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A black bear entered a New Hampshire home this week through an unlocked door, ate some food and took a stuffed bear on the way out. The toy was recovered later.

07-30-10 BEAR ATTACKS LEAVE ONE DEAD, TWO MAULED

Campers at a remote campground at Soda Butte, outside Yellowstone National Park in Montana, were attacked in their sleep by bears. They do not know whether the bears were black bears or grizzlies, but they do think there were more than one. Traps have been set for the bears.

07-24-10 BLACK BEAR STEALS CAR

A family in Colorado woke up this morning to find a large black bear had entered their car and accidentally put the shift into reverse, causing the car to roll backwards down a hill into some trees, which stopped the car. During the getaway, the emergency blinkers were flashing and the horn was honking. They called the police who let the bear out of the car, which was badly chewed up. The bear must have been in a huge panic the whole time.

07-23-10 BLACK BEAR HUNT APPROVED IN NEW JERSEY

The New Jersey black bear hunt is on for 2010. New Jersey wildlife officials say that their black bear population is now too large, after a few years of no hunting, and conflicts and nuisance calls are on the rise. Some people oppose the bear hunt and say the population numbers are inflated so that hunting can once again occur.

07-23-10 BLACK BEAR ATTACKS SLEEPING CAMPER

A sleeping camper was awakened by a black bear in his campsite at Sproat Lake near Port Alberni in Vancouver, British Columbia. The camper's buddy was in a lean-to nearby and actually pulled the bear off the man and threw the small bear (probably a yearling) off to the side. Puncture wounds consistent with bear bites were found on the man's head, knees, side, and back. The attack has been termed predatory by wildlife officials.

07-22-10 PD USES QUESTIONABLE AVERSIVE CONDITIONING ON BEAR

A black bear near Anchorage, Alaska was tasered by a police officer, after the officer planned to try out the taser as aversive conditioning on the bear that had been coming near houses in a neighborhood. The result was a horrific reaction of the bear to the taser involving physical and emotional impact; the bear was seen growling and crying with feet kicking in the air. The bear ran away after recovering from the electrical jolt. This is not normal aversive bear conditioning, and was done on the decision of one man who wanted to try out something different.

07-22-10 AGGRESSIVE BEAR KILLED IN UTAH

A black bear was euthanized due to its aggressive behavior at a campground near Payson Lakes, near Payson, Utah. The bear repeatedly had charged people, despite efforts by the camper to chase the bear away. Finally, the incidents were reported to wildlife officials, the campground of over 100 sites was closed, and the bear was killed.

07-06-10 BLACK BEAR ENTERS NEW HAMPSHIRE HOME

In Randolph, New Hampshire, a black bear broke into a house while the residents were outside. Fish & Game officers had to shoot and kill the bear, which was still in the house when they arrived.

07-03-10 EL DORADO NATIONAL FOREST BEAR ATTACKS CAMPER

A black bear clawed the face of a camper after the bear began to search the tents for food. It took 26 stitches for his wounds. The man said the bear pulled back and lunged for him again when he got a shot fired toward the bear. He is not sure if he hit the bear.

07-03-10 BLACK BEAR ON CUMMING, GEORGIA PORCH

A resident of Cumming, Georgia, just north of Alpharetta and Atlanta, spotted a black bear on her back porch recently. Living near Lake Lanier, she and her neighbors are now being careful when they go outside. They were advised by Georgia Department of Natural Resources that the bear should not be cornered if seen again, and they may report the bear again if it returns. Otherwise, they advise to leave bears alone as they are rambling through looking for food, and that it is a good idea to pick up all bird feeders until bears are in hibernation next winter.

07-03-10 AGGRESSIVE BLACK BEAR SOUGHT

A 198-pound female adult bear attacked a man and his dog in West Milford, New Jersey, and has now been trapped and killed. The same bear has been reported numerous times by other residents as being aggressive toward people. This bear charged and knocked down the man as he was walking his dog. He was not bitten. Wildlife officials say that this bear may have 3 6-month-old cubs with her. If she is trapped, they will leave the cubs as they believe that they are old enough to fend for themselves at this point.

07-02-10 PREDATORY BEAR NOT FOUND YET IN KENTUCKY

Red River Gorge in Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest has re-opened, but the bear that attacked a 56-year-old male hiker on June 27 has not been found (see below). The hiker was near Pinch 'Em Tight Trail.

06-29-10 BEAR KILLED BY LOUISIANA DRIVER

A Louisiana Black Bear was killed by a vehicle on La. Hwy 70 in St. Martin Parish. Louisiana Black Bears are threatened and protected in that state. As their small populations increase in number, these bears will spread out into neighboring parishes (or counties), as this one did. This bear weighed over 250 pounds.

06-29-10 BEAR KILLED BY CAR IN PARK

A second bear has been killed in Yellowstone National Park this year. A cinnamon-colored black bear was hit and killed by a vehicle in Yellowstone National Park. The female bear weighed 147 pounds, and was found in a ditch by the side of the Grand Loop Road. No one has come forward about the accident. The other bear, a grizzly sub-adult, was killed by a car in June of this year. That accident was also unreported by the driver.

06-28-10 PET BEAR KILLED

Yes, it is illegal to have a pet black bear. Someone in Maryland had a 20-pound black bear that they had found as a baby and brought home. After the bear had scratched and bitten someone in the home, Maryland Department of Natural Resources were forced to take the bear and euthanize it to test it for rabies (tests were negative for disease). If you should find a baby bear, leave it where it is. If the mama bear does not come back for it in a few days, report the orphaned bear to your state's department of natural resources. Please do not take the bear home.

06-28-10 BURGLAR BEAR KILLED

A large black bear was killed by conservation officers in West Vancouver after it had broken into several homes over a period of 2 weeks. The bear had gained access to houses in a residential neighborhood recently, and had gotten food out of kitchen cabinets and refrigerators. Also a pet rabbit was reported missing.

06-27-10 PREDATORY BEAR ATTACK REPORTED IN KENTUCKY

In a state with very few bears, a bear attack is as rare as the bears. But a man was followed and deliberately attacked by a large black bear in Red River Gorge today. He and his family were out hiking, and he was off trail in the woods. The bear slowly pursued him until he turned his back to climb a ledge when he ran out of ground. With over 50 stitches in his legs he is thankful that a group of hikers heard his screams and scared the bear away. This is Kentucky's first reported bear attack. The area in the Daniel Boone National Forest is closed and traps have been set for the bear.

06-27-10 IOWA'S WANDERING BEAR

Following the Cedar and Wapsipinicon Rivers, a young male black bear has helped himself to sunflower seeds from neighborhood feeders on a daily basis, near north Charles City. In some areas, seeing a black bear would not be that unusual in summer. These sub-adult bears are out on their own for the first time and they are on the move, searching for a new home and for easy foods.. However, this bear sighting was in Iowa, where bears do not typically live, so he has created quite a stir.

06-26-10 BEAR AND MOTORCYCLE COLLIDE

A black bear was hit by a motorcycle on a highway near Fredon, New Jersey. Both bear and rider escaped without serious injuries.

6-25-10 APPALACHIAN BEAR RESCUE'S EXPO A SUCCESS

Appalachian Bear Rescue had a successful First Annual Black Bear Expo at the Townsend Visitor's Center in Tennessee this weekend. On hand were several volunteers to help illustrate to visitors interesting facts about black bears, black bear safety, and the importance of donating to the bear rehab center.

6-26-10 SOUTH CAROLINA BEAR CAPTURED

A black bear was captured and released back to the wild by South Carolina Department of Natural Resources wildlife officers. The reason for capturing the bear was due to the fact that the bear had been hanging around a bowling alley in Florence. Many times, officers will use a capture as a negative experience for the bear so that he will not return to the area.

6-23-10 WISCONSIN BEARS GONE FOR A HUNDRED YEARS

The woods in Devil's Lake State Park may now be the home of a black bear, as evidenced by claw marks on trees and pawprints in the mud. It is believed that in 2010, southern Wisconsin may now be home to a small population of black bears, and over the past two years DNR has received a number of bear calls to report sightings. A bear database has now been started to document bear sightings in that state.

06-21-10 BLACK BEAR KILLED BY ACCIDENT IN PARK

Yellowstone National Park reports that a rare accident has resulted in the death of a wild black bear, near Old Faithful. A bear, small for his size, blind in one eye and injured, was captured by wildlife officers in the Park, with the goal of rehabbing the little bear and returning him to the wild. However, when the bear attempted to run from the cage, the gate dropped down on his neck, killing him instantly.

06-21-10 BLACK BEAR PAW FOUND

A black bear paw has been found on a road in York County, Pennsylvania. It is possible that someone poached the bear, or hunted it illegally, for bear body parts in order to make money on the black bear black market. Officials are aggressively pursuing any leads on the death of this bear.

6-20-10 BLACK BEAR SHOT IN NORTH DAKOTA

A black bear was shot and killed near Stanley because it was continually coming close into residential areas. Officials with North Dakota Fish & Game Department believe that one reason that they are seeing more black bears than usual may be because the wildfires to the north in Canada are driving out wildlife from the burning forests there.

06-18-10 BEGGAR BEAR FED BY PEOPLE

A young black bear near Mt. Baldy Ice House Canyon trail has now learned he can stay in one place and get all the food he needs. Hikers have been giving food to the little bear all season, and have now created quite a problem. The bear will not leave the area (why should he?) and he is growing (don't they all?). What will they do when the bear is full grown and still demanding handouts on the side of the trail? Feeding bears, directly or indirectly, is illegal in California, and punishable by fines and jail time. That is the penalty for humans. What is the penalty for the bear that accepts food from humans? Death. The bear will get larger, need more and more food, become bolder around people, and possible break into cars and houses, or else go after hikers for their packs. If you care about wild bears, please don't feed them.

05-22-10 BEAR EUTHANIZED IN GSMNP

Great Smoky Mountains National Park reports they have had to kill a small bear after it bit a visitor's foot last week. The bear reportedly had been given handouts on Laurel Trail in the week previous to the bite, and became accustomed to being in close proximity to visitors on the trail. The person the bear bit was trying to get his picture taken very close to this bear. The person did not require any medical attention as the bite was very minor. However, it is Park policy to destroy any bear that bites people. Rescuing the bear or relocating the bear was not an option. If the bear had not been fed or closely approached in the first place, this probably would not have happened. Here is the official statement from the Park:

Here is the statement released by Park spokesperson, Nancy Gray, Thursday May 20, 2010:

"In accordance with widely accepted wildlife and visitor use management policies and practices, the bear that bit a park visitor on the Laurel Falls Trail on Wednesday, May 12, was euthanized in a humane manner (following the American Veterinarian Medical Association Guidelines on Euthanasia.) The bear will be necropsied for research analysis purposes.

Park wildlife personnel monitored the Laurel Falls Trail since the incident occurred 8 days ago. They did not identify another bear with the type of behavior that was exhibited by the bear involved in the incident. Comparison of the bear with the photographs, taken by a visitor on the day in question, confirmed we were dealing with the same animal. Contrary to what continues to be stated on websites and blogs, transferring an animal that has attacked and injured a person, to another location, is simply not an option.

We sincerely hope that the intense focus directed at this particular animal will now be directed at gaining the public's cooperation in adhering to the rules and regulations designed to protect both wildlife and visitors while visiting not only the Great Smoky Mountains but all public lands."

Click here to see video of Nancy Gray in our Bear Safety page!

04-22-10 RESCUE CENTER OVERSTOCKED WITH BEARS

Appalachian Bear Rescue in Townsend, Tennessee, reports that they have received an unusually large number of yearlings this winter, with 14 extra and unanticipated bears landing on their doorstep, and they already had bears there! Lisa Stewart, the person who takes care of all the wild bears that go there, has her hands (and days and nights) full. Many of the new admits are a year old, but extremely malnourished and tiny, some weighing only a few pounds. It is unbelievable that a bear cub could even survive out there in the wild without its mother for that length of time, and be in this sort of wretched condition to manage to make it through December. Many of these definitely would not have made it through this recent hard winter, had they not been brought to ABR. A couple of these bears have now died, having gone too long without help. Extra bears during this winter has meant extra unanticipated cost for ABR. It costs a minimum of about $150 per day to feed the bears they have now, and more will be coming. Please read about ABR and the work they do on this website at http://www.covebear.com/BlackBearRescue2.htm and donate now. Lisa and the bears will thank you for it.

04-22-10 GEORGIA CENTER WELCOMES BEAR

A black bear showed up this week in the woods behind the Georgia Welcome Center on I-85 south in Lithonia. As young bears are striking out on their own in spring, we will start to see more and more bear activity.

04-22-10 BEWARE OF HOT TUB SEEKING BEARS!

Another black bear has been relocated away from North Vancouver, after being found sleeping on top of a covered hot tub. When bears come out of hibernation in very cold climates and find themselves near an urban area, nice warm hot tubs are hard to ignore.

04-21-10 BEAR KILLED FOR POPCORN THIEF

Another bear is dead because someone in Lynchburg, Virginia did not pick up her popcorn tin from her back porch. The bear smelled the popcorn, went up on the porch to eat it, and officials were called in to kill the bear. This bear had gone near other people's homes in the area, for over a year, where it had gotten food. Leaving food outside in bear territory signs the death warrant for bears. Please don't feed wild bears - that old saying is true - a fed bear is a dead bear.

04-08-10 MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FEEDING WILD BEARS

Would you walk up to a wild lion in the middle of the savannah and try to pet him? Would you approach a tiger in the jungle to hand feed him a cookie? Well, they are just misunderstood pussy cats, right? Some people walk right up to wild bears and do just that! Amazing, isn't it? And then there is all sorts of hoopla and shock and amazement. when someone gets killed or injured, or if the bear has to be killed because it became too aggressive.

Charley Vandergraw has pled guilty to 8 counts of feeding wild bears at his home in Alaska over several years' period. Mr. Vandergraw has been a paid guest featured on programs on Animal Planet in which he was shown getting extremely close to wild bears, touching wild bears, and feeding wild bears, both black bears and grizzlies.

People who feed wild bears condition the bears to expect food from people, and feeding wild bears changes their natural behavior. Anyone shown touching a wild bear or feeding a wild bear sends the wrong message to the public, that this is okay to do. Other people think they can do it and get away with it too, creating a safety risk that people don't need to take. Often, people who think they know bears are killed by them, and other innocent people that believe in what they do are also harmed. Excluding hunters who are allowed to legally bait bears during a bear hunt in some states, the feeding of wild bears is against the law in most places in the United States, and carries fines and jail time. In recent years, people who thought they understood bears over a period of years, were, in fact, killed and eaten by them. Stay safe and keep bears safe by keeping them wild. It's just plain old common sense!

04-07-10 BEAR KILLED TRYING TO ENTER BEDROOM

A black bear was shot and killed in Parksville, NY as he was trying to enter a bedroom through a window. The bear had been exhibiting signs of nuisance behavior in the past and had been tagged. The occupants of the home were a woman with her four children. Grandpa arrived after a phone call for help and went to the house immediately. He ended the situation.

03-30-10 SMOKIES GROUND-BREAKING DENNING BEAR RESEARCH AT AN END

BUT OTHER TYPES OF BEAR RESEARCH IN THE PLANS

Border Photo

(Above, Dr. Mike Pelton and Dr. Frank van Manen)

The 42-year research project in Great Smoky Mountains National Park has come to an end, and for the first time, University of Tennessee students will not be involved in the denning bear studies that were previously led by Dr. Mike Pelton and Dr. Frank van Manen http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/personnel/vanmanen.htm. The research involved putting radio collars on black bears so that they could be tracked in other parts of the park and so that they could be tracked the next winter to their dens. Female bears with cubs were studied, and important insight was gained through the years. One of the most interesting things learned was that the amount of hard mast, or acorns, in the fall, may have impacted adult bears as to how many cubs they would have the following spring: more acorns meant more hibernating body weight and that meant more cubs; fewer acorns meant fewer cubs the following year. Also of note, is the fact that many black bears in the Smoky Mountains den up in huge hollow trees, rather than in rock dens as previously thought. These adult bears (or adults with their one-year-old cubs) climb up a large oak that has been struck by lightning and hollowed out at the top of the trunk, and then climb down into the inside of the trunk. Some of these trees are in remote areas and are over a hundred feet tall. Researchers have climbed up those trees in winter, having tracked the radio signal there, and peered down into the tree to see the bears sleeping inside. Other bears tracked to rock or dirt dens have been worked up; that is, the mother drugged, blood samples taken, the baby cubs weighed and measured. A huge pile of data has been maintained through those years that has contributed greatly to our body of knowledge about American Black Bears, especially the ones living in the southeastern United States. Kim Delozier, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist with the National Park Service in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Frank van Manen, Adjunct Professor UT - Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Appalachian Field Branch who led these research teams, have both told us that these studies also helped them understand important things about bears such as the way they travel and their range, how old they live, what types of foods they eat, where and when they den for the winter, how many babies they have and what impacts that, what types and measurements of tranquilizers should be used on bears of differing weights, and what dangers face bears out there in the wild. This bear research can cost as much as $30,000 per year, and in this economic climate, that has proven to be too expensive to keep the research going forward. Many students in these bear research projects graduated UT and went on to become knowledgeable wildlife biologists with National Park Service, USGS, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, or state departments of natural resources across the country. This bear research, carried out over the last decade by Frank van Manen, was started by Mike Pelton at UT http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/personnel/mpelton.htm with grants amounting to over $3 million back in 1976. Through the recent years, donations to this bear research were made by University of Tennessee, National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains Association, Friends of the Smokies, and the Great Smoky Mountains Association. Black bears will continue to be monitored by the National Park Service in Great Smoky Mountains National Park through bait stations and some DNA sampling through hair snares over the next few years, in order to identify resident bears and maintain an accurate count of bears in the area. The Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries at University of Tennessee will continue to offer excellent courses to aspiring wildlife biologists in coming years, but without so much hands-on denning bear research as used in the past. Other types of black bear research are in the plans. Dr. van Manen has appeared on our first two bear documentaries, and may appear on one more in the near future!

03-18-10 NEW JERSEY BEAR HUNT HAS BEEN APPROVED

A 6-day bear hunt will take place in New Jersey in December, in order to deal with what biologists say is a growing bear population, some of which has become habituated to bird feeders and garbage. Wildlife officials say that non-lethal means of bear management have not worked over the past five years, and that the only way to control the population now is a hunt. Just in the northwestern part of the state, population estimates of bears in 1992 was about 500, today the estimate is that over 3400 bears live there, and that there have have been too many conflict calls from people. They say that methods used in other states, such as education and eliminating bear attractants have not worked in New Jersey.

03-10-10 NEW JERSEY BEAR HUNT CONTROVERSY CONTINUES

Wildlife biologists in New Jersey say that residents' refusal to try to keep bears out of their neighborhoods are to blame for the decision to reinstate the NJ black bear hunt. The black bear population there has grown at a higher rate than expected, with garbage-fed bears living longer and becoming more habituated to residential areas. Calls regarding black bear sightings rose to over 3,400 in 2009. People who are against bringing back the bear hunt in that state, however, focus on the fact that half of those calls were people just calling to say they had seen a bear; the rest were mostly reporting bears in garbage; and only 200 were calls that bears had aggressively broken into structures, again where food was stored. Many feel that people in bear territory need to secure their garbage and take down their bird feeders. Many fail to do so, and some actually put food out hoping to see a bear. The phrase "a fed bear is a dead bear" comes to mind - the bear you feed today may be shot tomorrow. Although more and more people are using bear-proof garbage bins, more need to do so. The natural resources folks had instituted a birth control method to remedy immediately the explosion of their bear population in recent years, and that has been a partial success in that state, meaning fewer cubs were born over the last couple of years. One good thing that happened last year was that the number of serious-situation bear calls had declined, probably due to a very good acorn crop that kept bears from being too hungry and seeking out sunflower seeds in areas more inappropriate for them to be. The state of New Jersey has spent 4 years trying to decrease the number of bear-human conflicts, using the methods of birth control and encouraging people to discourage bears from coming to their yards, and has been successful, but they say it is not enough. Without more people on board in the efforts to keep wild bears wild, they say that a 2010 bear hunt is inevitable and necessary in their bear management program. DFW's opponents are many, including New Jersey's Bear Education And Resource Group who is loudly protesting the bear hunt. They say that non-lethal bear management methods of controlling bears have worked to improve the bear situation and that NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife merely want to bring back the bear hunt because they are a pro-hunting group. They and also many New Jersey residents say that the state agency made it a law that no garbage can be left out in bear country, but they have not enforced the law. Many people have stopped reporting bears because they do not want the bears killed in their yards, just removed. To read more about the New Jersey bear controversy, click to these web pages:

http://www.savenjbears.com/Action_files/DrTavss.pdf

http://www.savenjbears.com/Home.html

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/bearpolicy10.htm

http://www.app.com/article/20100309/NEWS03/100309009/N.J.-wildlife-coucil-votes-in-favor-of-bear-hunt

http://www.nrahunterrights.org/Article.aspx?id=2573

http://www.hsus.org/wildlife_abuse/news/new_jersey_bear_hunt_provides_trophies.html

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2010/03/finally-new-jersey-plans-2010-bear-hunt

http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/the_problems_and_solutions_for_new_jerseys_black_bear_population/

and to these reports supplied by NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife:

New Jersey Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy (pdf, 415kb)

New Jersey Black Bear Aversive Conditioning Report (pdf, 7.6mb)
Report Abstract (pdf, 10kb)

Evaluation of Genetic Structure and Population Estimate in New Jersey Black Bears (pdf, 415kb)
Evaluation Abstract (pdf, 26kb)

Bear Complaints Summary 2006-2009 (pdf, 10kb)

Bear Education Materials and Public Programs Summary, 2007-2010 (pdf, 11kb)

02-23-10 NO SHOOTING OF BEARS IN KENTUCKY NEIGHBORHOODS

A proposal that would have allowed private residents to shoot black bears on sight if they walked through private property has failed to pass. The measure spotlighted some residents' requests to shoot and kill bears that came within 30 yards of their homes, even if the bears were just passing through and not bothering anyone. These residents had been complaining that sometimes black bears came onto their property to eat garbage and pet food and bird seed. Bear experts have advised people to get rid of bear attractants in their yards to keep bears and other animals away; the solution to keeping animals out of your yard is to make sure that food is not available to them in the first place. Most bears in Kentucky were killed or driven out by habitat loss decades ago. Today, due to bears dispersing from neighboring states, the bear population has grown to about 200 resident bears.

02-09-10 THREE-LEGGED MAMA BEAR WALKS UPRIGHT

This is verified as being "real" video - the bear is real, and was filmed in Wisconsin.

02-08-10 LOUISIANA BLACK BEAR SHOT, LEFT TO DIE, BY POACHERS

Although Louisiana Black Bears are on the endangered species list in that state, they continue to be killed by poachers, who shoot and run. The latest was another healthy adult female of reproduction age that was found near the town of Lydia, severely wounded by a gunshot. The bear had to be euthanized to put her out of her misery as nothing could be done for her. The Humane Society of the United States and the Human Society Wildlife Land Trust have offered a $2500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who shot this bear. State and federal fines for killing a black bear in Louisiana add up to $25,000 per bear, with jail time. "The loss of another adult female in her prime is a significant loss to bear recovery," noted Maria Davidson, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries large carnivore program manager and wildlife / bear biologist. "Setbacks like these are not only frustrating and costly, but they may also delay removal of the Louisiana black bear from the Endangered Species List." This is the seventh bear killed by poachers in recent months in Louisiana.

02-06-10 WILD LAND FOR BEARS WILL BE PURCHASED BY FLORIDA

2800 acres will be added to the Aucilla Wildlife Management Area (WMA) which also forms a 2-mile boundary with the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge. The land had originally been purchased from private owners by The Nature Conservancy. The area's natural habitat on the panhandle of Florida is home to black bears, wading birds, water fowl, river otters and other small mammals, snakes, and monarch butterfly migrations each fall. Like the WMA, the land will be managed by Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

* * *

ARCHIVED NEWS

ARCHIVED 2009

07-29-09 * WAY COOL BLACK BEAR STATE LICENSE PLATES *

RESIDENTS PURCHASE THESE FROM THEIR STATE'S TAGS OFFICE AND GIVE TO WILDLIFE!

- LOUISIANA

- ARKANSAS

- WASHINGTON

State Parks - TENNESSEE

- NORTH CAROLINA

4-7-09 LI'L SMOKEY IS BACK IN THE WILD

The little bear that was injured in a California wildfire July 17, 2008 has been released back to the wild this spring, on February 5, 2009. All four paws were badly burned. The black bear cub was found, injured and crying for his missing mama bear, by a firefighter. After rehabbing at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, Inc., http://www.ltwc.org/ where the little fella received all the medical treatment and day-to-day care he needed, he grew strong enough to go home. Here are two wonderful videos about this little bear cub that tell his story.

Interview with Firefighter Adam Deem, CBS News, 2009

Interview with Tom Milham, Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, 2008

10-26-09 Ohio Black Bear Poachers Apprehended

By West Virginia Conservation Officers

Conservation Officer T.L. White., Sgt. C.R. Johnson, and Wildlife Manager Tom Pratt with confiscated black bear remains and illegal bait.

Photo Copyright West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, Used With Permission

From West Virginia Department of Natural Resources: A lengthy bear poaching investigation was brought to a conclusion Oct. 22 and Oct. 25, when West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) conservation officers and Wildlife Resources personnel apprehended a group of eight hunters in Nicholas County for using bait to lure black bear into sites where they could be shot from elevated and camouflaged stands. It is illegal to bait black bear in West Virginia.

“This group of hunters, all of whom were residents of Ohio, had been participating in this type of illegal activity for a period of several years,” said Capt. Michael Waugh of the WVDNR District 3 Office in Elkins. “They had purchased their bait, which consisted of donuts and corn, from multiple out-of-state vendors. The bait was then hauled into the area by truck and distributed to the bait sites using all-terrain vehicles. This out-of-state purchase and interstate transport of the bait is believed to have been an effort on the part of the poachers to conceal the quantities of bait, the purposes for which it was being purchased, and to avert suspicion in the areas they were baiting.”

Seven baited shooting sites were located by Conservation Officers D. Duffield, T.L. White and Wildlife Manager Tom Pratt when they entered the woods in Nicholas County near Summersville. On Oct. 22, five of the hunters were apprehended at a cabin used as a base camp from which to stage these illegal activities. As the individual hunters were located and removed from the elevated shooting platforms, Sgt. C.R. Johnson conducted interviews which led to additional information and the discovery of multiple baited black bear kills from previous years.

Two large adult black bears were seized at the base camp location as well as large quantities of bait stored for future use. The first was a large male bear that was estimated to weigh in excess of 240 pounds. The second was a large three-to-four-year-old female estimated to weigh more than 130 pounds. Two additional black bears were killed at the bait sites earlier and had already been removed from the base camp to locations outside the borders of West Virginia. Requests for assistance in recovering these black bears have been made to the US Fish and Wildlife Service under the provisions of the Lacey Act.

. . . “This investigation serves as a classic reminder that the Division of Natural Resources and its employees are ever mindful of their charge to protect the natural resources, including the wildlife, of the State of West Virginia for the benefit and enjoyment of our citizens and their children,” said Capt. Waugh. http://www.wvdnr.gov/2009news/09news164.shtm

Joe Manchin III, Governor
Frank Jezioro, Director

Hoy Murphy, Public Information Officer (304) 558-2003 ext. 365 hoy.r.murphy@wv.gov

Contact:

Capt. Michael Waugh, Elkins Operations Center 304-637-0245 MichealWaugh@wvdnr.gov

ARCHIVED 2008

07-06-08 Bear Rescued from Gulf of Mexico

Photo provided to Florida Fish and

Wildlife Conservation Commission

Courtesy of Becky Bickerstaff

FWC NEWS: Daring rescue; FWC biologist saves drowning bear

A 375-pound male black bear with a penchant for beachfront browsing was on dry land Saturday after a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologist pulled the tranquilized animal from Gulf of Mexico waters in Florida’s Panhandle. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I jumped in,” said biologist Adam Warwick, who saw the bear struggling in the warm Gulf waters after it had been hit with a tranquilizer dart. “It was a spur of the moment decision,” he said. “I had a lot of adrenaline pumping when I saw the bear in the water.”

The bear was roaming through a residential area Tuesday on Alligator Point, a neighborhood of about 100 homes on a small peninsula about 40 miles south of Tallahassee. The tranquilizer dart took longer than expected to work, and Warwick said the animal bolted into the Gulf in an effort to escape.

Warwick was worried the bear was already showing the effects of the immobilizing drug and that the bear couldn’t swim the four miles to land. “At that point, I decided to go in after the bear,” Warwick said. “I wanted to keep him from swimming into deeper water.” The animal was about 25 yards from shore when he jumped into the water.

“I was in the water swimming toward the bear, trying to prevent him from swimming into deeper water,” Warwick said. “He was now losing function (an effect of the drugs) in his arms and legs, and was obviously in distress.” Warwick said he tried to splash and create commotion in an attempt to get the bear to head back to the shore. “Instead, the clearly confused bear looked at me as if he was either going to go by, through or over me . . . and at times he even looked as if he was just going to climb on top of me to keep from drowning.”

Warwick said that after a few minutes the bear reared up on his hind legs as if to lunge at him, but instead fell straight backwards and was submerged. “At that point I knew I had to keep the bear from drowning,” he said. “After a few seconds the bear popped his head up out of the water and thrashed around a bit, but could obviously no longer keep his head above water.” Warwick kept one arm underneath the bear and the other gripping the scruff of its neck to keep the bear’s head above water. Warwick said he walked barefoot over concrete blocks crusted with barnacles in the 4-foot-deep water as he tried to guide and use the water to help float the bear back to shore. He said he cut his feet on the barnacles and the bear scratched him once on the foot, but he was otherwise uninjured.

The bear was transported to the FWC Tate’s Hell office and Warwick and FWC’s Ron Copley relocated the bear to the Osceola National Forest near Lake City.

Reprinted in part

ARCHIVED: 2008

05-19-08 Notes about Black Bears

FEEDING BEARS: Bear experts remind people that the saying "A fed bear is a dead bear" still applies. When people leave food outside, it may attract a bear. The bear will then search for more food, and he will become a nuisance. People who live in bear territory should not put bird seed and other food out for animals.

STANDING BEARS: Many people think that if a bear stands up on its hind legs that it is an aggressive posture. Bear experts say that bears often stand up to get a better sniff or a closer look around, and it does not necessarily mean the bear is being aggressive.

STRENGTH OF BEARS: Bears are unbelievably strong, especially in upper body areas. We have seen what a captive zoo bear can do with its arms / paws when that bear has never had a climbing tree to develop those muscles. A wild bear, who climbs trees every day of its life, has an incredibly powerful upper body. Bear experts say that he can swat with one paw and knock a person off his feet, he can easily break a window, and he can pull a locked door off of a car.

UNDERSTANDING BEARS: Bear experts remind us that anyone who lives in a state that has populations of bears should become acquainted with bear facts, just in case they see a bear, or they inadvertently attract a bear. Bear may roam hundreds of miles in search of new territories and in search of food. If there are bears living 300 miles away from your back yard, you may still want to practice good habits, such as not leaving food outside, and securing your garbage. Campers should know how to stow their food packs and observe safety rules at their campsites. Hikers should know what to do if they meet a bear on the trail.

BEAR EDUCATION: Learning about bears is our best defense against the possibility of a bad encounter with a bear. Wild animals do not read signs and they do not understand that it is okay for them to be over here in these woods and not okay to be over there in your yard; they do not understand that your garbage was not put there for them. The more we understand about bears, the more we will know what to do when we see one. Taking a little time to learn about bear behavior may save your life or a bear's life.

OUR BEAR DVDs: Kate Marshall Graphics, Inc. at CoveBear.com offers two outstanding 1-hour DVDs filled with useful information about black bears. If you ever wondered about black bears, watch these videos! See them up close, and learn how and where they live.

ARCHIVED: 2007

09-28-07 DRAMATIC RESCUE OF BEAR ON BRIDGE

A black bear was startled by some cars while crossing a bridge, and wound up trapped under the span for hours until he was rescued with a large net. It was the Rainbow Bridge near Truckee, California. The bear had jumped over the side to escape the car, and had grabbed onto the cement siding with his paws, as he was going down. There are claw marks in the cement where he had been holding on. Eventually, he dragged himself up into a crevice under the bridge. Every half hour or so, the large cinnamon brown bear would come out of the arch and peer over the edge, but the adult bear could not figure out how to get out from under the roadway. Animal control officers checked on the bear the next morning, and he was still there. They decided they had to do something, because the bear could not get down. They purchased a large nylon net from an army surplus store in Reno, Nevada, a half hour away, and volunteers who were rock climbers and tree climbers helped position the net below the bear, using pulleys and ropes. The road was closed to traffic. The bear was darted with a tranquilizer. The animal control officer who darted the bear waited for the bear to get groggy, then climbed down to him, and rolled him into the net. The bear weighed about 250 pounds. The bear was lowered to the ground, where he regained alertness and walked away. Robert Brooks was the animal control officer who saved the bear, with the help of a dozen volunteers. Robert Brooks, with Truckee Animal Control, took these pictures.