Speaking Of Bears
 

For Immediate Release June 11,
2004
Bear attacks 18 year old in Standish
STANDISH, Maine -- An 18 year old who was outside taking pictures of a black
bear feeding at a birdfeeder in his backyard was attacked and injured by the
bear yesterday afternoon.

Nick Talbot, of Standish, got within 30 feet of the bear to take pictures of
the it feasting on birdseed. His dog barked at the bear, and that was when
two cubs emerged. Sensing a dangerous situation, Talbot turned to go back
inside, but as he turned, the mother bear charged, closed the distance and
slashed Talbot on the arm. The bear then bared its teeth and snarled.

"It's unbelievable how an animal that big is that fast," Talbot said Friday
to the Associated Press. "She hit me so hard it knocked me to one side." The
injury didn't require any medical treatment. Talbot said he cleaned the
scratch and got a tetanus shot.

Bears this time of year on are on the search for food, and that search often
brings them in contact with humans as they look to feed on bird seed,
garbage, pet food or even raid barbecue grills. They also will attack cattle
or other farm animals.

This is the first nuisance bear complaint this year that involved an injury
to a person, however, in Orono Wednesday night, a bear tried to get into a
house through a window in search of food, damaging the screen window and
vinyl siding. The bear was scared away by the homeowner. Earlier this year,
a bear killed two pigs in Atkinson, and in South Berwick, two sheep were
killed by a bear. Problems such as these occur each spring and early summer
as bears emerge from dens at their lowest weight at a time when natural food
supplies are at their lowest.

Mother bears are also extremely protective of their young, and they will
charge if they feel that they or the cubs are being threatened. If you
encounter a bear while hiking or in your yard, here's what you should do:

* Keep your distance. Make it aware of your presence by
clapping, talking or making other sounds.

* If you see cubs, stay away. Bear cubs are never orphaned by
their mother this time of year. The mother is nearby and is very protective.
Any movement towards the cubs could be seen as an attack, and the mother
will attack you.

* If a bear does not immediately leave after seeing you, the
food may be encouraging it to stay. Remove any sight or smell of foods.
Place food items inside a vehicle or building. Occupy a vehicle or building
until the bear wanders away.

* Black bears will sometimes "bluff charge" when cornered,
threatened or attempting to steal food. Stand your ground and slowly back
away. Don't turn your back to the bear.




Handyman Mike
Standing in a river waving a stick

Speaking Of Bears
 

"Mike" kirjoitti viestissä
...
For Immediate Release June 11,
2004
Bear attacks 18 year old in Standish
STANDISH, Maine -- An 18 year old who was outside taking pictures of a
black
bear feeding at a birdfeeder in his backyard was attacked and injured by
the
bear yesterday afternoon.


Sad to hear this kind of news. Here the bears are normally dodging people.
But there are some businessmen at northeastern border of Finland who
keep charkas and other baits for bears. There are blinds close to these
and tourists may come to see wild bears feeding out there.
There is a harmful aspect that bears get used to people and are not
afraid anymore. This may lead to close contacts between bears and people
and an attack is more probable.

OsmoJ

Speaking Of Bears
 

"Osmo Jauhiainen" kirjoitti viestissä
...

keep charkas and other baits for bears. There are blinds close to these

I am sorry for the spelling mistake. I mean charcass, not charkas!

OsmoJ

Speaking Of Bears
 

wrote...
snipped a good bear story
Mother bears are also extremely protective of their young, and they will
charge if they feel that they or the cubs are being threatened. If you
encounter a bear while hiking or in your yard, here's what you should do:

* Keep your distance. Make it aware of your presence by
clapping, talking or making other sounds.

* If you see cubs, stay away. Bear cubs are never orphaned by
their mother this time of year. The mother is nearby and is very protective.
Any movement towards the cubs could be seen as an attack, and the mother
will attack you.

* If a bear does not immediately leave after seeing you, the
food may be encouraging it to stay. Remove any sight or smell of foods.
Place food items inside a vehicle or building. Occupy a vehicle or building
until the bear wanders away.

* Black bears will sometimes "bluff charge" when cornered,
threatened or attempting to steal food. Stand your ground and slowly back
away. Don't turn your back to the bear.

These are tips that I have heard several times and that were left
out from the very good list that you provided above:

1) Avoid direct eye contact (staring at a bear) because it is a form
of a "challenge" and a call for establishing dominance. If you have
a dog, then you need to try this: have a staring contest with your
dog. Most dogs know that humans are "superior" and will avert their
gaze after a short amount of time. Bears haven't been ingrained
with the notion that humans are "superior" and see it as a direct
challenge that often instigates a confrontation. The advice I read
said to lower your head and look away and pretend to be
"submissive" and non-threatening as you slowly remove yourself from
the area because quick movements and running will often trigger an
attack.

2) Act as if every bear has cubs with them. See below for an
example.

3) I heard that it is unwise to make noise when you see a bear that
doesn't see you because the noise could startle a bear. The advice
I have come across several times is to quietly get the hell out of
the area without startling the bear if you are close. Basically you
want to put as much distance between you and the bear before you are
noticed or decide it is safe to let the bear know you are there. A
good example would be making noise when a sow doesn't see you and
you are between her and her cubs which you may not even know are
around. The noise could startle her and cause her to think that you
are after her cubs. If you are outside their "buffer zone," then
noise is good because it warns them that you are in the area. I
can't recall the distance that the source felt was a decent "buffer
zone," but I want to say it was something like 100+ yards.

If you are really interested in bears and preventing attacks, two
really good books that I have read are "Mark of the Grizzly" and
"Night of the Grizzly." MOTG is a study of several bear attacks
mostly from places like the Yellowstone Park area, Canada and
Alaska. They describe the attacks, interview the victim(s) if
possible, any witnesses, or examine the forensic evidence and then
try to explain what the people did to initiate an attack. NOTG is
about the grizzly attacks in Glacier that I believe were the first
fatalities from Grizzlies in that Park IIRC. Both are really good
books, but I liked Mark of the Grizzly more. As a matter of fact,
it may be time for another reading...... I highly recommend both
books if you are visiting areas that bears frequent because they are
very educational, IMHO.
--
Warren
(use troutbum_mt on earthlink dot net to respond via email)
Clave Info:
http://www.geocities.com/troutbum_mt...nConclave.html

Speaking Of Bears
 

wrote...
=20
"Osmo Jauhiainen" kirjoitti viestiss=
=E4
...

keep charkas and other baits for bears. There are blinds close to thes=
e
=20
I am sorry for the spelling mistake. I mean charcass, not charkas!

Your English, spelling and grammar are far better than a few people=20
who use it as a first language..... I didn't know what you meant by=20
"charkas," but when you said "charcass" I understood what you meant. =20
I think the word you are looking for is carcass. Close enough to=20
get the point across and definitely not grounds for an apology. Or=20
are you just playing around so you can get a Cindy Crawford=20
treatment?????? ;-)
--=20
Warren=20
(use troutbum_mt on earthlink dot net to respond via email)
Clave Info:
http://www.geocities.com/troutbum_mt...nConclave.html

Speaking Of Bears
 

"Warren" wrote in message
...
wrote...
snip
These are tips that I have heard several times and that were left
out from the very good list that you provided above:

1) Avoid direct eye contact (staring at a bear) because it is a form
of a "challenge" and a call for establishing dominance. If you have
a dog, then you need to try this: have a staring contest with your
dog. Most dogs know that humans are "superior" and will avert their
gaze after a short amount of time. Bears haven't been ingrained
with the notion that humans are "superior" and see it as a direct
challenge that often instigates a confrontation. The advice I read
said to lower your head and look away and pretend to be
"submissive" and non-threatening as you slowly remove yourself from
the area because quick movements and running will often trigger an
attack.

snip

According to the wildlife Bio that worked for me and did his PHd work on
Grizzlies in Glacier NP, the above is very true for Grizzlies, but is not an
issue with Black Bears.


--
Bob Weinberger
La, Grande, OR

place a dot between bobs and stuff and remove invalid to send email

Speaking Of Bears
 

Warren,
"Warren" kirjoitti viestissä
...

Your English, spelling and grammar are far better than a few people
who use it as a first language..... I didn't know what you meant by
"charkas," but when you said "charcass" I understood what you meant.

I was trying to remember the word I have seen earlier first,
but my guess was wrong. I was checking afterwards an finding the correct
word.

Thanks!

OsmoJ

Speaking Of Bears
 

"Mike" wrote in message
...

....If a bear does not immediately leave after seeing you, the
food may be encouraging it to stay. Remove any sight or smell of foods...

Um......it probably shouldn't be necessary to add that it's best to wait
until the bear leaves before embarking on this undertaking.

...Occupy a vehicle or building
until the bear wanders away.

Over to you, Frank. :)

Wolfgang

Speaking Of Bears
 

"Mike" wrote in message
...
The
injury didn't require any medical treatment. Talbot said he cleaned the
scratch and got a tetanus shot.

I still don't understand these two statements.

Speaking Of Bears
 

Warren wrote:

MOTG is a study of several bear attacks
mostly from places like the Yellowstone Park area

bears...attacks...marks...yellowstone? yikes! hmmm... choc, where did
you say you'll be fishing in the park?

jeff (who definitely believes in giving the bear some options)