Posted on 04/28/2006 3:48:59 PM PDT by george76
A 29-year-old Farisita man suffered bruises and possible nerve damage to his neck and shoulder this week when he tangled with a black bear on a private ranch near Stonewall about 25 miles west of Trinidad.
Harold Cerda stopped to use an outhouse on the ranch.
While he was away from his car, a bear climbed through an open window and started to eat Cerda's lunch that was on the front seat.
As Cerda came out of the outhouse, the bear was walking in his direction and took a swing at Cerda, knocking him down.
Michael Seraphin, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, said that after hitting Cerda, the bear ran about 100 feet up a hill and stopped.
As Cerda gathered himself and started for his car about 30 feet away, the bear came roaring back.
The ranch hand made it to the car and started the engine to raise the windows.
"All four windows were down and they go up real slow," Cerda said. "I got them closed just in time."
Bob Holder, the local wildlife manager...said people should remember that windows and doors of vehicles should be shut and latched to prevent entry.
It isn't always foolproof, however.
In recent years, wildlife officers have documented cases where bears ripped open the trunks of cars to get to the food in them.
(Excerpt) Read more at rockymountainnews.com ...
Cerda locked himself in the car and used the camera on his cell phone to snap a few pictures.
That's when he noticed the remnants of his lunch strewn about.
Everyone who argues with a bear loses. My dad took me hunting once and we saw a bear. He pulled out his 357 and we slowly moved back to the car. My dad was sweating in rivers. Told me to be sure and save one bullet for myself if it ever came down to it with a bear. Dad was 6'2" tall and weighed nearly 300 pounds. Scared me to death.
Many city folks say that bears will only eat fruits and nuts.
Bears will eat anything...even us...given the chance.
357 is OK for a black bear, but for a larger one it's completely inadequate. 44 mag or better.
Identifying Bears:
If you see a Bear... climb a tree.
If the bear climbs up the tree and kills you... it's a Black Bear.
If it knocks the tree down and kills you... it's a Grizzly Bear.
If there are no trees around for you to climb and the bear chases you across the snow and kills you it's a polar bear.
If while it is killing you and you notice a cute cub through your swollen eyes...it's a female bear.
We were staying in Yosemite one weekend a few years ago, right down in the valley bottom where you are camped elbow to elbow. I heard some wierd noised during the night and the next morning an F-150 a few yards away had the drivers side door peeled open like a grape. There's a reason they say, "Don't store food in your car!"
Does this mean that most Californians are in danger?
Some good advice from before...
"Hire an attorney and look for a bear with deep pockets."
LOL.
That is good.
The only thing in that bears pockets were some pop tarts!
"Many city folks say that bears will only eat fruits and nuts. "
Maybe we could turn a bunch loose in San Francisco ;)
Recoil ought to be manageable. 7.62x39 would do, but only on full auto.
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