[toldyou]

"Prayers for this family. Cannot imagine the terror, the guilt and the pain."

I certainly agree with you. And I most certainly feel sympathy for the family. You're right....terror. And the pain will last forever.

I just was under the impression that wildlife, like bears, mountainlions, etc., will follow their instinct to kill. But a few smart people here were kind enough to explain that I was wrong about bears.

[eastforker]

Mountain lions, thats a whole nuther ballgame there. They do have a kill instinct.

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, just misinformed about the normal behavior of black bears. Normally black bears are mostly vegetarian or scavengers of opportunity. They aren't primary predators the way grizzlies are. If people behave the way they usually do, people will be on high alert in this area for awhile, but in time, assuming they find the bear or there are no new attacks, they'll become more complacent. I trail ride in black bear country and have seen bear twice now, but while we always respond with caution, calm caution is usually all that's called for.

This was a very unusual event with a very unusual bear. I've wondered, without any real evidence, about the possibility of something like rabies causing this. This was not a spontaneous and quick attack but a prolonged one involving multiple victims and separate acts of attack.