildlife or harrassing wildlife, they should have the book thrown at them. But on the flip side, when a wild animal is aggressive to a person (not acting in defense of itself, but truely agressive and therefore lacking a fear of people) it needs to be put down.

[Snowpuppy]

Have you ever heard of some things better left unsaid? Of course I didn't publish it because I knew what was going to happen with the local yocals and everybody wanting to kill it. Yes the bear is being killed for being a bear-did anyone ever stop to think that it could be a female with cubs around? Yes I've spent many hours out there solo hiking and will continue to do so, this will not detur me-it's called leave well enough alone and it will leave you alone. I've spent time in bear country out west and never had any problems. I'd even had them outside my tent with me in it and been in close proximity-I left them alone, they left me alone.

[Redpoint's Bear]

Grrrrr thank you Snowpuppy Grrr we bears need all the friends we can get grrr do you have any berries around? grrrr i love berries grrrrr

[cliftongifford]

That is predatory behavior! In the bear's mind, something (the people in the hiking party) was taking away it's prey (the victim) and he was hoping for a chance to get it back...

Complete ignorance! I hope you're not a naturalist... because you sure are acting like you know what you're talking about. It's called DEFENSIVE behavior, not predatory. It's the end of spring folks, any female animal out there will attack you this time of year to protect their young. Whether they saw young cubs or not, they were close by. It could've been a deer just as well as a bear mauling that man... or even a turkey! I think it's absolutely absurd to believe that this bear is out to kill humans as food! And to the people hunting the bear... I hope you shoot yourself in the face, you fucking cowards!

[mike_a_lafontaine]

No, I'm not a naturalist, but I do have a degree in wild life biology. And even female black bears RARELY attack to protect their young. Their typical behavior is to send their young up a tree or under something then follow them there. Of the 70 or so bears I've seen in the wild while working for USF&W, the vast majority were females with cubs, and almost ALL of them did exactly this. A female black bear protecting its cubs would not follow, thus leaving it's cubs behind for some other predator. Once the threat is clearly leaving, she would return to her cubs. Why would she risk injury to herself chasing after something if it was leaving?

It is not absurd to believe that a bear would try to kill humans as food. Does it happen often, absolutely not, but it does happen. National Geographic has a video circulating that a hiker took up in Ontario and every ursine behaviorlist agreed it was attempting to prey on the man. Following him silently through the woods, making no sounds, staring intently at him, ears raised.

[p0bray01]

shouldn't the ears be down and back if it is a predatory attack?