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Black bear attacks mountain biker in Washington State park



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 3rd 07, 05:23 PM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
Mike Vandeman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,798
Default Black bear attacks mountain biker in Washington State park

What crime did the bear commit, that it deserves to die?! She was only
defending her cubs!

Mike


http://www.komotv.com/news/9538012.html:





Black bear attacks bicyclist in park

Story Published: Sep 2, 2007 at 4:14 PM PDT

Story Updated: Sep 3, 2007 at 7:33 AM PDT





By KOMO Staff

Watch the story
NEAR OLLALA, Wash. -- A man was attacked by a bear while mountain
biking in the Banner Forest Heritage Park just before noon on Sunday,
according to South Kitsap Fire and Rescue officials.

Spokesman Ron Powers said a 51-year-old Port Orchard man was biking
with his two dogs alongside him when the dogs ran ahead and around the
bend, then started barking fiercely. The man turned the bend and saw
the dogs were barking at a bear.

Powers said the bear immediately charged at the man, who tried to use
his bike to shield himself from the animal. But the bear managed to
injure the man's arm, back, neck and ear before he was able to get
back on his bike and ride away.

Down the path, the injured man ran into other mountain bikers, who
called 911.

The man was conscious and alert when he was taken to St. Joseph
Medical Center in Tacoma. The unidentified man is in serious
condition, but is expected to recover.

One of the man's dogs is still missing. It is not known whether the
dog suffered injuries during the attack. The second dog is said to be
OK.

Officials evacuated the park and shut it down in order to search for
the bear. Powers said if the bear is found, officials plan to kill it.
Officials said crews will search through the night until the bear is
found.

Another bicyclist who was at the park on Sunday told authorities he
saw mother bear and two cubs while riding on the trail.

Powers said Sunday's attack is a freak accident, stating black bears
rarely attack humans and, unless provoked or threatened, will run
away. The man or the dogs may have appeared as a threat to the bear,
who may have been protecting her cubs, Powers said.

Area resident Teri Nelson agrees, while bears are not uncommon at the
park, she didn't expect them to be aggressive.

"Attacking somebody would make me have second thoughts about walking
through this forest by myself," she said. "It's pretty scary."
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande
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  #2  
Old September 3rd 07, 07:00 PM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
Ist-e Mundus, Furia bundus
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 42
Default Black bear attacks mountain biker in Washington State park


"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
...
What crime did the bear commit, that it deserves to die?! She was only
defending her cubs!

Mike


http://www.komotv.com/news/9538012.html:





Black bear attacks bicyclist in park

Story Published: Sep 2, 2007 at 4:14 PM PDT

Story Updated: Sep 3, 2007 at 7:33 AM PDT





By KOMO Staff

Watch the story
NEAR OLLALA, Wash. -- A man was attacked by a bear while mountain
biking in the Banner Forest Heritage Park just before noon on Sunday,
according to South Kitsap Fire and Rescue officials.

Spokesman Ron Powers said a 51-year-old Port Orchard man was biking
with his two dogs alongside him when the dogs ran ahead and around the
bend, then started barking fiercely. The man turned the bend and saw
the dogs were barking at a bear.

Powers said the bear immediately charged at the man, who tried to use
his bike to shield himself from the animal. But the bear managed to
injure the man's arm, back, neck and ear before he was able to get
back on his bike and ride away.

Down the path, the injured man ran into other mountain bikers, who
called 911.

The man was conscious and alert when he was taken to St. Joseph
Medical Center in Tacoma. The unidentified man is in serious
condition, but is expected to recover.

One of the man's dogs is still missing. It is not known whether the
dog suffered injuries during the attack. The second dog is said to be
OK.

Officials evacuated the park and shut it down in order to search for
the bear. Powers said if the bear is found, officials plan to kill it.
Officials said crews will search through the night until the bear is
found.

Another bicyclist who was at the park on Sunday told authorities he
saw mother bear and two cubs while riding on the trail.

Powers said Sunday's attack is a freak accident, stating black bears
rarely attack humans and, unless provoked or threatened, will run
away. The man or the dogs may have appeared as a threat to the bear,
who may have been protecting her cubs, Powers said.

Area resident Teri Nelson agrees, while bears are not uncommon at the
park, she didn't expect them to be aggressive.

"Attacking somebody would make me have second thoughts about walking
through this forest by myself," she said. "It's pretty scary."
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are
fond of!


How do you know it was defending cubs? The article only says "may have
been", and that there was a report of a bear with two cubs. No guarantee it
was the same bear as "bears are not uncommon at the park". There you go
leaping to conclusions again, reaffirming your status as the primo number
one twit-extraordinaire on usenet.



  #3  
Old September 4th 07, 07:00 AM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
Mike Vandeman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,798
Default Black bear attacks mountain biker in Washington State park

On Mon, 3 Sep 2007 12:00:50 -0600, "Ist-e Mundus, Furia bundus"
wrote:


"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
.. .
What crime did the bear commit, that it deserves to die?! She was only
defending her cubs!

Mike


http://www.komotv.com/news/9538012.html:





Black bear attacks bicyclist in park

Story Published: Sep 2, 2007 at 4:14 PM PDT

Story Updated: Sep 3, 2007 at 7:33 AM PDT





By KOMO Staff

Watch the story
NEAR OLLALA, Wash. -- A man was attacked by a bear while mountain
biking in the Banner Forest Heritage Park just before noon on Sunday,
according to South Kitsap Fire and Rescue officials.

Spokesman Ron Powers said a 51-year-old Port Orchard man was biking
with his two dogs alongside him when the dogs ran ahead and around the
bend, then started barking fiercely. The man turned the bend and saw
the dogs were barking at a bear.

Powers said the bear immediately charged at the man, who tried to use
his bike to shield himself from the animal. But the bear managed to
injure the man's arm, back, neck and ear before he was able to get
back on his bike and ride away.

Down the path, the injured man ran into other mountain bikers, who
called 911.

The man was conscious and alert when he was taken to St. Joseph
Medical Center in Tacoma. The unidentified man is in serious
condition, but is expected to recover.

One of the man's dogs is still missing. It is not known whether the
dog suffered injuries during the attack. The second dog is said to be
OK.

Officials evacuated the park and shut it down in order to search for
the bear. Powers said if the bear is found, officials plan to kill it.
Officials said crews will search through the night until the bear is
found.

Another bicyclist who was at the park on Sunday told authorities he
saw mother bear and two cubs while riding on the trail.

Powers said Sunday's attack is a freak accident, stating black bears
rarely attack humans and, unless provoked or threatened, will run
away. The man or the dogs may have appeared as a threat to the bear,
who may have been protecting her cubs, Powers said.

Area resident Teri Nelson agrees, while bears are not uncommon at the
park, she didn't expect them to be aggressive.

"Attacking somebody would make me have second thoughts about walking
through this forest by myself," she said. "It's pretty scary."
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are
fond of!


How do you know it was defending cubs? The article only says "may have
been", and that there was a report of a bear with two cubs. No guarantee it
was the same bear as "bears are not uncommon at the park". There you go
leaping to conclusions again, reaffirming your status as the primo number
one twit-extraordinaire on usenet.


It's a well-known fact that black bears don't attack humans, except to
defend their cubs. Do you think it was offended by the color of his
outfit?!
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande
  #4  
Old September 4th 07, 03:27 PM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
Bruce Jensen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 522
Default Black bear attacks mountain biker in Washington State park

On Sep 3, 11:00 pm, Mike Vandeman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Sep 2007 12:00:50 -0600, "Ist-e Mundus, Furia bundus"





wrote:

"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
.. .
What crime did the bear commit, that it deserves to die?! She was only
defending her cubs!


Mike


http://www.komotv.com/news/9538012.html:


Black bear attacks bicyclist in park


Story Published: Sep 2, 2007 at 4:14 PM PDT


Story Updated: Sep 3, 2007 at 7:33 AM PDT


By KOMO Staff


Watch the story
NEAR OLLALA, Wash. -- A man was attacked by a bear while mountain
biking in the Banner Forest Heritage Park just before noon on Sunday,
according to South Kitsap Fire and Rescue officials.


Spokesman Ron Powers said a 51-year-old Port Orchard man was biking
with his two dogs alongside him when the dogs ran ahead and around the
bend, then started barking fiercely. The man turned the bend and saw
the dogs were barking at a bear.


Powers said the bear immediately charged at the man, who tried to use
his bike to shield himself from the animal. But the bear managed to
injure the man's arm, back, neck and ear before he was able to get
back on his bike and ride away.


Down the path, the injured man ran into other mountain bikers, who
called 911.


The man was conscious and alert when he was taken to St. Joseph
Medical Center in Tacoma. The unidentified man is in serious
condition, but is expected to recover.


One of the man's dogs is still missing. It is not known whether the
dog suffered injuries during the attack. The second dog is said to be
OK.


Officials evacuated the park and shut it down in order to search for
the bear. Powers said if the bear is found, officials plan to kill it.
Officials said crews will search through the night until the bear is
found.


Another bicyclist who was at the park on Sunday told authorities he
saw mother bear and two cubs while riding on the trail.


Powers said Sunday's attack is a freak accident, stating black bears
rarely attack humans and, unless provoked or threatened, will run
away. The man or the dogs may have appeared as a threat to the bear,
who may have been protecting her cubs, Powers said.


Area resident Teri Nelson agrees, while bears are not uncommon at the
park, she didn't expect them to be aggressive.


"Attacking somebody would make me have second thoughts about walking
through this forest by myself," she said. "It's pretty scary."
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)


Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are
fond of!


How do you know it was defending cubs? The article only says "may have
been", and that there was a report of a bear with two cubs. No guarantee it
was the same bear as "bears are not uncommon at the park". There you go
leaping to conclusions again, reaffirming your status as the primo number
one twit-extraordinaire on usenet.


It's a well-known fact that black bears don't attack humans, except to
defend their cubs. Do you think it was offended by the color of his
outfit?!


That bear was probably startled and surprised by the combination of
dogs and human on bicycle. It made a panicked decision to attack
likely based on something it was tryinig to protect. It certainly
does not sound like it was looking for trouble, and it probably would
make some effort to avoid this situation again (bears don't like
confrontation any more than you do).

Black bears, like most bears, will also attack a human (or other
possible competitor) to defend a cache of food, be it natural or
derived from human sources. Nonetheless, in most locations, including
national parks, authorities will rarely, if ever, remove a bear for
defending either cubs or food caches. The reasoning, which I believe
to be valid, is that, unless the bear attacks because he/she
specifically identifies humans as a food source (either because they
carry food or because they could *be* food), the bear then represents
no further danger beyond what would normally be expected. Bears who
behave in this way do not typically repeat attacks, and the original
attack can be boiled down to either stupid human tricks or unfortunate
happenstance. In this case, it counds like the latter occurred, and
it would have been unpreventable.

In this case, Mike is right. Unless there is some evidence that the
bear intended to make a meal of the biker, and based on the story it
certainly does not sound like it, there is no compelling reason to
kill it. It should be left alone. Dogs should be leashed, ample
signs should warn of bear presence, and bikers should do so at their
own risk.

Bruce Jensen

  #5  
Old September 4th 07, 09:46 PM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
y_p_w
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 102
Default Black bear attacks mountain biker in Washington State park

On Sep 3, 11:00 pm, Mike Vandeman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Sep 2007 12:00:50 -0600, "Ist-e Mundus, Furia bundus"



wrote:

"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
.. .
What crime did the bear commit, that it deserves to die?! She was only
defending her cubs!


Mike


http://www.komotv.com/news/9538012.html:


Black bear attacks bicyclist in park


Story Published: Sep 2, 2007 at 4:14 PM PDT


Story Updated: Sep 3, 2007 at 7:33 AM PDT


By KOMO Staff


Watch the story
NEAR OLLALA, Wash. -- A man was attacked by a bear while mountain
biking in the Banner Forest Heritage Park just before noon on Sunday,
according to South Kitsap Fire and Rescue officials.


Spokesman Ron Powers said a 51-year-old Port Orchard man was biking
with his two dogs alongside him when the dogs ran ahead and around the
bend, then started barking fiercely. The man turned the bend and saw
the dogs were barking at a bear.


Powers said the bear immediately charged at the man, who tried to use
his bike to shield himself from the animal. But the bear managed to
injure the man's arm, back, neck and ear before he was able to get
back on his bike and ride away.


Down the path, the injured man ran into other mountain bikers, who
called 911.


The man was conscious and alert when he was taken to St. Joseph
Medical Center in Tacoma. The unidentified man is in serious
condition, but is expected to recover.


One of the man's dogs is still missing. It is not known whether the
dog suffered injuries during the attack. The second dog is said to be
OK.


Officials evacuated the park and shut it down in order to search for
the bear. Powers said if the bear is found, officials plan to kill it.
Officials said crews will search through the night until the bear is
found.


Another bicyclist who was at the park on Sunday told authorities he
saw mother bear and two cubs while riding on the trail.


Powers said Sunday's attack is a freak accident, stating black bears
rarely attack humans and, unless provoked or threatened, will run
away. The man or the dogs may have appeared as a threat to the bear,
who may have been protecting her cubs, Powers said.


Area resident Teri Nelson agrees, while bears are not uncommon at the
park, she didn't expect them to be aggressive.


"Attacking somebody would make me have second thoughts about walking
through this forest by myself," she said. "It's pretty scary."
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)


Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are
fond of!


How do you know it was defending cubs? The article only says "may have
been", and that there was a report of a bear with two cubs. No guarantee it
was the same bear as "bears are not uncommon at the park". There you go
leaping to conclusions again, reaffirming your status as the primo number
one twit-extraordinaire on usenet.


It's a well-known fact that black bears don't attack humans, except to
defend their cubs. Do you think it was offended by the color of his
outfit?!


WTF?

Tell that to the family in Utah whose 11 year old was dragged out of
their tent and killed in June by a male black bear. Male black bears
aren't known for being protective of their cubs. Some are known to
attack cubs, which could include their own young.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...n2947472.shtml

Here's a California DFG listing of black bear attacks in California.
Fortunately there's never been a reported human fatality from a black
bear attack in California or Nevada.

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/be...incidents.html

Black bear attacks on humans are extremely rare. However - when
attacks do happen, it's for far more reasons than simply defending
cubs. NPS rangers have told me that more often than not, a black bear
sow will run away when scared off by humans. In that case, they'll
typically come back for their cubs later. That doesn't mean caution
isn't warranted around a black bear sow with cubs, because they have
been known to attack.

I'd be far more concerned about a grizzly bear sow defending its cubs.

http://www.bear.org/Black/Articles/W..._Wildlife.html

"Unlike grizzly bear mothers, black bear mothers seldom attack people
in defense of cubs. Black bear mothers typically bluff or retreat.
Researchers who routinely capture cubs by chasing them up trees have
not been attacked even when they have held the screaming cubs. The
ferocity of mother black bears is one of the biggest misconceptions
about this species."

  #6  
Old September 4th 07, 10:29 PM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
Bruce Jensen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 522
Default Black bear attacks mountain biker in Washington State park

On Sep 4, 1:46 pm, y_p_w wrote:

WTF?

Tell that to the family in Utah whose 11 year old was dragged out of
their tent and killed in June by a male black bear. Male black bears
aren't known for being protective of their cubs. Some are known to
attack cubs, which could include their own young.


Yeah, but we are not at this point talking specfiically about a male
or female bear. There is a reasonable chance that the bear in
question was a female with cubs, based on other testimony. At the
very least, it was surprised.

The Utah incident above also involved some questionable human-food
handling, IIRC.

This is not a challenge, but simply an effort to learn - If you have a
reference for a male bear attacking its own offspring, I would like to
see it. My reading has suggested that males will attempt to kill
other children, but not his own.

Black bear attacks on humans are extremely rare. However - when
attacks do happen, it's for far more reasons than simply defending
cubs. NPS rangers have told me that more often than not, a black bear
sow will run away when scared off by humans. In that case, they'll
typically come back for their cubs later. That doesn't mean caution
isn't warranted around a black bear sow with cubs, because they have
been known to attack.


To reiterate, this bear suddenly found itself confronted with two
screaming dogs and a rapidly moving cyclist. That is not what a
typical hiker would present to a bear, with or without cubs.

I'd be far more concerned about a grizzly bear sow defending its cubs.


No doubt, this is cause for great caution. An attack by a mother bear
is still no excuse for killing the bear. In fact, this very year, an
attack on Jim Cole up at Yellowstone by a mom bear protecting her
baby(s) in an area where people generally if not specifically move
about was treated by simply leaving the bears alone. Cole, OTOH, had
a history of pestering bears to the point of provoking violent
reactions.

NPS will typically only remove bears if they (1) have found humans to
be a reliable source of food and act on that finding, or (2) they have
killed a human and have thus probably found that people taste good.
It is likely that neither one of these things occured here.

http://www.bear.org/Black/Articles/W..._Wildlife.html

"Unlike grizzly bear mothers, black bear mothers seldom attack people
in defense of cubs. Black bear mothers typically bluff or retreat.
Researchers who routinely capture cubs by chasing them up trees have
not been attacked even when they have held the screaming cubs. The
ferocity of mother black bears is one of the biggest misconceptions
about this species."- Hide quoted text -


Maybe true, but I'd hate to test this nugget. Nevertheless, a
surprised bear is a dangerous bear. And, the bear is typically only
dangerous until after the surprise has passed.

  #7  
Old September 4th 07, 10:46 PM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
y_p_w
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 102
Default Black bear attacks mountain biker in Washington State park

On Sep 4, 2:29 pm, Bruce Jensen wrote:
On Sep 4, 1:46 pm, y_p_w wrote:

WTF?


Tell that to the family in Utah whose 11 year old was dragged out of
their tent and killed in June by a male black bear. Male black bears
aren't known for being protective of their cubs. Some are known to
attack cubs, which could include their own young.


Yeah, but we are not at this point talking specfiically about a male
or female bear. There is a reasonable chance that the bear in
question was a female with cubs, based on other testimony. At the
very least, it was surprised.

The Utah incident above also involved some questionable human-food
handling, IIRC.


Sure. However - the attack was for a different reason than a black
bear sow defending its cubs. Sometimes it's keeping an unclean camp
or other attractant. I just disagree with Vandeman's ill-informed
blanket statement that there's only one reason why a black bear would
attack a human.

This is not a challenge, but simply an effort to learn - If you have a
reference for a male bear attacking its own offspring, I would like to
see it. My reading has suggested that males will attempt to kill
other children, but not his own.


Most of the references I've read are that a black bear male mates
within a few days, then goes off solo without ever being able to
identify its own cubs.

Black bear attacks on humans are extremely rare. However - when
attacks do happen, it's for far more reasons than simply defending
cubs. NPS rangers have told me that more often than not, a black bear
sow will run away when scared off by humans. In that case, they'll
typically come back for their cubs later. That doesn't mean caution
isn't warranted around a black bear sow with cubs, because they have
been known to attack.


To reiterate, this bear suddenly found itself confronted with two
screaming dogs and a rapidly moving cyclist. That is not what a
typical hiker would present to a bear, with or without cubs.


That could freak out a bear. I have heard of freak defensive attacks
when a bear was surprised. However - it could be a male, female, or
juvenile. Again - black bear attacks happen for more reasons than
just a sow defending cubs.

I'd be far more concerned about a grizzly bear sow defending its cubs.


No doubt, this is cause for great caution. An attack by a mother bear
is still no excuse for killing the bear. In fact, this very year, an
attack on Jim Cole up at Yellowstone by a mom bear protecting her
baby(s) in an area where people generally if not specifically move
about was treated by simply leaving the bears alone. Cole, OTOH, had
a history of pestering bears to the point of provoking violent
reactions.

NPS will typically only remove bears if they (1) have found humans to
be a reliable source of food and act on that finding, or (2) they have
killed a human and have thus probably found that people taste good.
It is likely that neither one of these things occured here.

http://www.bear.org/Black/Articles/W..._Wildlife.html


"Unlike grizzly bear mothers, black bear mothers seldom attack people
in defense of cubs. Black bear mothers typically bluff or retreat.
Researchers who routinely capture cubs by chasing them up trees have
not been attacked even when they have held the screaming cubs. The
ferocity of mother black bears is one of the biggest misconceptions
about this species."- Hide quoted text -


Maybe true, but I'd hate to test this nugget. Nevertheless, a
surprised bear is a dangerous bear. And, the bear is typically only
dangerous until after the surprise has passed.


I saw a black bear sow with cubs. It sent one cub up a tree next to
the trail, at which point I backed off on the off-chance that it
aggressively defended its young. I was certainly cautious, with a
good deal of respect that it could cause serious injury if so
inclined. It was after I reported my sighting that I heard from
rangers/naturalists/etc that black bear sows typically retreat from
their cubs when scared off. I've also heard of first-hand reports of
someone chasing off a black bear sow with young.

http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?i...cbears0jo9.jpg

  #8  
Old September 4th 07, 10:54 PM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
Bruce in Alaska
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6
Default Black bear attacks mountain biker in Washington State park

In article ,
Mike Vandeman wrote:

It's a well-known fact that black bears don't attack humans, except to
defend their cubs. Do you think it was offended by the color of his
outfit?!


Nope, the BEAR was Offended by the Riders TWO DOGS, that were running
loose, out in front of him. The BEAR can't caught the DOGS, and the
NEXT thing it encountered was the Rider, so it MUNCHed HIM... Nothing
like encountering a ****ed Off BEAR......

Bruce in alaska
--
add a 2 before @
  #9  
Old September 4th 07, 11:18 PM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
Bruce Jensen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 522
Default Black bear attacks mountain biker in Washington State park

On Sep 4, 2:46 pm, y_p_w wrote:

I saw a black bear sow with cubs. It sent one cub up a tree next to
the trail, at which point I backed off on the off-chance that it
aggressively defended its young. I was certainly cautious, with a
good deal of respect that it could cause serious injury if so
inclined. It was after I reported my sighting that I heard from
rangers/naturalists/etc that black bear sows typically retreat from
their cubs when scared off. I've also heard of first-hand reports of
someone chasing off a black bear sow with young.


My bro-in-law and I have seen numerous sows with cubs on trails, and
in the backcountry at least, typically the sow will become alert, and
then take her children away from us as fast as she can go. I agree,
the chance of a mom bear with cubs attacking is unlikely, as long as a
reasonable buffer or escape route is present.

In the front country, this behavior seems to depend alot more on how
accustomed to humans the bears are - haivng said that, I have never
personally seen aggression - more likely, tolerance or insouciance. I
have not seen a mother bear in a tight spot ever, so I can't directly
comment on that situation - but that could be what happened,
especially if she was surprised.

  #10  
Old September 4th 07, 11:19 PM posted to alt.mountain-bike,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.backcountry,ca.environment,sci.environment
Bruce Jensen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 522
Default Black bear attacks mountain biker in Washington State park

On Sep 4, 2:54 pm, Bruce in Alaska wrote:
In article ,
Mike Vandeman wrote:

It's a well-known fact that black bears don't attack humans, except to
defend their cubs. Do you think it was offended by the color of his
outfit?!


Nope, the BEAR was Offended by the Riders TWO DOGS, that were running
loose, out in front of him. The BEAR can't caught the DOGS, and the
NEXT thing it encountered was the Rider, so it MUNCHed HIM... Nothing
like encountering a ****ed Off BEAR......

Bruce in alaska
--
add a 2 before @


I would not doubt this to be true.

 




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