Posted on 12/04/2006 3:18:35 PM PST by sockmonkey
Wife and two daughters of senior editor James Kim found in Oregon; search is still on for James Kim, who left the car on foot two days ago.
The wife and daughters of missing CNET senior editor James Kim have been found alive and airlifted to a local hospital, authorities announced at a press conference in Merlin, Ore., Monday afternoon.
James Kim left the car on snowshoes two days ago to seek help and has not been found, the official said. The search for him continues.
According to the official speaking at the news conference, the conditions of Kati, Penelope and Sabine are not yet known. More details are expected at a press conference at 5 p.m. PST, which CNET will stream live.
Kati Kim reportedly flagged down a helicopter rented by families of the missing persons.
After searches in Oregon's Curry and Douglas counties, new information on missing CNET senior editor James Kim and his family narrowed the search back to the Bear Camp area in Josephine County, according to reports Monday.
A cell phone tower received a signal from one of the family's cell phones at about 1:30 a.m. on Sunday near Glendale, but officials say the signal is only an indicator the family could have been within 26 miles of Glendale at that time, according to a report in The Oregonian.
Oh! Black bears are the little friendly ones in the Great Smoky Mountains. They're cute, smart, and gosh darn it, people like them. Jellystone bears.
Brown bears are grizzlies. Black bears are what we have in this area. But in either case, the actual fur color varies.
The guy was surrounded by ten thousand square miles of tinder.
Pine trees ALWAYS have dead wood on the bottom. All he had to do was spend two hours or so digging a bare spot, siphon a bit of gas from the tank, and he coulda had a twenty foot bonfire going.
The black bears around here almost always run from people, unless there is a cub involved or they are in the middle of a meal or surprised, or have become too habituated to people (probably not the latter in the incident area).
Oh, no.
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/
LIVING WITH WILDLIFE: Black Bears
Download Oregon is Black Bear Country Brochure (pdf)
Don’t feed the bears
Oregon is home to about 25,000 to 30,000 black bears, North America’s most common bear species. Generally black in color, they can also be brown, cinnamon or blond. Fast and agile, they are good swimmers and climbers who prefer forests, trails and streams. At home throughout Oregon, black bears are omnivorous and have a diverse diet including berries, fruit, grasses and plants. Although they will consume small mammals, insects and amphibians, these bears are not usually active predators. An integral part of Oregon’s ecosystem, the continued viability of the black bear depends on the knowledge and support of all our citizens.
Most importantly, black bears should never be allowed access to human food or garbage; it habituates them to people and increases the chance of conflict. Once habituated to finding food near homes or campgrounds, bears can become a threat to human safety and must often be destroyed.
Is it a black bear or a grizzly bear?
Oregon is black bear country. Although native to the area, there are no longer grizzly bears in the state. The last grizzly bear recorded was killed in the late 1930s at Billy Meadows, north of Enterprise in Wallowa County. However, because black bears are often brown, people sometimes wonder what species of bear they have seen. Here is some information on bear identification.
BLACK BEAR GRIZZLY BEAR
Q. Grizzly bears are brown and black bears are black. Right?
A. Not really. Grizzly bears can be brown, blond, grey, reddish or sliver tipped. Black bears can be blond, cinnamon, brown or black.
Q. Aren’t grizzly bears bigger than black bears?
A. Don’t count on it. On average grizzly bears are larger than black bears however there is much variation in size among bears of both species. It is also very difficult to accurately estimate the size of a bear in the wild.
Q. How can I tell the difference?
A. There are no grizzly bears in Oregon so if you see a brown bear in Oregon, it is a black bear. Grizzly bears are being recovered in Washington State in the North Cascades.
Grizzly bears have a distinctive shoulder hump. Black bears don’t.
Comparatively, grizzly bears have short and round ears while black bears have large, pointed ears.
In profile, the face of a grizzly bear is more concave (dish shaped) and broader than the black bear’s which is straighter and narrower.
The footprints of grizzly bears and black bears differ. {View bear tracks}
[snip]
I read that Grizzly Man book ... they eat people too. :)
Although not often.
Factoid from the book: Polar bears are the most agressive [there are not many of them in So California though.
Brown bears can kill humans, and on average do so every year in the US. In the Fall they are feeding to fatten up for winter, they can be protective of their cubs, etc.
Oh! Black bears are the little friendly ones in the Great Smoky Mountains. They're cute, smart, and gosh darn it, people like them. Jellystone bears.
Oh, I don't know whether I'd go so far as to say that. I have an idea that the bears one sees at Sequoia or Yosemite are probably more used to people. And if they are hungry I would imagine they would be very dangeous indeed.
There is a good chance there are a fair number of insect-damaged dead trees in that area. Not sure if mostly pine or fir there (Pacific Coast Douglas Fir), but oregon-rancher would know.
Yikes, I heard that, too. Maybe he ditched the pants thinking it would throw the bear off..
Full throttle Prayers for his safety.
Maybe they are. Brown bears are smaller ... having said that I would never want to tangle with any bear of any size. As you know they are monstrously strong.
Checking in one last time before heading to bed. Hoping for good news tomorrow.
First thing I do in the morning the last few days ... hit the wake up button on the PowerBook to check.
Good night if you are drifting off. I'm not too far behind ... I awake at 4am. :(
Never heard of OR bears eating anyone. Mountain lions is another thing.
Yup, Gatlinburg was where I met my first one, probably 50 years ago about now. Some friends just got back from there and said you still have to watch your garbage and all that, in the nicer lodgings/chalets.
I've seen what a bear can do to a metal trash can with the lid chained on. He just bent it up, practically tied it in knots, and tore the chain off.
Gunshots fired nearby just made him very slightly annoyed, he ran off 20 feet, and came right back.
There was goat feed in the can. He ate most of it.
My dad had an Oregon black bear rush him once but when the bear saw my father's Pomeranian, he ran away!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.