Bear attack suspected in mountain biker's death

I like my chances against a 120 pounder.

My dad has a can of bear spray, I think it says something like spray from 20 feet away.

And yes, bear spray is effective against just about anything. Bears, mountain lions, dogs, people…

I disagree on most points…personally I don’t have a lot of knowledge on the subject of bears eating people, but it sounds crazy to me that a bear will kill someone, eat 'em and think ‘this tastes good, and wasn’t hard, next time I see one I’ll eat it again!’
Chances are the bear is just as afraid of you as you are of it. That’s why it eats fish and berries most of the time, and that is why bear attacks are not terribly common.
And anyway, they didn’t need to kill it, if they really thought it necessary to keep the bear there they could have shot it with a tranquilizer instead.

Theres something sad about killing an animal that enjoys listening to music, dances, drinks beer, and can steal food. Many Native Americans think that bears share the same souls as man and looks very much like man when they are skinned. It’s unfortunate to a have a situation where it is man’s civilization vs. beast habitat.

there are legends like that with my folk too … but with a difference: bears are thought to be crazy and unpredictable so only people who share those characteristics are thought to be near-bears.:wink:
for these reasons bears are extremely dangerous beasts: many bear trainers have been killed by their “pet” (for sure bear trainers are not kind).
Since the Pyrénées bear is disappearing they try to “import” bears from Slovenia: mountain folks are unamused.

Here’s a follow-up. The investigation is still not complete.

Why no bear alert, victim’s brother asks

There’s a big lesson right there, which can be applied to riding, skiing, wilderness backpacking, etc. There is safety in numbers. When you’re far “off piste”, do not let your timid or less-skilled friend strike off on their own just because you want a more challenging trail. If necessary, compromise your own more advanced ride to stay with them. You will live to ride something more challenging another day.

TB
(a timid, less-skilled friend)

I believe that poor bear to be a victim of circumstance.

He/she was just going for a good old hike through the wilderness… cruising about, stumbles over something unknown and as you or i would do, thinks ‘bugger me, i am gunna check this out.’ Whilst he/she is having him/herself a good old shoofty a ranger bloke turns up, jumps to conclusion and caps him/her.

Happens in American all the time. Well from my understanding anywho.

Why would they put out a bear alert if they killed the bear that “did it”?

Not to mix threads, but weren’t you supporting instant death penalty for almost everything in the Sentencing thread?

The bear attack was in Canada. If by America you mean North America then yes, that type of wildlife management happened in America. If by America you mean U.S., then nope, can’t blame us for that case. :wink:

The usual routine is to trap a problem bear in a live trap and relocate them. That is to prevent a bear getting too acclimated to humans or to relocate a bear that has been aggressive or showing bad behavior. But in this case the bear had already killed someone. It was guarding its kill. It was in an area that’s been developed as a MTB park, resort, and ski area. Killing it was the right thing to do.

Fatal bear attacks are rare. But that doesn’t mean that it is not wise to avoid or minimize bear encounters or avoid areas that have an active bear warning in effect.

Children and animals don’t know any better. A grown human being is another story. I’ve never had a bear come into my apartment/house and take my TV, or take my car audio/video system, mug me, or cut me off in traffic.

I mean in the hood/ghetto/bronx…

The point you raise is complex and I’m not sure where I stand. It’s a good topic for a thread of its own (regarding the first two sentences, not the bear part). I’m sure Billy The Mountain would have a lot to say about it.

But on a lighter note…

Here is a story about a bear trying to break into someone’s home last year. I had heard a similar story years ago (about a different instance of bear “breaking and entering”). According to that story, the bear was clawing through the kitchen window because it smelled bacon cooking. At least that’s what someone told me.

My Previous Thread

I am not completely belligerent. We didn’t blow the burglar away even though the impression I give about the death penalty is so strong. Roommate and I both knew that the guy who broke into our home was a lifetime criminal and we could have shot him without any questions, being that roommate was law enforcement. But we didn’t. I am not sure if we didn’t want to clean up the blood or didn’t want to shoot someone unarmed. I think it was the latter.

Bears usually steal for food. In the middle east, if a man steals because of greed, usually his SECOND offense gets hand/s cut off. But if a man steals because he is hungry and has done all that he can, then the King is at fault. I agree with that in many ways. But to steal for greed, ahhh, yes that should deserve a very special message to the people. I don’t think a child or a bear understands “stealing” for other than food … certain instances of a bereaved parent animal will steal another animals child away like March of the Penguins type situation (those are rare). Yes I look sympathetically upon a 6 year old child who steals candy from the store or a bear that steals food, or on rare occasion mauls a human being.

Admit it, Puresyn: You’re just another bleeding heart LIBERAL!

Candy is a luxury!! It’s not food! You’re gonna let that kid get away with that!??

And that LIBERAL view toward bears, claiming they don’t UNDERSTAND stealing. CUt off their hand and they’ll understand.

Your’e a LIBERAL WIMP!!

And blaming the king if people are hungry. That’s obviously a swipe at Bush, what has sent milllions of Americans into poverty since taking the presidency.

I really cannot believe you, and you’re liberal roommate. He should lose his badge. I hope the guys at the stationhouse never find out about what a softy they have working next to them!

One time when I was camping a big black bear stole my cooler and dragged it into the woods. So I chased it and found my food all over the place. The bear ran away when I went up to it and I eventually found my cooler.

I doubt that a 120 pound black bear attacked that person.

it probably didn’t…skianduniaddict has probably never actually even seen a bear, exept maybie in a zoo, and he is probably one of the few on this thread who supported the bear getting killed…

whats this &#$%@ idea that humans are superior to other animals?
we’re all in this togather!!

You don’t know me.

You haven’t served in war in an infantry division for several tours, but I am sure you have much more fortitude than I. A few of my friends have protected many presidents before you were BORN. So please do not question my loyalty to any of our commander in chiefs. The King remark is aimed at King Saud. Doh!

You haven’t traveled. You are the little fish who think he knows a few things who has never been outside of any place other than Hawaii or Puerto Rico.

My roommate was served several tours in his 18 years. Give you a hint, he doesn’t work a desk job. Soft?

You draw conclusions quickly, nor are your arguments convincing. Although I can easily debate with elements of reason, I have yet to attack your character or make a judgment about you.

You don’t know Billy.

He says outrageous things to spark a reaction, to get a debate going. His statements should not be taken the least bit seriously. Use the search function to see some of the threads he’s started over the years and see what I mean. Unfortunately by reacting in a serious manner you’ve fallen in to his trap.

And on a seperate note, how can you put “you haven’t travelled”, “you draw conclusions quickly” and “i have yet to… make a judgement about you” in the same breath? Pretty much all you did was pass judgement and present your wild guesses about his personal life as fact. I understand that you were riled by what he said, maybe wondering how anybody sane could be making these comments seriously (and of coursee the thing was he wasn’t) but still, more than a whiff of hypocrisy.

Haha, you fell into Billy’s trap. You liberal wimp.

Don’t worry, it happened to all of us at one point.