People lament killing of record-setting bear

[emerald]

Reading Eagle link to AP article

BUSHKILL — A giant bear that was the heaviest in state history was a tame, gentle animal, according to the man who spent more than 15 years feeding it treats near the grounds of a northeastern Pennsylvania mountain resort.

Dubbed Bozo, the black bear was a fixture in the area around Fernwood Resorts, eating from restaurant trash bins and sometimes letting people pet him. But the 879-pound bear was killed by a hunter Nov. 15 on the first day of archery season.

Pennsylvania Game Commission officials said the hunter who bagged Bozo, the heaviest bear ever harvested in the state, did nothing illegal. But that hasn’t stopped an outpouring of grief from residents who had grown to love him.

“I’m devastated. I’m just devastated,” said Leroy Lewis, 71, the former resort groundskeeper who began feeding the then-cub more than a decade ago. “I mean I feel like I lost a friend.”

Lewis said the bear would come knock on the door when he was hungry.

“I fed him for 17 years and I raised him from a cub,” Lewis told the Stroudsburg Pocono Record. “He loved doughnuts and anything sweet. I was never scared of him.”

Christine Branigan, a waitress at a nearby restaurant, said Bozo was the restaurant’s “mascot” and had visited the night before he was killed. He rapped on the backdoor and employees fed him some ice cream, she said.

Angel Velez, one of Branigan’s fellow employees at Petrizzo’s, said the bear’s presence was “a normal way of life.”

But there are reasons it’s illegal to feed some wildlife, including bears. Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser said bears can create a public nuisance if they’re fed by humans. They’re also creatures of habit that can become accustomed to finding food in one area, he said.

[bulldog49]

A fed bear is a dead bear.

[emerald]

I found what I read hard to believe and wondered how people could be so foolish to get sucked into such a program.

They disregarded the wildlife code, engaged in an unnatural relationship with a wild animal, potentially putting themselves and their neighbors at risk, while all the while acting as though what they were doing was perfectly normal behavior.

The reward for their efforts was creating a trophy bear and in the process setting up their pet bear and themselves for the inevitable outcome. They got just what they deserved.

[sheepdog]

Sounds like ole bozo had a good life, and he ended up a state record.

Just don't get better'n that!!

[Luddite]

Yeah, its very stupid to feed a bear and obviously dangerous. The dude who fed the bear for 17 years expects sympathy...the bear being shot and killed it the tragedy.

[woodsy]

R.I.P. Bozo

[Dances with Mice]

Sounds like ole bozo had a good life, and he ended up a state record.

Just don't get better'n that!!

Feedlot bear fattened up on donuts and ice cream. The hunter ought to supply the resort with some steaks out of gratitude.

[Luddite]

Feedlot bear fattened up on donuts and ice cream. The hunter ought to supply the resort with some steaks out of gratitude.

I bet that moron is only concerned with getting his trophy to the taxidermist.

[Slo-go'en]

When a half ton bear knocks on the back door expecting to be feed, you'd best feed him or you'll soon not have a back door.

A 879 pound bear. Well, if someone hadn't shot it, he would of likely died of a heart attack or diabites or something soon anyway.

[Tuckahoe]

I bet that moron is only concerned with getting his trophy to the taxidermist.

Eh sorry, the only moron is the ones that kept feeding the bear. Hell the guy feeding the bear was ticketed a number of times for breaking the law. The hunter was well within the law.

[Luddite]

Eh sorry, the only moron is the ones that kept feeding the bear. Hell the guy feeding the bear was ticketed a number of times for breaking the law. The hunter was well within the law.

I know the ones feeding the bear were morons, but anybody who could kill a bear is a piece of **** in my opinion. A heartless piece of ****.

[Don H]

From the PA Game Commission's website: "In 2003, a regulation prohibiting the feeding of bears went into effect. The regulation made it unlawful to intentionally "lay or place food, fruit, hay, grain, chemical, salt or other minerals that may cause bears to congregate or habituate an area."
Feeding bears is wrong, it harms the bear, causes them to become a nuisance, a danger to the public and eventually they need to either be moved at great expense or destroyed.

[emerald]

Don't be so quick to disparage bear hunters. They have played an essential role in creating our healthy bear population and may be helping keep hikers safe too.

Who knows, maybe the mounted bear will be displayed at Fernwood. Stranger things have happened. On the other hand, those involved may not want to call attention to themselves, but some of the them apparently didn't mind their comments being published.

Regardless, there is a valuable lesson to be learned from this story.

[Luddite]

Bear hunters have played and important role in creating our healthy bear population.

Wow!!!!!! Thank you mighty pseudo hunters! I would hate to be mauled on the way to my favorite strip mall store.

[Lone Wolf]

it's gonna make a helluva nice rug

[4eyedbuzzard]

I know the ones feeding the bear were morons, but anybody who could kill a bear is a piece of **** in my opinion. A heartless piece of ****.

A little old for Bambi aren't we?

[emerald]

Luddite, stop your bear-baiting! It's Thanksgiving and I'm not hungry. Besides, your doughnuts are stale.

[johnnybgood]

I know the ones feeding the bear were morons, but anybody who could kill a bear is a piece of **** in my opinion. A heartless piece of ****.

A little old for Bambi aren't we?

I feel the integrity of this thread slipping away...

[mweinstone]

read shardick, by richard adams. have a talk with bearpaw about her feelings on bears. go to cabellas and stare into the record brown bears eyes. look at the beartooth around curtissis neck , the owner of standing bear farm. close your eyes and smell your teddy bear with your memory. watch winnie the poo with your kid.

watch films of barnaman bailys bear shows.look at the 9 foot bear on the floor in the hunters garage. read shardick by richard adams.talk with bearpaw about her feelings on bears.go to cabellas and stare into the record brown bears eyes.

now, in your mind, assemble all the huntable bears in the world in a group next to all the licenced bear hunters in the world and calculate the impact of the hunters on the bears . the aveage hunter takes x number of bears in a lifetime effecting the survival of a healthy bear population how?

answer: bear population decimated by habitat encrochment caused by roads paved to allow access to bears. hunting bears unsustainability is not a direct result of hunting bear. habitate destroying roadbuilding not a direct cause of hunting bear.

[Lone Wolf]

http://daysbearbait.com/ for your baiting needs