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Posted on 11/29/2012 9:25:55 PM PST by whodathunkit
SWISSDALE - State police say a Woodward Township, Clinton County, man died from a bear attack.
The state Game Commission, however, disagrees, believing that Gary Lininger died of injuries caused when a tree fell on him.
Lininger, 62, died on Oct. 16, according to the Clinton County coroner. His body was found four days later outside his secluded mountain home along Tedrow Lane, just off Route 664, the Coudersport Pike, above the village of Swissdale and some eight miles north of Lock Haven.
Coroner Donald G. Walker said the death was not suspicious, but he ordered an autopsy to determine the cause because of the uncertain circumstances surrounding Lininger's passing.
Walker declined any comment on the case other than saying the death was accidental.
But his finding prompted an immediate investigation by state police at Lamar and the state Game Commission.
Trooper Matthew R. McDermott, who headed the probe, released his final report Tuesday afternoon, saying that, while Lininger's death was accidental, "a bear attacked the victim."
"The victim fell a tree, it struck him, rendering him dazed or unconscious. While in this state, a bear attacked the victim, which ultimately resulted in his death," McDermott wrote in his very brief report.
Game Commission officials adamantly disagree with that ruling.
"There's never been a documented bear killing of a human in Pennsylvania. With that said, we dispute that this was a bear attack that killed this individual," David A. Carlini, the agency's information and education supervisor for the Northcentral Region based in Jersey Shore, told The Express.
"We investigated along with state police and also conducted our own investigation. We do not believe a bear attack killed Mr. Lininger. We absolutely believe that the victim was in the act of cutting the tree down, the tree fell on him and caused injuries that he died from," Carlini said via telephone.
"I am very sure of our findings of the facts. We are the wildlife experts. We've dealt with bears killing livestock, pigs, horses ... We know the characteristics of bear kills. We are basing our conclusion on that knowledge and experience," he continued.
"We are not seeing evidence of a bear attack. There were multiple scratches on the body... a lot of them post mortem. Many of the other injuries were also post mortem. Some of the injuries were not post mortem ... believed caused by the tree falling on him."
Part of the reason the Game Commission believes Lininger died from injuries from a falling tree or limb is because the victim was feeding bears at his property, Carlini said.
"There were bear droppings in and around where the deceased was found. Those droppings contained contents of what was being fed in a feeder at the deceased's property ... so that's a reason why bears would be there," he said.
"We're not disputing all of the facts, we're disputing the summation and opinions by others in this case.
"We are not disputing there could have been bear or other animals involved. He was in the woods for three or four days. They could have taken advantage of that body laying in woods. We're not disagreeing that a bear found him afterwards," Carlini explained.
Despite the disagreement on Lininger's cause of death, Carlini said he doesn't want people to be afraid or panic that there's a dangerous bear on the loose in the county.
"People should always be cautious and respect bears. But to fear there is a man-eating bear attacking and stalking people, we do not believe that," he said.
Clinton County is considered bear country, typically coming in among the top three or five Pennsylvania counties in the number of bears harvested each hunting season. The just-ended bear season was no exception, with an estimated 217 bears harvested, just behind Lycoming County's 239, according to preliminary figures.
The Game Commission has studied black bears in Pennsylvania since its inception.
Wildlife conservation officers and biologists regularly provide information on bear habits, and offer precautions that people should take as the bear population continues to increase and more of the animals come into contact with humans.
"Our perceptions of bears are a product of their mostly shy, mysterious nature and powerful presence, not to mention the timeless tales that have been told about them. Unfortunately, there's as much misinformation about bears in circulation as there is fact. And that's too bad, because bears needn't be feared, nor should they be dismissed as harmless," the agency advises.
Bears "simply need to be respected," the agency says. "Pennsylvania's bear population has been increasing for decades, and at the same time, many people have moved into the areas where bears reside. As a result, bears and people are coming into contact more than ever. And most of these encounters occur when bears learn that where people live there's easy-to-obtain food. Learning about bears and being aware of their habits is important for people who live in bear country, which now includes most of the state," the agency advises on its web site.
"Bears may be on the move at any time, but they're usually most active at dusk and dawn. Bears are omnivorous, eating almost anything, from berries, corn, acorns, beechnuts and even grass, to table scraps, carrion, honey and insects. During late summer and fall, black bears fatten up for winter hibernation. At this time they may actively feed for up to 20 hours a day, ingesting up to 20,000 calories."
The agency advises that, if you live or have a summer home or camp in bear country, make accomodations to peacefully co-exist with these large animals.
"Make sure you don't encourage bears to become problem bears by putting your garbage where it's available to them or, even worse, by intentionally feeding them. Black bears will consume almost anything. They will eat human food, garbage, bird feed, pet foods and livestock feed. They also raid cornfields and beehives. Once bears find easily accessible food sources, whether on a farm or in a housing development, they lose their wariness of people and will keep coming back as long as food is available. The best way to get rid of these unwanted visitors is to remove the food source for a month or more, but even then, there are no guarantees. A persistent bear may damage property, increase the risk of human injury or become an unwanted visitor in other parts of the neighborhood. And, all too often, fed bears become dead bears."
My mom grew up in a little house near the Indiana/Jefferson County line in western PA. My grandfather was a coal miner, who over the decades, increased his property to include a small farm and a couple fruit orchards. My two aunts still live in a newer house on the property and essentially end up sharing the orchard produce with the local black bears.
We've been here in Alaska 20 years, all kinds of bear both blk & grizz; except most of the time the grizz stay up on our summits. People here shoot every bear they see as the pests they are, and dangerous ones too. We had a few local bear getting into the burn barrel, then our dogs chased a few off. So I set up a bait station a mile behind our place and my kids shot 8 bear the first year. After a couple spring seasons and 25 bear, I started to notice less bear around which was a good thing. Once you have bear on the porch getting into things, looking around, it's time to clean them out or you will come home one day to find a bear in the house that doesn't want to leave. They figure out pretty quick there's better food inside than out. I've personally seen grizz knock a heavy wooden door right off it's hinges in log cabins, with an old Indian inside.
I have a game cam, you wouldn't believe the picts I have from my bait station, how the bear interact with each other in the woods when nobody's watching.
I have from my bait station, how the bear interact with each other in the woods when nobody’s watching.
Absolutely! The bears here are suffering greatly from mange and is an indication of overcrowding.
I live about an hours drive from where this man was killed. Bears have become an increasing problem here as well. Many 'nuisance' bears are relocated here and are acclimated to human contact. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has a three strikes policy before the bear will be put down. I wonder if the bear who got this guy was one of those? They have ear tags to identify the relocated bears.
Lunchtime ping
In North Georgia we go deer hunting and more than once have come back to parked four wheelers and will find the foam seats totally destoyed by bears. Nothing else touched.
“They hate the seats! Stay away from the seats!”
With apologies to the movie “The Jerk.”
I would have 200 picts a day on game cam and usually 15-20 different bear visiting my bait barrel all day and all night long. When a big bear was there and a smaller bear came in for some eats, the big bear would stretch it's head and neck way out towards smaller bear looking big and bad and smaller bear would chatter away jumping side to side, but not coming any closer, haha. Just fun seeing how bear talk and communicate back and forth.
Have had a few bear crawl up my stand tree right under my feet like they wanted to get a taste of me, shot off 44 right nx to their head and down the tree they went.
After I quit hunting the bait station, the bear clean out barrel pretty quick. Then they follow my 4 wheeler trail back to my house for a week or two. The bear show up in my yard and dogs run them off. They must wonder why I haven't brought them any goodies and come looking.
Bears around here all eat each other, I’ve never seen mange, just minor rubs.
If you’d like to be on or off this Outdoors/Rural/wildlife/hunting/hiking/backpacking/National Parks/animals list please FR mail me. And ping me is you see articles of interest.
Black bears are so nasty they will eat their own dead siblings after they “ripen up”. They can peel a locked car open in about 15 minutes. They can rip canned goods open with their claws and teeth. I saw a car ripped open to get animal crackers out of a child’s seat.
“I can’t believe it will be that long before there are even more close encounters, especially if the bears are already that unafraid.”
Just wait until until 10 minutes after their welfare checks fail to show up one month in the very near future, LOL!
(Sorry - couldn’t resist!)
The reason for the post was not for the gruesome aspect of the poor fellows death . It is, instead an unusually clear insight into what we will be subject to with the push for Agenda 21. Please let me explain what I have read 'between the lines'.
The real subject of the story is the disagreement between a state game agency and a state police agency. In the police investigation the facts pointed to a bear attack. The state game agency rapidly denied that any of their bears would do such a thing and therefore they reject the finding of facts. Does this make sense? Absolutely not! The Pennsylvania State Game Commission has been implementing many of the policies of modern environmentalism. Many of the residents in the rural parts of Pennsylvania have been scratching their heads every time they make a rule change or implement new policies. Other state agencies have been acting in a similar manner and when viewed as a whole it is obvious that Agenda 21 is alive and well here. Large tracts of private land have been purchased by environmental groups and donated to the state. We are losing lots of property tax income once it is public land as well as many private development opportunities which could boost the local jobs market. The transfer of private to state owned land has been increasing exponentially and the funding is coming from sources outside of the state.
So to sum it up, expect more stories that don't make sense. The reporters facts are correct but the squabbling agencies will leave your head spinning.
We had that problem in North Dakota, at least until someone got tired of being dismissed as merely 'anecdotal' due to the lack of an advanced degree in wildlife biology and dropped by Game and Fish with one (recently deceased) in the back of the pickup. Heck, you can't be prosecuted for shooting what isn't there...
Now we have a 'permit issued as needed limited season' on them.
Since then, game cameras have 'captured' a lot more mountain lions (in one case, three at one kill site) than anyone suspected, and far closer to population centers than was previously believed. I suggest using the cameras for proof, as some Game and Fish Departments might not take such a practical approach.
At least they admitted bears crap in the woods, that's a start...
I live in Williamsport, PA and hunt in Danville, PA.
I had a small 150 lb bear coe within 30 feet of me during the opening day of rifle deer season. The bear did not seem unafraid of me and clearly saw/smelled me.
I agree with others here that as the bear population in Pennsylvania increases, we will see more of these “encounters” between man and bear.
That is (another reason) to carry at all times.
Makes the apple picking interesting?
Years ago a friend and I would camp in the Blue Ridge. We knew the area had a large bear population but never saw one up close until …
One night we heard noise near our campsite. Looking out the tent we saw a bear nosing around. We became concerned when it checked out our motorcycles and I suggested to the friend that he should do something, it was closing in on his Harley. Neither of us moved. The bear finally wandered off.
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