Kentucky Black Bears

Black Bear Attack In Great Smoky MTNS May 2000

2006-10-28T14:25:00.001-04:00

Bear Attack in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials report that the victim of the black bear attack on Sunday afternoon was Glenda Ann Bradley, 50, from Cosby, TN. Bradley was an elementary school teacher at Jones Cove Elementary. Her companion is her former husband, Ralph Hill, 52, also a resident of Cosby. The attack occurred between 2 p.m.-3 p.m. in the backcountry at the intersection of Little River and Goshen Prong Trails about 2.5 miles from the Little River trailhead where the couple parked their car. The couple entered the Park around noon. Hill left Bradley to fish on an island on the Little River. A short while later he went to look for Bradley and located her day pack. He discovered her body about 40-50 yards off trail. He noticed two bears, an adult female weighing 112 pounds and a yearling female weighing about 40 pounds, guarding the body. He tried to run off the bears, but the adult female showed aggressive behavior towards Hill. He went to seek additional assistance and a hiker ran to get help at the Elkmont campground arriving at 5 p.m.A Park Ranger was immediately dispatched to the scene and arrived at 6:05 p.m. Fifteen minutes later two other Park Rangers arrived. The Park Rangers observed the bears still near the body and shot the bears with their service weapons. A total of 17 Park personnel responded to the incident. The bears were sent to the University of Tennessee of Veterinary Medicine Department for a necropsy. The woman's body has been transported to East Tennessee State University for an autopsy. Park officials are almost 100 percent certain that the two bears were involved in the attack but the necropsy will confirm this fact. It appears that this was an unprovoked attack. According to the victim's family Bradley was an experienced day hiker who was familiar with the Park. Bradley's day pack which contained food was not disturbed. The adult female bear had been tagged in 1998 by University of Tennessee wildlife biologists for research purposes but never had shown any aggressive tendencies towards people before. By all indications this bear was truly a wild bear. But most past human/bear conflicts in the Smokies have been as a result of bear's either being fed human food and becoming habituated to human food. In the past decade, the Park has become increasingly proactive in both reducing available garbage in front country areas and providing effective food storage alternatives in the backcountry. Managers have also stepped up education programs to teach people about responsible food storage and to avoid conflicts with bears. Acting Superintendent Philip A. Francis, Jr., said that " We want to stress that there is no indication whatsoever that Bradley did anything to provoke this attack. The fact remains that bears in the Smokies are wild and unpredictable animals. We will continue to reinforce the message that human food obtained by bears can lead to injuries." Four adjacent backcountry campsites 21, 23, 24, and 30 are still closed pending confirmation that the bears were the cause of Bradley's death. This incident was May 2000.

This report was very hard to find. dgd

Black Bear

2006-10-28T14:25:00.000-04:00

Six Year Old Girl Killed By Black Bear

2006-10-27T13:55:00.000-04:00

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For Immediate Release: 04/27/2006 17:11:17
Family of Bear Attack Victims Thank Emergency Personnel
Fund Established to Aid with Expenses
(Originally released on April 17, 2006)
CHATTANOOGA, TN - As Susan Cenkus, 45, of Clyde, Ohio, showed signs of improvement, and her 2-year-old son, Luke, was faring “extremely well” at Erlanger hospital, family members expressed their thanks Monday morning to emergency personnel who transported the victims of the Cherokee National Forest bear attack and who “were there to comfort them when we could not be.” The rare attack by a black bear occurred Thursday during the family's outing to a waterfall in a remote part of the forest. The bear killed Mrs. Cenkus’ 6-year-old daughter, Elora Petrasek.
Members of the family, who arrived at Erlanger in Chattanooga, Tenn., from their homes in Ohio and Florida, requested the opportunity to meet with Erlanger Health System’s LIFE FORCE air ambulance team, which transported Susan and Luke to Erlanger and T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital. The family commended Life Force and other cooperating agencies, which, they said in a family statement, “provided a quick and thorough response and have worked together throughout this tragedy.”
Mrs. Cenkus’ oldest son, Christopher Dennison, 23, a student at Lee University in nearby Cleveland, Tenn., said of the tragedy, “While none of us were there to be with them, we’re glad you were there for them and to comfort them. You guys became a surrogate family for them, and we’re grateful for all of you. You’re no longer just a surrogate family. You’ve become part of our extended family by being there for my mother, my brother, and my sister.”
Nearly 20 representatives of LIFE FORCE, Med-Trans of Polk County, the U.S. Forest Service and physicians involved in the care of Mrs. Cenkus and Luke gathered in an Erlanger conference room as the Cenkus and Petrasek families expressed their gratitude to those emergency teams as well as the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the USDA Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Polk County Sheriff’s Department, the Tennessee State Parks, the East Polk Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, the West Polk Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, the Polk County Emergency Management Agency, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Air-Evac of Athens, Tenn., the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and the Bradley County Fire and Rescue.
“The one thing we cannot convey enough is how grateful we are for how far all of you have gone beyond your jobs and what you’re trained to do," said Elora’s father, Rob Petrasek, of Sarasota, Fla. "We realize you’re the reason we still have Susan and Luke. Every one of you did everything you could, and you really have a special place in our hearts.
“The tireless effort on behalf of our family has meant more to us than you can know," he continued. "You truly personify the loving humanity of man. We are grateful to the doctors, the nurses, and the entire staff of Erlanger and T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital for their relentless efforts to save lives. They have given us love and joy in time of sorrow.”
Dr. Vicente Mejia, a trauma surgeon with University Surgical Associates, said Mrs. Cenkjus “is awake and doing well” and “neurologically intact.” Her medical team is watching her wounds carefully in anticipation of performing a skin graft on her arm later this week, he said. Mrs. Cenkus suffered eight puncture wounds to the neck and soft tissue injuries to her upper and lower extremities that will require additional surgeries. He is unable to say exactly when she will be released.
Dr. Lisa Smith, a pediatric surgeon with University Surgical Associates, said before his release that Luke, who underwent surgery for a puncture wound to his skull, would undergo more antibiotic therapy as well as “a psychological evaluation, because he suffered pretty severe emotional trauma.”
Mrs. Cenkus' father, Gene Paul of Clyde, Ohio, said funeral plans for Elora would be announced at a later date.
"It’s difficult for us to deal with losing Elora, but the fact that a quick response helped get her down off the mountain and down to these folks means so much to us," said Mr. Paul, who is a minister. "We can’t replace Elora. She was one in a million. ... God’s taken that treasure and transported her to Heaven. One day we’ll be united. We've still got Susan, and we've still got Luke, and we’ll bond together and get through this.”
The family also expressed gratitude for the prayers and support of people throughout the country, as well as to citizens of Polk County, Tenn., who have established a fund with First Tennessee Bank to help the family with funeral and medical expenses. Donations may be made at any First Tennessee branch or by calling (423) 757-4011.

Kentucky Division of Wildlife/Bears don't kill people or pets

2006-10-26T00:24:00.000-04:00

We have been advised that black bears only eat berrys, roots, and nuts. This is the strategy
of the Kentucky Divison of wildlife/and or game wardens to protect the bear population.
However, they do not have a practical educational program for Kentucky residents.

BLACK BEAR ATTACKS, WHAT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN TOLD!

2006-10-25T18:53:00.000-04:00

BLACK BEAR ATTACKS
Below is a selection of articles from various news agencies throughout North America recording black bear attacks. In providing these recent accounts we hope to educate the public about the dangers an uncontrolled population of black bears would present to the people of Maine and our visitors.
Caution the following articles may contain troubling content.

Bear mauls and kills infant in New York state
Publication: ESPN.COMDate: Aug. 19, 2002Author: Associated Press
FALLSBURG, N.Y. — 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. Bear kills 93-year-old New Mexico woman
Publication: Scripps Howard News Service
Date: August 21, 2001Author: Joe Garner

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.
Fatal bear attack shows need for vigilance
Publication: Ontario Forestry Safe Workplace Association
Date: July 2003
Author: Staff

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 metres. 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 metres before he was struck down and mauled. It’s believed that death was instantaneous. The bear then dragged the worker into its den.

Bear attack leaves two campers injured
Episode a first at national park since early 1970s
Publication: Rocky Mountain News Date: July 15, 2003
Author: Tillie Fong

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."
Finan and Tim Schuett, 23, of Glen Ellyn, Ill., were treated and released from a hospital in Estes Park Sunday. Finan had bite marks on his forehead and scalp, and Schuett had a laceration on the top of his head.
Camper attacked by bear
Publication: The Salt Lake Tribune
Date: July 10, 2003
Author: Matthew Baker

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.
Black Bear Attacks Hiker
Publication: Environmental News Script Date: September 10, 2000
Author: Kevin O'Donnell

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.

Camper Leaps off Cliff to escape bear attack
Publication: The Toronto Star
Date: 06-29-2002
Author: Bruce Hickey
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.” BEAR ATTACKS, BITES 2 HUNTERS;

STATE TO TRACK, DESTROY ANIMAL
Publication: Rocky Mountain News
Date: 09/14/2000
Author: Gary Gerhardt News Staff Writer
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. Manitoulin senior fends off bear attack Publication: The Sudbury Star
Date: September 26, 2003
Author: Margo Little

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.
'It had to count': Bow hunter saves sonNolan Koller had one opportunity to take down the charging blackbear that had just mauled his son, Jason — and he pulled it offPublication: ESPN.COM
Date: Sunday Sept. 29 2002
Author: By Lynn Burkhead ESPN Outdoors.com Associate Editor

POCATELLO, Idaho — Many bow hunters 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.Black bear kills teen near Yellowknife
Publication: CBC NEWS ONLINE
Date: June 3, 2001
Author: Staff

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 kilometres east of the city when the bear approached them, the RCMP said. Man injured in black bear attack // Wildlife worker was studying woodcocks near Milaca
Publication: Minneapolis Star Tribune
Date: 09-16-2002
Author: Kavita Kumar

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. The only other bear attack recorded in Minnesota occurred in 1987, when a female bear attacked campers in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, said
Dave Garshelis, a bear biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources. Wildlife officials have set a trap for the bear. Predatory Black Bear Attack
Publication: Newark Star Ledger
Date: August 12, 2003
Author: Jim Lockwood and Star-Ledger Staff

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."

Bear Attack, Canadian Athlete Killed in Apparent Mauling
Publication: ABC News Online
Date: 07-05-00
Author: ABC News and AP

A Canadian athlete was killed in an apparent bear attack while running on a training course outside Quebec City.
The body of Mary-Beth Miller, 24, was discovered late Sunday in the heavily wooded area just northwest of Quebec City, police Capt. Johanne Bournival said. She had a bite mark on her neck, and black bear tracks were spotted near the body, which was found about a half-mile from the main road.

Bear swats Sparta toddler
Publication: The Daily Recod
Date: May 21, 2003
Author: Rob Jennings
SPARTA - A black bear swatted a 2-year-old boy outside his family's home Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Mark Tregidgo suffered a bump to the head but was otherwise uninjured in the 1:19 p.m. incident, Police Sgt. Russell Smith said. Woman fends off bear attack in her own garage
Publication: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Knight Ridder Newspapers
Date: 9/24/03
Author: Clint Austin/KNT

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.

10/26/2006 Investigation Entry:

Stefan Lovgren for April 24, 2006 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0812_050812_grizzly_man.html
A hunter was attacked and seriously injured by a black bear Saturday on a road just outside Olympic National Park in Washington State.
The incident follows a black bear attack nine days earlier that killed a six-year-old girl in the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee.

RELATED

Some experts say the bear attacks may be a sign of a growing clash between humans and the wild.
"I think it is probably just a matter of there being more bears and more people in bear range than ever before," Joe Clark, an ecologist with the U.S. Gov.

Dr. Jacqueline Perry, 31, was mauled at a remote campsite in Missinaibi Lake Provincial Park
Fatal bear attack renews calls for bear hunt
Updated Thu. Sep. 8 2005 9:57 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
An Ontario doctor and her husband became the latest victims of a bear attack that left the woman dead and her husband seriously injured.
The tragedy has prompted conservation groups to renew their call for a return of the spring black bear hunt.
The Northwestern Ontario Sportsmen's Alliance and the Canadian Outdoor Heritage Alliance say the spring hunt would help manage the number of black bears. They say without the hunt, bears no longer fear humans and consider people part of their "wilderness buffet."
The latest attack occurred Tuesday at a remote campsite in Missinaibi Lake Provincial Park, about 80 kilometres north of Chapleau, Ont. and has police and wildlife officials hunting for the wounded black bear.
Ontario Provincial Police said Dr. Jacqueline Perry, 31, and Marc Jordan, 30, were mauled during a camping trip.
"While the bear was attacking the female, the male managed to stab it a few times with a knife," police Const. Karen Farand told The Canadian Press.
Jordan was flown to a Sudbury, Ont. hospital suffering from severe lacerations. He was expected to require surgery and was listed in serious but stable condition Wednesday.
The black bear had confronted two other men on a hike, Vitas Abrutis and his son, Rytis, shortly before the fatal attack but they were able to fend it off.
Rytis Abrutis heard Jordan's screams about a half hour later.
"We see this guy on a canoe coming toward us screaming "Help, help!"," said Rytis.
Both men helped get Jordan and his wife's body out of the canoe.
"I saw the guy real bloody and he told me there's a dead woman inside. She was really badly injured. You could see real deep injuries," said Vitas.
Due to the remote location, it took rescuers more than an hour to reach the victims, police said.
"That area takes approximately at least an hour or more to get to, plus there was a 10-kilometre boat ride to the area," Farand told CP.
In Cambridge, where Dr. Perry was due to start working in emergency medicine at Grandview Medical Centre, the flag was lowered to half mast. Her co-workers are said to be in deep shock.
"The news we've heard today is absolutely devastating," said Dr. Cathy Morris, the hospital's chief of staff.
Morris went on to say that Dr. Perry was a "very respected, energetic, vibrant physician."
The area where Dr. Perry was attacked is home to many black bears and has had more than its usual share of bear sightings this year, officials say.
Hunters are blaming Ontario's cancellation of the spring bear hunt for the rise in the bear population.
"The black bear population in Ontario has exploded. It's just ballooned out of control," said Jim Lawrence of the Canadian Outdoor Heritage Alliance.
The attack is just the latest in a rash of bear attacks across Canada.
A Manitoba man fended off a black bear in early September, just one week after a black bear killed another man in the province.
There have also been four grizzly attacks in Alberta since June, including a fatal one on a female jogger near Canmore. A woman in British Columbia was also mauled in May.
While there has been an increase in bear sightings, the ones that attack and kill are almost all in remote areas.
Wildlife officials are predicting more encounters with bears as people continue to encroach on their habitats.