Tag: black bear

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

Watch: Bear smells worst kind of trouble on tree, reacts accordingly

Video footage captured in Canada’s Yukon Territory shows a black bear hightailing it to safety after smelling porcupine scent on a tree.

After a bear has experienced the sting of porcupine quills, it’s understandable that the mere scent of a porcupine would signal a flight response.

The accompanying trail-cam footage, featured Sunday by Yukon Wildlife Cams, shows a black bear exhibiting remarkable speed and agility after sniffing a tree that had presumably been claimed by porcupines.

David Troup, who runs Yukon Wildlife Cams, explained Sunday via Facebook:

“The highly acute sense of smell that bears possess provides them with information to do such things as find food and in this case, avoid potential danger. The tree of interest was scent marked many times by porcupines over the summer, and this wet bear’s fight or flight instinct seemingly kicked into gear.”

One comment reads, “Must’ve had quills before.”

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Another: “I wish my dogs would react the same.”

And this: “Always amazes me how fast these large bears can move.”

Troup’s cameras are stationed on remote wilderness trails and he shares footage sporadically, sometimes weeks later. The bear footage was captured in August.

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Oregon launches probe after two bears are found dead in trees

Oregon is seeking help from the public in locating the person(s) responsible for shooting a bear and leaving the animal to waste.

Oregon is seeking help from the public in locating the person(s) responsible for shooting a black bear and leaving the animal to waste.

The Oregon State Police Wildlife Division explained via news release that on Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. Troopers responded to a tip about a dead bear in a tree with an arrow in its flesh.

They found that the bear had also been shot two times with a gun. The Jackson County Fire Department assisted in retrieving the carcass.

Jackson County Fire Department was called to retrieve the bear carcass

The incident occurred near Anderson Creek Road, outside of Talent.

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On October 31, a second bear was found dead in a tree in the same area. Its body was decomposed but OSP believes the animal’s death was “human-caused.”

Both incidents are under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Oregon State Police Dispatch at 1-800-452-7888, text *OSP (*677), or email at TIP@osp.oregon.gov. Case number is SP22291483.

–Top image is generic, courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Black bear attacks family on trail, critically injuring two women

A family on a sunset hike Monday in British Columbia, Canada, fell under vicious attack by a black bear, leaving two of the four family members critically injured

A family on a sunset hike Monday in British Columbia, Canada, was run down by a black bear that critically injured two of the four family members.

Both victims were women, aged 30 and 48, the according to the CBC.

A third family member, a teenage boy, suffered less serious injuries after being swatted by the bear, according to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service.

The attack, which is under investigation, occurred on the Wolverine Trail near Dawson Creek.

“They turned to run and the bear chased after them,” the COS explained. “One woman was attacked by the bear, while another woman and teenage boy were also injured trying to help.”

The COS and Royal Canadian Mountain Police responded to the attack site and found the bear guarding the two female victims. RCMP shot and killed the bear, an adult male.

“No additional bears were located during a sweep of the area,” the COS stated, adding that a necropsy will be conducted on the bear.

All three victims were hospitalized. The trail and surrounding area were closed to the public after the incident.

Watch: Yellowstone wolves chase nosy bear up a tree

A tour company that operates in Yellowstone National Park has shared footage showing two male wolves chasing a black bear up a tree.

A tour company that operates in Yellowstone National Park has shared footage showing two wolves chasing a bear up a tree.

“Black bear wanders into the wrong neighborhood,” Yellowstone Wolf Tracker wrote this week on Instagram.

The footage, captured by a Wolf Tracker guide, shows the bear leaping onto the tree and scrambling several feet up to escape the older male wolves. (If footage doesn’t appear below, click here.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg5Nqqgvdfg/

If viewers swipe to the the second clip they’ll see one of the wolves baring its teeth.

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A commenter asked if the bear or wolves were hurt during the confrontation and Wolf Tracker responded: “All okay! Just some friendly disagreements.”

The disagreement began when the bear approached the wolves’ freshly killed bison. “They chased and harassed this bear up the same tree for close to half an hour!” Wolf Tracker wrote.

The wolves belong to the Junction Butte Pack, which roams the park’s northern range.

–Black bear image is generic, courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Idaho town on alert after rare grizzly bear sighting

Idaho is asking hunters and other backcountry users to exercise caution near the town of Salmon after a rare grizzly bear sighting.

Idaho is asking hunters and other backcountry users to exercise caution near the town of Salmon after a rare grizzly bear sighting.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game said in a news release that a bear photographed by a motion-sensor camera on May 14 has been identified as a grizzly bear.

Grizzly bears in Idaho are found mostly in northern Panhandle area and inside or near Yellowstone National Park in eastern Idaho. Salmon is in east-central Idaho, 170 miles from Yellowstone.

The bear was photographed in the North Fork area outside of Salmon.

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The last known grizzly bear sighting in the area was in 2020, involving a young male grizzly.

Idaho’s spring black bear hunting season is underway and hunters near Salmon “should not assume any bear they see is a black bear,” the IDFG stated, cautioning that grizzly bears are a federally protected species.

It’s not known if the grizzly bear is still in the area, but all backcountry users are asked to carry bear spray.

The IDFG explained that young male grizzly bears sometimes roam extensively, venturing into areas where people are not accustomed to seeing them.

“These young male bears typically wander through an area, but do not remain there,” the agency stated.

–Grizzly bear image courtesy of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game

Watch: Bear executes perfect takedown in clash with rival

A large black Bear is caught on video executing a perfect takedown in a clash with a rival bruin.

In martial arts, a takedown involves catching an opponent off-balance and swiftly bringing that person to the ground. Ideally, the takedown artist ends up on top in an advantageous position.

Apparently, this technique also comes in handy in a bear brawl.

The accompanying footage, captured Monday in rural Tennessee, shows a large black bear swiftly executing the takedown beginning at 4 seconds and maintaining its advantage for the remainder of the fight.

The battle lasts nearly 40 seconds before the vanquished bear regains its footing and runs off, seemingly uninjured.

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The footage was captured near Ely’s Mill by guests Billie Jo and Micah Campbell. It was shared Wednesday by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The TWRA stated on Facebook:

“While it’s a little bit early for bears to engage in battle for dominance during breeding season, we believe it may have been a dispute over a food source considering the size of both animals.”

Trail-cam footage features the derrieres of some very large bears

A wildlife photographer in Canada’s Yukon Territory has compiled video footage that shows grizzly bears and black bears wandering away from his trail cameras.

A wildlife photographer in Canada’s Yukon Territory has compiled video footage that shows grizzly bears and black bears wandering away from his trail cameras.

“Bear butts!” David Troup, of Yukon Wildlife Cams, wrote this month on Facebook. “[The] 2021 compilation also offers a great size comparison between grizzlies and black bears, and even a blond black bear.”

The footage shows bear butts in varying degrees of motion as the animals explore the wilderness.

It’s worth noting that Troup’s page also features footage of bears traveling toward his cameras, including a large grizzly bear that is shown charging to within feet of a camera, revealing the bruin’s awesome power and enormous claws.

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In the “Bear butts” clip, Troup told For The Win Outdoors that the footage is from three cameras and that every bear is a different animal.

“The first two are very likely a male grizzly pursuing a female,” Troup said. “I’ve got these two on a pair of cameras pointing in opposite directions the trail – so a coming-and-going perspective, though I’ve only ever shared them separately.”

Troup places motion-sensor cameras at strategic location each season and posts footage to his page sporadically throughout each year.

Watch: Man wrestles bear in harrowing porch encounter

A Florida man was injured Wednesday while trying to protect his dogs from what he thought was a larger dog that had entered his porch, but turned out to be a bear.

A Florida man was injured Wednesday while trying to protect his dogs from what he thought was a larger dog, but turned out to be a bear.

The accompanying footage shows the bear breaching the porch entrance in an apparent attempt to catch the closest dog, and the man dropping to his knees and wrestling the animal back outside the porch doorway.

During the scuffle, the bear claws and bites the man, who appears stunned after he had hurriedly placed a bench at the doorway entrance as a barrier.

“Oh my god, I was just attacked by a bear!” he appears to scream in the footage, which is repeated in slow motion.

The video was shared Friday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), which stated on Facebook that the man’s injuries were not life-threatening and that all the noise helped persuade the bear to leave.

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The harrowing incident occurred at the man’s Daytona Beach residence at about 7:30 p.m. The dogs were not injured.

The FWC stated in a news release that the agency is searching for the bear and that the animal will be euthanized if it’s captured “since it poses a threat to human safety.”

The FWC added that this was the second time within the past week that a bear had injured a Florida resident.

Two women wreak havoc on legal bear hunters; hunting dog injured

Three hunters return to their vehicle to discover two women in the act of vandalizing their truck, and things got heated from there.

Three Vermont hunters returning to their vehicle after an unsuccessful bear hunt found two women letting air out of the tires of the vehicle, and after an ensuing argument, one woman released her dog, which attacked and injured one of the hunting hounds.

The incident occurred in the 26,000-acre Groton State Forest near Noyes Pond on Oct. 9. After an investigation by the Vermont State Game Warden, the two women identified as Donna Babic and Betty Eastman were cited on Nov. 11 and on Nov. 22 they were found guilty in Caledonia Superior Court of interfering with hunters.

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department announced on Tuesday that the two women were each fined $262 and lost their license privileges for fishing, hunting and trapping for a year.

Theodore Shumway and two companions were hunting black bear with hounds when a bear led the hounds onto private property before climbing a tree.

The hunters went onto the private land to retrieve the hounds and then left the bear in the tree. According to the outdoors site MeatEater, hunters are allowed to retrieve their hunting dogs from unenclosed private property even without permission to actively hunt the land.

“On returning to his truck with leashed hounds, Mr. Shumway encountered Donna Babic and Betty Eastman releasing air from the tires of his truck,” the VFWD stated. “Following an argument between the parties, one of the two women allowed a German shepherd out of their vehicle. The loose German shepherd attacked and injured one of the leashed hounds, which required veterinary care.

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“Vermont State Troopers responded to an emergency call from Mr. Shumway to defuse the situation.”

The investigation revealed that the hunters were acting lawfully; they were licensed and permitted to hunt bear. The game warden cited Babic and Eastman with violations of Title 10 VSA 4708, Interfering with Hunting, Fishing or Trapping.

“Vermonters don’t always agree on wildlife management, especially when it comes to big game,” said Colonel Jason Batchelder, Fish and Wildlife’s Chief Game Warden.  “Even so, I would ask that Vermonters respect one another’s constitutional right to hunt.  Intentionally interfering with legal hunters in any fashion will result in court action, especially in a potentially dangerous fashion as we saw in this case.”

Batchelder told MeatEater that the German shepherd’s attack on the leashed hound caused severe injuries to its head, legs and pelvis. The veterinary bill was “well in excess of $2,000.”

From MeatEater:

Babic told responding officers that she had intended to “make a statement” with her actions.

“I saw them come up through, and I knew they were illegally on the land, so we came up here,” Babic said in a recorded statement captured by an officer’s body camera. “We let a little air out of the tires. We wanted them to stay here because they were illegal. My underlying first thought would be that I’m sick and tired of bear dog hunting in the neighborhood, and that I knew they were illegal. I was trying to make a statement.”

Babic told the responding troopers and investigators with VFWD that she did not intend to release the German shepherd but accidentally let it out of Eastman’s back seat in the wake of the heated argument.

It was reported that neither of the women owned the private property in question.

Photos courtesy of Vermont Fish and Wildlife and Wikipedia Commons.