Bear Encounter

[Bob Smith]

My wife said she heard a story on the radio today about two boy scouts out at Yards Creek scout camp in northwest New Jersey (Kittatinny Mtns) who had a struggle for over an hour with a cub and mother bear. Does anyone have any news on this?

 

[Bob Smith]

I found a report here. http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_324072423.html

 

[Rob S]

Wow! I live about 20 minutes from Yards Creek. I used to camp there when I was a Boy Scout. Used to hike there quite a bit as well but the surrounding property, owned by JCP&L, is now off-limits since 9/11. I'll have to check the local papers tonight for this story.

As a scout, I recall seeing bear quite often in those woods. On a moonlight hike up to Hiller Plaque (Racoon Ridge), a group of about 10 of us apparently scared a bear out of a den and it suddenly flew by us about ten feet away in a blur of black. Scared the bejesus out of us.

At any rate, I hope those kids recover quickly ...... not just physcially, but emotionally as well. Would hate to think that this incident may scare them out of the woods forever.

 

[Bob Smith]

http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1100843618213000.xml?starledger?nnj

This has a lot of info

 

[Rob S]

Thanks for that link, Bob.

A friend that lives in Lafayette in Sussex County was "approached" by 2 cubs in his backyard last summer. He described them as not being afraid of him and acting almost like puppies in the way they "playfully romped" across his yard. He managed to get into the house safely and made some phone calls to officials to report the incident. A state trooper and someone from Fish & Game searched the area but did not find the bear. About a week later, a similar incident happened a few miles away, and supposedly the officials said they were planning to trap the bears. Never heard whether they were successful.

 

[snowshoe]

Something does not sound right with this. Especially with the bear hunt problem between Fish and Wildlife and the State Parks. I work for the State Park service and this is the first I am hearing about this. I think the article is exagerating the story a lot. I will find out more details when I get back to work Monday. The papers tend to leave out a lot of important info. It would not suprise me that the boys where provoking the bears but never admiting to it. There is always more to the stories than what the papers say.

 

[Stan]

My concern when I hear stories like this is that the first impulse everyone seems to get is ... "KILLLLLL!" ... no, not the scouts, the bears.

It doesn't really bother me that much if more people get scared away from the woods as a result but it is sad that so many will do so in the ignorance that events like these are usually not the bear's fault, at least with black bears. It would be nice if in the ensuing rush to arms that some sense was made of it all, that first, you stay away from a mother and her cubs, and second the reasoning behind the cliche that a "fed bear is a dead bear."

These boys will have a tale to tell for some time and will proudly reveal the scars to show the ordeal they survived but I do hope that the adults who surround them will do more to help people learn from the incident than to rally a hunt.

 

[sun=electric]

I was bitten by a black bear cub when I was a child. I was fooled into judging the young cubs relative size to an adult bear. When you compare the cubs size (here reported as 60 lbs) and a dog of similar weight and jaw size, you realize a cub alone won't kill you but can clamp down good on a human limb. Of course you should carefully leave the area of a cub sighting knowing that a very serious mama will be near by.
Would you really have to struggle with bear cubs for an hour? Sounds unusual! Struggle with the mom for an hour would be impossible. Probably more to this then meets the eye.

 

[snowshoe]

I tried to get more info throgh the parks and it seems no one knew anything about it. Makes me wonder.

The supreme courts ruled against a bear hunt in NJ State Parks and Forest. Looks like the hunt will not go on in DEP lands and possibly Fish and Wildlife lands as well.
http://nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1101362117258470.xml?starledger?ntop