http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31342517/ns/us_news-life/ I was under the impression that there was only 1 documented case of a black bear killing a human. I guess I was wrong. Must have been old information or maybe that was just that it actually ate the person. It's been a while since I watched the documentary. Any way, I just thought I would share.
Interesting...not surprising, but interesting. I wonder when the govt. will start allowing hunts in areas where bears are most problematic. NJ for instance. I was surprised by the number of bear-related fatalities since 2000. I had no idea it had gotten to those levels. Scary.
Yeah, bears have been generally protected in recent decades from hunting or other molestations. Meanwhile, people have moved farther and farther into areas that were once sparsely populated. Inevitably, the more numerous bears and people clash.
There are several documented cases of black bears attacking humans in our province. It's usually a juvenile male, in July, hungry after being driven off by its mother. Peope usually survive, but with serious wounds from claws and bites. One child bitten on the head but her mother drove the bear out with a shovel.
I just showed a house yesterday that has a serious hunter for owner, and he has a small black bear mounted . . .about 4' tall,l the whole bear standing on a limb. . .my brother had a brown bear in his exotic game collection, but she got sort of mean and he wisely got rid of her. I think our progression with homes being built and their territory being invaded with their natural habitat being destroyed that is upsetting the balance of nature. Sad for everyone.
Quote:New Jersey tried to have bear hunts but the anti hunters gathered and the idea was scrapped. We (NJ) had a bear hunt a few years ago, but not since.
Just as my husband and I were house hunting in TN, a black bear killed a 6 year old girl in Cherokee National Forest. It didn't deter us from looking for a house near there because we know that there are freak accidents all the time. We spent a summer in NY, at a friends house, learning to live side by side black bears so we would know how to deal with them. They had a bear den about 200 yards from their home with a juvenile bear in it. There were other bears around also. They visited their property daily/nightly. It also taught our 8 year old grandson, whom we have custody of, how to behave around them. We moved from NY, a city, to the mountains where there are bears, coyotes, wolf-dogs, cougars (of course the authorites say theres not), to all kinds of wild animals that we have never lived near. I think that you really need to educate yourself if you're going to live in an area where these type of animals are. The other problem, as Davaroo stated, is that more and more people are moving into "their" territory. When that happens, there is going to be more incidents of bear/human confrontations. We can't keep driving animals out of their natural habitat and think there won't be any consequences for it. Are bear hunts the answer? I honestly can say, I don't know. I leave that to the experts. Laurie
Ya'll should read the book 'Man Eaters' edited by Lamar Underwood. It has quite a few articles about bears killing or doing serious damage to humans. It actually says black bear attacks on humans are more dangerous than grizzlies because the black bear seems to actually be predating on humans while most grizzly attacks are from proximity or surprise. Great book.
My daughter instant messaged me last night about bear cubs in her driveway. now she lives in a town, basically in the middle of town, 3 cubs in her driveway, no mother that could be seen ( key word not seen) She has 3 children ages 8, 6, 5 who were out playing when the cubs came in. to say she was terrified is a bit of understatement. bear cubs in town and a mother hiding out is not something I would enjoy.