This is horrible - 22 yr old killed by bear in West Milford

[buzzbaiter]

Originally Posted by bunker dunker

scavengers my asrs.they are hunters,ask any farmer in northern nj.they do not fear man so we become the pray.do you know what an 800lb black bear
eats........anything he wants.

They do occasionally go after large prey like deer but prefer scrounging around for nuts, berries, plant shoots and bees nests. Not a true hunter like a bobcat or coyote. Farm animals are caged, easy prey for them. Cornering a caged animal is far different then chasing one down out in the open.

[bunker dunker]

what ever you say.i'll sticki to the 10 gauge,not much question after that.

[Eskimo]

Originally Posted by buzzbaiter

Bears are not hunters, they are scavengers. This whole story sounds off to me. What five guys you know go for hikes together??? Pretty sure none of you call up your buddies on wednesday and say "hey, lets go hiking this weekend. I'll make sandwiches!"

They were five college guys. I used to do a lot of camping and hiking with my friends when I was that age.

The statistical probability of encountering a bear that has made the decision to kill and eat a person is very low, but any bear is physically capable of killing a person in seconds.

Bears are intelligent and very capable predators when they find something they can catch. Here is a video of a bear killing a moose calf:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JVkaMqD5mI


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[Gerry Zagorski]

Wow how horrible...... Here is an article on what to do inf you encouter a bear http://www.bearsmart.com/becoming-be...ear-encounters
"If you are in a group stay together because you will appear larger and more intimidating"

My closest encounter was in upstate NY in a remote part of the Adirondaks in my teens. I was told before I went to hike to this remote stream that the bear look for fishermen and want their fish...
Just got done fishing and was walking the rail road tracks home. Saw the bear, dropped my stringer of fish, walked away slowly and never looked back.

[acabtp]

Originally Posted by ScowardNJ

I'm pretty sure that whole preserve is fenced to limit destruction from deer. I guess the fence wasn't bear proof though.

i've hiked and fished (including once on the exact same day of year as the attack, yikes!) there several times. there are always trees down across the fences all over the place. plenty of deer in there too, the fence is worthless.

[Inishmore3]

This is a terrible story. I'm not a hunter. I assume a number of you are. But I think we need a bear hunt in NJ. I'm not sue if there is one. I can only imagine what the family is going through.

[ReelErIn]

So sorry to hear this bad news I knew it was just a matter of time. As a vol. with NJ F&W I 've been out a number of times on Bear projects man is no match to fight off such a strong force.

[UglyStick]

I hate reading these stories - such a tragedy... I've had too many encounters to count since I see bears on my property almost daily in the summer (my property borders a section of the Sparta Mountain WMA). 99% of the time, they are more scared of you than you are of them but I hope I never come across that 1 bear that isn't the norm.

My scariest encounter... I was in my driveway, down on 1 knee grinding paint off a section of an open car trailer I was restoring. I shut the grinder off and hear breathing in my ear. I turn my head and a 400-500 pound adult bear is leaning over my right should checking out what I'm doing (it sounds strange but you could tell he was just curious). As soon as I see his head about 6 inches from mine, I shout out and jump as one does when startled. This causes the bear to jump back a few feet (out of being startled from my reaction). So there we are, me still down on 1 knee about 4 feet apart from the bear and him just looking at me. We stay this way for about 10 seconds and then I clap and say in a raised voice, "get outta her... go..." and he slowly turns and walks away.

That day could have ended much differently... Be careful folks and read what Gerry posted... remember, these are wild animals...

[Ken Lyons]

I was always told to play dead with a Grizzly, I have been up close but the Salmon was more enticing than me, but fight back against a Black Bear. In either case never run.
I was cornered by Abigail boar just upstream from Dingman's bridge. I had my back to the river and he blocked me from climbing up the bank an back to my car. It's a long story but I finally tried whistling loud and shrill with my fingers. He picked up his front paws, turned around and left. I continued to whistle for a good while longer.

[buzzbaiter]

Rumor has it some of the first responders had to get counseling the 'crime' scene was so bad. Sounds like he got Timothy Treadwelled...