NJ Man Killed By Bear

[Slo-go'en]

I was walking home at dusk yesterday when up ahead I saw three bears come out of the woods and start walking towards me. A Mom and two cubs. The wind was blowing in my direction. I had just started to eat an apple I picked off a tree along side the road. The only reason I saw them was because they were silhouetted against the sky, being at the top of a rise in the road and me below it.

I threw the apple I had in my hand off into the woods, then gave a little shout out. Mom looked up, saw me and all three high tailed it back into the woods. I was about 1/4 mile from my house.

[Offshore]

Wow the derp in that comment section is just amazing. I love the "but they shouldn't have killed the bear."

One can always rely on the comments section of NJ.com for the finest of intellectual discourse (the forums are even better!).

[rocketsocks]

heard on the news that the bear taken by law enforcement was 4 years old, male, 300 lb.

[Odd Man Out]

Another common misconception is that black bears that have become acclimated to humans are more dangerous/aggressive. Studies show that most fatalities come from bears in wilderness areas that have had little or no contact with humans. Yogi bears that hang around campgrounds and steal pick-a-nick baskets are the least likely to attack.

In this case the reports (although preliminary) are consistent with what would be expected of a fatal bear attack that happens on average about once every 30 years in the eastern US. The bear was reported stalking (as opposed to acting aggressively or provoked). It was not reported as being with other bears (cubs or adults). It did not attack a large group of people. It was not tagged, showing previous encounters with humans.

[Pedaling Fool]

heard on the news that the bear taken by law enforcement was 4 years old, male, 300 lb.

Yeah, I just heard it on the video in the last link provided by offshore. They are not entirely sure it's the same bear, pending futher investigation, but they are very confident. That's a big boy.

[rocketsocks]

Yeah, I just heard it on the video in the last link provided by offshore. They are not entirely sure it's the same bear, pending futher investigation, but they are very confident. That's a big boy.

agree, probably do some DNA tests to corroborate fatal wound.

[Havana]

Who knows what provoked this bear. But running is never a good idea when faced by a bear. Apparently that's what these guys did. 1) You can't outrun a bear & 2) Fleeing is prey behavior. Standing your ground, avoiding eye contact, alerting the bear to your presence, "Hey Bear" is my favorite greeting, and speaking in soothing tones is the best way to prevent an encounter from going poorly. That said, sometimes **** happens.

[Lone Wolf]

black bears don't prey on live mammals

[bangorme]

We are in the middle of an attempt to functionally eliminate bear hunting in Maine, so we are hearing a lot about bears in Maine. Here is a website by game wardens and wildlife biologists that deals with that question: http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/sp...Ref_Video.html .

As far as the black bear is concerned, I've only seen one in my life while just meandering through the woods. I've seen several while fly fishing where the stream provides sound and scent cover. They run away as soon as they know I'm there. They don't see us as prey, they are afraid of us. I think it is important to separate the black bear and the grizzly or brown bear. Although, in the right situation, a black bear that is not hunted will see humans as prey, we are big enough to not be easy prey. Just like the person that got eaten by the bears he thought were his "friends" in Alaska, it is a mistake to believe that bears that are not fearful of humans are NOT potentially dangerous. They are.

[wookinpanub]

I just finished reading 2 books by a retired wildlife ranger for the GSMNP. He worked nusiance animals, mostly bears, there for around 30 years. I'll have to say it changed the way I look at bear encounters. I've encountered bears at least a dozen times and never taken the situation very seriously. I hang my food, make noise, cook away from camp, and generally obey the known rules of backcountry rules in regards to bears. Most bears have run as soon as they see me or pay me very little mind. After reading the books, I've come to realize how unpredictable the encounters are. There were cases of bears going predatory toward humans, tracking them as they would other prey. The books were very "matter-of-factly" written and no attempt was made to sensationalize. The general idea was that bears are very unpredictable.

[JohnnySnook]

Could you post the names of these books for us?
Its always interesting reading the comments. Its crazy how guy says he sees them walk thru his yard but says if he sees one when he's outside he's going to run. Then it became a gun and knife issue also.
We all know that bears have become very abundant in certain areas of NJ and New York. We have family friends that live in a small town in upstate NY. They have flocks of wild turkeys, herds of deer that eat everything in your yard, and bears around all the time. During the summer everyone is on alert. So far nothing bad has happened.
From the pictures posted in offshore's link it doesn't look like any of the parks signs have bear warnings and how to react to one.

[bangorme]

black bears don't prey on live mammals

Please read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americ...Dietary_habits

[JohnnySnook]

What? - Black bears don't prey on live animals?

Car hits deer. Black Bear kills and eats deer.

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I guess you mean they don't hunt things they don't think they can catch.

[JohnnySnook]

This deer was was very alive although injured before the bear goes for the throat in picture 2.

Guess its time to donate so I can edit posts.

[JohnnySnook]

Here's the link to website I found this on and and the Photobucket link.

Per his post this happened in PA.

http://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/thr...-Vs-Black-Bear

\http://s63.photobucket.com/user/shov.../Deer%20VsBear

[Odd Man Out]

You certainly have to use lots of qualifiers in your statements when talking about bears. How many times has there been an encounter between a black bear and a human in North America over the last 115 years? Probably many millions of times. How many of these have resulted in the bear stalking and killing a human? About 55. So do bears prey on humans? To answer with a simple yes or no answer is in either case misleading.

[JohnnySnook]

Yes I totally agree that the odds very low that you will have a bad encounter with a black bear. Your more likely to hit a bear, deer, elk, or moose being shuttled to and from the trailhead and be killed. It just peaked my interest to search out black bear attacks.

Here's a great video that was on you tube via discovery channel off what he probably should of done. Running was a bad idea. This man states the attach went on for over an hour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PWHNIbS8cE

Just saying...

[TNhiker]

black bears don't prey on live mammals

That statement is not correct....

in the GSMNP----bears in the cataloochee valley have preyed upon elk calves...

that is one reason the elk have started to move to other parts of the park...

Kim Delozier writes about it in his boos (which another person has posted about)..

also, there was a newspaper article recently in the knoxville news sentinel that told the story about how a mama elk after losing her calves to bear---learned to move to another part of the park just to give birth....after she did, she would wander back to cataloochee....

[Lone Wolf]

as a rule.....

[Coffee]

Running from a black bear triggers its prey instincts and could be what happened here. Standing your ground, especially in a group of five people, would be the better choice.