Deseret News | Reader comments: Bears aggressive, or are residents overreacting?

Reader comments
Aggressive bears?

Anonymous | 3:25 p.m. July 8, 2009

Shoot first. Then think about whether or not it wanted to eat you or your children.

Shaybo | 3:29 p.m. July 8, 2009

Yes lets make it so you have to be half eaten before you can shoot a bear.

Anonymous | 4:04 p.m. July 8, 2009

ridiculous... oh yeah, i happen to see a bear, so I should shoot it, even though it wasn't doing much of anything. i wouldn't expect anything less from Utah

Comments continue below

Re: Anon and Shaybo | 4:19 p.m. July 8, 2009

Mighty fine textbook examples of false dicotomy and straw man arguments y'all got going there.

Utahn in Alaska | 9:12 p.m. July 8, 2009

So living in Alaska, we have bears wander into town all the time. I don't buy that a black bear did a "false charge" because if a black bear charges, it is going to attack... only grizzlies do the "false charge" Get over it utah... for the most part bears will leave you alone if you leave them alone. If you're ignorant enough to leave smelly food out where they can get it, of course you are going to have a problem. Do some research on bears. We live in harmony with them up here, surely you can figure out how to do the same.

geedub | 9:19 p.m. July 8, 2009

I'm sure if you call they will tell you that they're too busy and that they'll take care of the bear when they get around to it. They can't even help get some ducks out of a storm drain.

Jimbo | 2:08 a.m. July 9, 2009

Have any of you seen the Movie Grizzly Man??? Bears are wild animals, noone can say that they are a so-called expert on what a Bear may or may not do. I'll tell you what, if a Bear of ANY KIND was anywhere near me and my family, it would not be alive for very long. Charge me with killing a Bear before I let my family get injured or killed because of my nievity in thinking that the Bear and I can see eye to eye. If the Bear is hungry, it will try and eat you. My rebuttal to a Judge charging me in a pre-trial hearing would be that "I guess we'll just have to issue one less hunting permitt this year!" The safety of my family comes before anything. Good on those who protected themselves and their families. This arcticle is the biggest crock I've read today. Good-day to ya!

SammyD | 2:09 a.m. July 9, 2009

Go in your cabin and call the Wildlife people next time please.

from Anchorage, Alaska | 2:27 a.m. July 9, 2009

Anchorage is truly unique as a city with WILD LIFE coexisting with us. Success requires us to be wise and careful since 60 brown bears and about 300 black bears also inhabit the tree areas within the Anchorage bowl. High numbers of large moose (or mothers with 1-2 calves) do create different challenges within the same area. Education about the animals before humans encounter them is the key. Sadly many folks arrive here without learning and problems result. Perhaps education about your wild life may be helpful to your people as well. When a human is ignorant, the animal will often be misunderstood and usually loses. What a sad commentary about the creatures credited with the most developed brains, or at least we can say the ones with the big guns.

Common Sense | 4:23 a.m. July 9, 2009

Bears are magnificent creatures. It is truly a privilege to see one in the wild. However, they are intelligent, extremely powerful, and when they learn to associate humans with food, potentially dangerous. Give them plenty of space.

what a bunch of idiots | 5:23 a.m. July 9, 2009

First of all, there's huge difference between a dangerous bear and six baby ducks that will likely die anyway.
Secondly, all those that are bad mouthing the shooting of these bears should remember the fallout from the boy that was killed by a bear . Remember how the DWR was blamed because they were not aggressive enough in dealing with the bear?

GmaRJM | 6:17 a.m. July 9, 2009

I agree with both sides.A bear is dangerous and 99.99% of utahs do not live around or near bears so experience is not there.But,we shouldn't have to wait to see if they are dangerous.Our families are first.But, then again,if we don't want that experience stay out of the bears' territory.We are invading their space first.Now who is right?The wildlife who we are taking over their space or us because we believe it is our space?Sounds like an old story of people in the Americas. We take over and everyone else is wrong!Doesn't matter what state or what city.Then again,maybe it is just humanity's way of looking at things.I'm here now, so everyone and everything else is wrong.

Anonymous | 7:27 a.m. July 9, 2009

If a bear charges a person, I think it's reasonable for a person to be frightened and to protect himself. Asking someone to be patient with a charging bear -- that's what's unreasonable.

Bears in the woods | 7:34 a.m. July 9, 2009

Bears live in the woods, people do not. I get that these people were scared, but take a minute to think... if you go in the woods, you may encounter wildlife. If you don't want to encounter wildlife, don't go in the woods.

Children are alive | 7:38 a.m. July 9, 2009

. . . and we can debate the wisdom of parents' protective actions at our leisure and in comparative safety, now that the incidents are over.

Since I wasn't there and don't know what actually happened, I would give a lot of deference to the judgment of the individuals involved who were there and who were protecting their children.

No one can say with any degree of accuracy what a wild animal will or won't do under any set of circumstances involving contact with humans. We've had recent illustrations of how devastating that interaction can be.

Here's hoping the DA is a reasonable, empathetic parent, rather than a doctrinaire tree hugger with an agenda.

Tex | 7:43 a.m. July 9, 2009

Dear brothers in Utah, stop shooting bears when you have no good reason to do it.

A lover of the great out doors | 7:51 a.m. July 9, 2009

Do I understand that the great out of doors is the property of bears now and we visit there at our own risk? If a bear kills one of my grand kids, what does the law say about that? Since the bear is "to dumb to know what's going on," he certanly wouldn't be liable. Where then might I leagly take my grievance? When my children are to young to know what's going on, I am sort of responsible for what they do. I am just trying to find out who I come after if one of your bears kills one of my kids or grand kids. They're each worth millions to me, and I will expect the person or persons responsible for the care of the dumb animals to meet me in court and pay up.

Bearlicious | 8:58 a.m. July 9, 2009

Bears are more important than people. Only when they begin gnawing on you, do you then have a right to defend yourself. Be sure that your shots are only meant to wound though, you don't want to get sued or thrown in jail. You violated the bear's home and then tempted him with food. How dare you. Every bear I've come across has been very kind, along the lines of Yogi. I look forward to the day when men will put down their guns and aggressiveness and embrace Brother Bear in fellowship. Only in Utah would we react so violently.

Ernest T. Bass | 9:03 a.m. July 9, 2009

Black bears are best.

Re: Lover | 9:12 a.m. July 9, 2009

If a bear kills one of your grandkids that is a sad and horrible thing, but ultimately if it is on wilderness land and the bear doesn't have to retain a lawyer. I suspect you would believe as a society we are too litigious, now read your own post and the answer is "you would sue yourself." If I fall off a cliff in the wilderness, I don't get to sue anybody for my standing too close to the edge. If you are truely worried about the bears eating your grandkids, DON'T go into the woods.

DWR Elmpoyee | 9:31 a.m. July 9, 2009

I work for the DWR and we take bear sightings very seriously. If someone calls in with a sighting our people are right on it. They do not waste time when dealing with bears. These people should have used more sense then to automatically shoot the bear. They are more afaid of you than you are of them. From the sounds of it, these bears were not aggressive, just curious. Next time use a little more sense and call the proper authorities.

Re: lover of the great outdoors | 9:44 a.m. July 9, 2009

So you're objecting to bears because of the difficulty that could be encountered in taking one to court? I see what you're saying, I guess, but is that the best you can do?

Also, if you're going to take your grandchildren into the outdoors, it's your responsibility to teach them how to handle themselves intelligently, safely, and respectfully. This does not necessarily include teaching them that shooting without thinking whenever they feel threatened is the best course of action, if only because it's not a lesson that you want them to to call to mind when the neighbor kid steals their soccer ball.

Re: Ernest T. Bass | 10:41 a.m. July 9, 2009

you left off the best part Ernest....when slow cooked over hickory coals.

Yep, they are good eatin too - anyway to get to bears that were shot?

xscribe | 8:21 p.m. July 9, 2009

I say we kill every last wild animal on Earth. That way we won't have to worry about anyone getting hurt except for their own stupidity.
(Obviously this is said in jest.)

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