Report: Woman stabbed bear in the Adirondacks
This is intense. From an article in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise by Mike Lynch (map link added):
The DEC has heard of several incidents of nuisance bears between Wakely Dam and Stephens Pond in the town of Indian Lake.
In one encounter, which took place Wednesday, Sept. 18, three bears followed a woman hiking alone, according to the DEC. The woman made several attempts to scare the animals away, but they continued to follow her. One bear, in particular, got very close to the woman near Stephens Pond.
"Feeling threatened she stabbed the bear with a knife," according to a DEC statement.
The bears then fled, and the woman safely hiked to the state-run Lake Durant Campground.
Bears usually run off when humans attempt to scare them. In this case, the DEC tells the Daily Enterprise it might be a case of the bears getting food from hikers in the past.
As we've mentioned before: Don't feed the bears. Really. Not only is illegal, it also usually ends up hurting the bear.
Here's a DEC info page on how to avoid bears and what to do if you encounter one.
[via AP/Post-Star]
Some history: The last person in New York State to be killed by a bear was in 2002 in an odd incident in which a young bear dragged a 5-month-old human into the woods in Sullivan County. Before that, the last human death by the paw of a bear was in 1933 when an 11-year-old on Long Island was killed by a bear tied up in front of an inn. Of course there have been other non-fatal encounters, including a 2011 incident in which a woman in Greene County was knocked down by a bear. And in recent years bears have been wandering into more urban areas of the Capital Region. [CBS News] [Wikipedia] [TU]
In other wildlife news: The DEC captured a moose in Halfmoon today. DEC says he's being transported to the Adirondacks. [TU] [NYS DEC]
photo of a black bear -- NOT the black bear: Flickr user peupleloup (cc)
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Comments
Interesting, thanks for sharing. Had a double black bear run in this past Thursday while mountain biking at Thacher Park near the old water treatment facility for the pool. I am assuming that it was a mother bear & juvenile. Luckily after seeing each other, all parties involved kept a mutual distance!
... said James at 46 on Sep 24, 2013 at 2:30 PM | link
I would like to hear this story from the bears point of view.
... said scott on Sep 24, 2013 at 2:35 PM | link
Man bites dog // Woman stabs bear = News.
... said Bob on Sep 24, 2013 at 2:41 PM | link
I'm really not sure if stabbing a bear is brilliant or insane.
... said chrisck on Sep 24, 2013 at 5:17 PM | link
Was the bear wearing a hoody?
This woman may not be as innocent as you all think.
... said Greg on Sep 24, 2013 at 9:27 PM | link
Pepper spray, even a homemade one with a small spritzer and a mix of hot sauce, vinegar & water will work. Doesn't have to be strong - their noses are more sensitive than ours.
Helps them think of humans as skunk variations instead of snack venders.
... said Hiker on Sep 25, 2013 at 8:35 AM | link
so to summarize the last 5 days of news in the 518:
-a bear got shanked
-a moose lost his mantlers
-and Anderson Cooper makes a jacka$$ of himself
... said colleen on Sep 25, 2013 at 11:34 AM | link
When they say DO NOT FEED THE BEARS, what happened on that trail is why! That hiker could have been injured or killed by such an unpredictable and temperamental animal, and those bears never would have come so close if they hadn't been fed by some inconsiderate asshole who just likes to watch them! When people get injured or killed by a bear, those who are known to feed local bears should be held responsible and charged accordingly. Those who feed wild animals are murderers!
... said KillTheFeeders on Sep 25, 2013 at 1:19 PM | link
Scott:
The bear's point of view has been studied extensively by anthropologists, and it's not particularly flattering. Bear behavior is extremely temperamental and violent. So violent that if they lived together in groups as humans do, they would succeed only at killing each other off! Fortunately for bears, they are solitary creatures, but this means they aren't receptive to interaction with other creatures, including humans. They would just as soon kill you as lick your hand for infringing on their territory! If you saw a woman who desired, but she was preoccupied with nursing a couple of babies, would you kill the babies to make her ready for you? This is what male bears do during their mating season! If you see bears, DO NOT FEED THEM - this will make you responsible for the endangerment of other people who they encounter down the road because they will expect the same, and may kill them for their food. There's nothing innocent about animals, and real bear behavior isn't cute!
... said Bear Facts on Sep 25, 2013 at 1:35 PM | link
Add "get stabbed" to the list of things that bears do in the woods.
... said Harold on Sep 25, 2013 at 3:25 PM | link
Agreed, don't feed the bears.
But- perhaps this woman should take Hiker's suggestion and invest in some pepper spray or the home made substitute. After all, she IS in THEIR habitat at that point, the bear wasn't in her yard...
... said I on Sep 25, 2013 at 5:23 PM | link
Stabbing the bear is pretty crazy since you have to allow yourself to get within human (and bear) arm length to do it. She probably could have gotten away with just throwing some sticks or rocks at it. That's always worked for me.
... said Jackers on Sep 26, 2013 at 12:56 PM | link
Seriously? I think that the one bear of the "3 bears" was just pissed because that lady ate her porridge! Then what? the bear just stands there and is like I want my porridge back so the lady whips out a knife and stabs a bear which is most likely the equivalent of pinching the bear, the whole story is NUTS!
... said Mary Ann on Sep 26, 2013 at 1:37 PM | link
Remember: bears don't necessarily need you dead in order to eat you. They have no qualms about eating their prey alive.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/olga-moskalyova_n_930464.html
Don't feed the bears!
... said Olivia on Sep 26, 2013 at 2:20 PM | link