[Leg Olam]

Except for Polar Bears people are usually not on the menu. Like most omnivorus creatures they will take advantage of easy prey like a child or an injured person. It may be the this bear is old and not able to hunt effeciently. As with some animals like lions perhaps this bear has developed a taste for human flesh. In any case it should be captured or killed. Bears are creatures of habit and they will return to a place where the pickings are good.

[toldyou]

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't know that, and I'll admit that I was wrong. I just always saw the campground/wilderness as dangerous because of wildlife.

[Captain Rhino]

I have seen television shows discussing this problem (black bear attacking humans in recreational areas). Surprisingly, a number of them were found to be young male bears who were very thin. The supposition is that they have recently left the company of their mothers and had a difficult time finding enough to eat by themselves. Increasingly desperate for food, they turn to humans as on-hand and relatively easy prey. Previously, humans were either not in the wilderness areas in large numbers and were usually armed when there. As a consequence, the bears either starved to death or were killed outright. However, a present-day unarmed recreational camper is just food on the table for these desperate, dangerous animals.

[Old_Mil]

Unfortunately, you are incorrect. Bears are like other large predators; however their predatory tendencies are moderated not by the fact that they are bears, but by the fact that they are omnivores. Hence, given an equal population of bears and say cougars, the latter proves to be a greater threat to man...

Backpacking in the most remote areas of the United States (Yellowstone or Alaska) is a humbling experience: you are not at the top of the food chain.

Indeed, there is some probability that you will be the object of predation by a grizzly bear.

Picture this: waking up to the sounds of huffing, snorting, growling, and jaw cracking of a bear ripping through your tent intent on eating you. After consciousness slips away, the bear will drag you some distance and feed on your body (often starting in your midsection). Then, you'll be covered in dirt as the bear guards the cache - you - by taking a nap on top.

This is nonfiction wilderness in its finest hour, no?

Ironically, there may be absolutely nothing you can do to avoid the encounter. Good camping, food handling, and storage practices probably help, but provide no insurance policy against either avoiding an encounter with a predatory bear, or surviving one. Sometimes, in predatory attacks, it is doubtful that even bear spray and powerful guns can be deployed in time to guarantee survival.

Are we sensationalizing the terror of bears in the backcountry? Ask the families of Timothy Treadwell, Amy Huegenard, Glenda Ann Bradley, Kathy Huffman, and Rich Huffman. The common denominator of their existence: they have all been eaten by predatory bears in the past few years.

[moondoggie]

I said the same exact thing as you in a previous thread about this when the attack first occured.

We rehab abandoned bear cubs. They DO NOT eat meat when their NATURAL food source is in good supply.

You are absolutely right about this bear probably being old or he may have something else wrong with him that will show up when his body is examined.

I get sooooo tired of people reading bear stories and lumping ALL bears into the same category.

Polar bears and Grizzlies are the meat eaters. Black bears are not.