Blame, in this unfortunate fatal bear collision near Luskville, it seems, is being cast in a number of areas, and we have several experts on hand to attest to that:
Here is a list I have compiled of factors identified by several experts as being to blame:
1) Hunters are to blame for pursuing bears over bait. 2) Three registered black bear outfitters are to blame – who operate in that area (between 70 – 100 km away) 3) A black bear sow’s maternal instincts are to blame 4)Gatineau Park is also to blame for having no bear season 5) Bear hunting itself could really be to blame, although stats show it is more popular in other areas of the province. 6) Bear populations are also to blame as stats show bear numbers are on the increase, and finally 7) Road conditions are to blame because of an 80 KM per hour speed limit along the 148 and poor visibility at that time of night.
When sifting thru the reasons why this terrible accident happened, there is something that keeps jumping out at me…this was a FREAK ACCIDENT and a terrible one; no doubt.
It was so rare; in fact, I could not find another case in North America where multiple fatalities resulted from a bear – vehicle collision. I couldn’t find a case where even one person died from hitting a bear on the road.
Sure, we can cast blame until we are blue in the face and it is human nature – don’t get me wrong – to look for a cause, or blame following such a terrible loss. The fact of the matter is, though, we have wildlife in our region and vehicle strikes do occur – usually not with such unfortunate outcome, but it happens.
The province of Quebec does their best to control bear numbers with 1, and in some cases 2 hunting seasons throughout the year.
Could more be do to thin the bear numbers in western QC and eastern ON?
Possibly, but what the stats don’t show is that bruin numbers in the Pontiac and Outaouais are actually lower today than they were a few years back, before expended hunting opportunities were introduced in that region.
I feel very very sad for the families and loved ones, but we need to keep things in perspective here. This type of accident could easily have been called ‘an act of God’ as the way things unfolded on that hwy the other evening is perhaps the biggest fluke in big-game collision history.
I can’t even imagine one of my family or friends being involved and you hate to say such a tragedy could be chalked up to bad luck, but really that is the truth of the matter.
Outdoorsguy
I agree Jeff “perhaps the biggest fluke in big-game collision history.”
How the first car could get the bear elevated enough to cause the bear to go through the second cars windshield almost defies physics. To hit the bear with enough force to propel it in the air the first car would have been severely damaged yet the occupants of this car were not seriously injured.
Looking at the picture you provided you can see how low a center of gravity a bear has. It would be like hitting a boulder and throwing it up in the air. That just does not happen. Bears do not jump at the moment of impact like a deer would and a moose has a much higher center of gravity thus explaining why a collision with these last two animals is more likely to have the animal go through the windshield.
As you said “an act of God.”
My condolences to the families involved. A sad sad day!
well take a look at what shape the car that initially hit the bear has, a low to the ground wedge shape, so to me it’s not very hard to imagine what happened, the bear may even have started to stand up, but that shape of car would send anything it hit into the air, and I imagine both cars were traveling at high rates of speed. As far as blame, unless your an accident analysis expert, it’s pretty hard to blame anything and if you talk to the experts they’ll tell you that when an accident like this happens, it’s a series of coincidences that unless they all came together at exactly the same time this kind of tragedy wouldn’t have happened. So that’s exactly what it is, a tragic accident, speed, bear populations, wrong place wrong time, night time, hitting a black object nearly impossible to see in the dark, who knows what else.
the timing was simply perfectly sad. it will be interesting if the police ever release the speed of the sunfire. just an awful occurrence.
So now we have adult male black bears hanging out ‘on a limb’ in Kanata…
I guess this will be the ‘summer of bears’ around town..just like last summer was the ‘summer of moose’
In the Kanata bear incident apparently the MNR showed-up with the tranq guns and everything went smoothly,
which was nice to hear.
Of course, this bruin will be ear-tagged and labelled a nuisance, so if it shows up again I assume the matter would
be handled differently?
Anyone know if its still handled that way??
Outdoorsguy
another bear found in a tree in went end Ottawa yesterday
seems to be a lot of bear incidents at this time of year.
now I see what you mean about the blame game Jeff, the article quotes the supposed expert
and she kind of tries to blame hunters 75 kms away for baiting.
Some expert! ! ! someone should tell this dope that bears don’t travel 75 kms for a meal
that’s why they weigh upwards of 500 lbs
Iggy, that’s why I created the ‘Blame Post’…in a freak incident like that everyone looks for someone to blame when truthfully sometimes its just a terrible accident!
Now if rogue bears are allowed to roam around town and something bad happens, well that’s just an accident waiting to happen and there might be some real blame involved.
I know some say these ‘urban’ bears are not a threat..but we have seen how ‘stranger things can happen’
Outdoorsguy
My condolences to the families . A sad sad day!!!!! I will miss you my friends…………sniff………………sniff
My condolences to everyone affected by this accident.
I think this was just one of those cases of “when your number is up, it’s up” situations. If the first car hadn’t hit the bear exactly as it did, if the bear didn’t fly through the air exactly as it did, if the other vehicle wasn’t in its exact location at the exact moment, if the bear had not hit the second vehicle exactly as it did, there would have been nothing to report about this collision. Unfortunately, like Iggy said, it was a bunch of circumstances that came together at exactly the right moment to cause such a terrible accident.
What colour ear tags are the MNR using this year? Last year it was green.
We saw one in our neck of the woods, a few days after it had been released.
imacdon, you spotted a tagged bear out in your area..how big was it? Was it still running the last you saw??
Does the MNR alternate release tag colours each year..as a way of indicating the year of release??
Outdoorsguy
they change the colour to help identify what year they were tranquilized. After a bear is tranquilized, it takes a year before you can use the meat for animal or human consumption. I understand that if you do shoot a tagged bear the MNR will issue you a new license, because you still by law have to tag it, and the new license is free
I think the colour of the tag also helps identify a chronic nuisance bear
We saw two tagged bears in our area last year, small one with the green tag a larger with with a white tag.
The larger one had been released a few years earlier. Both where still moving. I have not seen a bear yet this spring. Saw five different bears last spring turkey hunting. Had one get too close, Even when I stood up it kept walking towards me, of course I was in Camo, started the ATV and away it went. The MNR does use a different
coloured tag each year.
imacdon, sounds like you have a high number of blackies in your area…guess you need eyes in the back of your head.
Outdoorsguy