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In New Jersey of all places. One normally thinks of NJ wildlife being in the cities and along the coast. However the northwest part of the state and the Pine Barrens can be pretty remote and interesting.
A 300 lb. male black bear followed a group of 5 hikers and was assumed to be looking for food. The hikers ran in different directions, and apparently one young man either picked the wrong direction or was not fast enough. The remaining hikers re-gathered and noticed one was missing and called police. The bear was found circling the body and was killed by officers when it would not retreat. This was the first fatal black bear attack noted in the state. I don't believe PA has had any fatal bear attacks on record either. I guess there is a first time for most everything.
Speculation is that acorns and berries were in short supply and the bear may have smelled snacks and food carried by the hikers.
Neil
Follow Ups:
AJ and Carmela (Tony Soprano's family) encounter a bear
You can see the bears behavior here is different this year they are going to be a problem. A big part is instead of one in the area it now seems we have three looking for food in the same area. We do all the right things and worry most about our dogs. The one bear will come on the deck and was licking empty dog bowls. So we remove the bowls after the dogs eat. The dog and cat food has always been inside. There is a trash can on the deck that has two bags of unused ready mix and some other supplies and we've never put trash in it. Doesn't matter. Trash can equals food to a bear.
So we'll do everything we can but I really feel like something could happen this year. I guess I might finally need to buy a gun.
ET
"So we'll do everything we can but I really feel like something could happen this year. I guess I might finally need to buy a gun."
What you waiting for? If you don't have it when you need it, it is too late. Seriously.
Give me rhythm or give me death!
They ran. They acted like prey, triggering the bear's behavior. Regards,
J.R.
It can be incredibly hard to remain calm and lie still when a bear starts roaring and poking his nose around your body.Even if you roll up into a ball on the ground, it's likely that you'll be shaking a bit and/or breathing faster than normal. The bear easily senses this and that's one reason why almost everyone gets bitten or mauled to some degree, even if they try to lie perfectly still. Lying still might be better than running in most cases, but don't expect to come out of any type of altercation with a bear unmolested.
Grizzly bears can't climb trees very well so if you think you have a shot at a nearby tree that looks sturdy enough to withstand the forces of a grizzly bear trying to shake you out of it, you might want to risk sprinting for it and climbing up there as fast as you can. But if you know you cannot make it up into a sturdy tree in about two seconds flat, by all means drop to the ground play and try to play dead.
Edits: 09/26/14
It was a Black Bear, not a Grizzly. Black Bear attacks are virtually
zero. In fact, they usually run. I've had a few Black Bear encounters
and I look forward to more. They are usually benign creatures, very
shy. Seen a lot of bears, never heard one roar; they snuffle a lot though.
They sometimes roar in the movies, but those are usually Grizzlies. Have
you ever encountered a bear on foot? I always carry a sotol walking stick
in bear country. They don't like being smacked on the snout. Regards,
J.R.
I've come within 50 yards of roaming bears but I was always able to turn and walk away quietly. I'm not sure how I might react if I came face to face with one, hopefully that will never happen.
Fortunately, one of us was really drunk and the bear didn't pay much attention, but didn't seem to be afraid either. I was trying to get some sleep in my tent and so missed the whole affair, but I did get some nice teeth punctures through the bug spray that I failed to lock in the car.
Yosemite bears seem to be quite socialized already, but this encounter was in a more isolated region of Sonoma county. The ranger said that they later tranquilized and moved the problem bear.
So there you have it: You can fake being dead or fake being drunk and you may get away with it.
Everyone else appears to just make lots of noise -- at Yosemite -- and AFAIK it probably works, but does make for a noisy camping trip.
.
Black bears can climb trees, I understand. It probably depends upon whether they think it is worth the effort.
Black bears sometimes put their cubs in trees if there is a threat. Climbing a tree can be concidered a threatening act by mama bear.
Neil
All bears except Grizzlies are excellent tree climbers. There is almost no way you could escape a black or brown bear by running up into a tree, so don't even try...
Grizzlies might claw their way up a tree trunk to certain height but they will not follow you up to the very top of a tree like other bears might.
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