homers brother

Being those individuals with the power in our hands to end their lives, I feel that we bear (pun intended) a greater responsibility than the general, non-hunting public to understand our potential and actual interactions with wild animals.

Now, maybe it's just me, but a bear with cubs fleeing deer hunters on a drive doesn't exactly sound like one that's lost its fear of humans. That it happened upon a lone hunter blocking its way in the process and perceived her to be threatening its young is pure happenstance. That it reacted by attacking is pure nature.

An animal typically isn't going to attack you because it's lost its fear of you. It will attack you because: 1) it's hungry, or 2) it perceives you as a threat and it has no choice but to fight you.

My neighbor's dog charges across the prairie at me when I'm cruising fence. He's lost his fear of me (or maybe Purina dog chow isn't cutting it for him?) and I'll shoot him next time. I'll request that the Park Service relocate or destroy the next cow moose that charges a tourist in Yellowstone because she's obviously lost her fear of stupid people trying to take selfies with wildlife (or maybe she was trying to do our gene pool a favor?).

No, I think the whole "lost its fear of" angle here is a bit paranoid and short-sighted.

keyshunter

I don't know where you get your information, but I suspect that bear weights in WV are not much different than Pa. Many years ago I was part of a Penn State bear research team. We caught, tranquilized, weighed, and sampled bears. It was not unusual for a sow, especially at this time of year when they are preparing for hibernation, to weigh 300 lbs, although most were closer to 200. Since cubs are born during hibernation, those cubs would, at this time of year, probably weigh about 75 lbs. Even though they could possibly survive, on their own, there is no way that they would be traveling with a male bear. Also, very few people can eyeball a bear and give close to an actual weight. Most miss considerably on the high side.

RaySendero

rp,

Don't appoligize to any for your 1st impression to the incident - Cause you may just be right with your thinking!

That sow was very agressive plus she has now "tasted human blood" (maybe not for 1st time - No one can know for sure). She will be different now with respect to people and if she lives will raise 3 more like her.

Don't fall for the "Poor Bear - Just doing what a bear good does" thinking. That bear has attacked humans and no general black bear behavior may apply to her in future as hers may have been different or now may change.

Bullcamp82834

Homers Brother..... I agree completely. The "lost its fear" malarkey applies to garbage dump or national park bears (maybe) and in very few real cases.

RaySendero....... Your ignorance is on a galactic scale. "Tasted human blood" and "will raise cubs just like her" ?????
We are talking about a black bear here, not a tiger in India or a pride of African maneating lions. The bear did not kill and feed on the human it attacked.
I have read about the exploits of Jim Corbett, George Rushby, and John H. Patterson too, but to apply that scenario to this situation is beyond absurd.

RaySendero

Poor Bear - Just doing what a good bear does

Ridge Runner

my guess is they measured the bite marks to get a jaw spread and then estimated the weight there, and you are correct, a dry sow (expecting cubs the following January) could very well go 300#, one nursing cubs won't, the cubs are pulling weight off them all summer and fall, and they're first fall they weigh around 40# the second fall (at the age of 1 year and 11 months) they weigh from 75-90# depending on if they are male or female, the sow will abandon them that fall just before she dens because she will have cubs in the den.
article stated the cubs ran by her, if she didn't disturb them why would the sow attack?
where do I get my info, from 10 years helping the wv DNR with the bear program back in the 80's.
RR

Bullcamp82834

Excellent response.
Clear, concise, and right on point.

RaySendero

Poor, Poor Bear - Just doing what a good bear does.

Ridge Runner

one thing wv has found out during the course of the bear program, once a bear is a problem, that animal never gets better.
we relocated them for years when they were a problem, doesn't do any good, they either became a problem in they're new home, went back home and continued being a problem there, or got ran over in the roads on the way back home.
we once killed a bear with a tracker hanging in its ear, the bear was killed while raiding a sheep farm, that bear was trapped and relocated, tagged and all that in pa for raiding bee hives.
wv now does not fool with problem bears, even in the summer they will call us to put dogs on it and they stipulate if possible we must kill it.
RR

Bullcamp82834

Maybe you have a point RR. In the east it's pretty hard to relocate a bear to an area where it won't get into trouble again. Too much opportunity in every direction.
Much like taking a gang banger out of Philly and relocating him to the Bronx and expecting him to behave differently.
Out here they catch a bear in one place and relocate it to a big wilderness area where the only way to live is to do what a wilderness bear does. The success rate is pretty good.