July 01, 2011
Contact: Capt. Chris Anderson, (509) 754-4624, ext 218
Black bear sought in attack near Colville,Washington.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) officers are searching for a black bear reported to have attacked a female jogger northeast of Colville yesterday. According to the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office, a 36-year-old woman was attacked by a black bear while she was jogging in the late morning on a trail between Thomas and Gillette lakes, 17 miles northeast of Colville on the Colville National Forest. She dropped to the ground into a protective fetal position and the bear batted at her and then left the area. Later in the day she was treated and released at Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville.
Today WDFW officials were notified of the incident by the Sheriff’s office. WDFW enforcement officers are working with U.S. Forest Service (USFS) staff to investigate the scene of the incident, place bear traps and possibly use dogs to find the bear. USFS campgrounds are maintained at Thomas and Gillette lakes.
WDFW Enforcement Capt. Chris Anderson said that because of the time that has elapsed since the attack, finding the bear may be difficult. If officers find the bear and determine that it was the animal involved in the attack, the bear will be euthanized, according to WDFW policy. There have been five other bear attacks on humans and one reported fatality in Washington, according to historical records. Last September a man was seriously injured by a bear near Lake Wenatchee.
Washington’s black bear population is estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 animals. WDFW receives an average of about 417 black bear complaints annually, ranging from glimpses of bears to encounters. Black bears are classified as a game species and may be harvested during prescribed hunting seasons by licensed hunters who have purchased bear tags.
Typically, black bears avoid people but can pose a safety risk if they become habituated to human food sources. Bears become overly familiar with humans if they are fed or find unsecured garbage, bird seed, pet food, windfall fruit or compost piles.
WDFW officials offer the following advice to minimize the risk of injury if a bear is encountered in the wild:
•Don't run. Pick up small children, stand tall, wave your arms above your head and shout.
•Do not approach the animal and be sure to leave it an escape route. Try to get upwind of the bear so that it can identify you as a human and leave the area.
•Don’t look the bear directly in the eye, as the animal may interpret this as a sign of aggression.
•If the animal does attack, fight back aggressively.
Problem bear encounters may be reported to local WDFW regional offices, or WDFW’s dangerous wildlife reporting line, 1-877-933-9847. In an emergency, dial 911.
5 comments:
This is SO stupid. Did anyone stop and think that this woman probably scared the bear more than he scared her? And by the sound of it, she didn't even get hurt. But now we have to hunt this poor bear down, and someone is probably going to kill him for nothing.
Dear Anonymous,
I had some of the same thoughts and also wondered if the bear may have had cubs with her that the lady was not aware of. It appears the bear was not acting as a predator and did not have the interest of killing and feeding on the lady but seemed to be acting more in a fashion reflecting it may have been startled or frightened or being protective. I would hope and am quite certain the Fish and Wildlife agents are taking those thoughts into consideration before deciding to euthanize the animal. I would hope department policy doesn't supercede good judgement. I don't know or have all the facts on this so I won't jump to any conclusions either.
Thank you for your post! I do appreciate your view of the subject!
Rich
Update:Seems that a person at the hospital where the jogger was treated, claims the bear was only trying to get away from jogger. Hope the Game Dept. is not still considering euthanizing the bear!
Rich
I don't think the WDFW had any intentions of killing this bear. Chris Anderson was simply stating the obvious and trying to fulfill his duties. In other words: "Covering his ass". I don't think you need to read anything else into what he stated.
Dear Anonymous, Like any big business,the WDFW has to always "cover their asses" but I don't believe that just a statement will do that. Chris Anderson stated " If the bear is found to be the one in the attack, it will be euthanized." I don't believe that you can read anything else into that. Euthanized means "to kill." I understand that the WDFW has a zero tolerance policy, as do most states, that is where the "cover my ass" takes place. Basicly,a bullet is cheaper than a lawsuit and of course you can't take a chance that if this bear did actually attack this lady and then attacked and injured or killed someone else, the WDFW would be asked why they did nothing to protect the public, catch 22. I'm quite sure that if they found this bear to be the one that "attacked" this lady, it would have been killed, as was "stated" by Capt. Chris Anderson.
Post a Comment