Hunting and game posts

[KubotaHawg]

two killed by black bears in Arkansas last year.

70lb juvenile killed this man

Franklin County man has died after bear attack

The Franklin County, Arkansas, man who was attacked by a bear earlier this month has died, according to Arkansas Game & Fish.

www.4029tv.com

dragged and found dead

Days after sending bear photos to his family, man found dead in animal attack

A 60-year-old Missouri camper was found dead with severe injuries in what officials believe was a bear attack at an Arkansas campground.

www.nbcnews.com

while rare, not something I would ignore. first thing a lot folks do is criticize victims for lack of awareness, prep, stupidity, or combination of all three. I like to be prepared and pay attention, can't do much about the third.

Those were the first documented fatal black bear human attacks in 140 years in Arkansas. Odd part is that both were unprovoked and intentional, but both were by young males.

The first one the older man was grading a gravel driveway and was stopped working on his tractor and was completely unaware. That bear weighed 60 pounds—it was probably only a yearling that was separated from momma a year too early. It was also at a large commercial camping area/venue so likely had associated humans with food. Hungry bears = dangerous bears.

The second one was in a NFS campground so food/trash was probably a contributing factor also.

That being said I completely agree with you—when I’m out there I am 1) always on alert head on a swivel and 2) carrying locked and loaded on my belt. My main point was that I am not as concerned about a big mature male as a young dumb and hungry one, they don’t like human contact. Out there I am way more concerned about momma with cubs that is a very good reason to be aware AND prepared.

 

[KubotaHawg]

It would be more accurate to criticize those feeding bears BEFORE victim encountered the bears.

Unfortunate truth—feeding or being stupid/sloppy with food and trash in high density bear country likely had something to do indirectly with both deaths.

Another unfortunate is that Arkansas bear harvest last fall was half of the quota in this zone, because of a huge acorn crop and bears not coming to bait sites. So more bears due to 1) less killed and 2) higher reproduction due to great forage/nutrition—and then more problem bears due to higher contact with humans that don’t know any better.

 

[Killer Bee]

lots of wildlife changes in my short 55yrs..

more black bear sightings in mo than ever, recently as last year black bear wandered into grandview, sub of kc area

never saw an armadillo outside of ok, now I see 'em sleeping on the side of the road all around here, johnson/jackson co

and elk are back in mo, some couple hundred so far but tightly managed by mdc

black vulture problem is severe, killing livestock, etc. state is actually not enforcing the migratory bird protection for them, unofficial open season per se.

and as mentioned, the city creep out into the wild areas forces unnatural contact between wildlife and people. some mistakes are stupidity, others made unwittingly.

key is education, awareness, and preparedness.. as we all know you can't fix stupid.

 

[KubotaHawg]

lots of wildlife changes in my short 55yrs..

key is education, awareness, and preparedness.. as we all know you can't fix stupid.

Agree, same in my 56 years. I live only 15 miles outside of Fayetteville and we usually have a young male in the area every year (but very wooded, hilly, and rural). People here just put their trash away and no pet food out, accustomed to it. There was a young male bear running around U of Arkansas campus a few years ago. Fortunately it behaved, was found and then wildlife biologists were able to tranquillize and relocate it without harm to humans or bear.

Unfortunately stupid seems more widespread than it used to be, and no you can’t fix it…

 

[jaxs]

Agree, same in my 56 years. I live only 15 miles outside of Fayetteville and we usually have a young male in the area every year (but very wooded, hilly, and rural). People here just put their trash away and no pet food out, accustomed to it. There was a young male bear running around U of Arkansas campus a few years ago. Fortunately it behaved, was found and then wildlife biologists were able to tranquillize and relocate it without harm to humans or bear.

Unfortunately stupid seems more widespread than it used to be, and no you can’t fix it…

Can't completely eradicate it but there's a park ranger in Yellowstone doing his best. I'm sure everyone has seen dozens of cars at side of road watching particularly interesting animals. In this case it was an extraordinarily large moose standing in knee deep water foraging. There was a man circling within arms reach taking pictures from front,rear,above and below. The ranger called out on his p.a. and the dude acted like he was deaf. Alternated between wailing siren and loudspeaker without as much as a glance from this guy knee deep in pond with the moose. The ranger's stride and posture left no doubt about his state of mind as he "briskly" walked out to guy. Man spotted officer and waded out to meet him. Several tourists got rare videos of their own as officer cuffed him and escorted him out to road. The mood turned somber as the guy's daughter cried and his wife pleaded with officer as he prepped man for transport. The lady said "aren't you supposed to issue a ticket rather than arresting him"? The mood went from somber to uproarious laughter when the ranger said "he's in protective custody pending evaluation".