# 6 Year Old Girl Killed By Bear



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Just saw on the news a family was attacked by a black bear while camping.

A 2 year old boy was bitten and was being dragged away when the mom and several other campers were trying to fight the bear. The bear dropped the boy and ran off. During the attack on the boy the sister ran off and was found later to have been killed by the bear. I guess they both ran down the same path away from the first attack.

The boy is currently in critical condition but should live. The bear is still on the loose.

Remember this is the worst time of year for black bears and they kill more people then grizzly bears.

Prayers be with the family.


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

What a sad reminder that we are in their territory, and that wild animals ARE WILD. We need to remember to keep our distance.

We need to keep safe, and teach our kids to keep safe.


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

How very, very sad. I have spent a lot of time hiking, particularly in the lower 
Appalachain Mountains. Bears are becoming more and more common and have been seen as far south as Metro Atlanta. Before you head into the woods you have to have a bear strategy in place.

1. Never, ever sleep with food in your tent. 
2. Do not sleep in the same clothes you ate or prepared meals in.
3. At night place all of your food, including gum, and your toiletries into a bag and suspend them by rope. Find a tree limb that allows you to suspend the bag AT LEAST 15 feet above the ground and 15 feet away from the trunk of the tree.
4. If you see a bear, go the other way.
5. If you can't go the other way, raise your hands above your body, flap your shirt or jacket and just generally appear to be a bigger bear. Remember, this works much better with the Black Bears in the East than the Grizzlies in the West. 
6. Bang on pots and pans. Of course, nobody I know carries pots and pans on a hiking trip.
7. Use a "bear bell". This is a small bell you hook to your shirt as you hike. Of course it is also very well known that the easiest way to tell the difference between bear poop and other poop is that the bear poop has little bells in it.
8. Some people use "bear mace". I don't have any faith in it.

Reverie
(Not a bear expert but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express Last Night)


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

Good advice, Reverie. My son is going to Philmont Scout Camp in New Mexico this Summer and has gotten the same words of advice from several folks.


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

That is sad to hear that one child died and one is in critical condition
Our hearts and prayers go out to the family

Don

PS Nice tips there Reverie


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

Sorry to hear. It's a sad story. Keep 'em close, keep 'em safe out there.
You never know what can happen.


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## Morrowmd (Feb 22, 2005)

Very sad to hear.

A few years back we were camping along Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior in our pop up. We saw a black bear one day and then found bear tracks the next morning near our site.

The next summer we bought our Outback.









-Matt


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

What a tragic story... Those poor children.

Man, I cannot image having to live with something like that (and, with any luck, will never have to!).

Very good advice, Rev.









I think we all tend to get complacent, all snug in the civilized and domesticated little bubbles we live in. The fact of the matter is though, we are not always at the top of the food chain, and land or sea, there are animals that would like nothing more than to make lunch out of us! In some cases, a healthy fear of the unknown can be a good thing.

Let's all be careful out there!

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## RizFam (Feb 25, 2006)

Yes, I just saw that on MSNBC .....how tragic.
I am praying for the family & that they find the right bear that did it, so innocent bears do not get killed. shy



> Remember this is the worst time of year for black bears and they kill more people then grizzly bears.


CamperAndy, Don't mean to sound ignorant, but we have been out of the camping seen for a long time now. Why is this the worst time for the Black Bear, is it Cub season?

Tami


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## jlbabb28 (Feb 27, 2006)

That is so sad, I could never live with that.

Does not hurt to always have your Glock handy for that matter.


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## Remove_B4_Flight (Apr 2, 2006)

Its a very alarming story. Particularly for those of us in the deep south. Durring Katrina and Rita, Louisiana Black bears sought higher ground, meaning they crossed I-10 in some places. Its been several months now and the DNR doesn't know where they all are. Several have been sighted as far North as Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn reserviors. After this length of time, it is likely that they have found new homes north of the LA and TX swamps. It is a good time to be aware of your surroundings.


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## Steelhead (Nov 14, 2005)

Reverie said:


> How very, very sad.Â .
> 
> 1.Â Never, ever sleep with food in your tent.Â
> 
> ...


I agree that this is an extremely sad story. How anyone survives a loss like that is hard to know. Only the grace of GOD can get us thru. About bear pepper spray, however , It has been found very effective here in the west where there are a lot of bear encounters. Proven to be less dangerous for humans than a bear that has been wounded with a firearm that was thought to be the ultimate protection. I personally know 2 different people who have escaped grizzly attacks in Glacier 
Park because they had approved bear pepper spray with them and knew how to use it properly. It's probably your best option for defense if it comes to that.

Dallas


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## nonny (Aug 14, 2005)

Scary and sad! I've rustic camped in a pup tent with food inside and no real protection along Pictured Rocks and it never occurred to me that I'd have to watch out for bears! Thanks for the good advice, Reverie!


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## J1R (Feb 7, 2006)

Remember this is the worst time of year for black bears and they kill more people then grizzly bears.
CamperAndy, Don't mean to sound ignorant, but we have been out of the camping seen for a long time now. Why is this the worst time for the Black Bear, is it Cub season?

Hungry and ticked off, I know how bad I get after 4 hours much less four or five months of not eating much if anything







. Cub season you just have the mothers, at this point all of them are looking for food. 
We never really have a problem till end of July or August when the food load gets lighter because of drought or a previous bad winter and alot of the food sources got hit hard. Have seen them walk by the garbage up the street, but when October hits and might as well just leave the garbage on a tray.

We had one hit our house this morning my wife left for work at six and no problems, I went out at seven and my garbage bin was busted open again. Two years ago had 1600 in damage done to my fence when a bear went after a deer that was probably hit by a car. The one print we found that was in soft dirt was seven inches across


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## OVTT (Mar 31, 2006)

I have had a few experiences with bears in camp sites here in California, but nothing too scary. We left food out once and it ate just about everything even opened the box of wine on the table. The next day we inspected the damage and informed the camp ranger. He told us "that bear is here all the time, he is friendly". I dont know about friendly, he was back the next night and I though I would peek my head out of the tent and check him out. When I heard him breathing next to the tent I changed my mind about putting my face outside the tent, I wasnt feeling so brave at that point. Another experience was in Tahoe when we were winter camping in a tent with nobody else in the camp site. We woke up in the morning with a note from a ranger on our truck saying that bears were spotted in the camp were we had chosen to set up the tent the previous day. We looked around and sure enough, several tracks around the site. But with the proper precautions with our food they did not bother us. That is so tradgic what happened with that family, our thoughts go out to them.


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Completely Devastating.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

RizFam said:


> > Remember this is the worst time of year for black bears and they kill more people then grizzly bears.
> 
> 
> CamperAndy, Don't mean to sound ignorant, but we have been out of the camping seen for a long time now. Why is this the worst time for the Black Bear, is it Cub season?
> ...


You were give the answer in a previous post but I will reiterate. They are coming out of hibernation and they are hungry. Its too early for cubs as they are still in the den but the Moms are to watched even without cubs in tow.

Black bears fight them with all you can, grizzles you need to turn turtle, you are not going to win a fight with them anyway and will just excite them more.


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## RizFam (Feb 25, 2006)

> J1R Posted Today, 12:51 PM
> 
> Hungry and ticked off, I know how bad I get after 4 hours much less four or five months of not eating much if anything . Cub season you just have the mothers, at this point all of them are looking for food.





> CamperAndy Posted Today, 06:50 PM
> 
> You were give the answer in a previous post but I will reiterate. They are coming out of hibernation and they are hungry. Its too early for cubs as they are still in the den but the Moms are to watched even without cubs in tow.
> 
> Black bears fight them with all you can, grizzles you need to turn turtle, you are not going to win a fight with them anyway and will just excite them more.


Yes, thanks J1R & CamperAndy. After I posted my message I was discussing it with my husband & he said the same thing. I never gave it any thought that bears would be angry after hibernation. I knew hungry, but wasn't thinking angry.

Thanks,
Tami


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## Devildog (Sep 8, 2005)

Ditto what everyone said, I will be praying for them as well, it is even sadder to hear when it is a child involved. Everyone stay safe and stay on the alert at all times.


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

One other thing to understand about all wildlife. It is hard to imagine just how much development has encroached on wildlife habitat. I'm not anti-growth but I wonder if sometimes we haven't developed without any thought about the consequences. These animals are under tremendous stress due to loss of food, water, privacy and quiet. Now, this particular instance is not likely caused by this since it happened in such a remote area. It is worth noting though, if you encounter wildlife where wildlife shouldn't be, be aware that they will not act in character.

Reverie


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## Swanie (Oct 25, 2004)

Does anyone know which kind of bear can climb trees? I never remember which one does. In order to protect yourself, you should know which ones climb and which ones don't.


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## Remove_B4_Flight (Apr 2, 2006)

Do you want the good news, or the bad news? The bad news is that pretty much all bears can climb trees. So if you are on your way up, make room for company.

The good news is the bear will be as busy holding on as you are, so the likelyhood of being attacked in a tree is significantly less. This gives you a sporting chance of defending yourself. Of course, what goes up must come down. He may lead you down and wait on you to get tired at the base of the tree. Or, you might break your leg on the way down and he will follow you.

Just stay away from the bears. If you find yourself too close, make lots of noise and appear as threatening as you can. 9 times out of 10, they will back down and run off. Get mad!! Get crazy! They hate that!


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