Bear incident:9:30pm Sunday

[riverat]

WOMAN INJURED BY BEAR IN CENTER HARBOR

CONCORD, N.H. -- A 55-year-old Center Harbor woman, Jacqueline Berghorn, was injured outside her home by a black bear about 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 22, 2011.

Berghorn told N.H. Fish and Game Conservation Officers that she heard her dog on the back deck of her home, barking and acting in an unusual manner. She went out to investigate and encountered a bear approximately 10 feet away. The dog attacked the bear, and Berghorn turned and ran towards the home's sliding glass doors. She felt the bear's front paws on her back and shoulders and was knocked to the deck floor, then the bear turned and ran.

Berghorn received non-life-threatening injuries. She was taken to the Lakes Region General Hospital for evaluation and released later that evening.

Incidents involving physical contact with black bears are extremely rare, according to Fish and Game Bear Project Leader Andrew Timmins.

The incident was investigated by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Conservation Officer Brad Morse and U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services Bear Technician Jake Borgeson. Fish and Game was advised that neighbors, who recently moved away, had a history of feeding bears over the past five years. Biologists believe that the incident involving Berghorn, as well as other bear activity in the community, may be related to this past feeding of bears.

The bear involved in the incident with Jacqueline Berghorn has become habituated to human food and will most likely not change its current habits of seeking food from area residents, according to Morse. The Department has also been advised of several recent incidents involving an aggressive bear in the vicinity that has killed backyard chickens and injured a dog. Therefore, Fish and Game is attempting to capture and euthanize the bear to prevent further conflicts.

Bears have also been reported in the area visiting local birdfeeders. Fish and Game encourages homeowners to take down their birdfeeders between April 1 and December 1 because of black bears' fondness for birdseed.

"The surest way to prevent bear/human conflicts is to keep your yard free of food attractants. This helps prevent property damage by bears and keeps bears from becoming nuisance animals," said Timmins. "The sad truth is, a fed bear is a dead bear."

If a bear incident occurs at night, call your local police department.

For more information on preventing conflicts with black bears, visit http://www.wildnh.com/Wildlife/Somethings_Bruin.htm.

For information on preventing bear-related problems, call a toll-free number coordinated jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department: 1-888-749-2327 (1-888-SHY-BEAR).

[SAMIAM]

The bear was probably trying to get away from the dog.Black bear attacks on humans are almost unheard of.I've stumbled on bears scores of times in the woods and have had to chase them out of our dumpster many times.....they just shuffle away when people approach.Hope they don't kill the bear just because a minor incident.

[tis]

It makes me mad that people won't take down their bird feeders despite being told all the time. It just draws these poor critters and helps the birds become dependent. In the winter the feeders are fine. Instead of helping them, they are hurting them.

[NoBozo]

Originally Posted by tis

It makes me mad that people won't take down their bird feeders despite being told all the time. It just draws these poor critters and helps the birds become dependent. In the winter the feeders are fine. Instead of helping them, they are hurting them.

I don't believe in ANY kind of animal feeders at ANY time. It's Welfare..and some of us know how Welfare works. It makes the recipient Dependent. NB

[Greene's Basin Girl]

I think it is sad that they are going to kill the bear. It was just defending itself from the dog that attacked it. Why not tranquilize it and move it to the White Mountain National Forest? We have a female bear and three baby cubs that pass through our yard. We enjoy watching them so much. Of course we keep our distance and watch from the house. We have had several bears around for years and we have never had a problem. Oh---in case your wondering we do not feed the bears.

[fatlazyless]

Maybe just sentence the poor bear to doing three bear shows/day up at www.clarkstradingpost.com/attractions.php as community service instead of being euthanized.

Teaching a bear how to sweep the floor with a broom....that's a strong possibility up at Clark's....teach a bear how to sweep up with a broom and it will have a job for life entertaining in Clark's Bear Show, where for the $18.00 entry price (up from the 2003 price of 9.00), customers could get to see various uses of a broom.....such as bear broom hockey.....score one for the bear! This bear show is for you.....for 18-dollars.... and it keeps a bear out of your backyard by learning it to be a show-biz, HOLLYWOOD BEAR!

[Flylady]

No matter what part of the country, any educated animal lover knows that "a fed bear is a DEAD bear". Nothing like signing their death warrant by being careless or intentionally feeding them.

[Grandpa Redneck]

Actually just chased one off my porch 20 minutes ago, done it plenty of times, they really are more scared of you than you are of them. and thinking that shootin one will make it attack is wrong, you been watchin' too many tv shows. My Grandpa used to shoe them away from the farm with a pellet gun to the rump. They would yelp and run like crazy.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Flylady

Even in California....

It was in Yosemite National Park that I first encountered my first Black Bear.

We'd just rounded a huge boulder on the edge of a mountain pathway, and were ambling along—when a Black Bear ambled past us in the opposite direction.

When the bear encountered a second couple at the boulder (who froze and blocked the path) the bear grunted, and hustled back in the direction he'd just come from—passing us again!

[NH_boater]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Black bear attacks on humans are almost unheard of.

Actually, numerous I have always heard that black bear human attacks are much more common than grizzly attacks in N. America due to the huge population of blacks (300K) versus grizzly (3K). Numerous credible sites seem to back this up. There are about 20 black attacks each year in N.A. Granted, most black 'attacks' are very minor, like knocking the person down. 10% of black attacks (or 2 a year) result in serious injury versus 50% for grizzly attacks.

Grizzly bears are also twice as big as blacks; 500lbs versus 250lbs average.

Obviously, serious black attacks are much more rare than encounters that are still classified as bear attacks. I would not call 2 serious attacks a year almost unheard of though.

[TOAD]

A bear that has attacked a human is a dead bear. Only way to insure it doesn't happen again.

Don't feed the wildlife of any kind. It's not natural or good for them. Not nature's way.

[NoRegrets]

Don't feed the wildlife is great advice. This event should bring awareness to a few that have not thought about the consequences of their actions.

Is there a shortage of bears or is the population to a point where the population needs thinning out?

I am surprised that so many negative remarks about humans. Should we let someone be trapped in their shelter and think they should leash their dog in their own yard?

Not saying we should not feel for nature but humans do what they can to control it. I am sure the authorities in this case did the right thing (even though unpleasant) and removed a small problem that had the potential to be a tragedy.

[Argie's Wife]

The bear is being a bear - s/he's doing what they were made to do - get food.

If humans are providing the food, then shame on the humans for doing it.

Bears have a GREAT memory - they will return to a place where they found food in the past, hoping to score on it again. When it's not there because the humans have moved, then they will go to the next closest site.

It wouldn't surprise me one bit to learn that the lady who was attacked had fed bears in the past. Maybe she just left some cat food out for her cat, or some suet for the birds, but I doubt that attack just "happened"...

[Slickcraft]

A friend of ours has many years of experience tracking and live trapping wildlife, usually as a consultant to NH F&G (he was the bob cat live trapper for the tracking project last winter). He also has hunting dogs that he uses to run and tree black bear in season but he never shoots them. So he is pretty familiar with their habits.

His take on the woman’s story:
It would be extremely unlikely and out of character for a black bear to climb onto a deck occupied by a dog and a human.
As bear don’t retract their claws, a swat strong enough to knock one down but leave no claw marks, while possible, is not highly likely.
More likely (my opinion), as the woman panicked, turned and lunged for the door, she probably simply fell down (she sure did not look very agile in the video). In the panic of the incident there may have been the perception of being knocked down. In any event her story and past feedings killed the bear.

It would be interesting if, with F&G help, a TV spot of life from the bear’s perspective could be aired to counter the hysterical spots that WMUR has run.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

The bear is being a bear - s/he's doing what they were made to do - get food.

In prehistoric times, dogs and bears probably shared this ancestor:



So sometimes, a dog is a Brown Bear...



And sometimes, a Bear is a Retriever...

[TOAD]

Recently scientists studied the history of black bear attacks. For the most part, the news it good. Only 68 attacks have been documented in the last one hundred and nine years. Unfortunately, over 85 percent of them happened since the 1960s. And here's the creepy part: they're all sneak attacks.

More:

Sneak attacks from black bears baffle scientists

http://io9.com/5800265/why-have-blac...-last-50-years

[Greene's Basin Girl]

Very interesting article. I love the cat treeing the bear.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Acres per Second

In prehistoric times, dogs and bears probably shared this ancestor:

And if there was any doubt?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE-Ny...=player_popout