"A Winnipeg man who was dragged out of an outhouse by a black bear is recovering at home with some cuts on his back and an amazing tale of survival. Gord Shurvell, 65, was camping and fishing with a friend at a cabin by Dunbar Lake, about 60 kilometres north of Sioux Lookout, Ont., when the bear attacked him early Saturday. Shurvell told CBC News he was in the outhouse, with the door wide open so he could enjoy the morning view, when the bear barged in." —Please read this story, there is so much richness to it.
"The bear famously tranquilized on the University of Colorado campus last week, and immortalized in a viral photo by CU student Andy Duann, met a tragic death early Thursday in the Denver-bound lanes of U.S. 36. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said a 280-pound black bear that died on U.S. 36 after being hit by a car at about 5:40 a.m. Thursday was the same bear that became known worldwide last week after wandering onto the CU campus near the Williams Village dorm complex." [Via]
OMG, this polar bear mom is all "COME ON ALREADY" and the polar bear cub is like "MOM I'M SO TIRED WHY CAN'T WE REST MY PAWS HURT!" They're just like people!
You've got to wait out the approximately 30 seconds of some guy who is apparently named Bamboo Bill doing Dutch exposition, but once you get past that, you get polar bear cubs and Wendy & Lisa. On balance, it's worth it. [Via]
Most days the bear gets you: "While bringing a gun to a bear fight may seem like a solid way to win, experts say the gun largely provides a false sense of security — and would be similar to trying to shoot, and stop, a small car careening toward you at speeds of up to 35 mph."
Say hello to Pamir, branch-manipulator extraordinaire. Pamir lives in Russia, and is not to be confused with Claude, the Asian black bear from Hiroshima who shows similar stick-handling dexterity. In other bear news, here is a gallery of polar bear photos marking International Polar Bear Day, which was yesterday. Finally, here's the classic (and scary, but it ends happily, so no worries) story of a bear who almost got electrocuted while searching for her cub. "I think people like animals a lot more than they like each other," says one of the interviewees, and most days you can't really blame them.
"After eluding Schenectady police and state Department of Environmental Conservation agents for most of the day — with sightings of it in the city as early as 6 a.m. — officers stumbled on the bear around 4:20 p.m. near North College and Front streets. Schenectady Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett explained that rudimentary detective work and the help of a few people gathered on Front Street led to locating the bear. 'You don’t want to make people laugh, but we said, "Have you seen a bear"' he explained. The bear was located about 25 feet up in a tree in the backyard of 150 Front St." —The bear was [...]
I'm trying to nail down just what I find so disturbing about this footage of "black bears at Qingdao's Xiaozhushan Scenic Spot performing stunts to wow visitors for during the May Day holiday." Maybe it's the way these magnificent animals are being forced to do something so contrary to their nature for the amusement of their human captors. Or maybe it's the skirts. Probably one or the other, though. [Via]
"Two truisms of television — never work with animals and you never know what to expect on live TV — combined to send a Pennsylvania weatherman fleeing for his safety as thousands of viewers watched. Kurt Aaron, meteorologist for ABC affiliate WNEP-TV in Scranton, Pa., was seconds from delivering the weather forecast on Monday from the station’s outdoor studio when a mama bear and her three cubs wandered on set." In case you're wondering, the weather in Scranton seems a little chilly. [Via]
Today Slate publishes "A Death in Yellowstone: On the trail of a killer grizzly bear," an 8000-word investigation by Awl pal Jessica Grose about the search for “the Wapiti sow," a 250-pound grizzly bear implicated in the killing of two separate visitors to Yellowstone National Park in 2011. The story is both about the hunt for the bear and the larger implications of man's sometimes fatal interactions with nature. It's a remarkably compelling report that you absolutely need to read. Here's a brief conversation about the piece.
Jess Grose, I loved this report. But I am a confirmed bear aficionado. What drew you to the story?
"To test the healing ability of the bears, the zoologists proved they were willing to risk it all in the name of science. They gave small cuts to the skin of a group of wild bears they were observing just as the bears were preparing for hibernation. Then they backed off and let them hibernate for two to three months. As the bears were reaching the natural time in the season when they wake up, the brave bear researchers checked the wounds. Not only had every bear healed itself, the skin had sealed up with little visible damage and even started growing new fur."
This bear cub busted through a glass door at an elementary school and then went into a classroom, where he started to destroy some math books. Nobody likes math! Anyway, here's footage. [Via] Meanwhile, in Florida, a bear with an alcohol problem has neighborhood residents worried.
"Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin says he was chased and nearly caught by four bears that were raiding his birdfeeders. Shumlin says he was in bed in his rented Montpelier home late Wednesday night when he heard what turned out to be four bears in the backyard. He says he looked out and saw the bears, including two cubs. He tried to chase the bears away, but they kept coming back. Shumlin says he ran out barefoot in an attempt to rescue his birdfeeders. He says one of the bears charged him on the porch."
Those of us in the Bear Video Aficionado Community have spent the last couple of days wondering why this video, which is two years old, is suddenly gaining currency now. I suspect it has something to do with the British press and its willingness to fill space without regard for currency. In any event, I was holding back on posting it because of the issue of vintage, but then it occurred to me that perhaps you're not so interested in how old something is and would just like to see a bear charge a group of tourists in Alaska in 2010. Who am I to say no? Also, it's [...]
