Free Republic

From 2007 to the present (2023), there have been more fatal bear attacks in Japan than in the United States. It is possible there have been more total bear attacks in Japan than in the United States, but records of total attacks are not as clear. Through the end of October of 2023, there were 180 bear attacks where a person was injured in Japan. From JapanNews:Tokyo, Nov. 1 (Jiji Press)—The number of people attacked by bears in Japan between April and October totaled 180, already a record high on a fiscal year basis since the statistics started in fiscal...

A surprising result of the research to determine if handguns are effective when used in defense against bears is that they appear to be more effective than rifles or shotguns. This is a surprise. Rifles and shotguns tend to be more powerful than pistols. They are also easier to use accurately at a distance. When expecting a bear encounter, the preferred firearm is almost always a high-powered rifle or a shotgun.Terms become very important in this discussion. Rifles and shotguns are better tools for hunting bears than most defensive handguns.Hunting is not the same as defending.Much of the advantage of...

The number of Florida bears has skyrocketed. The bear population was estimated at 300-500 in 1974. Black bear hunting was banned in Florida in 1994 when the population was estimated at 1280 to 1290. In 1998, the population was estimated at 1500. According to the tampabay.com, there were 2,000 to 2,500 bears in 2006. In a 2015 bear hunt, a meager 304 bears were harvested. In 2016, the population was estimated at 4,350 bears. No study has been done to estimate the bear population since then.Bears are very adaptable. There remains considerable habitat for bears to populate in Florida in...

NFL legend Dick Butkus has reportedly died on Thursday at the age of 80. Emergency crews arrived at Butkus’ home in Malibu around 12.51pm, where he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two people and their dog were found dead at Banff National Park on Saturday after a grizzly bear attack. A GPS device alerted Parks Canada on Friday night, indicating a bear attack was happening within the Red Deer River Valley region west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch in Canada’s Banff National Park... Due to poor weather conditions, an emergency team reportedly could not fly to the location via helicopter, so they traveled by ground during the night. When the team arrived at the scene, they reportedly found two individuals who were deceased and ... The victim’s identities have not been...

The Biden administration unveiled a proposal to reintroduce grizzly bear populations in the federally-managed North Cascades National Park in northern Washington. ... As part of the announcement, the public is invited to comment through mid-November. ... “The National Parks Service and Fish and Wildlife Service should end this process immediately by rescinding the draft EIS and proposed 10(j) rule. The introduction of grizzlies into the North Cascades would be devastating for our North Central Washington communities,” said Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse, R-Wash. “Time and again, our communities have spoken to express staunch opposition to the introduction of these...

In the Land of White Death, by Valerian Albanov, English translation published in 2000 by Random House, 205 pages. Original published in Russian in 1917. This is the story of an ill-fated ship, as written by one of only two survivors, the officer who was the navigator of the Santa Clara. The ship went to sea ill prepared, without key provisions and trained personnel. Trapped in Arctic ice for two years, the navigator lead a group attempting to reach land over the pack ice. This is his story, a direct, first person account of survival against daunting obstacles.The dismal fate...

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Two bears on an Alaska military base raided a Krispy Kreme doughnut van that was stopped outside a convenience store during its delivery route. The driver usually left his doors open when he stopped at the store but this time a sow and one of her cubs that loiter nearby sauntered inside, where they stayed for probably 20 minutes Tuesday morning, said Shelly Deano, the store manager for Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson JMM Express. The bears chomped on doughnut holes and other pastries, ignoring the banging on the side of the van that was aimed at...

Yellowstone today is on high alert for “touron” behavior, but in the Roaring ’20s it was an all-out petting zoo. Attractions included the popular feeding of the bears -- a nightly dinner show that became more popular than Old Faithful. Hardly a day has gone by this summer season where a tourist in Yellowstone National Park hasn’t been caught doing something illegal, dangerous, stupid — or all three. Facebook page Yellowstone National Park: Invasion of The Idiots! has become the TMZ of the NPS (National Park Service). Public shaming hasn’t seemed to slow offenders much. Healthy fines do not appear...

A camp for firefighters battling a British Columbia wildfire had to be shut down because of “persistent bear activity,” Canada wildlife officials reported. About 160 firefighters at a camp near Goldbridge to fight the Downton Lake wildfire relocated to T’it’q’et First Nation and Lillooet community facilities, officials said on Twitter, now rebranded as X. The British Columbia Wildlife Service said it ordered the closure to “ensure the safety” of firefighters. Conservation officers are working to find a safe place for a new camp so firefighters can resume battling the wildfire, officials said. Officials did not provide details on the bear...

A woman was found dead after an apparent encounter with a grizzly bear near Yellowstone National Park in Montana on Saturday. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) said investigators confirmed grizzly bear tracks at the scene, adding the investigation is ongoing. The woman was discovered on the Buttermilk Trail, an area about eight miles west of West Yellowstone. The Custer Gallatin National Forest, which borders Yellowstone in southeastern Montana, issued an emergency closure of the area “for human safety.”

Porter woman punches black bear; bear bites back The woman confronted the bear as it was chasing her dog, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. She was treated for puncture wounds to her wrist. BY KAY NEUFELD PRESS HERALD A 64-year-old Porter woman was taken to the hospital Friday after she punched a black bear in the nose and the bear bit back. Lynn Kelly was trying to save her dog from the chasing bear when the confrontation occurred, said Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Kelly was working in...

On June 16, near Groom Creek, in Arizona, 66-year-old Steven Jackson was sitting on his camp chair, having coffee at an outdoor table, when a 300 lb male black bear attacked him. The attack appears to have been unprovoked and predatory in nature. Groom Creek is a few miles South of Prescott, about 100 miles north of Phoenix, at about 5000 – 6000 feet above sea level. The temperature on the morning of the 16th was 70 degrees Fahrenheit. From Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office: At approximately 7:50 this morning, the YCSO dispatch center received multiple 911 calls about a man...

Handguns have been shown to be effective tools when used to defend against bears. Seven years ago, whether handguns were effective when used to defend against bears was in dispute. In October 2016, someone on the Internet claimed pistols were ineffective as a bear defense. He claimed there were “legions” of incidents where they failed. He failed to provide a single documented case where a handgun, when fired in defense against a bear, failed to stop the attack. A group of people I worked with and I started to look for instances where pistols were fired in defense against a...

A bear that let itself into a Colorado home on Wednesday was looking for more than just porridge. The daring bear grabbed a quick meal before it was caught on video in Steamboat Springs trying to escape from a second-floor window after it accidentally locked itself in the home’s master bedroom. Neighbor Heidi Hannah caught the intruder on video and called the police for help when she realized the home’s residents were not there. The large bear made several attempts to drop to the ground, but it was apparently too high up. It swung itself back into the bedroom, where...

PRESCOTT, Ariz. — A bear reportedly killed a person in an attack near Groom Creek in Yavapai County early Friday morning, the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said. The bear has since been killed and is no longer a threat to the community, deputies said. How the bear was killed hasn't been clarified. Deputies from the sheriff's office and Arizona Game and Fish responded to the scene near Groom Creek to reports of the dead person. Groom Creek is about six miles south of Prescott. Investigators are at the scene working to determine the events leading up to the attack. This...

All men are either 'eagle handsome, bear handsome, dog handsome, or reptilian handsome', according to a new dating trend. The terms, which 'describe the looks and characteristics of different types of men' is the talking point of thousands after a debate sparked on Twitter. Leading Australian relationship expert Dr Lurve shared her thoughts on the topic, telling FEMAIL the traits can act as a 'guide' to help better understand the type of people you're attracted to. 'The character traits are really interesting because they are fairly close to their animals!' she said. For instance, Dr Lurve said a man who...

U.S.A. – In Italy, Andrea Papi, a young man running for exercise, was killed by an aggressive European brown bear. European brown bears are essentially the same species as American grizzly/brown bears. From Nature World News: Fear and rage spread throughout the area after Andrea Papi was fatally attacked by the aggressive bear while jogging above the town of Caldes in the Brenta Dolomites on the slopes of Mt. Peller. Papi is the first Italian reported to have died in the last few years at the hands of a bear. In Italy, bears are a protected species, and since they...

Italian authorities are on the hunt for a bear that killed a 26-year-old jogger in the north-eastern region of Trentino last week.

On Thursday, May 12, off-duty police Sgt. Lawrence Clarke, 55 years old, had his property damaged, livestock killed, and his grandson threatened by an aggressive black bear that had become habituated to people. When the bear proved to be resistant and unafraid of people, he was forced to shoot the bear to protect lives and property.AmmoLand has obtained a copy of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection report of the investigation of the incident.On Friday, May 6, 2022, the Newtown police department received multiple nuisance wildlife concerning a black bear matching the description of a known problem bear....