Tag: bears

New Mexico man killed in rare fatal bear attack, only second in state in a century

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In a rare kind of attack, a bear killed a man in Crystal, New Mexico, on Thursday, local police said. The police department for the Navajo Nation said officers within its Window Rock district received a call at about 1pm that a bear had attacked a man. Authorities shot the bear, and the creature fled into woods near the scene of the attack. They said they ultimately found the bear and “neutralized” the animal. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family at this time,” the Navajo police department said in a Facebook post.

The Native American reservation’s police department said its criminal investigations department as well as its fish and wildlife department also responded to the scene of the fatal attack. They neither identified the victim nor said what type of bear had killed him. The police department said it “urges the public to stay away from potentially dangerous wildlife. If a bear is spotted, please call your nearest [police] District.” Thursday’s fatal bear attack appeared to be the first such case in New Mexico since 2001, according to a comprehensive list with information about bear attacks.

That 2001 case, meanwhile, was the first fatal New Mexico bear attack in a century, the Associated Press reported. The victim in that case was Adelia Trujillo, who was killed by a 250lb male bear that broke into her house. In 2020, a bear attacked a woman in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The 37-year-old woman and her husband were sitting on the deck at a ski lodge when it approached them. The bear came within a foot of the couple and started chasing her and then attacked in the parking lot. Her injuries included “several broken bones, a collapsed lung, bite marks and scratches”, New Mexico wildlife authorities said at the time.

The woman in that case survived, according to KRQE, and authorities reportedly killed the bear. North America generally has only a handful of fatal bear attacks annually. According to the North American Bear Center, a person’s chances of being murdered by a fellow human is 60,000 times greater than dying at the hands of a black bear. National park service statistics indicate that the chances of being injured by a bear is exceedingly rare at one in 2.1m.

Source: New Mexico man killed in rare fatal bear attack, only second in state in a century | New Mexico | The Guardian

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Hebrews 4:16

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Bear encounters are on the rise. Here’s what to do if you meet one

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Black bear and three cubs walking through a dry mountain forest

A drought in the western U.S. has devastated wildlands, dried up food sources and sent bears wandering along city sidewalks and into homes and shops in search of food. What should you do if you meet a bear? Reuters ​turned to BearWise, opens new tab, which bear biologists started in the southeastern United States in 2018 and that grew into ‌a national program of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies.

SHOULD PEOPLE FEAR BEARS?

Over millennia, humans have mythologized, vilified and attributed personalities to bears. Smart, strong and fast, bears can weigh hundreds of pounds and are feared predators in the wild. But they typically avoid people and ​rarely attack them, scientists say.

HOW CAN YOU TELL IF A BEAR FEELS THREATENED?

A bear that is huffing, ​moaning or clacking its jaws is showing it is feeling threatened and prepared to defend itself. ⁠BearWise advises standing your ground in the face of a defensive bear, even if it moves toward you. If ​it makes contact, play dead, protecting your head, until it goes away.

WHAT IF THE BEAR IS AGGRESSIVE?

While a defensive bear ​is noisy and obviously stressed, an aggressive or predatory bear is quiet and moves deliberately. In this situation, experts advise shouting, throwing rocks and using bear spray. If a predatory bear makes physical contact, fight back.

DOES IT MATTER WHETHER IT’S A BLACK OR GRIZZLY BEAR?

No, according ​to Nate Bowersock, a black bear biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation and chair of the BearWise working group ​of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies. The key is to respond to the bear’s behavior, not its species.

Bears can be hard ‌to tell ⁠apart, especially if you are under pressure. Grizzlies, also known as brown bears, are distinguished in appearance by a shoulder hump. Individual black or grizzly bears vary from black to light brown and range in size.

WHERE ARE NORTH AMERICA’S BEARS?

Black bears are numerous and found across the U.S. and in Canada and Mexico. Most grizzlies, whose population has rebounded because ​of conservation efforts, live in ​Alaska and northern Canada, but ⁠also in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington state.

HOW CAN YOU AVOID TROUBLE?

If you spot a bear, do not approach. Do not gather to gawk if a bear shows up in ​your neighborhood.

If you find a bear in your home or business, leave and call ​in expert help, ⁠Bowersock said.

“Back away quietly,” he said.

Do not feed bears, and that includes not leaving pet food outside, keeping trash bins off the street until pickup morning and keeping barbecue grills clean.

IT’S A DROUGHT. SHOULDN’T I FEED THE BEARS?

Bowersock said people would be ⁠mistaken to ​think they are helping by feeding bears, and that it is even ​more important not to do so during a drought.

“If a bear finds food near people and starts to associate human areas with food, they will ​likely spend even more time in the future near people, even during non-drought times.”

Source: Bear encounters are on the rise. Here’s what to do if you meet one | Reuters

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25

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Two people injured in recent bear attacks in Colorado high country

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Black bear crossing a suburban street near wooded homes

Colorado Parks and Wildlife says two people were recently injured in separate bear attacks in the high country. On Tuesday, a bear reportedly entered a home in Steamboat Springs near Fish Creek Falls Road. The woman told wildlife officers the bear entered her home through the sliding glass door around 1 a.m., and she attempted to chase it back outside. The bear then struck her in the face. CPW says the woman drove herself to the hospital for treatment and is now recovering at home. Investigators say the bear forced its way through the door and knocked it off its track to get inside the home.

Wildlife officers have alerted the neighbors to take precautions and have set up a bear trap in the area. Another attack happened around 3 a.m. Wednesday in the Aspen area. CPW says a man experiencing homelessness was sleeping in Rio Grande Park when a bear approached and bit him on the head. The man woke up, managed to escape from his sleeping bag, and then escaped from the bear. He called for help and was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries to his head and face. CPW says the man has since been released from the hospital.  Wildlife officers found a female bear in the area matching the description and euthanized her, as per CPW policy.

They say that a full necropsy will be performed on the bear. These most recent encounters follow an attack earlier this week in the Eagle-Vail area. CPW is warning that there have been a record number of bear reports this year due to the ongoing drought. The bears are entering hyperphagia and are searching for food to prepare for winter, but the drought has reduced the availability of their usual food sources.

This is pushing them further into residential areas in search of food sources such as unsecured trash, birdseed, pet food and barbecue grills. Wildlife officials are urging the public to safely secure all possible food sources and keep grills clean. They asked residents to take precautions and to secure all doors and windows, including those on garages, to prevent bears from entering homes. If a bear does enter a home, CPW says the resident should leave immediately and call 911. Anyone experiencing bear issues should contact CPW as soon as possible.

Source: Two people injured in recent bear attacks in Colorado high country – CBS Colorado

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2 Peter 3:8

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Colorado firefighters say bear broke into home and started fire

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Firefighters in Crested Butte said that a house fire was started by a bear after the animal got inside the private residence. The Crested Butte Fire Protection District posted on its Facebook page that crews responded to a residential structure fire overnight on Aug. 19 in the Mt. Crested Butte neighborhood.  According to fire officials, the bear forced its way through an exterior door and then broke through a large pane of glass to get inside the home. Once inside, the bear knocked over shelves, furniture and window coverings in the entryway and living room before moving into the kitchen. 

CBS After the bear moved into the kitchen, the bear tore apart the refrigerator, scattered the contents of the trash can, destroyed stuff that was on the counter, and broke apart a dish-drying rack. The wooden rack landed on the electric stovetop, which was turned on at some point after the bear got into the kitchen. Investigators said the rack caught fire and filled the home with smoke.  Two people were inside the home when the bear broke in and they called 911. They said the bear scratched at their bedroom door and its behavior became increasingly erratic and aggressive as the smoke detector sounded an alarm.  When Crested Butte Marshals and Mt. Crested Butte Police Department officers arrived, they saw the bear on its hind legs trying to break through the living room’s front window, with smoke and flames visible in the kitchen behind the bear.  Officers said that because of the bear’s aggressive behavior, the active fire, and limited access to the home, officers euthanized the bear and then extinguished the kitchen fire. 

Crested Butte Fire Protection District crews were dispatched at 1:16 a.m. and on the way were told that the bear had been euthanized and the fire was believed to be out. The people inside the home were not injured.  Investigators said there was no trash, food or other attractants stored outside or in vehicles at the property but did confirm the residence had previously experienced a bear entering the home on at least one other occasion.    Colorado Parks and Wildlife responded to the scene to remove the bear.     

Source: Colorado firefighters say bear broke into home and started fire – CBS Colorado

However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
1 Timothy 1:16

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Bear, 2 cubs spotted in Auburn as Placer County bear sightings continue

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Mother bear walking with two cubs along a forest trail

A mother bear and her two cubs were spotted Tuesday in Auburn, marking the latest after a string of recent bear sightings across western Placer County. The Auburn Police Department said the bears were seen near Lincoln Way and Russell Road. “A friendly reminder to our neighbors: We live in bear country! Please keep an eye on your surroundings, secure garbage and food sources, and bring pets and other animals inside if a bear is in the area,” Auburn police wrote on social media, noting that bear sightings are not uncommon for the area. The sighting follows recent bear reports in nearby cities in western Placer County including Lincoln, Rocklin and Roseville. In Lincoln, police said a bear was reported several times Friday in the Sun City Lincoln Hills community, with sightings reported between Wagon Wheel Lane and Overland Lane.

Its last reported location was near Oak Tree Lane and Highway 193. Rocklin police also issued an alert last week after a bear was reported near Argonaut Avenue, Sweetwater Drive and Aiken Dairy Road. The following day, several reports came in from Roseville residents who spotted a bear near Foothills Boulevard between Blue Oaks and Pleasant Grove boulevards. It remains unclear whether the reports in Auburn, Lincoln, Rocklin and Roseville involve any of the same animals. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has been notified of the recent sightings and has been monitoring bear activity in the region. Wildlife officials have noted that this time of year can bring increased bear activity as mother bears push their cubs out on their own, sometimes sending younger bears into areas they would not normally go. Bears that wander into residential areas will often eventually leave on their own, officials said.

Source: Bear, 2 cubs spotted in Auburn as Placer County bear sightings continue – CBS Sacramento

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Psalm 37:7

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