black bear – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Watch: Man and pet Yorkie face down intruding black bear

Video footage captured recently in Pace, Fla., shows a man and his pet Yorkie attempting to scare off a black bear that had climbed onto a fence and threatened to enter the yard.

Video footage captured recently in Pace, Fla., shows a man and his Yorkie attempting to scare off a black bear that had climbed onto a fence and threatened to enter the yard.

The thickset man is shown calling Max, the Yorkie, away from the fence. But Max remains at the base of the fence and continues to bark.

At one point the bear swipes its paw toward Max, causing him and man to temporarily back away.

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A post shared by ViralHog (@viralhog)

But the man continues to call his dog and clap loudly – a technique sometimes used by specialists to persuade bears to leave populated areas – and ultimately the bear climbs down the tree opposite the fence and disappears.

Was the man brave or foolish to remain so close to the bear, perhaps emboldening Max to do the same? Or did he handle the situation admirably?

Reads one of the more popular comments below the Viralhog Instagram post:

“That guy looks like he could take the bear on.”

Colorado sheepherder hospitalized after bear attack

A Colorado sheepherder is recovering from a bear attack that left him with bite wounds to the head and multiple lacerations and scratches.

The Tuesday incident, at about 1 a.m. in the Weminuche Wilderness northeast of Durango, marked the state’s first bear attack this year.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the 35-year-old man reported waking to sounds of a black bear interacting with sheep.

He fired a rifle at the bear moments before it charged. After the attack, the man crawled into his tent and contacted his cousin, asking for help.

The man was airlifted to Mercy Regional Medical Center and later transferred to Grand Junction for surgery.

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife collected DNA samples from the victim and at the scene near the Burnt Timber Trail. Officers found the man’s rifle and two dead sheep near a trail of blood.

CPW, with help from the Department of Agriculture’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, initiated a search and located what they believed to be the offending bear.

An APHIS officer shot and killed the animal.

CPW stated in a news release: “Because the bear made contact with a human, it is classified under CPW policy as an attack and the agency’s policy is to euthanize the bear.”

CPW Area Wildlife Manager Adrian Archuleta added: “This is a difficult part of the job. But when it comes to injuries to humans as a result of a predator attack, human health and safety is our top priority.”

The bear, an adult male weighing about 250 pounds, had sustained chest wounds but CPW had not determined whether they were from the victim’s rifle.

The bear’s stomach contents contained sheep wool but Archuleta said, “Until we get results back from the lab regarding DNA testing, we can’t 100% confirm that this is the offending bear. But based on the information we have at this point, we feel confident that it is the offending bear.”

–Generic black bear image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Watch: ‘Ninja Bear’ surprises photographer out of nowhere in Yellowstone

A wildlife photographer in Yellowstone National Park was putting his video equipment away when a bear suddenly appeared 10 feet away.

A wildlife photographer who is a regular in Yellowstone National Park was putting his equipment away in his vehicle when a black bear appeared out of nowhere—and only 10 feet away.

It wasn’t until much later—when looking for footage of a beaver—that Ron Sterbenz realized his camera was still rolling during the encounter, and that he had caught the black bear on video.

“We quickly moved away to give the bear space,” he wrote on the video. “No idea where this Ninja Bear came from.”

Sterbenz and three friends were walking back from the Yellowstone River Bridge where they had been looking for wolf activity. They didn’t see any wolves but spotted a lone black bear far below them, under the bridge.

“After I got back to my car while putting my equipment in the back, I found a black bear standing next to me at about the same time,” Sterbenz explained to USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. “My camera just happened to be pointing in that direction and I had captured the bear standing there watching me about 10 feet away.”

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“This is the closest I have been to a bear and just looking right and seeing one (or anything) that close,” Sterbenz told For The Win Outdoors. “It does get your heart racing. I did feel a little relieved that he found the camera and tripod more interesting than me. We were both clearly startled.

“We joke that black bears can move like Ninjas and be on you or by you without being detected. Black bears seem to be the forest’s stealth operators.”

Momma bear persuades cubs to scale wall in adorable footage

A Colorado Springs motorist has captured footage showing three bear cubs trying to scale a rock wall in order to join momma bear.

In the KKTV 11 News footage, captured by Jeremy Johnson, momma black bear has already scaled the wall and is encouraging her cubs to follow.

But the roadside wall is steep and the tiny cubs are new at climbing.

Momma bear seems to realizes this, and is about to descend the wall when one cub safely scrambles up and over.

This seems to inspire the other cubs, one of which follows the route taken by the first cub.

Rooting them on, Johnson says in the video, “Come on little guys, you can do it. Climb! Climb!”

Mission accomplished, the bear family continues its adventure safely off the road, albeit in somebody’s yard.

Reads the top comment beneath the KKTV 11 post:

“So smart. That second one saw where the first one went and moved there. This is so cute. Nothing like life in the Springs.”

Another popular comment: “Awww… such a good lesson here too… Sometimes we gotta let them figure it out.”

Nonresident Idaho hunter kills protected grizzly bear

A nonresident Idaho hunter is at the center of an investigation after he shot and killed a protected grizzly bear that he mistook for a black bear.

The incident occurred June 8 north of Upper Priest Lake in the Panhandle Region.

According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the hunter reported his error soon after inspecting his kill and identifying the bear as a grizzly.

The hunter is said to be cooperating with the investigation.

Grizzly bears are protected under state and federal law. Hunters are responsible for knowing the difference between grizzly bears and black bears. (See the accompanying chart.)

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On May 1 near Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, a hunter killed a grizzly bear in another apparent case of mistaken identity.

Patrick M. Gogerty, 65, of Cody, Wyo., left the bear carcass alongside the North Fork Highway. Images of the carcass went viral before Gogerty turned himself in the next morning.

He was was charged with killing a protected grizzly bear without a proper license and faces up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine (plus restitution).

–Generic grizzly bear image courtesy of ©Pete Thomas

Cyclist sustains serious injuries after crashing into black bear

A Canadian man cycling down a paved trailway in Vancouver suffered injuries when he T-boned a black bear and went flying through the air.

A Canadian man cycling down a paved trailway in Vancouver suffered serious injuries when he T-boned a black bear and went flying through the air.

Kevin Milner was riding in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve around 8:30 on Tuesday night when the rounded a corner and saw the bear, as reported by North Shore News.

Milner told CBC News he had “a split-second decision to either slam on the brakes and stop right next to him or I could just keep riding a second or two and I’ve already passed him.”

Unfortunately, he and the bear decided to go the same direction.

“The second I made that decision [to ride around the bear], he decided to run and he ran right across the road, right in front of me and I smashed into him right behind his shoulder blade,” Milner told North Shore News. “I did a flip over him. I pretty much kissed the bear and then I guess I flew through the air.”

Milner, who landed on his side, suffered a fractured scapula, cardiac contusion, bruised ribs, road rash and numbness.

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Other cyclists happened by to help. Two young women rode to where there was cell service to call 911 while a man stayed with Milner.

After 15 minutes, the bear returned.

“Man, those bears are built like a truck,” Milner told North Shore News. “I thought I was going to die.”

The man attempted to scare the bear off, but it “was kind of looking at me, really curious, kind of like, ‘What’s up with you?’” Milner said. “Then the bear just started eating grass. He pretty much just carried on with his day.”

Spitting up blood and unable to walk or even lift his leg, Milner persuaded the bystander to borrow his e-bike, and he rode himself to the forest entrance, where paramedics met him and took him to Lions Gate Hospital.

“The reason I rode in the demonstration forest is just to get away from the traffic, right?” he told North Shore News. “But after hitting the bear, I mean, it’s probably safer just riding with cars.”

Generic photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Watch: Man unlocking dumpster gets the shock of his life

A school principal in West Virginia was unlocking a dumpster outside the school when the lid suddenly popped open like a Jack in the Box.

An elementary principal in West Virginia was unlocking a dumpster outside the school when the lid suddenly popped open like a Jack in the Box and out came a black bear.

The incident occurred last week at Zela Elementary School in Summersville where James Marsh is principal.

“You throw stuff in a dumpster,” Marsh told WSAZ. “Things go in it, but you just don’t expect anything that big to come out of it.”

A security camera captured video of the close encounter, and the Nicholas County Board of Education posted the footage on its Facebook page.

The bear made a quick exit to the right as the stunned principal sprinted off in the opposite direction. He is later seen speaking with a woman who emerged from a side door just as the encounter was unfolding.

Marsh is seen trying to catch his breath.

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“I have not been that close to [a bear], and I doubt that many people have,” Marsh told WSAZ. “I didn’t even open the lid. It just popped out of there like a Jack in the Box. It let out a pretty loud growl or roar actually, and that was about the most intimidating thing of the whole event.”

Ironically, the Department of Natural Resources had given the school the lock for the dumpster the week before after a bear had gotten into it one night.

Bear kills dog in Jasper National Park, a warning for pet owners

The mauling of a dog by a bear Saturday in Canada’s Jasper National Park underscores the risk associated with bringing pets into the wilderness.

The fatal mauling of a dog by a bear Saturday in Canada’s Jasper National Park underscores the risk associated with bringing pets into the wilderness.

Parks Canada, which manages the country’s national parks, confirmed Monday that a black bear attacked and killed one of two dogs being walked by visitors on the Wabasso Lake Trail.

Jasper National Park, in Alberta, described the incident in a news release: “They were approached at close range by a black bear and the bear attacked one of the dogs. The hikers then deployed bear spray in an effort to deter the bear.”

Parks Canada did not mention the type of dog or whether its was illegally allowed off-leash. But Jasper National Park stated: “This is a sad reminder that all pets should be kept under control and on-leash at all times within a national park.”

A team of human-wildlife confrontation experts responded to the incident, which remains under investigation. The area is closed while experts try to locate the bear involved in the attack.

–Generic black bear image courtesy of Alan D. Wilson

Black bear breaks into nature center, kills beloved deer

A nature center in Asheville, N.C., has announced the passing of two beloved white-tailed deer after a wild black bear broke into their enclosure.

“With heavy hearts, the WNC Nature Center is sad to report the loss of Becca and Curly, our two white-tailed deer, last week,” the facility stated on Facebook. “They were found in the early morning, and though there are still some unanswered questions, it would appear that a wild black bear entered their exhibit and either directly or indirectly caused their passing.”

Becca, who was brought to the facility as a fawn in 2013, was featured in the Oscar-winning movie, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

Curly was born in 2012 and kept illegally as a pet before joining Becca at the center in 2020.

Chris Gentile, director of the WNC Nature Center, stated in a news release:

“This was an unfortunate accident that has never before occurred within our animal collection. While it’s a rare occurrence for something like this to happen, our Animal Care and Maintenance Teams have taken additional measures to dissuade and deter wild animals from entering our animal exhibits.”

Gentile told News 13 that the facility has since bolstered perimeter and exhibit fencing, and completed other improvements designed to prevent future intrusions by bears from the surrounding wilderness.

Gentile added: “Obviously we’re talking about two animals that have been with us for a while. I think the best thing to say right now is, our team is healing from this. It’s a very sad day for us.”

For her part in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Becca was trained to stand in front of a bluescreen for footage edited into a touching scene with co-star Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes. (The scene is posted above.)

Poacher kills first black bear documented at NY wildlife refuge

A hunter has illegally killed what was described as “likely” the first black bear documented at New York’s Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.

A hunter has illegally killed what was “likely” the first black bear documented at New York’s Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.

The hunter was located after Department of Environmental Conservation officers responded to a Nov. 18 report that a K-9 unit had tracked a bear that had been shot earlier in the day.

The K-9 unit had been part of a nighttime spotlighting detail involving officers trying to catch hunters illegally using lights to locate and shoot deer.

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The DEC reported that after an investigation, officers interviewed the hunter at his home and he confessed to shooting the bear with a compound bow.

The refuge does not allow bear hunting and the hunter failed to turn in a harvest report that helps the state keep track of legal bear kills.

The man was cited and ordered to appear in federal court on charges related to the illegal harvest of a bear on a national wildlife refuge.

–Image showing officers with the poached bear is courtesy of the DEC