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Al_HikesAZ
Joined: 21 Jun 2005
Posts: 263
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
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 Posted: 6/14/2006, 9:35 am Post subject: Bear attacks 14-year-old boy sleeping in camp - Hayden AZ |
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I don't think I've seen anyone mention these incidents.
BE BEAR AWARE!!
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Bear attacks 14-year-old boy sleeping in camp
AZ G&F News Media Jun 13, 2006
Incident highlights the need to be bear aware this season
PHOENIX – A young black bear attacked and slightly injured a 14-year-old boy Sunday morning who was out camping with friends along the Gila River near Hayden. State wildlife authorities say the attack and other incidents highlight the need for campers and other outdoor recreationists throughout the state to be bear aware this season.
“Fortunately, the young man only sustained minor injuries from the bear attack. Hopefully, this incident will raise people’s awareness about the potential of increased human-wildlife interactions this year due to the prolonged drought. Black bears should always be considered unpredictable and dangerous to people,” says Randy Babb, an Arizona Game and Fish Department spokesperson.
Authorities say the boy and three friends were camping along the Gila River at a place called the Shores Recreation Area. The four boys were sleeping on the ground and say they kept a clean camp. At about 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning, the victim woke up to a bear standing over him. The bear swatted the boy, and when his friends were awoken by the incident, they chased the bear off.
A woman at a nearby camp told wildlife officers she saw a bear come through the area about 5 a.m., stop and eat some food out of tin cans on the ground, and then move on. That was shortly before the incident with the sleeping boy.
The Shores Recreation Area has been temporarily closed by the Bureau of Land Management due to the bear incident. The bear was likely attracted to the camping area because of the significant amount of trash surrounding this popular recreation site.
Due to the aggressiveness shown by the bear and the concern for public safety, wildlife officers responded to the scene and were setting up culvert bear traps when a young black bear fitting the description of the offending animal came out of the dense vegetation along the river bottom. From about 30 yards away, a wildlife officer was able to shoot the bear. “The shot was taken at close range, and from the sign, we feel confident that the bear was mortally wounded and died soon after being shot,” says Babb.
State wildlife authorities say human interactions with bears and other wildlife animals are likely on the increase due to the state’s prolonged drought. Babb explained that during the winter-spring of 2004-05, the state experienced record rainfall, and the available food stuffs for bears and other wildlife species was terrific. Last year, biologists noted lots of bear sows with two cubs. Those cubs are now hungry yearlings actively searching for something to eat.
As a result, bear calls and incidents are on the increase in many areas of the state. “We have had a number of recent human-bear incidents around the state. If you go camping, be sure to be bear aware,” says Babb.
In one recent incident in the area of Clear Creek Estates between Flagstaff and Payson, a bear approached a boy and girl sitting on their father’s pickup and the children ran. The bear chased the young girl to within 10 feet of her father, who yelled at the bear. The bear stopped and stood its ground for some time, before finally wandering off. Wildlife authorities are actively searching for the aggressive bear.
Game and Fish Department biologists say the root cause of most conflicts between bears and people, especially in camping areas, is food. Officials say it is prudent for all outdoor recreatonists to take the following precautions to minimize potential conflicts with bears and other wildlife:
* Never intentionally feed wildlife.
* Secure all garbage.
* Keep a clean camp.
* Do not cook in your tent or sleeping area.
* Store all foods, toiletries and other scented items well away from sleeping areas and unavailable to bears.
* Wash up, change clothing and remove all scented articles before retiring to your sleeping area.
* Walk or jog in groups. Pay attention to your surroundings when hiking, jogging or bicycling.
* Supervise your children and keep them in sight.
* Keep your pets on a leash – don’t allow them to roam free. Or better yet, leave them at home if you can. Pets can easily get into conflicts with a wide range of wildlife from skunks to coyotes.
But if you are confronted by a bear, never ever run. Try to make yourself look as big and imposing as possible. Stay facing the animal. Throw something at it. Speak and let it know you are human. Loud noises can help. Try clanging pans, using air horns, or whatever is available.
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kurthzone
Thread Killer
Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 1097
Location: Peoria, Arizona
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| Posted: 6/14/2006, 12:56 pm Post subject: Re: Bear attacks 14-year-old boy sleeping in camp - Hayden A |
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| * Store all foods, toiletries and other scented items well away from sleeping areas and unavailable to bears. |
...or in lieu of, hang over kurthzone's tent! 
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azbackpackr
Hi Tech Wizardess
Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA
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| Posted: 6/14/2006, 1:08 pm Post subject: |
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Sometimes I don't think they really need to shoot the bear! Including this time! Sometimes they do, like the incident we discussed at length a few weeks ago.
I feel bad for the bear. Why is there so much trash there? Is that near to that real slummy area? |
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azhiker96
Joined: 05 Jan 2003
Posts: 1419
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| Posted: 6/14/2006, 5:49 pm Post subject: |
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I hate to second guess their judgement on shooting the bear but do agree that it's a shame. The bear was obviously not afraid of humans and it was human behavior (trash lying about) that contributed to this. I wish they'd spend a little more effort prosecuting those who leave trash lying about. I'd even be willing to donate a weekend or two to watching and photographing such behavior if the state would use that evidence for prosecution. Hmmmm, maybe we could get a grassroots organization going. Sort of like Minuteman but instead of border crossers we could watch for litterbugs at campsites.
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jkern15674
Joined: 17 Mar 2005
Posts: 208
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| Posted: 6/15/2006, 3:28 am Post subject: |
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| I third that shooting the bear was BS. What's wrong with relocation away from irresponsible stupid people and back into the forest. And the blurb about they think the bear was mortally wounded and died shortly thereafter?? Are they speculating whether it's dead? |
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IGO
Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 4144
Location: Las Vegas
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| Posted: 6/15/2006, 4:52 am Post subject: |
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On Humphrey's I heard a loud scream from a very small animal very close by. That was before I even got to the Weatherford/Humphrey's trail intersection. I was looking for cat and squirel, not bear but I put my whistle in my pants pocket anyway.
I don't like guns much so that's how I feel about shooting the bear.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir |
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azbackpackr
Hi Tech Wizardess
Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA
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| Posted: 6/15/2006, 6:03 am Post subject: |
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Well, now you're getting into politics! Seeing as we raised our kids competing in 4H and International Shooting clubs, and both my boys went to the Nationals and the Jr. Olympics, one winning two silver medals there in pistol shooting, and my daughter broke a national record for her age group in .22 pistol when she was about 11, you might guess where I stand on the issue of guns, gun control, etc. I've got my dukes up already--wanna fight?
I think maybe the G & F has found that relocation hasn't been too successful. Relocated bears in AZ have been known to cross over a hundred miles of desert (from one sky island to another) to get back to where they were causing problems--and doing so in less than a week! I heard of one bear that went from the Chiricahuas back to Mt. Lemmon in just a few days!
I do agree more needs to be done in this state about trash. Volunteer groups to pick up trash, law enforcement to catch litterers, curriculum programs in the schools (teach them young) more signs that say NO LITTERING $1000 FINE, in BOTH Engish and Spanish, trash cans with daily pickup during busy times of the year, educational posters at all parks, campsites, trailheads, busy outdoor areas. New Mexico has trash cans, and has less litter, at least as far as I have noticed. Arizona has not done well with its "pack it in pack it out" policy so far. A lot of people do not understand that concept! Also, most of the litter pickup projects are right along the highways, but that really needs to be expanded, because a lot of the litter is not along the highways, but back in the at-large campsites, and along dirt roads.
I love George's idea. IF the state or other agency would prosecute--there's the rub! The real problem is that it's not against the law to be stupid. |
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Nighthiker
Joined: 05 Jan 2003
Posts: 1714
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| Posted: 6/15/2006, 7:35 am Post subject: |
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| Perhaps the bear was just doing what they do, wandered down stream along the Gila River and came into the campground. The garbage cans are used by the locals as the town dump. Garbage, bears and game and fish folks just don't mix. |
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azhiker96
Joined: 05 Jan 2003
Posts: 1419
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| Posted: 6/15/2006, 9:38 am Post subject: |
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| jkern15674 wrote: |
| I third that shooting the bear was BS. What's wrong with relocation away from irresponsible stupid people and back into the forest. And the blurb about they think the bear was mortally wounded and died shortly thereafter?? Are they speculating whether it's dead? |
There problem with relocating the bear is that people (hikers like us) go everywhere. You might expect a bear to be unafraid of people at a campground but when you run into that bear far from civilization you are at a disadvantage. Then you'd have an aggressive bear and no nearby campers to help scare it away.
I do have a problem with them not doing a good job of killing it. I was taught to hunt at a young age and one of the keys was you never leave a wounded animal in the forest. If you're going to shoot an animal then you must commit to track it down if your shot is not fatal. They hope the bear died but a wounded bear is a very dangerous animal and it is much more likely to attack someone now.
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It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. -- Carl Sagan |
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Al_HikesAZ
Joined: 21 Jun 2005
Posts: 263
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
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| Posted: 6/15/2006, 11:00 am Post subject: |
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| George wrote: |
| jkern15674 wrote: |
| And the blurb about they think the bear was mortally wounded and died shortly thereafter?? Are they speculating whether it's dead? |
. . . I was taught to hunt at a young age and one of the keys was you never leave a wounded animal in the forest. If you're going to shoot an animal then you must commit to track it down if your shot is not fatal. They hope the bear died but a wounded bear is a very dangerous animal and it is much more likely to attack someone now. |
Be careful jumping to conclusions from press releases and newspaper stories. The wording is ambiguous if not stupid and could be parsed in several ways. Most of the AZG&F Wildlife officers are dedicated, conscientious outdoors types (I'm not talking about the desk jockeys at AZG&F  ). The Wildlife Officer who shot the bear probably tracked and identified the bear. They need certain info in their after-action reports. I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the Wildlife Officer and to conclude that the press officer is "stuck on stupid".
How about reading it: We are confident it was mortally wounded; It died soon after. A whole different meaning to this debate. Until we know the facts, let's not be too quick to judge from press reports.
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Anyone can make a hike harder. The skill comes in making it easier. Dosatéhigo nasádo |
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azhiker96
Joined: 05 Jan 2003
Posts: 1419
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| Posted: 6/15/2006, 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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Good point! The officer may have thought (correctly) the bear was dead because he found it lying still, not breathing, and unresponsive to poking. If he didn't haul out the carcass it would be tough for anyone else to do an assessment.
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It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. -- Carl Sagan |
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