"Let's kill it and find out if it's the right bear"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

BREAKING NEWS

Updated: 2:12 p.m. ET April 16, 2006

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The black bear believed to have attacked a family at a popular mountaintop campground, killing a 6-year-old girl, was caught on Sunday, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Authorities found a bear in the same trap where they detected paw prints on Saturday in the remote Cherokee National Forest Chilhowee Recreation Area, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Sharon Moore said.

The bear looked to be the same weight as the 350- to 400-pound bear that attacked a mother and her two children on a trail in the recreation area on Thursday, she said.

“We’re very hopeful this is the bear,” Moore said. “It’s basically the same size bear. There’s truly not that many bears in the 5,000 acres we have closed off.”

Moore said authorities planned to euthanize the bear on Sunday and send its body to the University of Tennessee’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville to determine whether it was the one that had attacked the family.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12343597/

[Thtwudbeme]

1. I hate to ask this, but is there any other way to tell if it's the right

one?

I realize the answer to my question might get disgusting, but I really can't think of any other way.

maybe fecal analysis?

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

4. I'm guessing that there isn't...

:shrug:

[sproutster]

10. You got it. The dna should be in the feces.

[SPKrazy]

22. I Don't Think The Bear Ate The Little Girl

Just Killed her

[BlooInBloo]

2. I know! No due process, no innocent- until-proven-guilty....

... What kind of country is this where a bear can't get all the rights any person would get???

[LisaL]

26. Well, if they kill an innocent bear, that would mean a real killer

is still out there.
Why should they kill an innocent bear without evidence that he is the killer?

[BlooInBloo]

29. Totally! They should RELEASE the bear on its own recognizance...

... and schedule a TRIAL for the bear - where the jury is of course comprised of other bears.

And there should be discovery, and time for bear-motions to summarily dismiss the case...

[Terran1212]

3. Stupid

[ashling]

5. I guess they could just open its mouth

and yell: "hey, you down there?"

[alarimer]

6. If this is a female bear, they have just orphaned the cubs

If not, I still have no idea what good this will do. The real problem is human intrusion into habitat, especially in spring when females have cubs to defend. They can be aggressive. I am not sure when bears mate but it could make males more aggressive too.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

"...human intrusion into habitat..."

That's my point, EXACTLY. What happened was tragic, ABSOLUTELY. Tragic because of what HAPPENED, tragic because it DIDN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN.

:patriot:

[pitohui]

13. we're talking abt the smoky mountains here

this is not in any sense of the word pristine habitat free of human intrusion, christ, one of the reasons i no longer visit in summer is i might as well be downtown new orleans on mardi gras day as at cade's cove during summer vacation

humans are not "intruding" into the smoky mountains, some of my ancestors lived there for thousands of years, others for only a few hundred years, but the reality is that they too are part of this environment and they have a right to protection from aggressive bears

most black bears are not aggressive, they are shy, i worry more abt the damn raccoons

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

17. And that adds more facts to the story, so thank you...

...I always thought that "journalism" involved gathering the kind of facts that are getting posted in this thread, but I guess not.

It really becomes a different story when one understands the species involved, the area in which it happened, etc.

:patriot:

[brmdp3123]

31. The whole fucking planet is habitat!

[pitohui]

9. is that necessarily bad?

black bears in the smokies are not normally this aggressive, it simply hasn't been a concern, i'm not sure we want to preserve the offspring of an especially aggressive black bear, so while orphaning the cubs is sad it might prevent huge problems down the line

people are not going away, the smokies have literally millions of visitors a year and until now v. v. minor issues w. bears considering the huge numbers of people who camp there, many who are not as careful abt packing for bear and raccoon safety as they might be in the west

[Clark2008]

11. Not necessarily

I covered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park when I was a reporter. Believe me, if they can find the cubs, they will (and they usually do - those rangers know nearly every nook and cranny of that park) and when they find them, they have an orphaned bear habitat.

Most of the park rangers I know very much care for the area's animals - and flora and fauna, for that matter. This government may be heartless, but most of these people didn't choose being a park ranger as a career because they hated the environment.

[sproutster]

14. You cannot allow a bear who has tasted human to live.

People are now food.

[LisaL]

25. What if its the case of mistaken identity? This could very well

be an innocent bear.

[BlackHeart]

41. Too freaking bad....

...kill all the bears in the area.

And all of you posters making fun of this families tragedy should be ashamed of yourselves.

[havocmom]

35. Too bad we can't be as firm with people who feed bears

and teach them that people = food sources.

I worked for a man who's idiot wife was seen feeding bears for years! Neighbors and officials confronted her but she wouldn't stop feeding the bears. There are photos of her on her deck giving ice cream to a sow with two cubs. When you can have an ice cream social on the deck with 3 bears, you are screwing up big time!

Well, ALL the local bears started equating people with a quick meal. Long story short, a friend's niece (who did everything right before & during the attack) was almost killed, had YEARS of reconstructive surgeries. I believe about 11 bears were sentenced to death because they had become habituated to humans as a source of goodies due to this coke snorting 'nature lover' who thought it was cute to feed bears at her. ELEVEN BEARS because of one stupid, spoiled woman!

The idiot woman still enjoying her mountain retreat from the desert summers last I heard.

[progdonkey]

7. stomach contents?

I don't know how fast a bear's digestion system works, but this is the only reason I can come up with where they'd need to actually kill the bear (other than rabies, but that apparently isn't mentioned as a concern).

All other identification methods (bite and claw patterns) would surely be able to be obtained with the bear simply under tranquilization. I'm no expert, though.

[Thtwudbeme]

8. I hope everyone reading this article does understand

that the bear in question is a small black bear--east coast. They pretty much eat berries, insects, and only occasionally eat meat.

This is not a big scary bear that you see in the films from CA, or Alaska--
going after a human is so bizarrely out of character for them, that it's probable that there is something bad wrong with this bear.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

12. Thanks for pointing that out...

...because the media sure hasn't. They seem to be going for "scary big movie bear."

:patriot:

[Thtwudbeme]

15. I got pretty used to them growing up

my grandparents had a mountain house in NC-which is where I am from--and they would try to get into the garbage if the lids weren't on tight. They also attack coolers of campers.

They are not big...and for the most part, aren't scary...if you know better than to try to feed them, pet them, pick up their kids...etc. Same as with any wild animal.

[sproutster]

16. Absolutely incorrect - Black bears kill more then brown and grizzly

Simply because they are usually viewed as passive and cute teddy bears. In truth you cannot count on what a black bear will do. I grew up with them and was well taught. Never had to kill one, never had one attack me, but remember I had tons of training from before I can remember because it was bear country.

[Thtwudbeme]

19. What???

name your source, please.

[mtnsnake]

20. Huh?? How about a link for that one?

[Thtwudbeme]

21. That lady killed a couple of years ago by the starving bear and cub

was the first recorded attack in the great smokey national park, if I recall correctly.

Maybe this poster is thinking of the bigger black bears out west?

[mtnsnake]

23. Black bears are least likely to kill you than any other bear, or even dogs

for that matter.

Here's a good article that addresses the mystery of rare attacks by black bears:
http://www.bear.org/Black/Articles/How_Dangerous_are_Black_Bears.html

Here's another revelation: "Greatest misconception: One of the greatest misconceptions is that mother black bears are likely to defend their cubs against people. They usually do not. While grizzly bear mothers can be dangerous, no human deaths are known from black bear mothers defending cubs. Researchers often capture screaming black bear cubs in the presence of their mothers, and no attacks have been reported."
http://www.bear.org/Kids/Black_Bear_Facts_Kids.html

[sproutster]

27. Black bears are unpredictable. Why can't you allow that they are dangerous

It has nothing to do with this case - I believe they can find out if it's the rogue bear via the feces, and I am adament against poachers and killing bears in their habitat.

I still know they are dangerous and unpredictable.

[mtnsnake]

30. I never said they weren't dangerous. You were wrong, though, in post #16

where you said in your title that "Black bears kill more then brown and grizzly". They simply do not. Not even close.

[sproutster]

32. Hmmm

http://www.mala.bc.ca/www/discover/rmot/tblbear.htm

[Thtwudbeme]

33. That's what I thought

wrong coast.

[mtnsnake]

34. Since when is Tennessee in Canada?

[Thtwudbeme]

36. Tennessee, British Colombia

What's the difference?

;)

Just imagine a Canadian Dolly Parton if you will.......

[mtnsnake]

37. I hear ya

:)

[havocmom]

39. Have dealt with both. The griz is BIG and looks scarier.

but I would never underestimate a black bear.

Four things to remember in bear country:
Don't wear stuff that smells tasty
Don't have good smelling food near people
Don't surprise a bear- EVER
Bears move faster than you think they do. Grizzly bears, for all their immense bulk, can move so fast it is amazing. Moral: if you run, you are probably going down. (Their usual meaty snacks tend to move too, they WILL chase)

[Clark2008]

42. Bullshit

One of the greatest misconceptions is that mother black bears are likely to defend their cubs against people. They usually do not. While grizzly bear mothers can be dangerous, no human deaths are known from black bear mothers defending cubs. Researchers often capture screaming black bear cubs in the presence of their mothers, and no attacks have been reported.

http://www.bear.org/Kids/Black_Bear_Facts_Kids.html

And this is from an older journal - which doesn't count the woman who was killed in 2000 by a black bear: http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/2000/woman_killed_by_bear_in_tennessee.html

Therefore, we only know of TWO.

[pitohui]

18. well people from the area certainly know that

it's bizarre, the bear needs to be tested because this is so out of character

is distemper an issue with bears? whatever disease, if there is a disease, it needs to be ID'd now

[Clark2008]

40. And probably why they need to kill it - to study the brain

This is the second black bear attack in five years - and it's something that, up until it happened the first time a few years ago, had never (at least in recorded history) happened before.

Black bears, unless they're protecting their cubs, don't generally maul and kill humans. Certainly not unprovoked as this one seemed to have been.

[LisaL]

24. Poor bear. Doesn't he deserve a trial?

No, seriously, those idiots could end up killing all their bears if they just going to kill them to determine which one is the right one.

[Spinzonner]

28. Definitely should have interrogated it first

Where do we rendition bears to ?

[judaspriestess]

38. with the rampant overpopulation of humans

shrinking the habitat of all animals, this eventually will stop altogether. All the animals will be extinct anyway.
These poor kids panicked and RAN thus triggering a reaction from the bear. Very tragic cirmcumstances.

How many Hunting "enthusiast" are going to use this an excuse to kill more of these animals?

[AuntPatsy]

43. In many cases, they have to ensure a desease might not be at this

very moment finding it's way into the two surving victims bloodstreams. Sadly in this case, time could very well be of the essence for survival of the other victims.