USA Today reported
that runners in the Garden of the Gods 10-mile run got a furry surprise when a
bear made an unexpected appearance during the race in Colorado. A man by name Donald Sanborn was halfway
through in the race, when he snapped
pictures of a bear crossing a roadway near Colorado Springs. Sure it disrupted his chances in the race !
Bears on road are
not common – though they are chained and exhibited. Have seen bears tied to rope made to walk on
roads of Agra. Elsewhere in Siberia,
dogs are trained to attack and harm chained bears !
Miles away, the American
black bear (Ursus americanus) is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It
is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. Black
bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and
location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests
in search of food. Sometimes they become attracted to human communities because
of the immediate availability of food. It
is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a
least-concern species, due to its widespread distribution and a large global
population estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. They are considered as irritants to bee
keepers as often the honey loving black bears attack the protected beehives,
damage the wood boxes and kill the bees too.
In my
childhood have read this moral story in Tamil, which perhaps most have read in
their mother-tongue. Long ago, there
lived two friends – Ram and Sam – many a days they would walk into the nearby
forest, collect woods and other material for material. Rarely they would
encounter wild animals, and mostly would run away in fear escaping from
possible danger. They had a pact to help
each other in trouble.
On a
rainy day with not much of sunlight – inside the forest, suddenly they saw a
bear at a distance. They were frightened
and did not know what to do ! Innocent Ramu was totally lost in fear and was trembling
– Sam who had the ability to climb tree
was a bit cunning too. He thought that
if Ram was exposed to the bear, his escape would be easier. Advising Ram to fall flat, Sam climbed a tree
without even trying to help Ram, and hid himself.
Ramu
lay on the ground as the bear came nearer and sniffed him – he held his breath pretending as if dead. Perhaps the bear was not so hungry or perhaps
it was fooled by the act ~ good time for Ramu, the bear went away without
harming him. Now Sam got down and was
curious to know what had happened. He
asked, I saw the bear coming near your ear and uttering something.. .. .. what
did it say ? - a composed Ram retorted
‘be wary of your friends !’.. .. ‘the
conclusion is not that bears will not eat / harm a dead man, but one must have
only trustworthy and true friends and not one who would run away in
danger’.
Miles away, a man
(not sure whether he had read this bear story) was sleeping under the stars in
the mountains near Boulder County, Colorado, on Sunday morning; this 19-year-old camp counsellor was awoken
by what he initially perceived to be a loud crunching sound. The sound, it
turned out, was a black bear pressing onto his head as it dragged him from his
sleeping bag.
Speaking with local
Denver news station KMGH-TV, the teen, who was identified only as Dylan,
claimed he believed the crunching sound was caused by the bear's teeth digging
into his skull. As the bear tugged at
him, Dylan and the four other campers sleeping by the lake tried to fight the
bear off. He estimates the bear dragged him a total of 12 feet before he was
able to pry himself free.
Dylan teaches
wilderness survival at the camp and knew the best way to fend off a black bear
attack is to fight back. He and the other campers attempted to scare the bear
away before it eventually left. (When confronted with other bears, such as
grizzlies, experts recommend curling into a ball.) The 19-year-old was treated
at a nearby hospital and received staples for his wounds. "I'm not afraid
of the bears. I'm not afraid of sleeping outside anymore. You just have to be
aware and respect the animals," Dylan told KMGH-TV.
Colorado
Parks and Wildlife is now on the hunt for the bear, which they say they will
euthenize if it can be caught. Initial surveys of the campgrounds after the
attack did not find any food that could have attracted the bear, making the
incident even more unusual. In fact, the unprovoked attack has rattled the
community so much that any bear caught in the area over the next few days will
likely be euthanized, Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson told the
Associated Press.
"It sounds
like a predatory attack. I assume the bear was intent on killing and eating
that guy," said Dave Garshelis, a wildlife research scientist with the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources who studies bears. Garshelis
explained that bears are typically wary of people, and it's likely the bear was
trying to drag Dylan away from the other campers so that it could more easily
prey on him. That would mean, he would not have been dragged but attacked, had
he been alone !! This isn't the first shocking black bear attack to take place
this summer. On July 5, Colorado Parks and Wildlife reported four black bears
had been killed in one day. Two of the bears were shot by homeowners after they
entered homes and two were euthanized by state officials after killing
livestock. Colorado Parks and Wildlife
spokesman Joe Lewandowski told local news that the decision to kill bears
depends on how aggressively each bear has behaved and if it presents a threat
to human safety. In the past week, the state office has received over 100 calls
about bear sightings that qualify as conflict situations, or situations in
which bears present a threat to safety.
Durango Herald quotes
a person stating that July can be a difficult month for bears to find food. As
the lush spring vegetation dries and August berries are yet to bloom, bears
have a more difficult time foraging. The notoriously opportunistic eaters often
wander into human areas in search of dinner. As many as 88 percent of bear
attacks are caused by a male black bear on the prowl for food, according to a
2011 study. Black bears are not
typically aggressive toward people, but several factors could explain the
recent increase in reported incidents. As humans increasingly encroach upon
bear territory, the chances of a dangerous encounter with the animals become
more likely. In Alaska, for example, human populations have nearly doubled in
the past 60 years, and Colorado is seeing some of the fastest population growth
in the nation. Black and grizzly bears also have healthy, growing populations
in North America.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
12th
July 2017
Pic and news credit
: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/
thanks
ReplyDelete