![]() What’s vital is that people appreciate the instinctive evolutionary behavior that has taught bears to explosively ward off other bears and to constantly assess their surroundings through smell (foremost) and sight. People, Smith says, are no more able to get inside a bruin’s mind than a grizzly, black, or polar bear is able to telepathically comprehend a human’s thoughts. (Eighty-five percent of the bear attack victims in Alaska were men.) His dangerous interactions and demise were chronicled in Werner Herzog’s acclaimed documentary Grizzly Man. In October 2003, Treadwell and a friend were killed and partially consumed by brown bears in Katmai National Park in Alaska. He also chafes at those who put themselves willfully in harm's way, such as the late Timothy Treadwell, who presented himself as having a special gift for communicating with bears by allegedly speaking their language. Smith says it’s ethically irresponsible for people living in or visiting occupied bear habitat not to tote pepper spray. What you want to do is convince the bear that attacking isn’t worth it.” “If we unwittingly trigger that bear-on-bear response, then it’s full-on and you better be ready. ![]() Everything they do is based upon what they’d do if they ran into another bear,” Smith says. “Bears don’t have a unique response for humans. While some believe that bears are becoming more aggressive, Smith and Herrero say the rise in incidents tracks perfectly with the rising human population and the rewilding of certain areas. These incidents are largely preventable but humans have to take more responsibility.” ( Read more abou the study, and how to avoid bear attacks.) People don’t need to go out into bear country and get hurt, nor do bears. “If I wanted to make a key point, it is that the vast majority of these negative encounters are avoidable. “There is a lot of mythology out there about why bear attacks happen,” Smith says. The analysis of 675 attacks is being prepared by noted researchers Tom Smith, a biology professor at Brigham Young University and Stephen Herrero, professor emeritus at the University of Calgary in Canada. It’s bolstered by known scientific data and a new soon-to-be published review of 140 years’ worth of bear attacks on people in Alaska, a state which has all three bear species (brown, black, and polar) and more total bears than any other. Hear a man who survived severe injuries when he was attacked by a grizzly bear explain why he feels guilty and says "it really wasn't the bear's fault." The attack happened near Cody, Wyoming, not far from the man's home, and also not far from Yellowstone National Park. Around the same time out West, a grizzly in Yellowstone killed and partially consumed 63-year-old Lance Crosby, who was hiking alone on a day off work.(Related: " Black Bears Are Rebounding-What Does That Mean For People?") It was Virginia’s first-ever bear attack on a human unrelated to hunting. After being bitten and scratched, she kicked the bear and fought it off. In early August on the other side of the continent, 52-year-old Laurie Cooksey was mauled by a 150-pound black bear in Virginia’s Douthat State Park while hiking with her three grown children.High reportedly wasn’t carrying a firearm or non-lethal pepper spray-the expert-recommended deterrent of choice-when he was attacked. Just Sunday, 62-year-old Alaskan Danny High was seriously injured by a brown bear while walking in the forest near Soldotna on the Kenai Peninsula.But a few high-profile encounters across the United States this year have raised the question of how to live alongside bears: Not everyone injured by a bear would be so forgiving. Just two weeks before he died, the 60-year-old wildlife photographer and passionate hiker mused on my front porch in Bozeman, Montana: “How lucky I am,” he said, “to still be ambulatory and in a place to bring more respect for the Great Bear.” A black pirate’s patch over his left eye and scars deep on his face were all the testaments he needed.Ĭole owned the rare distinction of having been mauled badly twice by grizzlies-in incidents involving different bears and ecosystems in the lower 48-then surviving to share the lessons he learned. He accepted risks whenever he ventured into the wild country inhabited by grizzly bears. The late Jim Cole never thought of himself as a high-stakes gambler.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |