[BeaverFever]

$1:

A buddy I have who is a Park Ranger in Jasper tells all sorts of stories like this. Like the mom who wanted pics with a bear and her kids, so she put honey on their hands for it to lick off while she took the pictures. When the bear finished the honey, it's appetite was whetted, and it just kept eating . . .

I tried to find that story, Snopes says it's an urban legend

http://www.snopes.com/critters/malice/bearmaul.asp

[andyt]

Yep. I heard it where the dad smeared honey on the baby's head. It's been around for decades.

[DrCaleb]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

$1:

A buddy I have who is a Park Ranger in Jasper tells all sorts of stories like this. Like the mom who wanted pics with a bear and her kids, so she put honey on their hands for it to lick off while she took the pictures. When the bear finished the honey, it's appetite was whetted, and it just kept eating . . .

I tried to find that story, Snopes says it's an urban legend

http://www.snopes.com/critters/malice/bearmaul.asp

They should tell that to the Park Warden I knew who said he saw it. In Jasper National Park.

[andyt]

Park Warden have never been know to bullshit a little for a good story, as opposed to the rest of humanity. Question him and it turns it a guy who knew a guy told him the story. A story like this would make front page news.

[Thanos]

Normally I'd say Snopes was right, considering their enviable track record as myth busters, but given the precipitous drop in the collective IQ over the last decade there's a good chance that someone actually has tried to do something that damn stupid with a bear.

[andyt]

And again, if they did, it would be all over the media. Guaranteed the Parks Service would report an incident like this as a teachable moment, and it would be hard to cover up anyway.

[DrCaleb]

andyt andyt:

And again, if they did, it would be all over the media. Guaranteed the Parks Service would report an incident like this as a teachable moment, and it would be hard to cover up anyway.

The local newspaper only published from the 1970's to 2009. When I met him in the 1990s he had been a Warden for 35 years.

Seems to me that quite a lot of what he had seen would not have made the newspaper, as there was no newspaper. That's the trouble with Internet arguing; not every scrap of human knowledge is on the internet.

[andyt]

A story like this would be picked up by the Edmonton paper and others. And as I say, if this really happened the Parks Service would publish it as a warning. Like I say, I've heard the story from sources too, none of whom were there - this would make the papers at some point. They even had TV back then.

[Thanos]

Back then the media was more responsible though. They actually did real news and saved things like "dummy eaten by bear" for filler only.

[andyt]

But they had filler, as you say. They loved stories like this then too, just wouldn't publish names etc. This story is being told all over the place, but no media has ever picked it up. Very strange.

[DrCaleb]

andyt andyt:

A story like this would be picked up by the Edmonton paper and others. And as I say, if this really happened the Parks Service would publish it as a warning. Like I say, I've heard the story from sources too, none of whom were there - this would make the papers at some point. They even had TV back then.

The Journal didn't have reporters in Jasper, and the Jasper paper didn't report such things beyond a byline that an animal had killed a person and the animal was put down.

You are remembering things 40 years ago using the standards of today. Jasper wasn't a big enough hub of activity that anything beyond a major train wreck would make the Edmonton paper or TV news, and they'd still have to take a half a day to get reporters on site.

For Snopes to really say it never happened they would have to look at all Wardens reports in all parks in all files that existed, instead of just relying on what Google webcrawls. Google isn't an Oracle of all mandkinds' knowledge.

[BRAH]

When you feed a Bear you're risking the lives of those who are camping in tents.

[BeaverFever]

Wikipedia has a list of North American fatal bear attacks going back to the 1830's although I'm sure it's not exhaustive

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_f ... rica#1990s

[Strutz]

Thanos Thanos:

How about instead of shooting the 'problem' bears why not shoot a few of the problem tourists? More gratifying and much better for the overall environment to boot.

agreed.

BRAH BRAH:

When you feed a Bear you're risking the lives of those who are camping in tents.

Absolutely. Human tacos.


Seriously though, encouraging critters like this that humans are friendly and are a source of yummy food is dangerous. Encounters are best handled by making the critter fear you and want to stay away. Want to get a good photo of your very own? Get a better camera with a powerful zoom to take the pic from a long distance away.

[BeaverFever]

$1:

Want to get a good photo of your very own? Get a better camera with a powerful zoom to take the pic from a long distance away.

As the newest entry on Wikipedia's bear attack list I posted earlier suggests:

$1:

Patel was about to begin hiking with four friends in Apshawa Preserve when they met a man and a woman at the entrance who told them there was a bear nearby and advised them to turn around.[7] They continued on, found the bear, and Patel and another hiker took photos. They turned and began walking away, but the bear followed them. The hikers ran in different directions, and found that Patel was missing when they regrouped. Authorities found Patel's body after searching for two hours. A black bear found in the vicinity was killed.[8] According to the State Department of Environmental Protection, the last fatal bear attack in New Jersey was in 1852.[8]