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Bear bites Appalachian Trail hiker in Tennessee
reuters ^ | 5/13/16

Posted on 05/13/2016 12:19:27 PM PDT by StCloudMoose

A black bear bit through the tent and into the lower leg of a man who was hiking the Appalachian Trail and camped for the night at a national park in Tennessee, park officials said on Thursday. Bradley Veeder, 49, of Las Vegas, was sleeping around 11 p.m. local time in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Tuesday when the bear attacked, park spokeswoman Dana Soehn said by telephone. Because it was so dark, Veeder and nearby campers did not see the bear, which was initially scared away by his screams, Soehn said. Park officials said it was a black bear based on the wound and damage to tents, as well as fur and saliva collected at the scene. Black bears are the only bears found in the region. Veeder and the other campers retreated to a nearby shelter and the bear subsequently returned, destroying two tents, Soehn said. Rangers carried Veeder on horseback from the campsite for about seven miles on Wednesday to an ambulance that transported him to a nearby hospital, where he was treated and released, Soehn said. He suffered puncture wounds and swelling. The shelter has been closed temporarily and park wildlife staffers are at the campsite, monitoring the area for more bear activity, Soehn said. “The injury is a very rare occurrence,” she said. “In the last 10 years, there’ve only been nine human-bear encounters which led to injury” in the national park that straddles the Tennessee-North Carolina state line. There has been just one bear-related fatality - in 2000 - since the park opened in 1934, Soehn said. There are about 1,600 black bears in the park, which is visited by 10.7 million people annually.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: US: Tennessee; Unclassified
KEYWORDS: appalachia; appalachiantrail; bear; bites; blackbear; hiker; maul; wildlife
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1 posted on 05/13/2016 12:19:27 PM PDT by StCloudMoose
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To: StCloudMoose

Put all your food in a bag and hang it in a tree folks. Do NOT have food in your tent. Though the article doesn’t say, the chances are good this guy had food.


2 posted on 05/13/2016 12:22:16 PM PDT by Seruzawa (If you agree with the French raise your hand. If you are French raise both hands)
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To: Seruzawa

“Though the article doesn’t say, the chances are good this guy had food.”

Or chances are the bear thought he was food. Maybe the guy told the bear he was in his space space and the bear retreated.


3 posted on 05/13/2016 12:25:51 PM PDT by WKUHilltopper (And yet...we continue to tolerate this crap...)
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To: StCloudMoose
There has been just one bear-related fatality - in 2000 - since the park opened in 1934

Even one death is too many, and next time it might be a helpless child. KILL ALL THE BEARS.

ML/NJ

4 posted on 05/13/2016 12:26:33 PM PDT by ml/nj (av)
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To: Seruzawa

In one of my recent trips to the Adirondacks, some smart-ass Ranger hung a thick, HDPE drum, that had been literally shredded by a bear, with a sign that said “this is NOT a bear-proof canister.”

I’m told that bears are especially attracted by the smell of toothpaste, shampoo or even mouthwash - so don’t keep those in your tent as well.


5 posted on 05/13/2016 12:28:31 PM PDT by PGR88
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To: ml/nj

The bear population has been making a comeback.
They are now regularly found in densely populated areas of PA and NJ.

Black bears aren’t necessarily out looking to tangle with humans, but if you leave food in the wrong place, or get between mama and her cub, ANYTHING could happen.


6 posted on 05/13/2016 12:29:50 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: kanawa

This is why I’m taking you with me should I ever go camping!


7 posted on 05/13/2016 12:31:23 PM PDT by null and void ("when authority began inspiring contempt, it had stopped being authority" ~ H. Beam Piper)
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To: PGR88
Bear repellent


8 posted on 05/13/2016 12:34:02 PM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: StCloudMoose
"Park officials said it was a black bear based on the wound and damage to tents, as well as fur and saliva collected at the scene. Black bears are the only bears found in the region."

If you know #2, do you really have to go through all the investigation in #1?

9 posted on 05/13/2016 12:34:28 PM PDT by cincinnati65
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To: StCloudMoose
Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes . . . . .


10 posted on 05/13/2016 12:39:20 PM PDT by Opinionated Blowhard ("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")
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To: StCloudMoose

Don’t camp where bears live!


11 posted on 05/13/2016 12:42:05 PM PDT by Renkluaf
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To: StCloudMoose

Camp in a bear’s kitchen and somehow they’re surprised they get chewed on.


12 posted on 05/13/2016 12:42:23 PM PDT by bgill (CDC site, "We still do not know exactly how people are infected with Ebola")
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To: StCloudMoose

Was Mark Sanford in the area?


13 posted on 05/13/2016 12:43:00 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: from occupied ga

If I could only buy .348 I’d be a happy Model 71 owner.


14 posted on 05/13/2016 12:43:22 PM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: StCloudMoose

I’ve run into a number on the AT in Shenendoah. I always carry my Glock 22, just in case. Turned around once and caught a bear cub rummaging through my pack. It took something white out and ran off into the dark. I started chasing it, then I though better of it.

When I got home, I realized it stole my tortillas.


15 posted on 05/13/2016 12:45:59 PM PDT by SJSAMPLE
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To: Seruzawa
Put all your food in a bag and hang it in a tree folks. Do NOT have food in your tent.

Or you'll be sleeping in a zip-lock bag.

16 posted on 05/13/2016 12:48:50 PM PDT by sailor76 (GO TRUMP!!! Make America Great Again!)
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To: StCloudMoose

I’m glad he’s ok. It’s a bit interesting for me to see that now because I just started reading A Walk In The Woods, and there were several pages devoted to bear attacks and his fear of encountering a bear on the trail. I’m still pretty early in the book.


17 posted on 05/13/2016 12:50:27 PM PDT by Pinkbell (Liberal tolerance only extends to people they agree with.)
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To: Seruzawa

Right you are.
However, the only way to help minimize a bear encounter is to ensure ALL food, and toiletries (toothpaste & soap) are in an Airtight zip bag and then it’s recommended that you hang your food on a bear-proof bag or cannister 100+ feet away from your campsite.

*I have had a bear come right up to my tent, its nose against my head, even though there was Absolutely No food or wrappers in or around the tent.
The bear was attracted to the very faint peppermint odor in the toothpaste I used an hour prior to the encounter.*

Bears have incredibly sensitive sense of smell, and can detect and track the smell of food (through two new sealed zip lock bags) a mile away. Ziplock bags are slightly porous

My recommendation that has worked hiking hundreds of miles through bear country:
1. Get an Ursack and follow the directions Completely.
2. Carry a small 1 Oz bottle of PineSol and put two drops on your food bag before you hang it up outside your tent, as well as two drops on your pack, and both sides of your tent.
The USFS, and State wildlife Biologists attest to the fact that PineSol (7% turpentine oil) is very effective at masking faint food odors from being detected by bears.

Ursack.com

RE: “Put all your food in a bag and hang it in a tree folks. Do NOT have food in your tent. Though the article doesn’t say, the chances are good this guy had food.”


18 posted on 05/13/2016 12:50:36 PM PDT by MarchonDC09122009 (When is our next march on DC? When have we had enough?)
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To: SJSAMPLE
When I got home, I realized it stole my tortillas.

Ay ay ay! Senor Yogi!


19 posted on 05/13/2016 12:51:36 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: from occupied ga

That might be a trifle big for black bears but since it would be excellent for browns, why worry about color!


20 posted on 05/13/2016 12:54:49 PM PDT by Mouton (The insurrection laws maintain the status quo now.)
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