Grizzlies

Great Article ... Some of the smartest thinking I've ever read.

EDMONTON — Experts say a 15-year-old boy mauled on Sunday was the victim of a predatory bear attack.

No Shit?

"In this instance, we're presuming the bear saw the boy as food," said Russell Stashko, co-chair of Alberta's Bear Smart program.

In This Instance? It would be best for you to start preaching this message, in every instance...

The boy was camping with a large group of people at Roche Lake, a remote site accessible only by a three- to four-hour all-terrain vehicle ride east of Swan Hills.

Excellent thought y'all ... God forbid humans stay in the structures we built to keep ourselves warm and safe (otherwise called houses), and we decide to go right out into a bear's front lawn ...

Stashko said the bear showed up at their campsite Saturday night, but was scared off by a shotgun blast.

Way to go 'scaring' the Bear into not eating people ... I'll remember when the animal uprising comes to cut two holes in a sheet, and put it over my head so I can jump out and yell 'Boo!' at the first crocodile that comes to my front door ... that'll teach em ...

It returned early the next morning and attacked the boy before being scared off again by the same gun.

Oh ... the scaring thing didn't work ... but we had no idea that was gonna happen, did we ... Wait for it ...

Stashko said there is "no rhyme or reason" as to why the bear attacked the 15-year-old out of the group of 25 to 30 people he was with. It is unusual for a bear to even approach such a large group, he added.

... Unless the animal uprising is coming, and you are a fool to think otherwise ... strike one ...

"It is uncommon. Usually, there is safety in numbers," Stashko said. ... strike two ...

"Most bears, 99 per cent of the time, would prefer not to be around humans. It is an anomaly."

... and, strike three ... Apparently you are a fool ...

However, Stashko said, this is the time of year when bear attacks are the most common, since they are just waking up from their winter sleep.

"The first thing they do when they come out of hibernation is look for food," he said.

Really? Most of us call this phenomenon 'breakfast' ...

The boy was transported Sunday morning by air ambulance to the University of Alberta Hospital. Alberta Health Services spokeswoman Holly Budd said the boy was doing well in hospital. His family did not wish to speak to the media.

STARS spokesman Cameron Heke said the air ambulance pilots were easily able to find the victim in a remote wooded area because of a mix of technology and good-old-fashioned smoke signals.

"They had a Global Positioning System . . . which was very helpful in us being able to find them because they were in a heavily wooded area. They also had a big fire going, so they used smoke as a signal, as well," Heke said.

The boy was in stable condition when STARS transported him. Heke said one of the crew on the air ambulance told him the 15-year-old victim was very brave.

"He said, 'He was a very brave young lad.' Those were his exact words."

Stashko said investigators are almost positive that the bear which attacked the boy was killed several hours later.

"We're certain that the bear involved was shot by some bear hunters," Stashko said.

Good one Stashko ... way to enrage the Bear family ahead of the uprising. Essentially, you went into the bear's house, woke him up, took away his breakfast, then shot him for it ... awesome ...

To be certain, the investigators have taken bear DNA from the boy's wounds and will compare it with DNA from the bear carcass.

Stashko said there are two kinds of bear attacks: defensive and predatory. In the case where a bear looks like it may attack a human in defence of itself or its young, the best thing a person can do is to back away and give the animal lots of room.

You could also give serious consideration to not going to its house and waking it up ... its called 'Preventative Health Measures' ... its similar to not smoking, and avoiding McDonalds ...

If a bear seems like it's attacking for predatory reasons, a person should fight back and make as much noise as possible.

Stashko also recommended using devices such as a portable electric bear fence, which this group did not have.

Just for the record, these awesome devices do exist, as proven here ...
I once put a fence like that up around my tomato garden ... best tomatoes I've ever had, so I totally approve of this bear fence ...

Is that a Bear in the picture, or is the photog doing it with a puppet?