Wyoming bicyclist fights off grizzly bea r

“Wyoming bicyclist fights off grizzly bear

http://espn.go.com/outdoors/conservation/news/2004/0908/1877531.html”

“Love that last quote:

"You want the big can."”

“Well, at least we know the bear didn't rape him”

“Lukcy SOB!”

“Wow, real lucky. At least they didn't have to find out which guy was the slowest runner...”

“A grizzly once rode off with my bike. What am I gonna do at that point? I just let him go.”

“So, I guess bigger IS better!...LOL....”

“LOL@mata
stinker ;-)”

“holy moly!

man, i bet they both needed new pants!

Funny line about the dog, running "as fast as his legs would carry him" wonder if its stopped yet!”

“Read an account of a cougar chasing a hiker's little dog...."...he was running downhill and going so fast that sometimes he was cartwheeling, like in those cartoons...". I guess that's how this poor dog felt.”

“The dog was probably in cahoots with the bear...set up the ambush and took off running.”

“Old news. That happened a couple months ago.”

“Ahah, Chief is keeping SS straight! The world turned upside down!”

“I'm sorry, why didn't the spray work?”

“Whether it's old news or not, it's interesting. At least SS didn't tell us whether the dude or the bear was a liberal or a commie or some such crap. Refreshing.”

“the spray DID work! the bear left without even taking a bite out of anyone.”

“Maybe the bear saw the biker and thought, "Hmmm, I'm in the mood for fast food today.".

Sorry if it's already been said.”

“Potential for conflicts with bears ‘really high’


By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Date: May 16, 2008

Bear activity is increasing in the valleys of northwest Wyoming and the potential for conflicts is “really high,” officials say.

On May 9, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department relocated a 400-pound male grizzly after it killed a cow calf on a ranch near Dubois. Game and Fish bear management officer Brian DeBolt said officials moved the bear to an area on the Shoshone River west of Cody.

Still, DeBolt said the season is off to a slow start in terms of actual conflicts despite the heavy snowpack and increasing bear activity in northwest Wyoming, including Jackson Hole.

“We’ve sure got a lot of bear activity down on the valley floors,” he said. “The high country is pretty snowed in. The potential for conflicts is really high.”

DeBolt said part of the reason for the lack of bear conflicts is that people have been careful to keep human food sources such as garbage, dog food and bird seed locked up or out of reach.

“People are doing a pretty good job so far,” he said. “We hope it stays that way.”

Wyoming Game and Fish bear managers responded to more than 200 bear conflicts last year, surpassing the total for the previous five years combined.

In 2007, bear management officials in northwest Wyoming captured more than 40 black and grizzly bears in response to conflicts or in pre-emptive efforts to avoid conflicts. Of those, 12 (nine black, three grizzly) bears had to be euthanized because they were conditioned to humans, human food or both.

Mark Bruscino, bear management officer with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, said so far this year a bear has damaged a building in the Gros Ventre area. Game and Fish bear biologist Mike Boyce said one black bear was found in a “bad spot” west of town, and another south of town.

A fourth bear was seen moving through residences near Jackson Hole Airport. In all cases, the bear moved on before wildlife managers could respond.

In Grand Teton National Park, a grizzly bear family has been seen around homes near Ditch Creek. Officials say the family could be grizzly bear No. 399 and her three cubs, who have become celebrities with bear watchers because of their preference for roadside habitat near Jackson Lake Lodge.

Bruscino said lingering snowfall has “hemmed in” some country that might normally be open for bears in spring. “There’s probably fewer food sources available [early] this year,” he said.

But the heavy snowpack could mean more food later. Barring a late-season frost, Bruscino said, more moisture could mean a good berry crop this year, which could help reduce conflicts. Regardless, bear staples such as grasses and sedges should be in abundance.”

“We actually had a bear sighting just south of Nashville recently. The bear was moving from the Cumberland Plateau and heading west, which is the wrong way for him. Havne't heard much about it lately, everything is so green now you could hide an elephant.”