Comments on: More Bear News

By: Bruce

Bruce — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:21:28 +0000

Not long ago here in Washington state, some were surprised to see a black bear in a development near an area called “Bear Creek”.
Duh. Competition for space and resources says it all.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 22:58:36 +0000

Right. I don’ think cuisine is the issue here, but rather, competition (for resources, including food, but may be just space, in which there would be food).

By: MadScientist

MadScientist — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 22:50:25 +0000

I agree with John – we may not be high on their menu, but bears attack (and occasionally nom the human victim). I suspect they also tend to attack more the further north you go as food becomes harder to get. I’ve never been too worried about black bears, but I have no experience with the brown bears and that may be the sole reason why I have a habit of thinking “I wouldn’t want to see a grizzly in the wild”.

By: John Swindle

John Swindle — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:50:20 +0000

Saying that bears won’t eat you or your pets is not the same as saying they’re not dangerous. A few years ago, my poorly-trained border collie saw a black bear cub crossing one of our fields. She went nuts and gave chase. I feel sure that if the mama bear had been paying attention, my dog would have been a gonner.

Bears, cougars, and other wild critters are predictable only up to a point. You can’t know if they are simply having a bad day, and will vent at you.

By: anthrosciguy

anthrosciguy — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:17:15 +0000

More and more. Out here in BC there are bear and cougar sightings in Greater Vancouver on a regular basis. In Victoria they’ve had 4 confirmed cougar sightings in the past week. One, which has been in that area for several weeks now, is about a mile (if that) from the Inner Harbour, which is the center of downtown tourist action. (Actually in the early 1990s a cougar ended up cornered in the parking garage of the Empress hotel right on the Inner Harbour.)

More of them, we’ve moving out into their territory. More sightings. Sometimes problems too; be careful with children esp. in areas with bears and cougars.

By: sailor

sailor — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 11:34:54 +0000

The bear recreation with the cardboard cutout was hilarious.

By: Charles Sullivan

Charles Sullivan — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 06:35:58 +0000

That’s just to weird. Almost like The Onion.