View Full Version : Babysitter kills black bear in Idaho
What do y'all think? Babysitter protecting children or trigger happy hunter?? Hard one to call on this. My motherly instinct says "YOU GO GIRL!!" But my other side wonders if the bear had to die.
Baby Sitter Kills Black Bear Near Kids
AP
PORTHILL, Idaho (Oct. 12) - A northern Idaho baby sitter shot and killed a 422-pound black bear that broke into a backyard where three toddlers were playing.
The bear was likely drawn to the yard by the scent of food from a barbecue, said Idaho Department of Fish and Game Conservation Officer Greg Johnson.
"We've not had a single incident in Idaho of a black bear attacking a person," he told the Bonner County Daily Bee newspaper. "If you have a bear, you probably have food out."
The baby sitter did not want her name revealed and could not be reached for comment. She was baby-sitting for her sister, Becky Henslee.
Henslee said her 3-year-old daughter Brooklyn and twin 2-year-old sons Cleo and Charles were playing in the backyard of their home on the Canadian border early last week when Brooklyn alerted their aunt by shouting "Bear! Bear!"
Henslee said her sister looked up and saw the bear running out of the woods toward the backyard. She grabbed the three children from the yard and ran inside the house, shutting the door.
After taking the children into a bedroom, the woman loaded a 7mm hunting rifle and returned to the back door, where the bear had pawed the screen door and broken the door frame.
When the bear looked away from the door, Henslee said her sister opened the door slightly and shot twice, killing the bear instantly.
Henslee said her sister had a valid Idaho bear hunting tag.
Wild berries, the main food source of bears in the region, have been less abundant this season than past, prompting the animals to look for other food sources in residential areas, Johnson said.
In April, a 6-year-old Ohio girl was killed and her mother and younger half brother seriously injured when a black bear attacked the family at a swimming hole in the Cherokee National Forest in southeast Tennessee.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
SGT Rock
10-15-2006, 10:36
Sounds like hunting a baited field.
I'm wondering if every single news story about a human encounter with a bear will always end up as a thread here on WhiteBlaze. :-?
I don't know the whole story, but if I'm in that situation, after getting my kids in the house and locking the doors and windows and the bear is "breaking the door frame" trying to get in, I'd shoot it too, valid bear tag or not. I might have shot it in the butt with a .22 first to see if I could scare it away without killing it, but if it didn't turn tail and run, it'd have gotten the big gun. I love animals and nature, but not as much as my kids. Even if that bear just stumbled upon backyard, if it associated my yard with food, it'll be back. And who's to say I'll get lucky next time and see the bear and get my kids inside before something terrible happens?
Flame me if you want. If you inserted the word "registered sexual offender" for "bear" in that story, would you bat an eye about doing what you had to do to protect your family? Not much difference to me, and YES, I do understand bears and bear behavior.
Just Jeff
10-15-2006, 12:28
I don't know the whole story, but if I'm in that situation, after getting my kids in the house and locking the doors and windows and the bear is "breaking the door frame" trying to get in, I'd shoot it too, valid bear tag or not.
My first thought was, "Why'd she shoot it if the kids were already in the house?" Then the next sentence said the bear was breaking the door frame...I'm with ya - I'd would have shot that bear, too.
LostInSpace
10-15-2006, 13:03
She waited until the bear turned away to open the door slightly??? Was the bear really at the door? If the bear was at the door and threatening, why didn't she just shoot through the the screen? Why wait? The screen would not have deflected a 7mm round!
Some parts of the story seem fishy. Maybe she was justifying hunting in the back yard.
Just Jeff
10-15-2006, 14:06
I guess she broke her own door frame. Bet there are fishy claw marks there, too... :D
I guess the bear was attracted to veal.
Long feet
10-15-2006, 15:57
Thats the last time I cover the baby in honey and put him in a picnic basket....
ShakeyLeggs
10-15-2006, 16:13
Thats the last time I cover the baby in honey and put him in a picnic basket....
First off if I was in that predicament I would be having bear steaks for supper.
Long feet your statement reminded me of a conversation I had with a park ranger in GSMNP back in 01. It was at Spence Field Shelter. We were talking about bear encounters and the stupid things people do. He told me about one he investigated where the parents of a young child wanted to get a picture of their young child with the cuddly bear. So what they did was slather their childs hand with honey and told her to walk up to the bear and let it lick her hand. Needless to say their day ended horribly and the bear had to be destroyed. What a shame.
I’m impressed with the integrity of the news medium (Post #1), “The baby sitter did not want her name revealed ... She was baby-sitting for her sister, Becky Henslee.”
**
SGT Rock Post #2), “Sounds like hunting a baited field.”
“daughter ... and ... sons ... playing in the backyard of their home on the Canadian border ...”
FYI: Hunting bear over bait is legal in Canada.
The bear shoulda knowd.
**
Bigben (Post #4), “If you inserted the word "registered sexual offender" for "bear" in that story, would you bat an eye about doing what you had to do to protect your family? Not much difference to me, and YES, I do understand bears and bear behavior.”
It’s awe inspiring that you equate the behavior of the two.
**
I’ve had up to four bear visits daily for weeks at a time, and had one sleep with its head and shoulders resting against my front door each night for a week.
I’ve heard many stories from Canadians about black bear breaking into their houses.
I have my doubts about this story, but I’m not going to second guess someone if she has a credible claim that a bear was dismantling her door.
I should have guessed that comment would be taken the wrong way. The bear was just "being a bear." A sexual predator is not "just being a human." BUT, the danger is the same either way you look at it. Your kids could die or be permanently disabled if they fell into the hands of either.
Bigben
sounds like she did the right thing to me..............
The detail I don't understand is that she had a valid bear tag. Why the heck would that matter? You have a right to defend your home from a marauding animal regardless of licenses/tags.
Long feet
10-16-2006, 11:38
Ok, What if it was a Marauding sexual predator bear that was trying to break into your house? And what if that bear were a communist, terrorist, democrat, etc.... :rolleyes:
I happen to think that this news article was just a little bit sensationalist. This is a great example of the power of media, as well as its negative implementations. The one in a trillion chance that this is going to happen is never talked about by the talking head who screams "this could happen to your children...think of the children...". I think that we could probably better spend our time talking about issues that are a lot more important... -Wait, what am I doing? Oh, never mind, back to the scary bears that eat children:banana
I should have guessed that comment would be taken the wrong way. The bear was just "being a bear." A sexual predator is not "just being a human." BUT, the danger is the same either way you look at it. Your kids could die or be permanently disabled if they fell into the hands of either.
Bigben
saimyoji
10-16-2006, 12:02
I happen to think that this news article was just a little bit sensationalist.
Can you find a news story that isn't?
Frolicking Dinosaurs
10-16-2006, 12:15
....3-year-old daughter Brooklyn and twin 2-year-old sons Cleo and Charles were playing in the backyard of their home on the Canadian border early last week when Brooklyn alerted their aunt by shouting "Bear! Bear!"
Henslee said her sister looked up and saw the bear running out of the woods toward the backyard. She grabbed the three children from the yard and ran inside the house, shutting the door.
After taking the children into a bedroom, the woman loaded a 7mm hunting rifle and returned to the back door, where the bear had pawed the screen door and broken the door frame....If this is indeed what happened (the bear attempted to get in the house after the children were taken inside) I believe this was a problem bear that needed to be killed. While I don't think every bear that comes hunting for food near humans is a problem bear, bears that attempt to get inside the house are all problem bears IMO.
I will intentionally kill an animal only under 2 conditions: If I am going to eat it, and I am not a hunter, or if I feel a very real threat to myself or my family. (maybe I should include other people in the last condition.) I feel the lady's actions were not only justified, but given the circumstances as they were presented in the article, necessary.
The bear was likely drawn to the yard by the scent of food from a barbecue, said Idaho Department of Fish and Game Conservation Officer Greg Johnson.
After taking the children into a bedroom, the woman loaded a 7mm hunting rifle and returned to the back door, where the bear had pawed the screen door and broken the door frame.
did they have the barbeque inside the house?
did they take the food inside as well?
she shot the bear through the same door that was "pawed", was it trying to get into a window?:D
could have been a rabid bear, but it sounds more like someone got their bear this year.:D
RockyTrail
10-16-2006, 16:51
I think judging this woman is too difficult for anyone without substantially more information (I'm sure the state DNR will figure that out for her).
However, GIVEN that the bear is continuing his assault on the door and not walking away, I think it would be prudent to put him down before he actually gets in. Sometimes you have to do it.
Having a valid bear tag is irrelevant except that it gives her extra insurance against being prosecuted provided it's "in season".
422 lbs... nice, fat fall bear.
Good on her... that's the kind of baby sitter I'd want.
Wonder what sort of 7mm she was shooting...
JoeHiker
10-16-2006, 18:04
She waited until the bear turned away to open the door slightly??? Was the bear really at the door? If the bear was at the door and threatening, why didn't she just shoot through the the screen? Why wait? The screen would not have deflected a 7mm round!
Some parts of the story seem fishy. Maybe she was justifying hunting in the back yard.
Are you freakin' kidding me? We're playing Columbo now with a dead bear? This was a babysitter with 3 little children and you're looking for the secret hunting motive? What was she using for bait - the kids?
Emsadida
10-17-2006, 09:56
She waited until the bear turned away to open the door slightly??? Was the bear really at the door? If the bear was at the door and threatening, why didn't she just shoot through the the screen? Why wait? The screen would not have deflected a 7mm round!
Umm, maybe I'm missing something but wouldn't most people shut the real door as well as the screen door? I mean, I'm not in the coldest of states but usually we have hard doors to supplement the screen doors for both security and weather issues. It would have been bad business to try to shoot accurately through the real door…
Sounds like hunting a baited field.
...support the right to arm bears...to bear armies...to have bare arms......or something like that.:p
TIDE-HSV
10-17-2006, 14:29
the hottest topic around right now was bare underarms...
RockyTrail
10-17-2006, 17:50
Read it again... It says the bear pawed the screen door and broke the door frame. There is nothing said about the solid door.
The way I read it, it sounds like the bear trashed the screen door, and babysitter thought the solid door (which was likely closed) was next on his agenda so she cracked the solid door open and gave it a shot.
I visited a supposedly grizzly-proof cabin once before, and you would not believe the hardware and heavy timbers required to keep those critters out (I know, this case was a black bear). A determined bear can really do some damage.