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Some people living near Jack's Peak Park are on edge after a reported bear sighting. Officials say it is rare in the area and only happens every few years. Neighbors say this is something they never thought they'd see in their community. Images show the bear casually strolling through the La Mesa neighborhood in Monterey just before 3 a.m. on Sunday. The bear was described as having long, shaggy brown fur and standing about three feet tall and four feet wide. "I kind of freaked out because I lived out here my whole life, and I've never even heard of...

Over a year ago, I started tracking down a story about a bear killed in self-defense in Wisconsin in a chicken coop with a .22 Magnum revolver. With considerable effort, the source of the story was contacted.Around about 1964 or 65′, a boy accompanied his father on the Menomonee Reservation in east-central Wisconsin. A well-known logger was visited. Upon entering the log house, made of logs cut and fitted by the logger, with a fine living room paneled in knotty pine, the boy noticed a bear-skin rug with a Ruger Single Six revolver prominently displayed above the mantle of a...

Six people who shared a meal involving black bear meat kebabs have been diagnosed with trichinellosis, a parasitic zoonotic disease. In a new report released this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that in July 2022, a 29-year old hospitalized patient with suspected trichinellosis was reported to the Minnesota health department. His symptoms included fever, severe muscle aches, periorbital edema or eye swelling, and eosinophilia or the condition of elevated levels of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell. According to the report, a week prior to the symptoms appearing, the patient and eight other people...

Many readers are interested in how various handgun calibers have performed in defense against bears. This is a complicated subject. Sometimes, any caliber will do. Sometimes a level of power may be required. Sometimes, a level of accuracy or speed may be required. Many permutations exist.The most important aspect, if a confrontation occurs, is to have a firearm available, easily and quickly accessible. The specific caliber is less important.These updates include all the incidents we have been able to document to the date of the update, after several years of intense searches. We have always asked for examples of failures....

On Saturday, May 4th, 2024, Ethan Daubs surprised a large boar black bear in an oak brush patch near his house. Ethan is 23 years old. The boar climbed a tree as Daubs drew his Ruger Security 9 from his military-style holster. The bear was about seven yards away. Ethan yelled at the bruin, and it took off at speed across a field. Ethan considered the speed of the respectful bear as it retreated through the woods. He made a policy decision. In the future, if he heard strange noises in the brush, he would draw first, evaluating as events...

The man attacked and mauled by a grizzly in Grand Teton National Park on Sunday was amazingly lucky During the attack, the grizzly chomped down on his can of bear spray, which exploded it into her face and immediately ended the ordeal The out-of-state man who was mauled by a mother grizzly in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park on Sunday apparently had a phenomenal stroke of luck when the apex predator essentially bear-sprayed itself. The attack on a 35-year-old Massachusetts man ended when the grizzly bit into his can of bear spray, bursting it into her own face, according to...

A Massachusetts man survived what officials are calling a “surprise attack” by two grizzlies on Sunday at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, authorities said. According to Jeremy Barnum, Grand Teton’s chief of staff, the 35-year-old man, who has not been identified, was in stable condition, the Jackson Hole News & Guide reported. The man had a “surprise encounter” with two grizzlies in the Signal Mountain Area of the park Sunday afternoon, according to the Cowboy State Daily. According to a news release from the National Park Service, one of the bears attacked the victim, inflicting serious injuries. “Grand Teton...

Many readers are interested in how various handgun calibers have performed in defense against bears. This is a complicated subject. Sometimes, any caliber will do. Sometimes a level of power may be required. Sometimes, a level of accuracy or speed may be required. Many permutations exist. The most important aspect, if a confrontation occurs, is to have a firearm available, easily and quickly accessible. The specific caliber is less important. These updates include all the incidents we have been able to document to the date of the update, after several years of intense searches. We have always asked for examples...

Many readers are interested in how various handgun calibers have performed in defense against bears. This is a complicated subject. Sometimes, any caliber will do. Sometimes a level of power may be required. Sometimes, a level of accuracy or speed may be required. Many permutations exist. The most important aspect, if a confrontation occurs, is to have a firearm available, easily and quickly accessible. The specific caliber is less important. These updates include all the incidents we have been able to document to the date of the update, after several years of intense searches. We always appreciate readers who help...

The use of handguns as a defense against bears has been shown to be effective 98% of the time. In this study, all cases that can be documented, where a handgun was fired in defense against a bear, are included. This is done by design to guard against selection bias. All cases cite the source for the case information. Unlike other attempts to put a number on how effective handguns, long guns, or bear spray are in defending against bears, every case is described to readers so they can come to their own conclusions. Readers may disregard any incidents at...

In 2014, John Gookin, Tom Smith, and Alison Williams published a paper in Human-Wildlife Interactions titled: A Device for Refilling Practice Bear Spray Canisters. The paper shows how to build and use the device. This correspondent has long maintained bear spray has a valid place as a means of protection against bears. Bear spray does not appear to be as effective in stopping bear attacks as handguns. This does not mean it is not useful. Bear spray can work effectively as a device to haze bears which are merely curious. Bear spray is generally a better deterrent than shouting or...

A continual debate in the firearms and hunting community is about caliber wars. 9mm v .45. What is the minimum caliber for whitetail deer? What calibers are good for elk? Moose? Grizzly bears? In the research of handguns fired in defense against bears, a surprising conclusion springs forth: Caliber is not as important as we thought. Having a firearm is more important than caliber. There are several reasons why this is so.First, a firearm builds confidence. A person with a firearms has more confidence they can do something instead of nothing. Call it the psychological factor. A firearm gives a...

NASA's emerging exploration plan will call for safely sending humans to Mars, possibly by the 2030s, and de-emphasize exploration of the moon, the agency's leader said Tuesday. NASA's emerging exploration plan will call for safely sending humans to Mars, possibly by the 2030s, and de-emphasize exploration of the moon, the agency's leader said Tuesday.