topic Re: Bear Attack - Sad in Community Chat

Bear Attack - Sad

Kachina624 — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 23:47:25 GMT

Yesterday morning a mama bear with three cubs attacked a jogger in the Valles Caldera National Preserve in the Jemez Mountains near me. The jogger, a young woman, was scratched up pretty badly, and they airlifted her out to Albuquerque . They say she'll be okay.

Now the sad part. State Law says if a bear attacks a human, it must be destroyed. Rangers located the bear and killed her, leaving her three cubs orphans. They were caught and taken to a rehab center where they'll be raised and then released into the wild.

Here is the Valles Caldera. It's a beautiful place of 93,000 acres.

I think it's so tragic that a bear mom is killed just because she reacted to a perceived threat to her babies. She just did what any mom would do.

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

eddyandme — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 23:46:05 GMT

@Kachina624

HORRIBLE. And, why the ell would they allow joggers in a nature preserve: any animal is gonna freak with someone running by... Totally senseless!

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

goldensrbest — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 23:51:53 GMT

That does not seem right, she had cubs, they need their mom,will the cubs be able to learn how to be bears and live in the wild,without her?

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

Kachina624 — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 23:57:10 GMT

This was a ranch the government bought within the past 15 years. The gates were firmly shut for several years then last fall they turned it over to the National Park Service and opened the gates for use by the public.

People hike and cross-country ski, take their horses there to ride, fish, and hunt in season. There's a large elk herd. Jogging would not be forbidden. . No camping or motor vehicles like ATVs. It's a gem of a property.

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

Kachina624 — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:10:21 GMT

@goldensrbest wrote:
That does not seem right, she had cubs, they need their mom,will the cubs be able to learn how to be bears and live in the wild,without her?

@goldensrbest This is where they were taken. They'll be okay. These people know what they're doing.

Wildlife Center

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

Juniebugz — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:18:30 GMT

Very tragic @Kachina624. Poor mama bear. 😥

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

Annabellethecat66 — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:43:52 GMT

My daughter and her boyfriend hike all over in Colorado every weekend. He carries a gun with him wherever they go.

There are many rules about camping and hiking in the Colorado mountains. She follows all of the rules. Rules about cooking certain foods, wraping them, putting the leftovers in certain containers, lots of rules. In other words they don't just go out there thinking they're walking around the block.

I hadn't heard about this particular attack, but she said it's as safe as other things if you are careful and folllow the rules. If you are a person who loves the outdoors, it's a good life.

Not for me or her sisters, but she loves it.

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

Chrystaltree2 — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:47:56 GMT

The bear was a wild animal, not a mom. Moms are people. I don't much about bears but I assume that the rationale is that once a bear attacks a human the odds are the bear will do it again. So, as a precaution, the bear is euthanized. It;s unfortunate but if protects humans life, it;s the right thing to do.

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

sidsmom — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:56:59 GMT

The woman was on a sanctioned run.

It was a scheduled event, so there were other people there.

They are testing the bear for rabies....which makes sense.

The bear was comfortable with people around...first sign of illness.

http://wgntv.com/2016/06/20/woman-running-marathon-survives-bear-attack-by-playing-dead/

The victim, Karen Williams, identified herself on Valles Calderas Runs Facebook page.

“There was some sort of seep or pond or mucky area at the top of that little hill and when I topped it a bear was charging me. She was about 15 ft away. I raised my arms and yelled “NO!” then saw the cub,” Williams wrote.

She went on and said, “Then I was on my a** and being raked with claws and bitten. I cried out in pain and Mama bear did not like that so she hit me with a left hook and bit my neck and started to try to shake me. I rolled into a ball and played dead.”

Williams says she played dead for 10 minutes and waited until she couldn’t hear the bear or her cubs any more.

Other joggers helped her until emergency crews arrived. She was airlifted to an Albuquerque hospital.

“I have a fractured right orbit from the mean left hook, missing parts of eyelid and eyebrow, injury to the belly of my left bicep and a lot of punctures and lacerations. But I am alive,” she wrote.

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

natureluvr — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:53:45 GMT

I couldn't agree with you more. The best moms in the world are bears. They must be ever watchful because the cubs own father could kill the cubs. It's good the lady will be alright but we have a responsibility when we enter the wilderness to understand and know well the environment, to know the risks. Why does the bear have to pay for the jogger's risk taking when all the bear was doing what she was supposed to? Especially this time of year the cubs are still quite young and small. When will we learn to appreciate and honor the natural world.?

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

ROMARY — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:56:06 GMT

I'm thinking that a mother bear will attack when she is protecting her cubs. Could be that when the mother bear doesn't have cubs, then she wouldn't bother attacking humans. In summary: A bear might not be ordinarily dangerous if and when it isn't provoked or when it doesn't have cubs to protect. Just my thoughts. Personally, I'd probably capture the mom and the cubs and move them to a more isolated part of the area (where there are natural food sources and drinking water, of course). That's what I would do, right or wrong.

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

Juniebugz — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 01:03:45 GMT

@Chrystaltree2 wrote:
The bear was a wild animal, not a mom. Moms are people. I don't much about bears but I assume that the rationale is that once a bear attacks a human the odds are the bear will do it again. So, as a precaution, the bear is euthanized. It;s unfortunate but if protects humans life, it;s the right thing to do.

But she was a mama bear. I thought all bears will attack humans under many circumstances and conditions and I didn't know it had anything to do with if they attacked before. Maybe somebody here knows?

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

Beth-QVC — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 01:04:01 GMT

This post has been removed by QVC because it is rude

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

KALLIE — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 01:12:43 GMT

@natureluvr wrote:
I couldn't agree with you more. The best moms in the world are bears. They must be ever watchful because the cubs own father could kill the cubs. It's good the lady will be alright but we have a responsibility when we enter the wilderness to understand and know well the environment, to know the risks. Why does the bear have to pay for the jogger's risk taking when all the bear was doing what she was supposed to? Especially this time of year the cubs are still quite young and small. When will we learn to appreciate and honor the natural world.?

^THIS. SAD that an animal is put down because of a person's ignorance.

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

Nuttmeg — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 01:21:59 GMT

This is sad. The cubs will have a better chance to be adult bears, because they are in rehab.

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

Beth-QVC — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 01:27:09 GMT

This post has been removed by QVC because it is rude

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

Wayne-QVC — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 01:46:16 GMT

This post has been removed by QVC because it's argumentative

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

raven-blackbird — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 02:05:44 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
Yesterday morning a mama bear with three cubs attacked a jogger in the Valles Caldera National Preserve in the Jemez Mountains near me. The jogger, a young woman, was scratched up pretty badly, and they airlifted her out to Albuquerque . They say she'll be okay.

Now the sad part. State Law says if a bear attacks a human, it must be destroyed. Rangers located the bear and killed her, leaving her three cubs orphans. They were caught and taken to a rehab center where they'll be raised and then released into the wild.

Here is the Valles Caldera. It's a beautiful place of 93,000 acres.

I think it's so tragic that a bear mom is killed just because she reacted to a perceived threat to her babies. She just did what any mom would do.

the bear had to be put down..........once a bear attacks a human, it has NO fear of humans, will not avoid people and will attack again, ithas to be but down it's now become a real problem..................................raven

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

MarieIG — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 02:22:07 GMT

I also find it sad that a woman was mauled and injured.

Re: Bear Attack - Sad

sidsmom — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 02:27:01 GMT

After an attack, wildlife has to be euthanized because of rabies testing,

not because 'they'll do it again' or not fearful of humans.

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Source: cdc.gov

Skunks, raccoons, foxes and bats that bite humans should be euthanized and tested as soon as possible. The length of time between rabies virus appearing in the saliva and onset of symptoms is unknown for these animals and holding them for observation is not acceptable.

After exposure to wildlife in which rabies is suspected, prophylaxis is warranted in most circumstances. Because the period of rabies virus shedding in wild animal hybrids is unknown, these animals should be euthanized and tested rather than confined and observed when they bite humans.