Posted on 01/31/2009 4:25:13 PM PST by george76
A federal judge has declined to throw out a lawsuit against the government filed by the family of an 11-year-old boy who was mauled to death by a black bear.
U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball ruled against the government's claim that federal agencies had immunity from being sued for negligence in the case...
a black bear pulled him from his tent and killed him.
(Excerpt) Read more at deseretnews.com ...
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Can we get Gore to camp there....now?
The Pleasant Grove boy was camping with his family in June 2007 in American Fork Canyon when a black bear pulled him from his tent and killed him.
Should have killed ever bear in the woods to make sure that the people were safe.
$100 billion in punitives against the government, I say.
Gee whiz, is this not an act of nature? Are bears on the government payroll?
negligent, HOW?
I don’t camp cause of Bears, snakes...my idea of camping is a beachfront luxury hotel...but I don’t see how you can camp “in the wild” and then blame the govt if a bear attacks.
one lawsuit is against the state of Utah and Division of Wildlife Resources that the state failed to warn potential users of the imminent danger of a “Level III” nuisance black bear and
the other in Federal district court against Forest service agents that they failed to notify potential users of a “Level III” nuisance black bear.
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/260604/
Ives, 11, was killed by a black bear on June 17, 2007, while camping with his family about a mile above the Timpooneke Campground in American Fork Canyon. He was ripped from his room in a module tent he had bought his stepfather for Father’s Day, before being dragged off and killed. The bear was eventually found and killed as well, and was confirmed to be the same animal that had entered the campsite the night before and rummaged through food coolers.
The black bear was classified as a Level III animal, which means that it should be euthanized, and wildlife officials did attempt to find the bear after its first appearance but were unsuccessful.
The suits allege that since the bear was unable to be found, campers should have been notified and the campground closed. The family said Friday that they are experienced campers well aware of the risks, but had they known of the bear they never would have stayed in the area just 15 minutes from their home.
“If there wasn’t an attack the night before, we wouldn’t be here arguing it,” said Ives’s biological father Kevan Francis.
The family claims that there were two chances for the state to warn them of the bear danger. The first was when they went through the gate to get to the campground. The second chance was a little more eerie.
“The family passed a Division of Wildlife Resources truck, [that] apparently was the one looking for the bear. They waved at them,”
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/260604/
That would come out of your pocket and the pockets of every other taxpayer (provided you're a taxpayer). How would taking somone else's money punish the government bureaucrats responsible?
It’s what bears do. There’s not a lot of habitat for them anymore, especially in Southern California.
They have to eat. I don’t think it went into the tent to get the kid, specifically. I’m sure it was smelling something beside the kid.
The rangers should have known the bear was there. They aren’t that hard to track. You don’t have to see the bear. They make pretty good tracks. I see tracks and I start taking precautions.
At least have a sign in the campground that said there were bears possible and to take the appropriate measures like the most important one...don’t sleep with your food or anywhere near it.
*Gee whiz, is this not an act of nature? Are bears on the government payroll?*
You're kidding, right? We camp all the time and it comes with bears, spiders, snakes, mosquitoes and people we don't know in other tents. Why am I as a taxpayer responsible because you choose to accept that risk?
Hey, at my age, my idea of camping is a hotel without room service or waitress service at the heated pool.
Are you saying you don’t think we should be allowed to sue the government because the fees, court costs, and any damages awarded would be paid from our tax dollars? Think of all the things the government runs and be sure you really want that. Example: military couldn’t sue military doctors because tax payers would foot the bill. etc. etc. etc. Actually, they probably can’t successfully sue military doctors because of the leverage the military would have, but you get my point.
Feed the bears PETA treats so they won’t be hungry...
Actually, I was being sarcastic.
If they don't allow us to take guns into the parks to protect ourselves, I say they should be sued if there is a bear problem and they fail to control it.
I don't think killing every bear is a solution though. They should be allowed to kill enviro wienies that tra-lala through the forest unarmed because they don't believe in guns and figure they can talk nice to bears to make them go away.
1. If you intend to commune with nature by backpacking across the wilderness of the Western US, Canada, and Alaska, make sure you're armed with a rifle or handgun -- preferably equal or greater than .40 caliber for the rifle, or .44 in the case of the pistol. Don't pack it; shoulder it.
2. Don't sleep on a bear run. If you don't know what a bear run is, ask a ranger or the local sheriff for a description.
3. Don't believe any advice about running downhill away from a pursuing bear. Bears can run in circles up and down a 45-degree angle slope like an Olympic champion, and do it all afternoon. They can also climb trees better than the best human tree-climber can -- outside of a teenager from Guam who can shoot up a tree for a coconut in three seconds. There are no bears in Guam, by the way, so this example is all academic.
4. Playing 'dead' doesn't fool the bears. Playing 'giant porcupine' works lots better, but the suit is a real hassle to hump through the woods.
5. 'Gentle' black bears aren't. All bears, regardless of maturity or type, are equally dangerous. This goes double for badgers, which are just little bears with a hostile 'short guy' attitude problem.
6. Never mind the nonsense about sleeping on the ground and hoisting your food above ground in a tree. Better to sleep in the tree and leave your food on the ground far away for the bears.
7. Make an attempt to tell a local authority -- ranger or sheriff -- about your hiking plans so they know where to find your remains if you choose to ignore item #1.
8. Pepper spray will just make a bear angrier -- just like it does to a typical Los Angeles County resident. You'll never get to that damn pepper spray anyway. You *might* get to your rifle.
9. Bears are silent until you're within striking distance. They already smelled and heard you coming a few hundred yards away. A typical bear's eyesight isn't so good, but they're not Mr. Magoo. They have eyesight good enough to swat your head off your shoulders with deliberate aim.
10. Using an Elk or Deer call to attract game during hunting season has a really good chance to attract a bear instead. In kind, salmon fishing in a 'really good spot' is also where the bears fish.
11. Don't wear fragrances as they attract bears, unless it's Brut, which repels bears as effectively as it repels human females.
12. Don't wipe your hands on your pants. Forget the bears, you'll be in trouble with your mom when you get home.
13. Use a bell or whistle to both alert bears and annoy everyone else within two miles of you.
14. Never travel alone. If you're with a group, you don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun someone else in your group!!!
I agree...it seems so obvious to me, Am I missing something?
Quite a bit of negligence there as well. You don't go camping in a bear infested forest and leave food all around your campsite, begging bears to come bother you.
All food should be wrapped in a few layers of plastic garbage bag, then tied up high off the ground AWAY from your campsite. You shouldn't cook, have or eat any food in your tent at any time. Even if you remove the food the smells stay in the tent and canvass, and you become bear bait.
Stupid campers are victims of themselves in most cases. You'd think they'd at least stop at the park office and read the camping guides. Bear facts are available in all of them.
OK...whew! You might want to remember to use the /s at the end of your post which is (loosely) "close sarcasm". Otherwise, all the little FReeper heart rates go up and they post insane stuff. :-)
Stake him out and cover him with honey.
Obviously you know nothing about bears. There are very stealthy animals, and have 1000x times the sense of smell as you do, plus their hearing is excellent. If all it takes for you to take precautions is to see bear tracks, then you should never go into the woods. Bears leave tracks everywhere. It doesn't mean they are in them. It's when you hear them you should be taking precautions, real quick. And if you start following bear tracks, you could find yourself in a very difficult position. Cubs don't walk right along side their mother, often they are barely within her vision. Following a set of bear tracks can lead you right to the bear making them, and often between her and her cubs. Then you are in big trouble.
If that happens, start backing away, don't run, don't turn around, back up slowly. If she comes at you swatting at the ground, hold your ground, keep backing up slowly. She'll be clicking her jaws as she's smacking up dirt and brush. If you manage to back up enough and are no longer between her and her cubs, she'll stop, but if she charges the only thing you can do is curl up in an ball and play dead. if your lucky she'll just bat you around a couple times.
If it's a grizzly, Say your prayers.
On one hand, we are responsible for what we choose to do. On the other hand, a family camping trip shouldn't be a death sentence...
Just curious, how come the Forestry department can send folks looking all over for the troublesome black bear but can't bother to find the time to post warning signs about these black bears?
“The family passed a Division of Wildlife Resources truck, [that] apparently was the one looking for the being driven by the bear. They waved at them,”
Yep. Once they get into that habit, the only thing the natural resources guys can try to do is tranq it and move it into another area far away from anything. And her young if thats the case, because they've already been taught as well.
On the one hand, I would like to see this become and impetus to sharply reduce the population of bears, deer (which can be dangerous, too) and other wildlife which are increasing in numbers. They're like sacred cows in India!!
Tell the sentimentalists to shut up, and let the hunters cull!
On the other hand, I can't see allowing hikers to sue for dangers they are agreeing to by using the park.
Blame the gub'mint if a bear attacks? You can if you're a liberal! BTW, my wife's idea of roughing it is staying at a hotel that doesn't have room service . . . .
Of course we should be allowed to carry in National Parks. Wild things EAT humans. And Bad Guys hang out there sometimes, too. Guns are Good.
The family claims that there were two chances for the state to warn them of the bear danger. The first was when they went through the gate to get to the campground. The second chance was a little more eerie.
“The family passed a Division of Wildlife Resources truck, that apparently was the one looking for the bear. They waved at them,”
That means there were also two chances for this family to stop and ask if there were any bear problems.
Successful lawsuits against the government over similar circumstances aren’t unheard of.
In 1996, a bear mauled an Arizona teenager after dragging her out of a tent. The bear had previously been removed from the area but returned on its own. The state settled for $2.5 million with the now-paralyzed teen and her family.
Well, evidently they forgot to give flyers to the bears telling THEM how to just get along.
Reminds me of Little Zero’s plan to get along with the Taliban. I wonder if those guys will respond to his nicey-nice tack?
A mountain lion was killed here in Los Angeles about a month ago. Came down into a neighborhood. It had been spotted weeks before in another community in the foothills, but Fish and Game told OUR friends (when the neighbors had appeared en masse at the office) that the mt lions were a protected species, and to carry STICKS to protect themselves when walking their dogs. In town.
I am familiar with the area.
My husband and I have camped in the **same** campground. It is located less than 5 miles ( as the crow flies) from a **major** metropolitan area on the west. On the east (about 10 miles) is located the towns of Heber, Midway, Charlestown, and Daniels. A hearty person could easily hike to the Sundance resort from the campsite.
This wooded area is crawling with hikers, backpackers, and people enjoying picnics.
The people who introduced **bears** into this populated area are complete IDIOTS!!!
Rational people would remove the bears from this area **before** people are attacked in their backyards or getting of their cars to go into their own home.
There’s bears in the woods? Who knew!!!
I bet they even crap there.
I feel sorry for this family and their loss, but if you go camping in the wilderness you run the risk of meeting up with wild critters. That’s why they call it the wilderness.
The judge should have thrown out this ridiculous lawsuit and fined the family for criminal stupidity.
There’s bears in the woods? Who knew!!!
I bet they even crap there.
I feel sorry for this family and their loss, but if you go camping in the wilderness you run the risk of meeting up with wild critters. That’s why they call it the wilderness.
The judge should have thrown out this ridiculous lawsuit and fined the family for criminal stupidity.
So?...Who killed the mountain lion? A **responsible** person with a concealed carry permit?
The 100-pound elderly woman didn’t have a chance against a 275-pound bear in the kitchen of her home...
A 93-year-old New Mexico woman was mauled to death by a black bear that broke into her home over the weekend, stunned wildlife officials have confirmed.
Adelia Maestas Trujillo of Cleveland, in north-central New Mexico, was killed “by multiple bite injuries,” said Scott Wilson, associate director of the Office of Medical Investigator.
Joe Garner
Scripps Howard News Service
August 21, 2001
I was once told that pepper spray and bells in your shoelaces would repel bears. I was also told that one way to identify bear dropping is that it would smell like pepper and have little bells in it.
LOL! No one walks on game trails, ridge lines, tree lines, or streets in indian country.
Much less sleep on a bear run. No-one is that much of an idiot.
/johnny
I decline to answer that question.
One does not have to outrun a bear, just outrun your hiking companion.
LOL!!!
You are married to a very smart woman!
/johnny
This is ***NOT*** wilderness!
The **highly*** populated Utah Valley is an **easy** downhill ride to the west of this campground! It includes the solidly populated Provo, Orem, Lehi, and American Fork ***cities** and Thanksgiving Point!
On the east ( within the reach of a hearty walker) is Robert Redford's resort of Sundance. I have **personally** ridden my **bike** from the campground to town of Heber in the nearby **populated** area of Heber Valley.
The area is thick as fleas with **people** who literally live within walking distance!!!!
Only IDIOTS would have introduced bears into an area in such close proximity on both the west and east with such highly populated area.
The area has not been wilderness for more than 100 years and the bears were deliberately **introduced** by idiots.
That is a great and also, funny list!
thanks for a good post and the humor with the real information.
I love bears! In pictures, nature movies and FAR away from me!
WOW. Poor lady!
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