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  1. #1

    Default Fatal bear attack list...

    I just found this on wikipedia. I am sure many of you have seen it, but for many of you that haven't, here it is.

    Seems like black bears have more fatal attacks more then grizzlys, which I didn't expect. It especially seems like the black bears in Canada are particularly aggressive.

    I guess since there are more blacks then grizzly bears the numbers play them selves out, but I still didn't know there were so many black bear attacks.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...rica_by_decade

  2. #2
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Yeah, they're more than just overgrown raccoons. A lot of black bear attacks happen in the spring before food sources become abundant. A lot of the fatal attacks are by rogue males as well, not just females defending their cubs. Sows will defend their cub(s) any time of year, but will often break off an attack once they've satified the protection instinct and return to their cub(s). A male bear that does attack is likely out to kill and eat you, period.
    "That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett

  3. #3

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    Well then, I guess I will go ahead and get my bear spray then....

    Go figure, these are animals that can weigh up to 700 lbs, they can swat at you and crush your skull in a single blow, or bite down into you and cause sever bleeding. Don't think we would really stand a chance if one decided you were dinner.

    But how often do black bears actually hunt deer or wild hogs? Does that ever happen?

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Incahiker View Post
    Well then, I guess I will go ahead and get my bear spray then....

    Go figure, these are animals that can weigh up to 700 lbs, they can swat at you and crush your skull in a single blow, or bite down into you and cause sever bleeding. Don't think we would really stand a chance if one decided you were dinner.

    But how often do black bears actually hunt deer or wild hogs? Does that ever happen?
    I had a friend see one hunt down a fawn in SNP, all the mother could do was snort and make some other weird noises. There's some truth to what 4eyedbuzzard says.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Incahiker View Post
    But how often do black bears actually hunt deer or wild hogs? Does that ever happen?
    Ask Bill Bryson, he's the bear expert.








    just kidding...

  6. #6
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Incahiker View Post
    Well then, I guess I will go ahead and get my bear spray then....

    Go figure, these are animals that can weigh up to 700 lbs, they can swat at you and crush your skull in a single blow, or bite down into you and cause sever bleeding. Don't think we would really stand a chance if one decided you were dinner.

    But how often do black bears actually hunt deer or wild hogs? Does that ever happen?
    Most don't get that big. 400 is usually considered a big bear. Usually they're more in the 250 to 350 range. They'll go after fawns and injured animals like deer and moose. Mostly they just scavenge though. But here's a youtube of a black bear taking a young moose. http://youtube.com/watch?v=-JVkaMqD5mI&feature=related So it does happen.
    "That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett

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    Registered User le loupe's Avatar
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    while not a statistics professor it seems this is a misleading point.

    The grizzly bear population is estimated at 50-100,000 versus 800,000 black bears.

    On its face Grizzlies cause 8x the number of deaths of black bears.

    multiply that by the interface of the much larger black bear population with the much larger east coast population and you have very reduced frequency of death from encounter with black bear.

  8. #8

    Default According to a book I own on bear attacks, "Mark of the Grizzly"...

    Since records started being kept around 1939, about 50% more fatal attacks on humans in Alaska have been committed by dogs than by bears. This is in a state with gumploads of both black and brown bears.

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by le loupe View Post
    while not a statistics professor it seems this is a misleading point.

    The grizzly bear population is estimated at 50-100,000 versus 800,000 black bears.

    On its face Grizzlies cause 8x the number of deaths of black bears.

    multiply that by the interface of the much larger black bear population with the much larger east coast population and you have very reduced frequency of death from encounter with black bear.
    Your probably correct, for the most part. I would be more nervous around a grizzly than a black bear. However, it would be erroneous thinking to believe the black bear is harmless.

  10. #10
    Registered User le loupe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by john gault View Post
    erroneous thinking to believe the black bear is harmless.
    Death is death!

  11. #11

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    Can't argue with that.

  12. #12

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    How many bears have been killed by people vs. people killed by bears? And not just directly, but by habitat destruction?

  13. #13
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Appalachian Tater View Post
    How many bears have been killed by people vs. people killed by bears? And not just directly, but by habitat destruction?
    Why do you ask?
    "That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett

  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by 4eyedbuzzard View Post
    Why do you ask?
    People seem more fascinated with bear attacks than attacked bears.

  15. #15
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
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    Yeah, it's a self-preservation thing.
    "That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett

  16. #16
    Donating Member Cuffs's Avatar
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    But more dogs are credited with fatal attacks than bears... be aware of the bears, you dont have to be afraid of them... http://http://www.dogexpert.com/Fata...ogattacks.html
    ~If you cant do it with one bullet, dont do it at all.
    ~Well behaved women rarely make history.

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    sows will defend their cub(s) any time of year, but will often break off an attack once they've satified the protection instinct and return to their cub(s)
    In my (limited) experience sows run away and leave their cubs to run up a tree and fend for themselves. The sows have come back, but sheepishly.

    I am sure there are some tough mamas out there, but I have seen the opposite.

    YMMV.

  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cuffs View Post
    But more dogs are credited with fatal attacks than bears... be aware of the bears, you dont have to be afraid of them... http://http://www.dogexpert.com/Fata...ogattacks.html
    I can't get the link to work, but it's a great point, I bet the numbers of people killed by dogs dwarf the bear numbers.

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    I read on the Glacier National Park website that drowning while crossing rivers causes about eight times as many deaths as by bears in the Park.
    The trail was here before we arrived, and it will still be here when we are gone...enjoy it now, and preserve it for others that come after us

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Egads View Post
    I read on the Glacier National Park website that drowning while crossing rivers causes about eight times as many deaths as by bears in the Park.
    Most of them were chased into the river by bears.

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