Shot the wrong bear
yeah....
my station (wbir) is doing a follow up story today...................should be on the website later today.........
here's what the park pushed out this morning about it........
Park Reports Hazel Creek Bear DNA Results
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials received DNA results from the bear attack occurring at backcountry campsite 84 where a 16-year old male from Ohio was seriously injured by a bear on June 6. Immediately following the report of the attack, rangers and wildlife biologists implemented an action plan that included clearing the Hazel Creek backcountry area of hikers and searching for bears using cameras, traps, and conducting foot patrols. Wildlife biologists and rangers also conducted a thorough investigation of the scene of the attack and collected forensic evidence, including bear hair and saliva from the victim’s equipment, to be used for DNA analysis.
On the evening of June 7, wildlife biologists encountered and shot at a bear near campsite 84, but the bear ran off after the shots were fired and biologists were unable to confirm whether the bear had been struck. Efforts to track the bear were unsuccessful due to darkness and a severe thunderstorm with heavy rainfall that fell immediately following the shooting. On the morning of June 8, a bear was caught in a culvert trap set at campsite 84. Biologists euthanized the bear and collected a sample for DNA analysis.
Wildlife biologists continued to search daily for bears in the area. During the search, they located a rifle bullet from the site of the bear shooting on June 7. Examination of the bullet confirmed that a bear had been hit and a DNA sample was collected from bear hair on the bullet. The sample was also submitted for lab analysis.
Park officials have now received DNA analysis from the collected samples, marking the first time in the history of managing bear populations in the park where wildlife biologists have had access to a lab willing and capable of processing DNA samples in a timely enough manner to be of use in a bear attack case. Through DNA analysis of samples collected from the scene of the attack on June 6, the bear responsible for the attack has been determined to be a male.
The DNA analysis also confirms that the bear trapped at campsite 84 and the bear shot at campsite 84 are two different male bears. The DNA sample taken from the trapped bear does not match DNA from the attack bear. The DNA from the shot bear was insufficient to make a definitive positive or negative match with DNA collected from attack bear, but the DNA characteristics are quite similar. The genetics specialist conducting the analysis estimated at least a 65% DNA match between the shot bear and the bear responsible for the attack. While it is likely that the bear shot was the same involved in the attack, it cannot be confirmed without a better DNA sample.
“Due to the extreme seriousness of the bear attack and threat to human safety, we responded swiftly to secure the safety of hikers in the backcountry,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “Though extremely rare and regrettable, we recognize that an uninvolved bear was euthanized through this process and we will be examining new procedures that may allow us to quickly use DNA analysis to correctly identify bears responsible for predatory attacks in the future.”
Wildlife biologists believe that the bear that was shot is likely dead as no bear activity at campsite 84 has been observed since June 8 despite extensive search efforts. Out of an abundance of caution, park staff is continuing their search and investigation while the temporary closure remains in effect. Managers will assess later in the week whether it would be reasonably safe to end the closure at that time following a few more days of search efforts.
For more information on what to do if you encounter a bear while hiking, please visit the park website at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/black-bears.htm. To report a bear incident, please call 865-436-1230.
Wonder how many other times the wrong animal was put down. Not talking about the park but in general. Before DNA testing all you can really do is search for that type of animal in a area never really knowing if it was 'the one'.
No due process for the bears...
Obviously a lot of bear activity at that site.
Points to a history of people causing the problem by attracting bears to a heavy use site.
The park is doing a poor job managing human impact, and the whole thing is their fault.
Backcountry use needs to be restricted, with more stringent requirements so as not to have impacts which attract bears.
Originally Posted by MuddyWaters
the park has tried to be more restrictive.......
but, look at all the backlash they got for trying to get a handle on the people..........
hellfire----they even won a recent lawsuit about this.........
but, yet, people bitch and moan about it..................
the one thing that i wish the park would do, for hazel, forney and noland creek trails------is to not allow the pull carts back in there..........
with the amount of food that one can load onto a cart------that just adds to the problems back there.............
Simple
Foot travel only
Bear cannisters
Limited permits
They do this other places
im all for this, except for the foot travel only........
since hazel is on fontana lake, what about people who paddle over there?
and with the permits-----like i said earlier, look at all the backlash the park received for changing the reservation system..........
why in the world would you euthanize BEFORE you checked the DNA if the plan was to check the DNA in the first place?! makes no sense.
Or you can kill the bears and close the area............
cuz the "expert" biologists think they know what they're doin'?
lotta death row humans are innocent.
Because if officials dont take some quick action , the masses view them as inneffective. Even call for them to be replaced. If another person was injured or killed and they had done nothing, they would be sued, fired, etc.
In a word, its just symbolic. Its how things work unfortunately.
yup.........
its the old "dang it you do............dang if you dont"............
With probably 90-95% of people thinking that bears are murderous man eating monsters, obviously there is demand to just go out and kill them after this type of incident but it is up to park officials, who presumably know better, to have some restraint in the matter. Incidentally I have an issue with using the word "euthanize" when these animals are killed. Usually the action is required due to human negligence. It's not as if these bears have some painful fatal disease and are being put down.
a fed bear is a dead bear..............
Here in Ohio, a few (20? 30?) years ago, the golf courses were B******g about the Canadian Geese, that were only there a few months a year 'Messing up the courses". SO, in their unlimited stupidity, the ODNR came up with a plan: "After the babies are old enough to care for themselves, We will kill all of the adults so they can't find their way back to the golf courses!" So, IN OHIO, ON THE GOLF COURSES: they did just that, NOW, since the babies left behind had no one to show them the way north or south the babies, who are now adults, are on the golf courses 365 days a year. Yea, that plan worked! NOT!
Seems that the ODNR & the management in the Smokies are sharing.
Curse you Perry the Platypus!
Plus if the perpetrator bear saw his brother or cousin get shot, he won't be back to that campsite and may regain his fear of humans. Mission accomplished.
On a somewhat related issue, we have a real problem starting in Florida with bears from the Ocala National Forest coming into neighborhoods, making nightime garbage can raids, and taking a dip in the backyard pool. They bust through screened porch enclosures because they smell human cooked food residue on the grill (same as garbage and easy-to-get food to them). There is currently no bear hunting allowed in this part of Florida, but that may soon change (it reminds me of the NJ problem).
So presumebly our backcountry fees we pay in the GSMNP will help go toward better education and enforcement of food handling and storage in the backcountry...... or will that just be another reason to increase the fees.
If every bear that bothered a human got a blast of bear mace in the face for his trouble, there would be a lot fewer dead bears and stolen food bags. And if we all carried a 3.5oz black-bear dose of pepper spray every time we ventured into bear country maybe we could avoid having the government someday force us all to drag around a 3.5 pound bear canister.
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