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Title: Black bears kill 2 in Alaska, including teen in extreme race
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URL Source: http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mor ... Vpo?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp
Published: Jun 19, 2017
Author: Associated Press
Post Date: 2017-06-20 06:45:17 by BTP Holdings
Keywords: None
Views: 577
Comments: 8
Black bears kill 2 in Alaska, including teen in extreme race Associated Press 18 hrs ago © Rachel D'Oro/AP Photo A neighborhood in the Anchorage, Alaska, suburb of Eagle River can be seen Wednesday, June 17, 2015, from the end of a trail at Arctic Valley, nestled in the Chugach State Park. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Patrick Cooper had already turned around after reaching the halfway point in a popular mountain race in Alaska when he somehow veered off the trail and became lost. That's when the 16-year-old Anchorage boy encountered the black bear that would take his life in a rare predatory attack. Cooper began running, and at one point he reportedly placed a frantic call to his brother, saying he was being chased by a bear Sunday in the Robert Spurr Memorial Hill Climb race south of Anchorage. The brother notified race director Brad Precosky, who alerted race crews to begin searching for Cooper, known as Jack. It took a couple hours for responders to locate the teen, whose body was found about a mile up the path, at about 1,500 vertical feet (457 vertical meters). The bear was found at the site, guarding the body, Precosky said. A Chugach State Park ranger shot the 250-pound (113-kilogram) bear in the face, but the animal ran away. Alaska State Troopers said the boy's remains were airlifted from the scene on Sunday. State park staffers were scouring the area Monday looking for the bear, state Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh said. Sunday's attack was believed to have been a rare predatory move, not a defensive action such as when a female bear will protect her cubs, he said. "It's very unusual," Marsh said of the mauling. "It's sort of like someone being struck by lightning." Later Monday, a second fatal mauling at the hands of a black bear was reported nearly 300 miles northeast of Anchorage. Officials with an underground gold mine reported a contract employee hired to take geological samples was killed and another injured in a black bear attack. No names have been released. Alaska State Troopers and federal mine officials are investigating the mauling at Pogo Mine. Matt Wedeking, division operations manager with Alaska State Parks, said the predatory behavior of the bear in the attack on the teen was not normal. Asked if there were cubs around this black bear, he said, "We don't know. There could have been. But right now I don't have any information about the bear." The last fatal mauling in the state occurred near Delta Junction in Alaska's interior in 2013, when a man was killed by a male black bear, Marsh said. The last fatal bear attack in the greater Anchorage area was in 1995, when two people were killed in the Turnagain Arm area by a brown bear protecting a moose carcass, he said. Last week, a juvenile and two young adults sustained minor injuries when a female brown bear with two cubs attacked them. Authorities shot at that bear, but it ran off. Areas where wilderness races such as Sunday's take place are inherently risky when it comes to bear encounters, Precosky said. Competitors in the Bird Ridge race sign a liability waiver as part of the registration process. But competitors often train alone in such areas and are fully aware of the dangers. Races actually can be said to cut down on the risk of a bear encounter because so many people are there, making noise and making their presence known, Precosky said. "There's no safer time to be on a mountain than on a race," he said. Earlier reports say Cooper texted his mother that he was being chased by the bear, but Precosky said he could not confirm that. Poster Comment: This is very unusual, Black Bears are usually just as afraid of us as we are of them.
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#1. To: BTP Holdings (#0)
WTF? Wouldn't his concentration and efforts been put to better use trying to get away from the bear? Did he also take a cool selfie showing him smiling with the bear closing in? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In the entire history of the world,the only nations that had to build walls to keep their own citizens from leaving were those with leftist governments.
Not so sure but that would be very stupid thing to do. ;) "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
The bears are Russian bears. Sarah Palin was colluding with them on her front porch when they spooked.
Some consider the black bear more dangerous than the grizzly.
I have stepped over steaming bear shit many times in Alaska while the salmon runs were in. My youngest son has taken as many as three in one day (2 black, 1 grizzly) in one day. There are a few hunting districts in Alaska that open each year that allow multiple tags due to heavy overpopulation. I refuse to go on those hunting trips with him. He got REAL lucky once and just happened to have his .308 in his hand as one charged him while he was getting in his boat less than 30 feet away, and I mean REAL lucky. A bear can outrun a horse and smell your ass at least a half mile away (in the rain). 0ne of his hunting buddies is a Russian who hunts bear with an AK-47 LoL. His shoulder protection (not the hunting rifle) is a .50 cal Beowulf. U.S. Constitution - Article IV, Section 4: NO BORDERS + NO LAWS = NO COUNTRY
They would be people who have never seen a grizzly and know nothing about them. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In the entire history of the world,the only nations that had to build walls to keep their own citizens from leaving were those with leftist governments.
Most people have never seen a grizzly outside of a zoo. Lone predatory black bears responsible for most human attacks Black bears, though, are all over the place.
You do have a point,but there is a reason for this. Grizzy Bears quit becoming common and reached the "extinct in North America" status BECAUSE they were so dangerous they were tracked down and killed wherever they were found. Black bears,on the other hand are mostly harmless if left alone unless it is sick or injured. ANY animal can be dangerous if sick or injured. I have one that likes to come through my yard at night and take a dump by the telephone pole on the corner of my land. Probably because he likes to scratch his back on the pole. I saw him one day walking down the middle of the road about 10 AM,and he looks to be maybe 350-400 lbs. Not huge,but you don't want to get in a slap fight or hugging contest with him. I watched him carefully to see if he was staggering or showing other signs of rabies/illness because if he was,I was going to put a 308 FMJ round through his melon. He was walking fine,though,and just went into a big clump of bushes on a high spot maybe 50 yards north of my house to nap out for the day,so I left him alone. I'm a live and let live guy with pretty much anything other than biting insects,poisonous snakes,and anything foaming at the mouth. They leave me alone,I am more than happy to leave them alone. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In the entire history of the world,the only nations that had to build walls to keep their own citizens from leaving were those with leftist governments.
Earlier reports say Cooper texted his mother that he was being chased by the bear,
#2. To: sneakypete (#1)
cool selfie
#3. To: BTP Holdings (#0)
#4. To: BTP Holdings (#0)
This is very unusual, Black Bears are usually just as afraid of us as we are of them.
#5. To: BTP Holdings (#2)
#6. To: Ada (#4)
Some consider the black bear more dangerous than the grizzly.
#7. To: sneakypete (#6)
They would be people who have never seen a grizzly and know nothing about them.
#8. To: Ada (#7)
Most people have never seen a grizzly outside of a zoo. Lone predatory black bears responsible for most human attacks Black bears, though, are all over the place.
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