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Unfortunately there’s been a second bear induced fatality already this spring and it WAS NOT a grizzly! Black bear attacks on humans are very rare but a Durango, Colorado woman was indeed preyed upon by a sow black bear and her two yearling cubs. The woman’s body was found by her boyfriend after she’d been missing for the better part of last Friday, 4/30 and it is believed that she was walking her dogs when the encounter with the sow and cubs occurred.
The bears were killed and a necropsy was performed on them to determine if they were indeed the perpetrators. The results of the necropsy confirmed that the bears did have human remains in their digestive systems. It is not clear at this time if the woman was mauled, killed and then fed upon by the trio of black bears or if something else befell her and the bears consumed parts of her body but the consensus I’m gathering is that the three bears did maul and kill this poor lady.
This is yet another grim reminder that bears of all sub-species are wild, dangerous animals and you need to take precautions when recreating in all bear country, not just grizzly territory. I know that I have a tendency to be dismissive of black bears and I’m betting I’m not alone. This unfortunate circumstance is a stark reminder of just what Ursus Americanus is capable of and that we need to respect them as much as their notorious cousins, the grizzly bear.
Sources:
https://oilcity.news/associated-press/2021/05/02/colorado-woman-dies-after-appare
It is very sad that the lady lost her life doing what she obviously enjoyed, walking her dogs. How can I be sure that if hunters were allowed to use dogs to hunt bears, would that increase the number of hunters that would make it less difficult to pursue and identify. The same thing is true for cougars. My guess is that it would bring back fear to the animals just like anything that is pursued. It seems to me that predators have lost their fear of humans because of all the restrictions placed on hunting. My question too all of you, what do we do?
It’s sad to say that many of the nature videos posted on the internet show brazen black bear approaching hikers and sniffing around looking for something to eat. People have been feeding the bears thinking it’s cute and fun to share and post nature videos. All they are doing is encouraging the bears to look at humans as a food source or victims of bear attacks. The sad part is that the one feeding the bear is usually never around when the bear attacks.