Here we go on a Monday morning as I sort through the gobs of emails showing how it is not such a rare occurrence to be attacked by a bear as animal lovers and predator protectors want people to believe. I have claimed, and still do, that making such claims that bear attacks are rare is not only incorrect but irresponsible as well. It’s as irresponsible as telling people to take down bird feeders, lock their garbage in the garage, look big and make lot’s of noise to prevent being attacked or have encounters with bears, without telling the whole story.
While much of this advice is good, it isn’t THE answer as bears can be mighty unpredictable, especially a very hungry bear. Bears will and do readily break out car windows to get at food inside. They break down garage doors or front doors of houses, all for a good snack of something that smells good to them. Take the precautions but be aware of the fact that as safe as you might think you are, there’s still a possibility. Also, stop believing the rhetoric, designed only to protect predators, that bears are “misunderstood” and that human encounters and attacks on humans are rare. The question might be, rare as compared to what?
So here’s some links and a list to some of the bear attacks and encounters that seem to have taken place over the last few days.
1. A man in Alberta, Canada was out riding his ATV. He got stuck on a log and then attacked by a bear. He got tore up pretty badly. The first report that came out was on Saturday when not so many details were available. On Sunday, we are able to hear from the person who got attacked. Note – This is the second bear attack on humans in Alberta in a month. The first resulted in a Suncor worker getting killed.
2. In Henniker, New Hampshire, not so rare, a bear breaks into everything for food.
The bear and two cubs had been searching for food, but officials say she became aggressive and dangerous to people. This was the third year in a row the same bear returned to the area. This year, authorities say the bear grew bolder, and broke into the same house twice and also smashed the window of a mini-van.
Rare?
And here we have whining and complaining from New Hampshire officials that people won’t stop feeding bears. While their concerns are legitimate, I think it’s a bit idealistic to think, as is intimated in this article, that if people would put away their bird feeders, bar-b-cue grills, lock up their garbage, lock their doors and windows and never come out, bears wouldn’t even come around anybody’s house. How do you get it through people’s heads that when bears emerge from their dens and green-up hasn’t occurred, bears are hungry and sometimes those hungry bears are willing to do anything for food – kill you if necessary. You could sterilize a town and I’ll bet hungry bears would still come around looking for something to eat.
3. Maine is just a little bit behind the other states as bears come out of hiding and are hungry. Already Maine has recorded 44 complaints from bear problems.
What’s so rare?
