Bears are not pets

[lawrocket 3]

I'd go so far as to say that these two did not perform any risk management. Why? These were wild bears without training. They carried no protective sprays or weaponry. Finally, they liked to get up close and personal with them.

This fella was doing this for a number of years. It seems as though a history of non-injury may have left him complacent. This may be paralleled with the guy who liked to stand in shark tanks who got chomped.

Do it enough times, and the possibility of an adverse event becomes a probability.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[skysquiffy 0]

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***By your logic, any person that dies at the hands of their passion (whether it be an animal or a sport) had no knowledge or skill to begin with.

Wow....you're really intent on putting words in my mouth aren't you? No....what I said was that people that die at the hands of their passion, be it animal, sport, whatever, usually do so because they FUCKED UP. Even in skydiving the MAJORITY, certainly not all, of the deaths are caused by the deceased making a mistake. I'm all about risk management. I'll take my risks in my job and skydiving. I think both are FAR more predictable than standing near a Grizz.

I'm sorry, I'm really not trying to put words in your mouth, but your (and others) write off that this guy was just some yahoo and deserved what he got really rubbed me the wrong way. As I said, it was no different than an uninformed whuffo's reaction to a jumping incident. Obviously, wildlife and environmental issues are a passion of mine and I took it quite seriously

You couldn't be more correct thought about bears (and all wild animals) being unpredictable. They can react differently than anticipated at any time. I respect your choice to not get close to them

[freeflir29 0]

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I respect your choice to not get close to them

Actually, I have been all too damn close to both a Grizzly and a mountain lion once. The mountain lion was scary because #1 I had just interrupted him trying to catch his dinner #2 He was only about 25 Yds away at best. I had a .300 Win Mag on my shoulder but I'm sure he could have gotten to me before I could get off a shot. The bear....not sure how close I was but there was a warm pile of poop at my feet. No not mine......his. All I had that time was a bow and a few sharp sticks. I'll remember that bears smell for the rest of my life. I walked backwards out of the area with an arrow on the string. I've at least carried my .40 Ruger with me while bow hunting after that. I love those animals but I also respect them. I respect anything that thinks of me as food.

[skysquiffy 0]

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Actually, I have been all too damn close to both a Grizzly and a mountain lion once. The mountain lion was scary because #1 I had just interrupted him trying to catch his dinner #2 He was only about 25 Yds away at best.

I'm actually quite jealous of this. Not necessarily wise, but still. Of course, I'm sure I'd have some shaky hands, but what an experience.

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I had a .300 Win Mag on my shoulder but I'm sure he could have gotten to me before I could get off a shot.

You're probably right about that. I had the opportunity to shoot a .300 Win Mag and a scoped 50 cal recently for an afternoon. Unbelieveable firepower. Talk about respect. The 50 cal was a little big for me, but the win mag was amazing. I'm pretty darn good with a .45 . Of course, this was all target shooting.

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The bear....not sure how close I was but there was a warm pile of poop at my feet. No not mine......his. All I had that time was a bow and a few sharp sticks. I'll remember that bears smell for the rest of my life. I walked backwards out of the area with an arrow on the string. I've at least carried my .40 Ruger with me while bow hunting after that. I love those animals but I also respect them. I respect anything that thinks of me as food.

[sssbc99 0]

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U.S. Geological Survey bear researcher Tom Smith; Sterling Miller, formerly the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's top bear authority; and others said they tried to warn the amateur naturalist that he was being far too cavalier around North America's largest and most powerful predator.

I could definitely argue with that.

[skysquiffy 0]

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U.S. Geological Survey bear researcher Tom Smith; Sterling Miller, formerly the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's top bear authority; and others said they tried to warn the amateur naturalist that he was being far too cavalier around North America's largest and most powerful predator.

I could definitely argue with that.

Actually, that shot was most likely taken off the coast of South Africa at a place called Seal Island (I believe). It's one of the only places where Great Whites are known to breach. Anyway, he probably meant land predator.

Nice shot though ;-)

[sssbc99 0]

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U.S. Geological Survey bear researcher Tom Smith; Sterling Miller, formerly the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's top bear authority; and others said they tried to warn the amateur naturalist that he was being far too cavalier around North America's largest and most powerful predator.

I could definitely argue with that.

Actually, that shot was most likely taken off the coast of South Africa at a place called Seal Island (I believe). It's one of the only places where Great Whites are known to breach. Anyway, he probably meant land predator.

Nice shot though ;-)

Good job! You have been watching National Geographic. Anyways, it has nothing to do with breaching. They will eat your ass from any direction.
I just thought of it this way; You have two choices:

1. You can be in an open field with a large grizzly twenty feet away, Or

2. You can be in an open body of water with a large whitey twenty feet away.

P.S. I have seen them in the water in Northern California and off Guadalupe Island about 250 miles south of San Diego. And I have seen pictures of them "breaching" at the latter of the two. But yes, you were right about the location of the photo.

[freeflir29 0]

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1. You can be in an open field with a large grizzly twenty feet away, Or

2. You can be in an open body of water with a large whitey twenty feet away.

It's just a guess as I am far from an expert but I would say the shark is probably less dangerous. At least they only kill for food. Bears are territorial.

[skysquiffy 0]

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It's just a guess as I am far from an expert but I would say the shark is probably less dangerous. At least they only kill for food. Bears are territorial.

[freeflir29 0]

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Sharks inadvertently kill & injure by checking out objects in the one way they can....biting.

True...but that's usually only surfers that looked like their favorite food item. Seals.

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Personally, I'd never want to be in the open water with a great white unless I was in a cage.

Me either....I think sharks are the one animal that I am truely scared of. I'd be far less scared with tanks on under the water. It's swimming on top that I hate. Makes me feel like bait.

[sssbc99 0]

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1. You can be in an open field with a large grizzly twenty feet away, Or

2. You can be in an open body of water with a large whitey twenty feet away.

It's just a guess as I am far from an expert but I would say the shark is probably less dangerous. At least they only kill for food. Bears are territorial.

This is not necessarily true. They have not been able to do extensive studies on the territoriality of white sharks but they have found several locations in the world with resident sharks (not that that proves anything). It is so hard to study an animal like this in its natural state (and unnatural state since none have survived extended captivity), but from what I have heard and seen, it seems very likely.

What they have found so far, and you are right, is that feeding is based on necessity while attacks on humans are based on mistaken identity since they have been known to seek out the weaker prey. The problem is that this case of mistaken identity will most likely cost you a large chunk of flesh.

[skysquiffy 0]

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Good job! You have been watching National Geographic.

Yep. Since I was a little sprite I've watched, read, listened to anything to do with animals.

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Anyways, it has nothing to do with breaching. They will eat your ass from any direction.

Somewhat true, but point taken. My reference to the breach was just identifying the location.

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I just thought of it this way; You have two choices:

1. You can be in an open field with a large grizzly twenty feet away, Or

2. You can be in an open body of water with a large whitey twenty feet away.

Yeah, and I'm in total agreement about which I'd pick too.

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P.S. I have seen them in the water in Northern California and off Guadalupe Island about 250 miles south of San Diego. And I have seen pictures of them "breaching" at the latter of the two.

Now this I wasn't aware of (the breaching). Right, off to do some research

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But yes, you were right about the location of the photo.

[sssbc99 0]

I was dry...luckily

I am going on a cage dive trip this winter to the same island..that is going to be awesome.

[riddler 0]

OK, I saw this movie last night Grizzly Man. I rented from Blockbuster.

So, I consider myself an environmentalist of sorts. And I have to admit - this guy was one major freak. He definitely had issues. I did not see him "defending the bears" from people even once. The closest thing was him hiding in the bushes and videoing some wildlife photographers from a distance while saying menacing things to the camera The guy was like a child.

I don't see any comparison between his actions and skydiving. We take precautions, we manage the risk with training, equipment and procedure. This guy was just a nut that wanted to be a bear - no apparent formal training or study, no precaution, no judgement. And I don't think he was doing anything good for the bears (or foxes) - all he did was get them used to human contact, which will endanger both them and other humans.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[SpeedRacer 1]

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he appeared for interviews on David Letterman's show and "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" to talk about his bears. He even gave them names: Booble, Aunt Melissa, Mr. Chocolate, Freckles and Molly, among others.

this is probably why they killed him.

Speed Racer
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[Richards 0]

Treadwell was a fucktard. Too bad his girlfriend was naive enough to believe the nonsense he spouted and the cost was her life. Fine to say that his intentions were honourable, but one does not have to be stupid to promote conservation.

Richards

My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

[wartload 0]

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Treadwell was a fucktard. Too bad his girlfriend was naive enough to believe the nonsense he spouted and the cost was her life. Fine to say that his intentions were honourable, but one does not have to be stupid to promote conservation.

Richards

My thoughts, exactly. I saw something about this on tv last night. He seemed a bit bizarre, although well-intentioned. The biggest pity was the apparenlty new GF who got sucked into it.