A Grizzly Discovery

The Three Bears? Try 163,000 ... and counting
ROGER ALFORD, Associated Press Writer

HARLAN, Ky. – Bobby Koger was deer hunting on a Kentucky hillside when a black bear gave him the fright of his life.

A 300-pound animal, apparently unhappy that an intruder was on his turf, came charging and didn't stop until Koger raised his .50 caliber muzzleloading rifle and fired from point-blank range. A hunting companion who witnessed the attack from a distance also shot the bruin, which wheeled, ran a short distance and collapsed.

Conservation officers concluded that they fired in self-defense at a bear that had lost its natural fear of humans.

With black bear populations rising, run-ins have become almost commonplace — more than 15,000 in the past year in states east of the Mississippi River according to a survey of state wildlife agencies.

Canadian bear researcher Hank Hristienko, who conducted the survey in January, found that 18 Eastern states were seeing more encounters with bears.

Some bears have become brazen, dining beneath backyard fruit trees, raiding pet food bowls, even chasing campers. At a park near Prestonsburg, Ky., last year, a bear held tourists at bay inside a cabin until rangers arrived to chase it away.

I love bears. I always have but I have never felt the urge to drive up to the woods and camp out in their back yard. That's why camping is stupid. People want to go get in touch with nature. Well, what get's one better in touch with nature than a giant paw slap from a black bear? And if Bobby Koger expects any sympathy from me he can peddle his sob story elsewhere. Hunting is okay with me but the animals are allowed to fight back. That bear was just protecting his deer friends. Get it deer like dear. Ah, screw it.