Bear attack in SEKI

[maverick]

My father sent me an article in there local paper, about a bear attack at Mist Falls in Kings Canyon on the 6th of Sept.
"A 65 year old man fell asleep near the falls and awoke when observers started yelling to warn him he was being approached by the bear. He was bit in the thigh, sustaining a number of puncture wounds where the bear's upper teeth pierced his skin”, according to park rangers.

“The hiker yelled and gestured in an attempt to scare the bear away, but the animal didn't leave the area until several people helped frighten him" writes the article.
The bear was tranquilized and killed on Saturday.
Has anyone else heard of this incident and what really happened?
Somehow I can’t believe the bear would just approach a sleeping man and bit him on his leg when he awoke.
Did he have food in his pack or on himself?
Something just doesn't sound right, and why hasn't this been posted on the SEKI site?

PS I called the information officer at SEKI and they will have it up on their site today.

[copeg]

From the San Jose Mercury News

Late last year I was rushed by a very young cub following its mother near the Mist Trail and Bubbs Creek Trail junction, sounds somewhat close to where this incident occured. Makes me wonder whether its the same, cause that bear was off to a bad start

Bear who bit man in national park is killed

By Associated Press

San Jose Mercury News
Article Launched:09/14/2007 05:23:10 PM PDT

KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK - A bear that bit a hiker last week has been killed by animal management staff, park officials said.

The year-old female bear was found, tranquilized and killed on Saturday. It had approached a hiker who dozed off on a rock, and bit his leg when the man awoke.

The name of the 65-year-old man from Dove Canyon who was bit on Sept. 6 was not released. But park official said he fell asleep near Mist Falls after a four-mile hike, and awoke when observers started yelling to warn him he was being approached by a bear.

He was bit in the thigh, sustaining a number of puncture wounds where the bear's upper teeth pierced his skin, according to park rangers.

The hiker yelled and gestured in an attempt to scare the bear away, but the animal didn't leave the area until several people helped frighten him.
Park rangers reiterated the importance of not feeding bears and other wild animals. They regularly inform visitors how to avoid attracting their attention. Doing so protects both the animals and the people in the park, they said.

"It is regrettable and frustrating to have to destroy an animal for following its natural instincts to look for easy food sources," said Wildlife Ecologist Harold Werner. "It is sad that it has come to this, but this situation could not end any other way."

[maverick]

It may be, the ranger said it was a yearling that was down to 40 lbs, but not to the point of starving.
The drought this year and the lack of food supply all could have played a factor in this situation.
She said the bear was a problem before because of people feeding it and therefore acquired a taste for our food and associating humans with food, which is a lethal combo for a bear, as it was for this one.

Sad that people still don't get it when it comes to bears.
DO NOT FEED THE BEARS A FED BEAR IS A DEAD BEAR!!!

[SSSdave]

The bear may have interpretted the person as an injured animal that was easy pickings much like injured deer. Was the young bear a campground habitue or one that wandered in from remote higher elevations where it had never seen a human being? From such a bear's perspective the person might not have been any different than a deer. That is the reason I tend to tell people not to trust any bears in remote wilderness areas because they may not have gone to the wimp bear school that teaches they are supposed to be meek and afraid of humans.

I'm not sure killing the bear was the right thing to do. In today's mindset, any bear that attacks a human gets a certain bullet. Maybe authorities are paranoid that if such animals ever attack someone else, lawyers would stampede to their door in order to sue the goverment. Since they reduced the bear pop they might go the distance by replacing the little black bear with a griz. ...David

[maverick]

Hi Dave,

The spokeswoman for SEKI said on the phone today that this bear was being feed human food by people and there were other incidents that had brought the bear to the park rangers attention because of this.
What it boils down to is that hikers fed this animal, which in turn it lost fear of humans, and associated humans with food.
She said they had informed backpackers and hikers about the bear and to not feed any bears and to store food properly according to park regs.

[maverick]

She now has the article on the SEKI website under new releases.
I agree that maybe killing the bear was premature at least it
should have been relocated.

[hikerduane]

When I was thru there in late July, a bear was hanging around the Lower Paradise area. I never saw it, but a couple guys I talked with a few times over the next couple days saw it twice and some other bpers who arrived after I did had to scare it away from where they wanted to camp. Once again, I never saw it.

Maybe tourists need to see a new sign, a person feeding a bear with an equals sign showing a bear being shot.

[Buck Forester]

Wow, such a rare incident indeed! It is very unfortunate that this bear was fed by people and became habituated. But I don't think there's any other recourse for a bear that has become bold enough to actually bite a human than to have it put down. An aggressive bear that charges people in hopes they drop their pack, or run from their food, yes, relocation might be an option. But once a bear attacks and bites a human without it being a defensive 'fight or flight' response, or protecting a cub or a food cache, then I think it unfortunately needs to be put down.

[Trekker]

Actually, I would be in favor of a sign that shows a Bear being fed by a tourist = the TOURIST being shot!!!

Apparently bear relocation isn't done anymore; not sure if it is because of the cost or the bear's ability to eventually find it's way back.

[arlopop61]

In late May I did a dayhike up to Mist Falls and not more than 10 mins out of the trailhead I looked up and saw a small cinnamon female (I assumed from the size) in the center of the trail about twenty feet away (like a dingbat, I wasn't paying attention). She wouldn't budge and so I had to wait her out for five minutes or so before she finished scratching and moved on. When she finally lumbered off there was hardly a backward glance. I stopped by the ranger station on the way out that afternoon and let the ranger know about her and the ranger said they had been having a problem with a young sow and based on my description that might have been her.

I wonder if the bear they destroyed was the same bear I saw and if so why wasn't she relocated back then. It might have protected the dozing hiker and saved the bear if they had.