Lasher
08-22-2002, 05:26 PM
Game experts offer some tips about black bears
By Joe Sylvester DOWNVALLEY BUREAU CHIEF 08/22/2002
Rule No. 1: Do not feed the bears.
Rule No. 2: Do not pet them.
Rule No. 3: You should certainly not try to ride them or invite them into your living room.
As obvious as these pointers sound, people have tried them with black bears, said Gary Alt, Ph.D., of Moscow, a wildlife biologist with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Dr. Alt said people don't need to be afraid of black bears, despite a bear mauling of a baby girl outside a cottage Monday in Fallsburg, N.Y., 80 miles northeast of Scranton.
The killing is believed to be the first fatal black bear attack of the year in the United States -- and the first ever in New York State.
Dr. Alt, who headed the Game Commission's black bear research and management from 1974 to 1999, said the possibility of such an attack occurring is very low, even with the increasing number of bear sightings in rural areas.
"For each person killed by a black bear on this continent, there are 90,000 homicides," he said. "That doesn't mean you should totally ignore bears. Just use common sense."
Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser agreed the attacks are rare. "Black bears, especially those in the eastern United States, are far more likely to run than fight," Mr. Feaser said. "This (Fallsburg attack) is a very tragic incident."
There is no record of a black bear causing a human death in Pennsylvania, he said. There have been 15 deaths attributed to black bear attacks since 1900 in the United States, according to University of Calgary Professor Steve Herero, a Canadian bear expert. Three of the killings have occurred in the last three years.
Entire Story
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=5123200&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=416045&rfi=6
By Joe Sylvester DOWNVALLEY BUREAU CHIEF 08/22/2002
Rule No. 1: Do not feed the bears.
Rule No. 2: Do not pet them.
Rule No. 3: You should certainly not try to ride them or invite them into your living room.
As obvious as these pointers sound, people have tried them with black bears, said Gary Alt, Ph.D., of Moscow, a wildlife biologist with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Dr. Alt said people don't need to be afraid of black bears, despite a bear mauling of a baby girl outside a cottage Monday in Fallsburg, N.Y., 80 miles northeast of Scranton.
The killing is believed to be the first fatal black bear attack of the year in the United States -- and the first ever in New York State.
Dr. Alt, who headed the Game Commission's black bear research and management from 1974 to 1999, said the possibility of such an attack occurring is very low, even with the increasing number of bear sightings in rural areas.
"For each person killed by a black bear on this continent, there are 90,000 homicides," he said. "That doesn't mean you should totally ignore bears. Just use common sense."
Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser agreed the attacks are rare. "Black bears, especially those in the eastern United States, are far more likely to run than fight," Mr. Feaser said. "This (Fallsburg attack) is a very tragic incident."
There is no record of a black bear causing a human death in Pennsylvania, he said. There have been 15 deaths attributed to black bear attacks since 1900 in the United States, according to University of Calgary Professor Steve Herero, a Canadian bear expert. Three of the killings have occurred in the last three years.
Entire Story
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=5123200&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=416045&rfi=6