Black Bear Attacks in the News
Black bears are dangerous. They can and do kill people.
Black bears are curious and adaptable. They quickly become accustomed to human activity, which leads to aggressive food gathering habits. Black bear have also been known to stalk people – following them or circling to approach from ahead. Bears will defend their territory – especially if it is a food source. Finally, females (known as sows) are very aggressive in attacking real or perceived threats to their cubs.
These news articles represent only a few of the many recent black bear attacks, but they will give you a pretty good representation of what these animals can do.
Bear Mauls and Kills Infant in
New York State
Associated Press
August 19, 2002
A bear killed an infant Monday afternoon as it tried to drag the girl into the woods, officials said. The baby, Ester Schwimmer of Brooklyn, was snatched out of her stroller by the bear at the bungalow colony, police said. Fallsburg is about 70 miles northwest of New York City.
Isaac Abraham, a community leader from Williamsburg in Brooklyn, said witnesses told him the 5-month-old girl was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital upon arrival.
The baby was in a stroller in front of the porch with members of her family, said Mike Fraser, a state Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman. The bear grabbed the stroller and the child, Fraser said. The child was knocked out of the stroller and the bear tried to drag her into the woods, Fraser said.…Read Full Article
Bear Kills 93 Year-Old New
Mexico Woman
By Joe Garner
Scripps Howard News Service
August 21, 2001
The 100-pound elderly woman didn't have a chance against a 275-pound bear in the kitchen of her home, wildlife officials point to bears desperate for food as the continuing cause of people-bear incidents
A 93-year-old New Mexico woman was mauled to death by a black bear that broke into her home over the weekend, stunned wildlife officials have confirmed. Adelia Maestas Trujillo of Cleveland, in north-central New Mexico, was killed "by multiple bite injuries," said Scott Wilson, associate director of the Office of Medical Investigator.…Read Full Article
Fatal Bear Attack Shows Need for Vigilance
April 17, 2003
Ontario Forestry Safe Workplace Association (OFSWA)
A fatal encounter between a forestry worker and a black bear in northern Quebec this past spring underlines in the worst possible way the need for workers to be aware of the risk of bear encounters and of how to deal with such encounters.
The incident occurred on April 17, near Waswanipi, a village 154 kilometers west of Chibougamau. A logging foreman with Norbord Industries in Senneterre, QC had gone out alone to survey cut sites for the coming summer. Investigators concluded from tracks in the snow and other evidence that while the foreman was surveying a site, the bear left its den and walked parallel to him for about 50 meters. The bear then moved ahead of him, eventually confronted him and charged. Judging from the pattern of tracks, the worker turned and ran from the bear for about 15 meters before he was struck down and mauled. It’s believed that death was instantaneous. The bear then dragged the worker into its den. …Read Full Article
Bear Attack Leaves Two Campers
Injured
- Episode a First at National Park Since Early 1970s
By Tillie Fong
Rocky Mountain News July 15, 2003
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK - Two men were mauled by a black bear while they were camping near Fern Lake, and one said Monday "it was extreme pain and a whole lot of blood," yet he vowed not to be deterred from future outings.
"I just woke up, and it was a blur in my head, then the blood was going everywhere," said Boulder resident Patrick Finan, 22, of the attack early Sunday. "The bear was standing outside my tent, staring in."…Read Full Article
Camper Attacked by Bear
By
Matthew Baker
The Salt Lake Tribune July 10, 2003
A black bear attacked a sleeping camper on the Green River early Monday morning, leaving him with bites and puncture wounds on the back of his neck and a laceration across the side of his head.
Nick Greeve, 18, was camping with 14 students and five instructors from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) at Fret Falls in Desolation Canyon when the bear attacked. Five of the students were sleeping in a circle with their feet in the middle of the circle when the bear grabbed Greeve by the head and neck and tried to pull him from his sleeping bag. …Read Full Article
Black Bear Attacks Hiker
By
Kevin O'Donnell
Environmental News
Script September 10, 2000
This past May, a hiker in the Great Smoky Mountains National park -- along Little river trail, near Elkmont campground -- was apparently attacked and killed by a 111-pound female black bear and her 40 pound yearling.
The tragic incident was widely reported in the news media, along with the disturbing detail that the bears had, indeed, eaten parts of the hiker's body.…Read Full Article
Camper Leaps off Cliff to
Escape Bear Attack
By Bruce Hickey
The Toronto Star
June 29, 2002
A Toronto woman slipped free from a black bear’s grasp, ran for her life and made good her escape by leaping off a rock into a lake at Algonquin Park.
"I just kept running to the edge of a cliff and jumped into the water," 25-year-old Sylvie Haert, a High Park area resident, said yesterday. "The bear followed me on to the cliff. I swam just a little further away and saw the bear looking at me."…Read Full Article
Bear Attacks, Bites Two
Hunters; State to Track, Destroy Animal
By Gary Gerhardt, News Staff Writer
Rocky
Mountain News
September 14, 2000
A large black bear bit two Missouri archers Wednesday while the men hunted on the eastern slope of Grand Mesa, the state Division of Wildlife reported. "We aren't releasing their names yet, but believe they went to a hospital in Glenwood Springs, where they should be treated and released," wildlife division spokesman Todd Malmsbury said.
He said the pair, a father, 46, and his son 25, were hunting with a third man from Arkansas. "The bear came out of the bushes and attacked the younger man, biting him…"…Read Full Article
Manitoulin Senior Fends Off
Bear Attack
By Margo Little
The Sudbury Star
September 26, 2003
Posted by Ontario Federation of Anglers &
Hunters:
A marauding black bear met its match Wednesday night during an encounter with a Manitoulin grandmother who was ready for a fight. The animal was driven off an Ice Lake farm by the protective pet owner wielding a garden hoe. The incident happened just after 10 p.m., said Const. Al Boyd, Little Current OPP community services officer.
Margaret Montgomery, 81, the owner of a farm on Highway 540 near Gore Bay, had released her dog for a run just before bedtime. The dog surprised a bear eating apples from a nearby tree. The bear chased the dog back into the garage, where Montgomery was waiting. She attempted to protect her pet by holding on to the bear and punching it.…Read Full Article
"It had to count" - Bowhunter Saves Son
Nolan Koller had one opportunity to take down the charging black bear that had just mauled his son, Jason — and he pulled it off
By Lynn Burkhead, Associate Editor
ESPNOutdoors.com
September 29, 2002
POCATELLO, Idaho — Many bowhunters know what it's like to be at full draw, aiming at a big-game animal with butterflies dancing in their stomachs. That's called buck fever. But few, if any archers have ever faced the intense pressure Nolan Koller did recently when he made a life-or-death shot with his bow and arrow.
Early on Saturday, Sept. 28, Koller shot and killed a charging black bear sow that had just mauled his 29-year-old son Jason. The sudden attack happened as the Soda Springs, Idaho, pair bowhunted for elk in southeastern Idaho's Caribou National Forest, located not far from the Wyoming border and the Teton Mountains.…Read Full Article
Black Bear Kills Teen Near Yellowknife
CBC News
June 3, 2001
YELLOWKNIFE - A weekend camping trip in the Northwest Territories turned to tragedy Saturday when an 18-year-old man was mauled to death by a black bear.
Kyle Harry of Yellowknife was camping with a 14-year-old female friend about 25 kilometers east of the city when the bear approached them, the RCMP said. The bear caught Harry and mauled him to death.…Read Full Article
Man Injured in Black Bear Attack
Wildlife Worker was Studying Woodcocks near
Milaca
By Kavita Kumar
Minneapolis Star Tribune
September 16, 2002
Miles Becker was tracking woodcocks he and colleagues had tagged when a black bear attacked him Sunday in a central Minnesota wildlife management area.
Becker, 24, was listed in fair condition Sunday night at St. Cloud Hospital after surgery. He suffered broken facial bones, puncture wounds to his head and left leg, and a broken fibula.…Read Full Article
Predatory Black Bear Attack
By Jim Lockwood
Newark Star Ledger
August 12, 2003
She was a 5-foot-3, 105-pound hiker, out for a Sunday walk. He was a 400-pound hulking young bruin officials described as "predatory," looking for a meal. She said he came up behind her on a trail in Wawayanda State Park in Sussex County, chased her down and tackled her. She said she did the only thing she could. She threw a hard elbow at his snout, and caught him flush, stunning the bear and giving her time to escape.
"This bear was in predatory mode," said Jack Kaskey, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman. "This was classic predatory behavior. The bear was out to eat her. She had to fight for her life." …Read Full Article
Canadian Biathlete Killed in Apparent Bear Attack
WebPosted July 4, 2000
CBC SPORTS ONLINE - A national biathlon team member died while training Sunday, apparently the victim of a bear attack. Canadian biathlete Mary-Beth Miller is dead after an apparent black bear attack while training near Val Cartier. Members of the team identified the athlete as 24-year-old Mary-Beth Miller of Yellowknife, N.W.T.…Read Full Article
Bear Swats Sparta Toddler
By Rob Jennings
Daily
Record
May 21, 2003
SPARTA - A black bear swatted a 2-year-old boy outside his family’s home Tuesday afternoon, police said...The 150-pound, 4-year-old female bruin was shot and killed by police shortly afterward.
The bear batted at the boy with the pad of her paw, and not the claws, state Division of Environmental Protection spokesman Jack Kaskey said. Tregidgo’s mother, Amy, watched in horror from inside her Deer Field Road house as the bear approached her young son on the porch steps. She raced outside, picked up her wounded son and called 911.…Read Full Article
Bear Mauls W. Milford Man
By Rob Jennings
Daily
Record
May 24, 2003
A West Milford man was mauled by a 150-pound female bear in his backyard Friday as he attempted to rescue the family dog, in one of the most harrowing encounters yet between a person and bear in New Jersey. Rob Skrypek, 35, of 21 Alvin Road, bled profusely after suffering "significant puncture wounds" in the hand, shoulder and head during the 2 p.m. attack, state Department of Environmental Commissioner Bradley Campbell said.
He was unarmed as he confronted the bear, which scaled a 4-foot-high cyclone fence, apparently attracted by garbage on the property. The bruin’s yearling cub was also in the yard, but did not attack Skrypek or his dog, Campbell said. Skrypek was taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in good condition Friday evening. His dog was clinging to life, Campbell said.…Read Full Article
Woman Fends Off Bear Attack in Her Own Garage
By
Clint Austin
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Knight Ridder Newspapers
September
24, 2003
DULUTH, Minn. -- Kim Heil-Smith walked into her garage outside Grand Marais, Minn., one night last week expecting to pull something out of her car. Instead, she ended up wrestling a large black bear.
Heil-Smith, who was talking on a cordless phone at the time, opened the door from her home’s entryway into the attached garage about 9:30 p.m. and found herself face-to-face with a sow and her cub.
"I opened the door and she was right there, between the car and the side of the house. She didn't have anywhere to go, so she came at me," said Heil-Smith, who lives on Devil Track Lake Road north of town. "I tried to shut the door on her, but she was too strong. She wrapped her arms around me and I fell back."
The big bear bit her head, shoulder and both thighs. …Read Full Article
Bear Invades Home - Ordeal for Terrified Mom &
Her 2 Children
Vernon (New Jersey) Web News
June 12, 2003
Yesterday morning a black bear bashed through the screen door of a Highland Lakes residence and feasted in the kitchen while a mother and her two children, ages 2 and 7, barricaded themselves in a bedroom.
Lisa Spirko and her children finally got out the bedroom window to safety when police and a biologist from Fish & Wildlife , responding to the frantic call made at 8:30 a.m., arrived at the home on Agawa Road.…Read Full Article
Bear Attack First In California Since 2001
August 18, 2003 (Associated Press) — A bear was killed after it knocked down a hiker in the Angeles National Forest, marking the first such attack in California since 2001, Department of Fish and Game officials said Monday.
The black bear was killed July 31 at Little Jimmy Campground, where the attack occurred several weeks earlier, department spokeswoman Lorna Bernard said. In the July 3 attack, the bear knocked down an unidentified male hiker at the campground,…Read Full Article
Update on Black Bear Attack in Two Medicine
Valley…Park Officials to Destroy Bear
June 28, 2000
WEST GLACIER, MONT -- Glacier National Park rangers continue to search for the black bear that attacked and injured a hiker in the Two Medicine Valley on Monday, June 26, 2000. Because of the bear's aggressive behavior towards humans, it will be destroyed when located, in accordance with the guidelines of the park's Bear Management Plan.
Jason Sansom, 24, of Malstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana suffered puncture wounds to both arms after an unprovoked attack by a brown-colored black bear on the south shore trail of Two Medicine Lake on Monday afternoon. Sansom and his wife had been on a day hike when the incident occurred. His wife was not injured.…Read Full Article
Click below to download a printable version of this report:
(includes the full text of all articles)