I’m happy to say I made it out of bear country yesterday… unscathed…this person, however, was not quite so lucky!
Orillia, Ont. — The Canadian Press Published on Wednesday, May. 19, 2010 10:14AM EDT
A 48-year-old man is recovering in hospital after being mauled by a black bear in Ontario cottage country just days before the Victoria Day long weekend.
Provincial police say the man sustained serious, but non-life-threatening injuries in the attack Tuesday night in Severn Township, northwest of Orillia, Ont.
Const. Gerry Dwyer says the man was airlifted to Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto with lacerations to his body, right foot, right calf and right forearm.
Const. Dwyer said today the man is in stable condition.
Police and natural resources personnel are searching for the bear and have set up a number of traps in the area.
Const. Dwyer says people in the area are being urged to keep children and pets indoors until the bear is caught, and report bear sightings to police.
This story underscores again, the fact that animals are not four legged fuzzy people. Bears are predators and should be treated as such. Animals become emboldened and lose their natural fear of man when they are not hunted. It is time to remove the rose coloured glasses our city cousins insist on wearing when going into the back country. From a large carnivoure’s point of view, we are nothing but a nice light snack.
I agree totally Nick!
As perhaps the most cunning and powerful omnivore in the world, the first thing we must always do when entering the bear woods is maintain the utmost respect for these animals!
Be prepared, be aware of what they are capable of, and most of all…take off the damn rose coloured glasses!
Outdoorsguy
I was at the scene of this attack this morning.
The individual involved was too busy planting seeds and not paying attention!
His “gardening” supplies were still present, as was his blood soaked clothing and boots.
Bears are NOT big cuddly pets, nor are they cold blooded killers!
They are big, strong, WILD animals that can do an unbelivable amount of damage in a very short time.
I spend a great deal of time in the bush photographing bears and have never had a problem.
Learn what they are about and RESPECT what they can do.
OK….I hear what you’re saying, but what if this man had died yesterday..would that bear not have been a cold blooded killer then?
Outdoorsguy
how can we have two Outdoors Guys on the same forum
may I suggest a name change.
On the bear issue, so he was TOO BUSY PLANTING SEEDS???
on his property I presume
doing what he wanted to do
so it was really his fault
or maybe there are so many bears around now and not enough food
to go around so they sometimes decide that a human, or his supplies (seeds)
will do.
I’ve been around plenty of bears to, and I’ve never been attacked, but I’ve had bears around me that weren’t afraid of me and that my friend is an erie feeling. And dangerous
If this had to happen, it’s just too bad it wasn’t close to Toronto.
No, they are not cold-blooded killers-they are animals.
OK Dawn..and if they attack and possibly kill a human..for no apparent reason..other than the person appeared to be good-sized and easy prey…what then?
So they can be called killers..but cannot be called ‘cold blooded’..I suppose that stands to reason since they are mammels..so I take back the ‘cold blooded’ part..
Outdoorsguy
they need to eat, just like us, normally they are afraid of humans, they know we are the top of the food chain, but at this time of year, they are hungry, there is great competition in the forests for the kind of food they need, so every once in a while, one will take on the top of the food chain. When there are too many bears, it happens more often. THERE ARE TOO MANY BEARS RIGHT NOW, WITH NO END IN SIGHT
The problem strait forward is that bears are losing there fear of man.With the early spring and lack of moisture we could have a real problem if the berries and nuts are a failure this summer.Young males will be bold and have no fear.One point i would like to make that may be a bit distasteful but i think should be mentioned is the extra risk females take camping in bear country in the spring during that time of the month for them.Female tree planters and surveyers are warned about it up north.And that is all females have basically the same chemical makeup and that is how male bears find there mates.With there incredible scents of smell a male bear can become extremely agressive which could lead to a confrontation.I have a solution to get the attention of the MP’s in toronto.Save up all the slimmy fish water when you clean your fish and find where your MP’s cottage is and pour it down the side of his cottage or on his yard.If he or she comes and there wall has been opened like a sardine can and they have to spend all that summer break indoors you can bet when it directly affects them something will get done.
Iggy,
It never pays to presume!
The attack occurred in a rather isolated area on Crown Land.
And yes, I suspect “he was TOO BUSY PLANTING HIS SEEDS????”
Bruce, in a news report last night they said he was a hunter doing some scouting on his hunt territory….not that it matters, but it sounds like that was not necessarily the case?
Outdoorsguy
seriously, who gives a damn what he was doing, I don’t care if he was planting seeds or scouting or just going for a walk, what the hell does it matter, he was attacked by a bear doing whar Canadians do, walk around in the wilderness. The fact of the matter is, he should have been carrying a gun, as we all will have to do soon just to protect ourselves, from our own misbegotten changes in hunting laws.
I don’t get your comment Bruce, are you suggesting he was doing something wrong, so he deserved it????
mark my words, the blood of a person will be on the MNR Minister and the Permier when someone very soon is killed by a bear in Ontario.
Yes Iggy, you can bet it will happen again soon. The death of Dr Jacqueline Perry in Chapleau was not that long ago…and there have been many bear attacks in Ontario since then..
I would personally like to invite the gentleman who was mauled this week in Orillia to the Outdoors Guy Blog to share his experience.
Perhaps Bruce knows him..or anyone else out there from that region..
I will not attempt to call this man, or pester him by phone as to invade his privacy, but would be honoured if he’d check in here sometime to let us all know what happened..so that perhaps others may learn from his experience…once he has fully recovered, of course, and feels up to sharing the details of the experience..
Outdoorsguy
I am familiar with the area in which this man was attacked. There are quite a few cottages out that way so my concern is for the people coming up this long weekend. My prayers go out to this man’s friends and family. No matter what he was doing, none of this was his fault. It’s one of those instances of ‘wrong place, wrong time.’
Cathy, my sentiments exactly…and let’s cross our fingers on a speedy recovery!
Thanks for stopping by.
Outdoorsguy
Cathy brings up a good point about cottagers coming in for the May 24 weekend…and the danger this rogue bear might pose to others..
I truly do hope that MNR Law Enforcement have set out culvert traps in an attempt to catch (& destroy) this bear…so far no word on that. Yes, I did say destroy. A nuisance bear is one thing..one that attacks a human with the intent to kill and eat it, is another!
Once a predatory male bear (as this one no doubt was) has proven they’ll go after human prey..the next guy, gal or child may not be so lucky. These lone adult male bears are responsible for every fatal attack in Ontario history, and are the ones to watch out for in the Great Outdoors…
Sure, a sow protecting her cubs is a force to be reckoned with…but 99 times out of 100 she’s not the one out to kill and eat you!
Outdoorsguy
I only read half way through but..
we also hunt bears for no reason, for a game. And how many people a year actually die from a bear attack.Its probably 1 human dies for every 100 bear that are hunted. I dont understand how people rationalize what bears do. We are going to kill it anyway even if it didn’t hurt anyone, now we just have a reason
or we eat them
just like we eat cows, pigs, chickens and tomatoes, all living things but without them, we die
Let me weigh back in here. First the “cold blooded killer” thing. That is an attribute only humans are capable of. It requires a concious decision to take another human life for no reason whatsoever. Animals including bears are not capable of the kind of thought necessary to make that choice. Why do bears attack unprovoked? It is almost never for no reason. Either someone confronted them in what they thought was an agressive manner, got between cub and cow, or out of surprise. They are also predators and it is not unknown for a bear to attack for food. Now as for why we hunt them, there are several very good reasons. The first, is that they taste good. Second, as a form of population control, and third to maintain their natural fear of people. Don’t fall into teh trap that gives animals human qualities. And don’t think that just becuasesomething like hunting offends yoru sensibilities, there is no value to it. You don’t need to go hunting if you don’t want too, but it most cerrtainly has a place in our culture and society.
Just a quick comment. I am not a hunter, but I do live in the area. I think part of the problem is, cottagers for whatever reason think it’s ok to leave their weekend garbage along the ditches instead of disposing of it properly. Maybe bears in this area are becoming too bold because of the easy food sorces they are finding.
Hutch, although I do agree that is a problem and we need to be more vigilant when it comes to waste, the situation Mr Marois found himself in had nothing to do with food scraps or garbage. This was a predatory bear attack, plain and simple..a situation responsible for almost every bear-related fatality in history.
There have been situations out there (many of them actually) when a person has done everything right when it comes to disposing of garbage, keeping a camping-area free of food scraps or whatever..and they still get attacked. These large predatory male bears are not interested in tiny food scraps when they see a potential 180-190 pound meal!
I always give the sad example of the couple who was attacked and killed in Algonquin Park back in the early 90’s…these folks kept a spotless campsite and were returning with bags full of fresh hamburger and other foods, when they were attacked by a predatory black bear.
When their bodies were later discovered (partially devoured) the bags of groceries were still lying on the ground… untouched!
Outdoorsguy