Bears and Humans Which Should You Manage?
Last summer seemed to be the summer of dangerous bear encounters with a number of fatalities reported across the country. As bear numbers continue to climb and habitat gets gobbled up encounters are going to be more enviable. To many people view wildlife with the same mentality as animals in the zoo and will crowd a wild animal. I’ve witnessed what could only be best described as stupid as people attempt to get near wildlife. Especially with bears you need to keep your distance for the most part they are a shy animal that will more often the not avoid human contact. A bear with a single swipe of it’s paw to the head could kill you. Many dangerous encounter are the result of getting to close to or between a sow and her cubs.
In recent news there are two bear human encounters that show carelessness on humans. The first is out of Utah where a camper smacked a bear in the head with a flashlight the other night when the bear stuck its head in the tent.
A woman sleeping at a Mirror Lake campground hit a bear with a flashlight to drive it out of her tent sometime around 2 a.m on July 25. The bear had stuck its head in her tent, presumably following a scent of food, when it surprised the woman who reacted by pummeling it with the light.
The bear scurried off and left the woman unharmed, according to Bruce Johnson of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR).
Keeping a dirty camp in bear country is just asking for trouble, people need to follow proper storage rules to prevent encounters like this. Additionally the article goes on to explain that the woman failed to report it until hours later to camp ground staff. This can be really dangerous because the bear may visit another campsite and the outcomes may not be the same.
Second story is out of Alaska where a grizzly bear killed a moose calf in someone’s yard. Authorities posted the area and was going to let the grizzly sow feed on it till it was consumed however too many people decided to sightsee the area creating a very dangerous situation.
Sinnott went to the kill site Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, he posted signs telling walkers to be cautious and to avoid the area. The bear was behaving just like a bear should, he said.
“If this is all she’s doing, I’m not too worried,” he said.
By Wednesday, he had something to be worried about.
He decided to retrieve the carcass after learning people were ignoring the signs. Instead of avoiding the bear’s storage locker in the woods, people were looking for it and checking out the half-buried calf.
I’m sorry but people are nuts. Why would anyone in their right mind want to go in and look at a grizzly bear kill site?
Bears, like most predators, will eat whatever they can get the easiest and they’ll protect their kill. Bears are can be very dangerous and that should be the thought you have in your mind when ever you happen upon one. I love to photograph them but I use zoom lens and try to let them know I’m around so I don’t surprise them.
People can do the right thing especially when authorities have closed an area because of bear activity please honor those requests. If you live in bear country or will be spending some time in bear country find out the rules around bears and avoid doing things that will attracted them in.
Bear management I believe these days is more people management and that is pretty sad.
Story & Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
I agree with you completely. People tend to treat wild bears as if they are Yogi and Boo Boo. It frightens me when people who should really know better tell me they aren’t afraid of bears. All it takes is one encounter going bad and you could be seriously injured or even killed. To me that’s something to be worried about, and it should inspire caution.
Comment by Kristine Shreve — August 4, 2008 @ 9:53 am
I think you hit the nail on the head - educating people could go a long ways in wildlife management. Too many people that aren’t familiar with wild animals that want to take pictures, do some wildlife viewing or whatever that just are plain stupid.
Comment by Tom Sorenson — August 4, 2008 @ 2:55 pm
There is another thought to include in our need to be totally informed about how to treat wild animals. The glorification of wildlife chasers on the National Geographic, Dicovery, and Animal Planet stations probably doesn’t help. They always telll people not to try to pursue animals on their own, but do we listen?
Comment by CDGardens — August 5, 2008 @ 10:23 am