Spate of bear attacks on humans
By CNN
Bears rarely attack humans unless they feel threatened or territorial. But a 12-year-old girl jogging in Michigan is among the latest victims in a spate of bear attacks that has left seven people mauled in five states since Thursday.
Wildlife officials are running tests on a bear they killed to see if it’s the same one that mauled Abby Wetherell on Thursday evening. The girl from Cadillac, Mich., was out on her nightly jog when she was ambushed by a black bear.
“On her way back this time, a bear just kind of came out of nowhere and attacked her from behind, knocked her to the ground,” her mother, Elizabeth Wetherell, told CNN affiliate WXMI.
Abby tried to get up, but the bear kept charging.
“At that point, she didn’t know what to do because she had been injured severely and couldn’t get up, so she decided … to just lay there and play dead.”
Authorities also reported attacks in Alaska, Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho.
The Michigan incident was an anomaly, officials said.
And all but this bear in Michigan were brown bears. And This young girl running most probably triggered a chase (play?) response in this young black bear. Black bears and brown bears. Apples and oranges.
As I said once before and again , and again, Education is the key to know about the bears, Petting a bear that made me think ,what the hell was she thinking, oh yeah my life, playing dead ? wow its food for them,running ? come on, sounds to me Education is needed ,come on wake up, there is so much to be learned ,and its so easy, TAKE TIME OUT AND READ UP.AND GET EDUCATED ,ITS THE PEOPLE NOT THE BEARS,
Bears are not the problem, it’s humans that are the problem! Keep your trash secured until trash pick up day. Indoors, in the garage or in your fenced backyard.
Ammonia, pine sol, bleach, crushed red pepper
and all the rest of these things are really not much of a deterrent to a bear looking for an easy meal.
If you build a bear box for your trash cans use 2 x 6’s with the biggest hinges and latches you can find, sink in concrete on 4 x 4 posts and if well constructed you might be alright, otherwise buy a steel bear box or a bearproof can with the twist on lid.
If you have second homeowners on your street ( like half the homes on my street are) who are up just occasionaly, encourage them to take their kitchen garbage home with them or volunteer to put their trash out on pick up day.
Killing bears is not the answer, educating people is!
Take care of the bears and your trash.
Old Long Skiis (garbageman for 31 years in SLT,who has seen plenty of trash and bears).
Biggerpicture- All the bears at Tahoe are Black bears (regardless of actual color), and all the bears in Michigan are Black bears (also regardless of color). Black bears are a different species than Brown bears, which are a coastal subspecies of Grizzly. There are no Brown bears in California or Michigan. Apples and apples.
Gus, unless you misunderstood me, that was my point. Black bears behaviorally are very different then brown bears, and this article is lumping the two species together as it pertains to these attacks.
@Kathy-what are you trying to say? I get it that education about bear behavior is necessary, I get it that people need to be aware of their behavior. Are you saying black bears are primarily hunters by nature?(they are opportunistic foragers, they can be triggered to chase, but it’s not normally how they get the bugs, roots, berries, diapers, leftovers, pizza and small rodents that make up the majority of their diet-outside of fishing season)) Are you saying they are naturally aggressive?(they are not) Are you saying you pet a black bear?(at a petting zoo, I hope) That it made you think?(thinking is good) That you are its food?(you are not, but if one comes up to you if you are sleeping out in the open it may take a bite to see if you are carrion-coyotes and mosquitoes will do that too) I think your intentions are good, but your statements are not complete. There are some excellent resources on bear behavior, and locally The Bear League does great work assisting people in all manner of bear awareness and human behavior problems when it comes to bears. Their number is 530.525.7297.
Hmmm, I will try to to do the best answering you, First of all I have lived in Montana Alaska ,and S lake Tahoe, I have been around Bears all my life,Bears are very smart,You talk about Bear league knowing they know what they are doing,If so Why have there been so many Bears being killed ? What about Sunny ? As I heard they found the person,but no word after that But they collect money and nothing has been done so far,It does not always take money to get to someone for shooting a bear,I dont really think Bear League has the answers,and keeps people wondering,I think thats because its the only place here ,Bears do not harm ,People people harm bears ,I will repeat one more time, Its how you handle yourself around a Bear , Its all mind over matter, I dont think you really understand it, But please be aware dont turn your back on a Bear how hard is that to understand,,pick up a book about bears it tells so much ,thank you ,Have a nice day, I hope your bin is safe and oh, one more thing, I had a bear come up to me plenty of times, They do have brains and sense you ,Bears know if you are weak ,or strong .
Right Kathy, and they know when you’ve been good and bad, so be goood, for goodness sake! Wild animals are more unpredictable than the people at a downtown New York subway station! Just stay away!
What 12 year old goes jogging nightly?
Here’s a tutorial, complete with test and certification, which teaches you how to tell a black bear from a brown (grizzly) bear, courtesy of the State of Montana where it’s important to be able to identify what kind of a bear you’re hunting:
http://fwp.mt.gov/education/hunter/bearID/
However, if you’re in South Lake Tahoe and you find yourself disputing possession of your kitchen with a bear, it’s likely a black bear. For which you should be thankful while you’re explaining mortgages and property rights to your guest. The black bear’s going to win the argument anyway, but he’s not quite as likely to eat you.
? says,
is there a reason to think that the idea of a 12 year old jogging nightly is wrong? or even relevant?
What is your point????
The article is misleading ….. it doesn’t differentiate the attacks and killings between black and brown bears. It also mentions that more people are recreating in bear habitats. That and the fact the human population has grown would increase the incidents alone.
But the article is misleading and only serves to demonize bears in general.
Having lived here 37 years and walking dead on into bears repeatedly day and nite – I find it hard to believe we need to live in fear of bears …..
John A. If you are walking repeatedly into bears day & night you must be smoking some real good stuff!!!
I lived at the Lake for 25 years and my job had me out and about town at all hours, The only bear I ever saw in SLT was a young one sleeping behind a motel near Stateline.
I do recall, however, when one of the high school teachers was baiting bears to the back of the campus so his students could film them. By any chance, John A., were you a member of his class? They saw lots of bears, but only late at night behind the school cafeteria. No telling what the students (and the instructor?) might have been smoking.
Needless to say, Gardner Mountain was awash in garbage bears for a while after that.
VERY large cinnamon colored bear in sierra tract early tuesday morning. Got into lots of trash making a huge mess. This bear does not scare away easily. I tried to chase him off but it’s not afraid of people, dogs or loud noises. Keep your trash inside until you hear the garbage truck coming close to your street and keep pets indoors until midmorning. Also lots of coyotes. Hopefully the bear moves on.
Old Long Skiis( Bobby Bear )
Robert and Copper, if you get out from behind your computers and hike around routinely you might actually learn something about nature rather than just speculating upon it from behind your screens.
Paintball gun. Very effective and lots of fun. Big game hunting in South Lake Tahoe. I live off the Cold Stream / Trout Creek Meadow and have bears in my yard or on my street all the time. After a few paintball treatments, they don’t come around so often. I travel through the Sierra Tract all the time. Garbage everywhere, cans over turned and general mayhem. Maybe coyotes, bears, racoons but in all probability the local untended garbage hounds. This just isn’t on Wednesday morning either which is garbage day. If anyone needs an education, that is where I would start.