Posted on 08/01/2010 8:58:12 AM PDT by george76
Wildlife officials have killed a grizzly bear in Wyoming and a grizzly bear in Montana to head-off potential lawsuits.
The Montana grizzly killed and partially consumed Kevin Kammer at a Gallatin National Forest campground near Cooke City, Mont. on July 29. The Wyoming grizzly killed 70 year-old botanist Erwin Evert on June 17 on the Shoshone National Forest near the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park.
The circumstances were quite different, but the decision to kill the bears was undoubtedly influenced by a 1996 court case over the terrible bear mauling of 16 year-old Anna Knochel at a U.S. Forest Service campground near Tucson, AZ. She was mauled by a bear that had recently inflicted minor injuries on another girl. Knochel and her family filed a $15 million lawsuit against the State of Arizona (Arizona Game & Fish Department) and the Forest Service.
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
“Sovereign Immunity” didn’t keep a 2.5 megabuck award from being paid, so who owns an animal IS responsible for its acts, occasionally, when the Gods are so inclined.
However, when a jury hears about egregious negligence being involved, things change.
Please feel free to let me know where I claimed that.
I was thinking that the families were going to sue the bears?
Pun intended? There I go again... shootin from the hip.
signing a waiver would do nothing.... Lawyers famously work around them. I am however surprised they don’t have signs warning you enter at your own risk.
That's is more or less what I am saying, signs and warnings that you are not going into a cutesy Disney world but into a real life world full of vicious animals that will kill you and eat you if they get the urge.
To expect people to enter a wilderness full of grizzlys without the means to defend themselves from them is no less than murder, and to not warn them that this could happen is gross negligence.
The last time I was in Yellowstone, I watched a bunch of Japanese tourists walk down towards a Grizzly that was lying behind a log with only it's head showing. I tried to warn them that the bear was dangerous but they wouldn't listen.
When they were within about 50 yards of the Grizzly the bear stood up, roared and flipped the log like it was a match stick, the log flew into the air and the Japanese flew back up the hill into their waiting vehicles. A lesson well learned with no deaths or injuries but it could have been so much worse.
On the same visit a Japanese tourist was killed while trying to put his arm around a bison so his wife could photograph him with the Buffalo. Didn't work out well, but I am sure the wife got many exciting photos of the event.
You didn’t and I should have worded it differently. However your thing about humans invading their habitat is bunk.
We should certainly have the right to protect ourselves if attacked or threatened by any predator whether it be in a National Park, on fed or state land or in our own backyard.
Predators are increasing in numbers for various reasons but the silliest reasons are reintroduction and classifying some as endangered species.
I’m not for killing them off but they have to be controlled and the best and most economical method is by managed hunting.
Jack O'Connor relates a tale about a guy named Field Johnson that was mauled. He did the "play dead" thing, but the grizzley wasn't far off. Johnson got up after what he thought was a reasonable amount of time. Bear went berserk and mauled him again and buried him. Johnson survived, but went insane. And wounded black bears are supposed to be worse. They don't so much maul you, as tear you into small pieces.
Grizzley's can't climb trees.
But they're great for making sure your sister isn't bitten by a moose.
On one of our bear hunts in Canada, we had an Indian guide. He said his wife had been attacked years before. The bear attacked her, chew on her while she played dead. Then the bear buried her with dirt, sticks and rocks. She waited a while and got up and walked home. Her wounds took something like, 7 years to completely heal.
After that she moved into town.
That afternoon my husband shot a 1000 lb grizzly.
I always thought so too but lots of pics of Grizzlies in trees are showing up on the Internet.
Little ones. There’s some adaptive value to being able to climb so as not to be eaten by bigger bears. Makes for some great photography...the guy filming a grizzly right at his bootheels.
I thought they could. Am I mixing them up with black bears and/or brown bears?
Blacks climb very well. Brown and grizzly cubs can climb, so it’s probably just as well that the big boars can’t. Typically, if a big grizzly sees something it wants in a tree, it’ll try to push the tree over.
We have had numerous black bear sightings in this area. I’m pretty sure we have a black bear or bears in our yard. It is beginning to concern me.
I should have said I’m pretty sure we have had a black bear or bears *visiting* our yard.
They said the cubs showed signs of malnutrition.
With three cubs to feed, sounds like she couldn't supply enough food so went for an easy target.
Odds are, they’re afraid of you. That said, sometimes the odds’ll get ya. Personally, I’d shoot ‘em if i saw ‘em. Or you can eliminate whatever is attracting them.
It’s the bird feeders, I believe.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.