Post by scansy on Dec 4, 2008 6:45:31 GMT -5
Here's proof: Sometimes, the bear gets you
Thursday, December 04, 2008
By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The bear hunter had the feeling something was wrong.
First, the tracks he had followed into a Clearfield County cornfield led him to a small bear that he had startled. But after running a short distance away from him -- about five or six cornrows -- the animal turned and ran back toward him, passing within three feet.
And then he sensed that there was something coming up behind him.
"Sounds to me like he got in between the bear and the cub," said Lawrence Township police Officer John Walker. "And mom didn't like that."
The 39-year-old hunter, whom authorities have declined to identify, became one of Pennsylvania's rare victims of a black bear attack the afternoon of Nov. 25. He suffered puncture wounds, bites and gashes, but has been released from a hospital.
Investigators with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, led by wildlife conservation Officer David Carlini, said examination of hair and tracks in the snow indicate that the hunter was hit by a second bear. The man, who was able to walk to a nearby dirt road, never got a shot off.
Despite the use of a specially trained dog, authorities could not locate the bears.
"We found no evidence of a wounded bear or bears, no blood trails and no den sites," Officer Carlini said in a news release yesterday. "It simply appears to be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time: in between two bears. Why these bears were together is unknown."
Game commission spokesman Jerry Feaser said investigators were looking for two things.
"We wanted to make sure nothing illegal happened that may have caused the attack," he said. "And we're also interested in getting information about these kinds of incidents so we can learn from them."
The only bears in Pennsylvania are black bears, a population that has grown from about 4,500 in the 1980s to an estimated 14,000 to 15,000 today. They live in wooded areas of at least 50 of the state's 67 counties.
Mr. Feaser said there have been fewer than 20 bear attacks in the past 15 years in Pennsylvania. And there is no record of a bear ever having killed a person in Pennsylvania, he said.
To reduce the bear population, the state has a three-day hunting period, which was Nov. 24-26. There also is a two-day archery season, Nov. 19-20, in some wildlife management units.
An extended season began Monday and continues through Saturday.
Mr. Feaser said 3,004 bears were harvested last week, putting the state on a pace for one of its highest counts. In 2005, hunters killed a record 4,164 bears.
"In 2006, it was 3,122 bears," Mr. Feaser said. "I would expect we could easily attain that."
Clearfield County has one of the larger bear populations. Officer Walker said the hunter who was attacked was trying to drive his prey toward a post where his father, another hunter, was waiting.
"I've been here 30 years and this is the first bear attack that I've heard of," he said.
Mr. Feaser said most bear attacks involve situations in which a bear has been startled, such as when a person comes upon one near a trash bin.
"Other incidents involve pets, specifically dogs," he said. "The dog gets in a tussle with a black bear, and the pet owner attempts to separate the two. Not a good idea. People are going to get hurt in that situation.
"We always tell people to enjoy bears from a distance, just like you would any other wildlife."
Thursday, December 04, 2008
By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The bear hunter had the feeling something was wrong.
First, the tracks he had followed into a Clearfield County cornfield led him to a small bear that he had startled. But after running a short distance away from him -- about five or six cornrows -- the animal turned and ran back toward him, passing within three feet.
And then he sensed that there was something coming up behind him.
"Sounds to me like he got in between the bear and the cub," said Lawrence Township police Officer John Walker. "And mom didn't like that."
The 39-year-old hunter, whom authorities have declined to identify, became one of Pennsylvania's rare victims of a black bear attack the afternoon of Nov. 25. He suffered puncture wounds, bites and gashes, but has been released from a hospital.
Investigators with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, led by wildlife conservation Officer David Carlini, said examination of hair and tracks in the snow indicate that the hunter was hit by a second bear. The man, who was able to walk to a nearby dirt road, never got a shot off.
Despite the use of a specially trained dog, authorities could not locate the bears.
"We found no evidence of a wounded bear or bears, no blood trails and no den sites," Officer Carlini said in a news release yesterday. "It simply appears to be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time: in between two bears. Why these bears were together is unknown."
Game commission spokesman Jerry Feaser said investigators were looking for two things.
"We wanted to make sure nothing illegal happened that may have caused the attack," he said. "And we're also interested in getting information about these kinds of incidents so we can learn from them."
The only bears in Pennsylvania are black bears, a population that has grown from about 4,500 in the 1980s to an estimated 14,000 to 15,000 today. They live in wooded areas of at least 50 of the state's 67 counties.
Mr. Feaser said there have been fewer than 20 bear attacks in the past 15 years in Pennsylvania. And there is no record of a bear ever having killed a person in Pennsylvania, he said.
To reduce the bear population, the state has a three-day hunting period, which was Nov. 24-26. There also is a two-day archery season, Nov. 19-20, in some wildlife management units.
An extended season began Monday and continues through Saturday.
Mr. Feaser said 3,004 bears were harvested last week, putting the state on a pace for one of its highest counts. In 2005, hunters killed a record 4,164 bears.
"In 2006, it was 3,122 bears," Mr. Feaser said. "I would expect we could easily attain that."
Clearfield County has one of the larger bear populations. Officer Walker said the hunter who was attacked was trying to drive his prey toward a post where his father, another hunter, was waiting.
"I've been here 30 years and this is the first bear attack that I've heard of," he said.
Mr. Feaser said most bear attacks involve situations in which a bear has been startled, such as when a person comes upon one near a trash bin.
"Other incidents involve pets, specifically dogs," he said. "The dog gets in a tussle with a black bear, and the pet owner attempts to separate the two. Not a good idea. People are going to get hurt in that situation.
"We always tell people to enjoy bears from a distance, just like you would any other wildlife."