Bear in Fatal Attack Is Killed; Cubs May Go to Zoo

[katrina]

(July 30) -- A mama grizzly bear was euthanized today after tests determined she was responsible for a fatal attack at a Montana campsite, but her cubs may be sent to live in a zoo, an official said today.

A third cub was caught in a culvert trap early this morning, and likely participated in the deadly mauling of 48-year-old Kevin Kammer from Grand Rapids, Mich., according to The Associated Press. The capture came a day after its 400-pound mother and her two other cubs were picked up by park officials.

Wednesday night, the mother tore through the Soda Butte Campgrounds near Yellowstone Park, killing Kammer and injuring two other people in a rare and seemingly unprovoked attack.


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The adult bear was put down this afternoon after officials received the results of DNA tests confirming that the captured bears were the ones that attacked the campsite, said Ron Aasheim, a spokesman for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

"The mother bear will be put down," Chris Servheen of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service told ABC's "Good Morning America" this morning. The cubs though, will "probably live out there lives in a zoo," he said.

There had been some speculation that the cubs would also have to be put down, since they witnessed their mother brutally attacking humans.


"The cubs have learned, in essence, that this is how to hunt," Andrea Jones of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks told NBC's "Today." "They've learned behavior that humans are prey. And that is not acceptable."

Servheen, though, said the cubs can be safely kept in a zoo, but added that they will never be released into the wild. "The animals entered that campground with the express intent of killing and eating a person," he said.

Experts say fatal bear attacks on humans are rare, and they're baffled by the aggressive behavior of this particular grizzly. "This is an extremely rare case," Jones told NBC. "What happened here, we can't explain it right now."

Survivors have described a terrifying scene. "I felt the tent just fly 2 to 3 feet and this giant thing was on my leg," Ronald Singer, 21, told NBC. "It bit me." Singer punched the animal in the nose. "It was just an instinct."

[Oldtimer]

Yep its my understanding from some of the old Grizzly folks I talked to today---while female grizzlies account for the majority of human attacks (usually when startled with their cubs by hikers, hunters, ranchers, etc- and protecting their cubs)- it is unusual to have a female bear come into a clean camp and attack a person- especially a male person....

[Kato]

One of the survivors was a Canadian woman. According to the news story, she was sound asleep, in her tent, and woke up to the bear chewing on her arm. She fought and screamed and it only got worse, so she played dead. She said as soon as she went limp the bear backed off and then left.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/07/29/ont-bear-mauls-woman-yellowstone-100729.html

[katrina]

I'm trying to put my head around this.... Was this like a territorial thing or a preservation thing? It seems so extreme for the grizzly... but I'm certainly no expert....

[Silver]

It has always seemed to me that bears are pretty opportunistic and inquisitive. That's why they break into cabins, tents, rummage in dumps, etc. I had a black bear enter my tent by a door he made while standing on my head. It's a different way to wake up, seeing claws slicing tent fabric.
The problem with bears is that once they discover a food source they get hooked. Once a dump bear always a dump bear, once a calf killer awlays a calf killer, and I would expect that a bear that has made a decision that humans are edible won't change it's opinion.

[Faster horses]

[gcreekrch]

[Bryceville]

Not being familiar with grizzlies up close and personal, and having read Silver's statement, doesn't it seem that maybe this wasn't the first human she sampled? Maybe a check of stomach content or a list of missing people in that general vicinity would not be considered paranoia?

[katrina]

They said this morning that the mother was malnurished....

[Faster horses]

I've heard the wolves are making it tougher for the grizzley bears
to survive.
Not saying this attack wasn't a terrible thing, it was!!!!!
But too many wolves cause lots of problems, and not just to
ranchers.