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06-20-2016 07:38 PM - edited 06-20-2016 07:47 PM
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.
06-20-2016 07:46 PM
HORRIBLE. And, why the ell would they allow joggers in a nature preserve: any animal is gonna freak with someone running by... Totally senseless!
06-20-2016 07:51 PM
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?
06-20-2016 07:57 PM
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.
06-20-2016 08:10 PM
@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.
06-20-2016 08:43 PM
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.
06-20-2016 08:47 PM
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.
06-20-2016 08:53 PM - edited 06-20-2016 08:56 PM
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.
06-20-2016 08:53 PM
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.?
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