Bear Attack! Kind of...
 

Three weeks ago my Dad left garbage in his old Range Rover for a dump run. Bear ripped up the truck pretty bad, broke a window, broke off review mirror inside and left with garbage.

Two weeks ago I saw him on the mountain road and he looks about 300lbs. I blinked and he was gone. Amazingly graceful. Two evenings ago he got himself a big rooster and yesterday evening came back, tore up the coop pretty bad and got two hens.

This is a black bear, in upper Catskills in New York State. The locals are complaining the DEC is bringing all the problems bears from the city suburbs with a taste for garbage up to our region. What to do?:confused:

QUOTE: "What to do?"
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Probably not much. Once they get a taste of 'easy food source' they will come back.

Officials may have to try and capture and re-locate him?

Keep a 12ga or high power rifle around in a quick-to-access place in case things start to get crazy...

we have the same issue here, I am in the area they call GROUND ZERO in NJ for BEAR, the best part is that they (BEAR) are people who are not from my area. I have anywhere from 2-7 bears in my yard every night..The state of Nj will not allow shooting bears unless they kill.

What? No trapping/relocation program there???

yea...but it doesn't really matter, the BEAR group zealots just pour urine on the traps lately..besides where are they gonna take them? Newark?:eek:
It realy dioesn't bother me that they are there9save the bastages eatin' my tomatoes. I bought bear proof garbage cans to keep them out of my trash. So now they take the neighbors trash in my yard...the best is when they crap in the yard, it's like a foot tall pile. It is funny cause it stalls the mower when you hit it.

The latest - Dad called the DEC and they sent somebody over. They blame the folks with bird feeders and garbage not secured. Apparently the breaking into cars started when some fellow was storing his chicken feed in his car..

Anyway, they gave my Dad some 12ga. rubber slugs and told him a good hit will scare them away for a long time. So this evening Dad will be sitting on the front porch with his shotgun. 3 rubber slugs followed by 3 lead ones just in case...http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/ar15.gifhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/ar15.gif

i'll trade you the homeless vermin in my neighborhood a bear anyday.

Well - Dad put his Korean War vintage army training to work and shot him in the asz with the 12 ga rubber slug. But the evening before last he came back as my nephews and friends were playing on the front lawn. My sister got off a shot with her 20 ga - but he was well into the woods. Yesterday the DEC set a trap (a giant barrel hav-a-heart contraption) baited with "L'il Debbie" cakes and annisette liquor. This morning the bear is sitting on the front porch!!http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...ys/elklaff.gif

...will not allow :). How the heck are they going to stop you? If a predator comes in my yard, I will not be consulting the legislature for guidance...

well the 10 year prison sentence they handed out last year to a guy near us last year for one..second the fact that it is illegal to own a firearm in my town..
Nj is really a Nazi puppet state...run by minorities, for minorities, on the back's of every decent middle class working person's taxes.

The law in New York is that you are allowed to kill them if they are eating your "livestock" and yes the DEC guy had to admit - chickens are livestock.. I wonder if they give you a pass for the NY state law about shooting a gun within 500 feet of a dwelling?

In NC, I doubt a jury of my peers would ever convict someone despite what laws were on the books...whatever happened to common sense? I feel for ya...

Rug.

Bear came back that afternoon and sister called the DEC. They came and shot the poor creature on the front lawn. A three year old male about 175 lbs. This bear had no fear of humans..:( The DEC guys said people should secure their garbage properly and never feed them..

I'm sorry but there is no way I would shoot a bear in the ass with a rubber bullet. "Gee let's see if we can piss the bear off."

For the most part relocating bears, black and brown, is a waste of resources. Once bears associate food with humans it's impossible to keep them away. In Anchorage one can not shoot a bear in defense of property but can in defense of life. For example, if you are in the safety of your home looking out your window at the bear and then decide to shoot the bear because it's on your property you will be cited, fined and your gun confiscated. Fish and Game must decide that a bear has no fear of humans and rarely relocate them-instead they are shot.
What's needed, in my opinion, is education, regulations and enforcement. Anchorage enacted ordinances that deal with leaving trash out over night and the use of bear proof refuse containers in certain geographic areas.
I would add that part of the problem with bears is directly related to hunting and sportfishing regulations that allows for too much pressure from humans for a limited supply of wild food sources. I prefer control over population growth into areas used by wildlife.

That's funny...and SO true :). I actually feel kind of sorry for the bear... it's the humans that feed them that should be shot with rubber bullets imo. Unfortunately, once a predator isn't afraid of humans anymore, there's probably not much else you can do. Glad it's over for ya Gaijin!

Unfortunately, they call that progress :(. I live in the middle of what was my boy scout camp when I was a kid (wildlife galore). Fortunately, no predators, but deer...oh dear!

Thanks. My lil' sis was a bit stressed. And so were the chickens!

The DEC guys were amazed that this bear would come onto the open lawn the way he did.

They also said that hunting policy is not set on the local level and the state hunting rules have resulted in over population.