Archive for the 'Animals' Category

News from Alaska.

Well, I don’t think he did everything right.  I’d be carrying a large bore handgun.

I have written the AP reporter who authored this report and asked her what weapon was used and what caliber.

She wrote back immediately and stated that she didn’t know, but gave me the contact information of the plant.  I have contacted them with these same questions.

If I get a response I’ll let you know.  Both I and Dean Weingarten would be very interested in that information.

News from Canada.

Francis Levasseur is happy to be alive and well after being chased and charged by a predacious black bear in the remote community of Hills, B.C., in the West Kootenay’s Slocan Valley.

He was out for a jog on a secluded trail during the Victoria Day long weekend, when he noticed the bear crossing the trail about 100 metres away. Levasseur stopped and, after waiting a while, noticed the bear didn’t seem to be bothered by his presence, so he continued on his way.

But then the bear started approaching him, Levasseur said.

“The bear came back on the trail and then he looked at me and started walking toward me,” Levasseur told CBC’s Bob Keating.

“I’ve had a lot of encounters with bears and I never had that kind of behaviour from a bear.”

Levasseur said at no point did he run toward or away from the bear because he didn’t want the animal to view him as prey, and added that he wasn’t carrying any food.

Levasseur started yelling, making loud noises and waving his hands in the air, even using a large stick, to try to look big.

Then, from 100 metres away, the bear charged at Levasseur.

“I thought well, I have to do something. I’m going to get killed,” he said.

He turned, saw a tree, and instinctively began to climb it.

The bear tried to climb another tree nearby, so Levasseur continued to scream and shook the tree in an attempt to scare it off. It seemed to work — the bear walked away. Fifteen minutes later, Levasseur figured it was safe to come down.

However, the bear came running back, chasing Levasseur up the tree about six metres from the ground.

The bear left and then came back every 10 minutes for two hours.

“It was really, really awful,” Levasseur said. “I thought I would die from the worst kind of death you can possibly have — being ripped apart by a bear. Not fun.”

[ … ]

According to the Valhalla Wilderness Society, predatory black bear attacks on humans are extremely rare.

“Extremely rare.”  Remember that.

So this guy would have had time to grab a weapon.  Can I say it, dear reader?

If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to carry a large bore handgun while in the bush.

News from the Northern Redoubt.

HENRYS LAKE, Idaho (CBS2) — A hiker in eastern Idaho has survived injuries he sustained in a grizzly bear attack.

Idaho Fish and Game says the man and his wife were hiking along the Outlet Overlook Trail at Henrys Lake State Park when the attack occurred. He was able to walk out on his own and was treated and released at a local hospital.

The hiker, identified as 73-year-old Gregory Godar of West Yellowstone, told Fish and Game that he had bear spray with him but it was strapped to his chest.

“If I had one word of advice, it would be to carry your bear spray in your hand and not strapped to your chest,” Godar said.

By the time Godar’s wife deployed her own can of bear spray, the mamma grizzly and her two cubs had left the area.

So if I could give “one word of advice,” it would be to carry a large bore handgun in the bush.

This man is very fortunate he wasn’t killed.  It might be that if he had no time to get to spray, he wouldn’t have had time to get to a handgun.

But I know when I was in the bush in Colorado I had my head on a swivel.

From reader BRVTVS, this report from Canada.

British Columbia’s Conservation Officer Service says it’s investigating a lone wolf attack in Port Edward, on the North Coast.

Insp. Cam Schley says the attack happened Friday, shortly after 11 p.m., as the victim was walking home after visiting with friends.

“He didn’t do anything to provoke the attack. It just happened,” Schley said.

Officers have spoken with the man in hospital, where he’s recovering from non-life-threatening injuries.

Schley said officers are trying to locate the wolf. He said it’s not clear if this wolf might be linked to incidents in nearby Prince Rupert, just 20 kilometres away, where some pets have been killed.

Residents are being advised to walk in groups, if possible, and to be aware of their surroundings.

Dog owners should keep pets tied up in their yards and not let them run loose, the conservation service said.

Although wolves are known to frequent the North Coast, Schley said, wolf attacks are extremely rare in B.C.

I wonder how he ended the attack?  I love how they always say after every bear, Coyote, wolf and cougar attack that it’s “extremely rare.”  Every one.

I would otherwise say always carry a large bore handgun, but you know, this is Canada.

At a time where your thoughts are running to two-legged predators, don’t forget about the four-legged ones.

News from Washington.

A cougar appeared to be stalking two cyclists as they biked over the weekend in the Cascade Mountains near Seattle. Suddenly, the animal charged, a survivor of the animal’s attack that killed one told authorities.

The man said he hit the cougar in the head with his mountain bike, and the animal ran into the woods. But as he and the other cyclist were catching their breath and getting back on their bicycles, the animal returned and fastened its mouth on the survivor’s head, crunching down, shaking the cyclist side to side like prey, King County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ryan Abbott said Sunday, describing the man’s account.

The cyclist managed to get loose when the cougar decided to chase his friend, who was running away, according to Abbott.

[ … ]

When the cougar released him, Sederbaum jumped back on his mountain bike to get away. As he looked back, he saw the cougar dragging Brooks into the woods, Abbott said.

He rode 2 miles for cellphone reception to call 911, according to KOMO.

When sheriff’s deputies located Brooks, the cougar was standing on top of the cyclist’s body, Abbott said. Brooks had been “dragged a short distance to where the animal partially buried the body under a log,” Myers said.

First of all, what a pussy.  He saw someone being dragged away to be killed by the cat and literally hopped on his bike to get away.

Folks, every man dies.  It matters how you live, and it matters how you die.  Turning someone over to a beast because you’re afraid is not a manly thing to do, because man is made in God’s image.

Second, you’d better carry a large bore handgun in the bush, boy.  Don’t ever do something like that again – either failing to carry means of self defense, or leaving someone in distress.

Colorado.

A couple camping southwest of Colorado Springs got a rude awakening when a bear started to rustle through their campsite, causing a commotion by knocking over a stove and plates. However, what happened next was far more invasive.

According to a report from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), the bear reared up and placed its paws on the couples tent. The bear then fell forward onto the tent, causing it to collapse. The incident happened at 1:30 AM Monday morning at the Golden Eagle Campground off of Highway 115.

After the tent collapsed, the bear retreated a bit before turning and huffing at the couple. The couple was then able to scare off the curious bear by shouting and starting their car alarm.

Montana.

A man who was part of a Sun River floating party was attacked by a grizzly bear Sunday morning after he inadvertently got between the sow and her cub, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Greg Lemon, a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman, said a man was attacked after he stepped into the bushes to relieve himself.

“He put himself between the sow and the cub,” Lemon said. “The sow saw him and immediately attacked him, bit him in a couple of places.”

Oregon.

Sons if Liberty Media.

Putnam County, FL — Proportionately, cops kill far more dogs than they do people. It’s quite a strange phenomena because postal workers, UPS drivers, and food delivery drivers don’t seem to have the same problems with dogs like cops do. It’s so devious, the killing of family pets by those sworn to serve and protect the public, we actually keep an archive of stories of cops killing man’s best friend. But one cop learned the hard way shooting a dog can be dangerous. He shot himself instead of the dog.

Chris Crenshaw, of Putnam County, had committed no crime and had harmed no one when a Putnam County deputy came to his home, walked into his gated yard and knocked on the front door before attempting to kill his dog.

Police were reportedly looking for a person who’d ran away from home. When the deputy knocked at the door, Crenshaw’s dog ran outside and police claim it charged the officer.

That’s when the deputy opened fire. Luckily for the dog, however, the deputy shot himself in the foot instead and the dog is fine. News 4 JAX reports that according to the Sheriff’s Office, the deputy reached for his gun to shoot the dog, but the dog moved out of the way and the deputy accidentally shot himself in the foot.

If readers think I get sappy and emotional from time to time, there is good reason.

I am a sucker for a happy ending.  This one brought tears to my eyes.

Woof says the bad dog.  Bite him!  Bite him!

Via WiscoDave.

Dean Weingarten.

In the cabin, there was a gun rack. David’s father left four guns hanging on it when he went to fight the fire. There was a double-barreled LC Smith 12 gauge shotgun; a surplus O3-A3 Springfield .30-06, sporterized by Sedgely; a Remington model 721 .300 H&H Magnum; and a Winchester model 61 pump-action .22 rifle. David’s father kept the .22 loaded for when it was necessary to dispatch a porcupine (porcupines do enormous damage to timber) or to harvest a grouse for the pot.

[ … ]

She screamed at the bear, to get out and grabbed the little Winchester .22 pump from the gun rack. She knew it was loaded.

David looked at his mother. She had the .22 rifle in her hands. She screamed at the bear again. Get Out!

The bear ignored the screams and started working its way in through the window.

David’s mother stopped screaming. She brought the rifle to her shoulder and started shooting.

[ … ]

David’s mother explained what had happened. The two men loaded the .30-06 and the .300 H&H Magnum and followed the blood trail.

There, behind the woodshed, was the bear, dead, only 30 yards from the kitchen window.

David watched his father and brother skin out the bear. As he watched, his father pointed to the wounds his mother had inflicted on the bear with the .22 Winchester model 61 pump-gun.

One shot went into the upper left jaw. Another shot went through the left eye. A third shot was just above the left eye. A fourth shot was in the nose, and a fifth shot was just below the right side of the jaw, in the neck, cutting the carotid artery on the right side. That shot was fatal. Blood had squirted from the artery, spraying the kitchen sink, the window frame, and on to the porch. The blood trail was heavy, and lead to the dead bear behind the woodshed.

A bear’s brain is located low, between and behind the eyes. A shot to or above the eye will often miss the brain.

That was a mighty fine shot, but I’ll tell you what.  I’d much rather have a large bore gun for large predators.

Mirror.

For 13 years Timothy Treadwell spent his summers camping out in Alaska with wild bears.

A former heroin addict, the 46-year-old found solace with the grizzlies – who he spoke to, played with and even touched. He gave each one a name and classed them as his friends.

But his luck ran out one stormy October evening when, just hours from when he was due to be picked up by seaplane to return home for winter, he was mauled to death in front of girlfriend Amie Huguenard, 37, before the bear turned on her.

Air taxi pilot Willy Fulton immediately knew what had happened when he landed at Katmai National Park to collect the duo just 24 hours after last speaking to Timothy.

Instead of finding the pair waiting on the shore, there was an eerie silence and the ‘meanest looking bear sitting atop of a pile of human remains, feeding from a human ribcage.

Tim and Aime’s tents were found collapsed and torn with their evening snack lying opened and untouched. Their shoes were lay neatly by the door.

Outside one tent lay a 3ft-high mound of grass, mud, twigs and remains, with ranger Joe Ellis spotting fingers and an arm protruding from the grotesque pile.

Nearby they found what was left of Tim’s mauled head connected to a small piece of spine. His right arm was also found, his wrist watch still attached.

But it was the video camera in Tim’s tent that would provide the full terrifying picture of what really happened.

Tim recorded all his bear interactions and the ferocious attack was no exception. But in their panic, either he or Amie didn’t have time to remove the lens, resulting in six long minutes of blood-curdling audio.

It starts with a frightened Amie asking if the bear is still out there before Tim screams: “Get out here! I’m getting killed out here!”

The tent zipper is heard going as Amie rushes out into the storm and shouts for her boyfriend to ‘play dead’. Her screams and shouts appear to work and the bear lets Tim out of its grip, but as soon as she heads to help it returns, apparently clamping its jaws around his head once more and pulling him towards the undergrowth.

Frantic, Tim screams for Amy to ‘hit the bear’ and she is heard telling him to ‘fight back’ before attacking it with a frying pan.

Throughout the bear is sinisterly silent, with Tim’s shouts giving way to moans before Amy panics and lets out a series of spine-chilling screams.

There the tape runs out.

When the bear was shot, investigators recovered four bin bags full of human remains from the stomach of the 1,000 pound 28-year-old male, who is said to have struggled to feed that season due to his age and broken teeth.

The October 2003 attack was the subject of award-winning documentary The Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog, which revealed how Amie was terrified of the bears and thought her boyfriend was ‘hellbent on destruction’.

She’d told Tim the trip would be her last and had a new job waiting for her back in California.

As for the tape, he warned that people should ‘never listen to this’ and it is believed to have been placed under lock and key with one of his friends.

That’s okay.  I don’t want to see it.

I actually don’t have a problem with his being so arrogant about things.  I also don’t have a problem with his having put himself in danger – lots of people do that for various and sundry reasons.  I also don’t have a problem with his love for the beasts.

What I have a problem with is his having put himself in a position of danger without means of self defense, and especially that he put someone else’s life in danger without that same thing.

Don’t do that with any beast, whether two-legged or four-legged, whether inner city or the bush.

Reader 41mag sends these pictures, with the warning “we had 3 bobcats come into our backyard over New Years. They’re about the size of large breed dog, bigger than our German Short Haired Pointer.”  This is from Arizona, and one of the pictures is from a neighbor’s roof.

More News from Arizona.

The Arizona Daily Star reports the Sun City, Arizona, man was attacked Thursday while he was working on a bike or motorcycle in his garage.

Risks: Health and welfare of your children, health and welfare of you, and health and welfare of your pets.  So what’s the issue?  Carry.  You don’t drive without auto insurance, do you?

@Fred, no, you can’t pet them.  They won’t purr at you.  They aren’t your friend.