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Youngsters in Churchill are warned not to dress in furry white costumes, to steer clear of baited traps stuffed with seal meat and to listen for the tell-tale sound of fireworks. That's because these candy-seekers have more to worry about than ghosts and goblins. They need to avoid a different kind of predator on Halloween - the polar bear. School children get a visit from the polar bear patrol team to go over safety tips. On the day of Halloween, several conservation officers take to the sky in a helicopter to see if there are any bears nearby. As dusk...

It's every hunter's worst nightmare. You've nestled into your tent for the night when you're awakened by the sound of a bear charging. Within seconds it's on you, teeth sinking into flesh as you fight for your life. "I went into survival mode as she batted me around, biting me," Ken Scown, 36, said Saturday. "I was kind of waiting for the bite to the head and neck and it would all be over." Scown and his pal Jeff Herbert were three days into an 11-day hunting trip near Canal Flats in the East Kootenays region of B. C. when...

HAYWARD, Wis. – Shoppers in a Wisconsin grocery store got an unexpected surprise when a 125-pound black bear wandered inside and headed straight for the beer cooler. The bear stopped Friday night at Marketplace Foods in Hayward,.. It calmly climbed up 12 feet onto a shelf in the beer cooler where it sat for about an hour while employees helped evacuate customers and summoned wildlife officials.

We've got to work harder at getting information out, thanks state run media. There are some charts and issues we need to educate others on; 2009 Federal Revenue and Spending Book of Charts http://www.heritage.org/research/features/BudgetChartBook/ Income Tax Receipts Stay Constant Even as Tax Rates Decline A Breakdown of Federal Revenue Sources Is Social insurance all those Social Security Administration IOU's we owe? I'd guess yes...

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Authorities in northeastern Pennsylvania said a woman was killed by her pet black bear as she cleaned its cage. State police said 37-year-old Kelly Ann Walz was mauled to death Sunday evening by the 350-pound bear. A state Game Commission spokesman said Walz kept the bear inside a steel and concrete cage near her house about 20 miles northeast of Allentown. Officials said Walz threw a shovelful of dog food to one side of the cage to distract the bear while she cleaned the other side. At some point, the bear turned on her and attacked. The...

PICKENS COUNTY — A 21-year-old Pickens woman was taken to a hospital Thursday night after a pet bear attacked her. Lt. Robert McCullough, spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said the woman was at a relative’s home in Pumpkin Town near when one of two pet black bears attacked her right hand when she reached inside the bear’s cage. Independent Mail coverage partner WSPA News Channel 7 reports that the woman has been identified as Melody Hankle. McCullough said the woman suffered severe injuries including deep cuts and possibly broken bones. She was taken to Greenville Memorial...

A bear injured nine people at highway rest stop in central Japan before being shot dead in a souvenir shop, a firefighter said Sunday.

ASPEN, Colo. — A man was attacked by a large black bear in his Aspen home in the latest in a string of violent encounters with the animals this summer in the mountain community. Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Randy Hampton said the man had gone to the first floor of his home to check on his three barking dogs when the bear struck him in the head.

Wildlife officers with the Colorado Division of Wildlife are searching for a bear involved in an attack Thursday night in Aspen. A man ...was attacked in his home by a bear shortly after 8 p.m. the homeowner's three dogs began barking loudly in the ground floor of the house... When the homeowner went downstairs to check on the dogs, he was confronted by a large, black bear. The victim of this attack is being treated at an area hospital.

Charlie Vandergaw and a conditioned grizzly at his Yentna River cabin. (Photo: Alaska Department of Fish & Game) No filmmakers ever showed up to glorify bear worshipper Donna Munson in the years before her horrible, bloody August death. Lacking the Hollywood connections of her Alaska counterparts -- Charlie Vandergaw and Timothy Treadwell -- she was easily dismissed by many as just some crazy Colorado woman who fed and mothered bears for at least a decade until one killed and ate her. "At 74," the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported last month, "Donna Munson showed signs of dementia, suffered from...

A 78-year-old man was hospitalized Friday with injuries he received when he was attacked by a black bear in a remote area of eastern Utah. The bear was shot and killed by another camper. About 12:30 a.m., a river-rafting party of 13 people, including nine family members and four guides, were sleeping after finding a spot off the Green River near Rock Creek Ranch in Carbon County's Desolation Canyon to stop for the night, said Brad Crompton, Division of Wildlife Resources' southeastern region wildlife biologist. The family was awakened upon hearing the sound of a bear attacking a family member...

CARBON COUNTY -- A 78-year-old man was attacked by a bear and saved by his family early Friday morning. The man's daughter jumped on the bear and began beating it with her fists until the animal let go of her father; another family member then shot the bear. Lou Downard grew up 150 yards from where the bear attack took place. He wanted to show the area to his children and grandchildren, so the entire family went on a Green River rafting trip in Desolation Canyon. On Thursday, the group noticed an unwelcome visitor: a 300-pound black bear. They fired...

Police departments in the high country report a rash of bears breaking into cars and homes this summer. Penny Turilli captured video of a bear walking up to her car, parked in her driveway outside her Vail home. The animal opened the door and climbed inside...

Soldotna mans brush with bear too close for comfort By Joseph Robertia | Peninsula Clarion Last Sunday a fourth brown bear for the year was killed in a defense of life and property (DLP) shooting, and there is no mistaking that it was the former, not the latter, that was on the line for the man who shot it. "I'm not trigger happy, and I wasn't looking for trouble," said Greg Brush, in regard to the incident that took place along Derks Lake Road, off Mackey Lake Road, outside of Soldotna. The morning started casually for Brush. He had the...

Large groups of bears are creating a nuisance for residents in Bethlehem, and the problem has gotten so bad the town is considering an ordinance. Officials said bears are rummaging through trash bins, eating and attacking farm animals and in some cases coming dangerously close to family pets. "I've been here for 15 years and never saw them until this year," said resident Bob Kimmerle. Kimmerle said he had to fire a gun in the air to scare a bear away after it ate two roosters near his fence. "He put his arm through and pulled them through,"

DENVER -- A Larimer County man said some hungry bears took a $3,000 bite out of his motorcycle Tuesday night. Glenn Wells told 7NEWS he took his wife out for pizza and put the leftovers in a storage compartment on the back of his Harley Davidson. The couple returned home and brought the pepperoni pizza inside. A few hours later they heard a noise and went outside to investigate. Wells said a full size bear and two cubs were trying to get inside the storage compartment -- apparently following the smell of the pizza. "The bears pulled my bike over...

Smokey Bear is celebrating his sixty-fifth birthday, but that doesn't mean he is throwing in his shovel just yet. Actually, thanks to computer enhancement the classic cartoon is more buff than ever-- and taller than most NBA players. And he's back for another round of small-screen fire prevention ads. But with this new Smokey comes a new slogan. He's asking Americans to "Get Their Smokey On." Not only is the bear trying to stop forest fires, but he's now asking folks to be responsible when it comes to camp fires, cigarette butts and matches. Even though Smokey may qualify for...

OURAY, Colo. -- An autopsy showed a 74-year-old Ouray County woman whose body was found being eaten by a bear was attacked and killed by that same bear after she attempted to help a smaller bear that had been hurt in a fight. The son-in-law of Donna Munson told 7NEWS that Munson was trying to help a smaller bear that had gotten into a fight with an older bear on Aug 7. The smaller bear suffered broken teeth in the brawl, Munson told her family. Munson told her brother by telephone that she was putting out hard-boiled eggs and milk...

In the evenings, Donna Munson liked to sit in front of her picture window and watch the bears amble toward her Ouray County log cabin for dinner. The 74-year-old woman — who stocked her backyard with dog food, fruit and yogurt — was found dead outside her home Friday, being eaten by a bear. It was still unknown Saturday whether a bear killed Munson or whether one or more animals consumed part of her body after her death. But people who knew her said she was an eccentric wildlife lover who had been feeding bears, elk, skunks and raccoons for...

California's bear-hunting season begins Saturday and, as usual, opponents have emerged to take potshots at the Department of Fish and Game. Notably -- and predictably -- vocal is the wildlife protection group, Big Wildlife, which claims trophy hunting of bears "is scientifically indefensible, unethical and cruel." The DFG has and will continue to maintain that bear hunting, like deer hunting, is a necessary management tool and that its annual hunt quota of 1,700 adult bears does not jeopardize an estimated overall state population of 25,000 to 30,000 animals. A valid concern pertains to poaching, as there's a lucrative demand for...

Wildlife officials say a bear was found feeding on the body of a 73-year-old woman who had been repeatedly warned not to give dog food to the bruins that live near her home north of Ouray. Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman ...says the woman was known to feed bears dog food and would not stop, even after repeated requests from wildlife officials. Sheriff's deputies investigating the incident killed an aggressive bear at the woman's home. A necropsy is planned for the 250-pound male to determine the contents of its stomach.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The police department says officers had no choice but to shoot and kill a black bear wandering around the northwest part of the city Monday night. Officers said the bear became aggressive as it ate garbage and bird seed from homes along Kramer Court. Residents reported seeing the bear going through their trash cans around 9 p.m. Rudy Kane, who lives on Kramer Court, had just returned home from a camping trip when he noticed the bear in his yard. He said he a bear at two different times Monday. "Well I was in this house and...

Wildlife officials respond to several confrontations Tuesday night. Authorities responded to several reports of bears in homes or yards west of Boulder on Tuesday night, including one in which a bear walked into a house in Sunshine Canyon. Rice said it was the second time in recent weeks that a bear was in his house. He said in the previous break-in, the bear — he thinks it was the same one — got in through a doggie door. After officials left Rice’s house Tuesday night, a bear also walked under the porch at the home next door, belonging to Schindler....

Wisconsin DNR press release EAU CLAIRE, Wis. -- Two recent incidents involving black bears in Wisconsin have captured the public’s attention. State wildlife specialists say both incidents underscore the importance of keeping wildlife wild. Black bears are expanding their range in Wisconsin, leading to more encounters with people. In rural Washburn County, a young bear that had become habituated to people and their residences encountered a woman outside her home and knocked her down. The bear stood over her and pawed at her for a few moments, scratching her face and shoulder and tearing her shirt. Then it moved on....

New Mexico officials captured and released a bear after it was spotted with a sheep it had just killed in the yard of a Dona Ana County farming community. Lita Tafoya found the 160-pound bear in her back yard after it had made the kill Thursday evening. State Department of Game and Fish officials tracked the bear near an elementary school ...

As once-threatened animal populations including black bears, mountain lions and alligators rebound and people move into former wildlands, predators are showing up precisely where they don't belong: in backyards. And the wildlife isn't as afraid of us as we might think. Welcome to the food chain. It was the perfect ending to a perfect afternoon. Gary Mann and his girlfriend Helen were watching the sun go down after a satisfying day clearing brush in the backyard of Mann’s home in Sutter Creek, Calif. A pile of branches and twigs was burning merrily, throwing shadows into the growing darkness as the...

With black bear populations rising, run-ins have become almost commonplace... Canadian bear researcher Hank Hristienko, who conducted the survey in January, found that 18 Eastern states were seeing more encounters with bears. In a 2006 attack, a 210-pound male bear killed a 6-year-old girl and mauled her 2-year-old brother as well as her mother who tried to fend off the animal. The attack occurred during a family outing in Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest. near Prestonsburg, Ky., last year, a bear held tourists at bay inside a cabin until rangers arrived to chase it away. The U.S. bear population more than...

NEWPORT - When Dena Pickner awoke to a commotion at her Yachats house last June, she expected to find a raccoon. Instead, she climbed out of bed and saw a black bear coming through her dog door. "His head was stuck and he couldn't get out," Pickner told those in a court room at the Lincoln County Courthouse here this morning. "He grunted, backed up and took the dog door with him." Two weeks later, the black bear was dead, one of four shot to death in a four-week period last summer in Yachats. Now a Yachats woman is on...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A man featured in a recent Animal Planet series about his life among wild grizzly and black bears at his Alaska cabin has been charged with illegally feeding them dog food and cookies.

There is something indescribably sexy about an attractive brunette - in this case, the Governor of Alaska - reclining on a sofa made from a bear her father killed. It’s certainly attractive to men whose testicles are still intact. A woman like that - especially if she possesses all the best attributes of the fairer sex - invariably attracts men of strength and courage (dare I call them Manly men?) while intimidating those who - at least genetically - might still be referred to as “males” (dare I call them liberals?)

"Zoo keepers who saved the life of a woman who jumped into a polar bear enclosure at Berlin Zoo revealed on Monday that they were moments away from shooting the animals. Rifles had already been issued to marksmen and Heiner Kloes, a zoo spokesman, said: This woman's behaviour not only put her life in danger but also that of the staff who had to rescue her. However, we do have guns and we would have been prepared to use them without hesitation if it was felt it was the only way to save the woman. The woman known only as...

The Chicago Bears pulled the big upset Thursday afternoon by acquiring Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, a source told ESPN.com. The Broncos confirmed the move. To acquire Cutler, the Bears had to give up quarterback Kyle Orton and first-round picks in 2009 and 2010, a source said. To complete the trade, the Broncos had to give back a third-round pick in 2009.

A woman accused of killing the girlfriend and unborn child of ex-Bears star Shaun Gayle was arrested after a friend of hers agreed to wear a wire and recorded the woman admitting to committing the murders, authorities said today. The recordings finally led to a break in the October 2007 murders: Marni Kay Yang, 41, of the 5000 block of North St. Louis Avenue in Chicago, is charged with fatally shooting Gayle's girlfriend Rhoni Reuter and their unborn child, authorities said this afternoon. Lake County State's Atty. Michael Waller said Yang's friend "was instrumental in solving the case" by becoming...

I saw a clip of this video on Bill O'Reilly's show tonight (don't ask me why I was watching -- I probably shouldn't have drunk (drank?) (drinked?) a whole bottle of Nyquil but that's water under the bridge). The video is of bears begging for food from visitors at a zoo. They perform some hilarious antics but I can't quite decide if they are for real or is it one of those computer generated deals like that commercial a few years ago of a bear fighting a guy who just caught a salmon.

They may look slow and clumsy, but underwater cameras have revealed that grizzly bears can perform some fancy footwork when a meal is on the cards.A BBC team followed the bears as the annual salmon migration got underway. They filmed them using their huge feet to deftly kick dead fish from deep pools into shallower water. This behaviour, caught on camera for the first time, meant that the grizzlies could grab the fish without the bother of getting their ears wet.Wildlife cameraman Jeff Turner said: "Most bears will do anything to avoid getting their ears wet - they hate it.....

Mike Ditka has been a lot of things in life, including that man that could have possibly beaten then Illinois state senator Barack Obama when he ran for U.S. Senate in 2004. Instead Ditka chose not to run because of business obligations, Alan Keyes did the honors and we all know how that turned out. The Pittsburgh native, Republican, and accomplished former NFL player, television commentator, and coach is now being ‘drafted’ once again to run to fill the seat vacated by Obama. A seat that remains open despite Gov. Blagojevich’s perfectly legal (yet tainted) appointment of former Illinois attorney...

Making lifestyle changes to prevent climate changeHave you resolved to help the environment and curb climate change? Here are seven easy steps you and yours can take at home By LISA DAVIS - Special to the Star-Telegram Posted on Thu, Jan. 01, 2009 Our family’s small quest to save the planet began a couple of years ago, when my 8-year-old daughter saw a heartbreaking photo in National Geographic of a polar bear stranded on a shrinking ice floe. She wanted to know why the polar bear looked so scared, so we explained about climate change, greenhouse gases and carbon emissions...

What face do you put on 0-16? The owner, William Clay Ford? He is undeniably detached from both common sense in regard to football, and perhaps the common person, too. The architect, Matt Millen? He left the franchise in utter disrepair. The embattled coach, Rod Marinelli? Asked so many questions, he's had so few answers. That was especially true when it counted most — finding a way to win on game day. The players? They just weren't good enough. Not to win a championship, mind you. Or to finish above .500. Not to win a single game. The fans? Their...

Encounter with a bear. My husband and I were startled out of bed at 2am with my car alarm ringing loudly throughout the neighborhood. Thinking to myself -no one locks their car doors up here, there aren't burglers. Only to find out a bear had opened my car door, climbed in (I assume searching for food), and proceeded to get shut in when the car door closed behind him. One can only imagine what a bear can do to the interior of your car while stuck there for an hour and a half. (see attached picture). The bear finally shattered...

Mike, what happened? You pulled a "Walter Payton won't get the ball in the red zone during the Super Bowl" moment on us! My wife is an Illinois native. She made it clear to me that had he ran for Senate in 2002, Obama wouldn't be our problem today. Oh, the grief, Mike, the grief!

There's another Big O on Lovie Smith's mind lately, and it's not the Bears offense or quarterback Kyle Orton. The Bears coach believes Barack Obama should be the next president of the United States and, unlike his typically guarded approach, he wasn't afraid to say so Thursday. To the surprise of the Bears media contingent, Smith openly volunteered before he left the practice field that he already had registered his vote for Democratic presidential candidate by taking advantage of early voting. "Well, I'm from Chicago, correct, and one of the candidates is an Illinois guy," Smith began. "I'm a strong...

You remember this age-old story, I'm sure. Bear attacks man. Man kills bear in self-defense. Environmentalists harass man for defending himself. Wait, what!?!? Jim West, of British Columbia, Canada, was attacked by a bear on October 4th as he inadvertently walked between the bear and her cubs. The bear knocked West down multiple times before he was able to grab a large stick and bludgeoned the bear to death. Conservation officers later put down the bear's cubs. Since the attack, emails impersonating West have been sent to members of the local press by animal rights activists claiming that he maliciously...

Three bears have been captured at a moose's hangout in Juneau. A black bear sow and two cubs were captured near Bullwinkles Pizza in Juneau on Wednesday. Fish and Game biologist Neil Barten says there were reports about mischievous bears in various parts of town, including some of them in houses, leading to the round up. The cubs were apprehended by the trash bin at the pizzeria, whose logo features a likeness of the famous cartoon moose. The sow proved a little more elusive, requiring a trap. SNIP

A life of garbage, early pregnancies and violent deaths plague big city bearsNEW YORK (SEPTEMBER 30, 2008) – Black bears that live around urban areas weigh more, get pregnant at a younger age, and are more likely to die violent deaths, according to a study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The study, published in the Fall 2008 issue of the journal Human-Wildlife Conflicts, tracked 12 bears over a 10-year period living in urban areas around Lake Tahoe, Nevada and compared them to 10 "wildland" bears that lived in outlying wild areas. The authors found that bears in urbanized areas...

The first-ever scientific census shattered earlier estimates that said there were at least 250-350 bears roaming the area. More recent data placed the minimum population at around 563 bears. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is in charge of regulating endangered species, is currently reviewing the bears' status in Montana as part of a five-year review required by the Endangered Species Act. The study's results will help biologists determine whether the bear still needs federal protection, a conclusion due out early next year.

I was wondering if there's any interest in a get together in downtown Chicago to watch the Bears/rally the group in support of the ticket?

The lefties had better be careful. Alaska is a tough, wild place, and Sarah Palin may just be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This bear (and the crab for that matter) found out what happens when you cross the governor. You end up as a decoration in her office.

Gov Sarah Palin - just another dirty politician  Barbarians for Sarah Palin (front center)!                                               The top 11 things you should know about Sarah Palin:         1) She is presently under investigation http://www.ktva.com/ci_10026165 in Alaska for abuse of power http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2008/08/mccains_vp_pick_palin_facing_e.html        2) She strongly supports big oil (her husband works for oil company BP)        3) She believes creationism should be taught in public schools        4) She is opposed to abortion even in cases of rape and incest        5) She has no federal or international experience.  Prior to being governor (for less than two years) she was only the mayor of a small Alaskan town...

More than 30 American black bears have been sighted in Known as Ursus americanus and native to North America, there are some 600,000 black bears across Canada, the United States and Mexico, but the large populations of northern Mexico are dwindling to a only a few thousand as deforestation and cities destroy their habitats. The bears, with black fur and brown muzzles, stand often over 6.5 feet (2 meters) tall, live off plants, fruits and nuts, as well as carrion. But deforestation and droughts in northern Mexico can force many bears to seek food in rubbish dumps on the edge...

Scientists Debate Moving Polar Bears to Antarctica as Arctic MeltsJuly 24, 2008 Scientists are obviously reaching a point of true desperation. While the world still debates whether climate change is even real (eye roll), the scientific community is coming back to an idea that was once considered wrongheaded and dangerous: moving species to new areas of the world as their natural habitats become inhabitable. First up: moving the polar bears to the other side of the globe. From Wired: Caught between climate change and human pressure, species are going extinct 100 times faster than at any point in human history....