RightArm
Member
Think squirrel launcher, only much bigger. Launch bad bears to the neighbors yard.
What do you think of this?
- Thread starter pownal55
- Start date
A day in the life of the dedicated public service professional
.Please allow me to call BS on this "friend of a friend" story.
Too many...actually, way too many..suspicious elements.
I will, however, supply a case of beer if the story is wholly true, as stated.
Be safe.
I say.......... Pay UP!!!!!
BearBio
Member
As some of you know, I did my MS Thesis on bears. The emphasis was on the eating habits and home range and habitat use of "urban" bears==the bears that live on the fringe of communities. During the two years that I trapped (with local F & W) and tracked radio-collared bears (and collected feces and dried them and pulled them apart), I attended several/numerous strategy and informational meetings. A few "notes" and "facts":
1) Bears are attracted to things besides hand-outs. Fruits such as figs, avocados, berries (including those from poison oak and pyrocanthus), apples, cherries, and others. Also animal parts such as fried turkey carcasses, roadkill, dog food, fish in fish ponds,fast food containers, jars (especially mayo, catsup).
2) Local LE doesn't care. The most common question: Is my 223 ( 12 ga, 357, etc) big enough to kill a bear? Homemowner: If I see a bear in my back yard, can I go inside, get my 30-30 and kill it in self-defense?
3) Local F & W might be 50 miles away. They'll ask local LE: "is there a threat to human life, livestock, or property?" LE thinks "Gee, it's a bear and old lady Smith's poodle keeps nipping it on the butt". So he answers "Yeah, it's a threat" Warden says "well, you gotta put it down, then"
4) Use of drugs to tranquilize is strictly controlled. You must be trained (24 hr course) that includes : Federal drug laws, administration techniques (airguns, blowguns, spears, cartridge guns), antidotes, first aid, contra=indications (some drugs can't be used on certain animals; certain animals can't be tranked at certain times of the year), complications (bloat, overheating), Federal storage laws for narcotics,and dosages (based on animal size). You must pass the course test and be certified. Course must be taught by a senior veterinarian with x years experience. Then, YOU must have a prescription issued by a wildlife veterinarian and must be using it "under his supervision" (loose definition). Generally, normal performance of his duties is enough for the last. Of course, controlled substances must be controlled-reports issued. If you miss, you HAVE TO FIND the dart-you can't leave it out there. One guy I know missed an elk and spent 3 days looking for the dart.
PS: Course also includes personal safety-how DO you handle a 6x6 bull elk that's starting to come awake.
5) LE is interested in public safety, primarily, then PR. Animal care is pretty far down on the list.
Give you one example of what typically happens:
We captured a small sow. This was in a trap in someone's driveway in what had been an old-time avocado grove. She was so small, we thought she was a cub. She also had the white blaze typical of young bears (in this case, a genetic trait of female bears in that area-we didn't know that at the time) After tranking her, we examined her and saw that, from condition of her teats, she had had at least two litters before. This meant she was about 10 years old,. We had another bear prowling through the brush about 50 feet away. We originally thought it was the mother. As soon as we knew her age, we guessed it was a boar (It was July, breeding season in that area). The warden was on top of the carport with a shotgun, covering us. We decided to keep her in the trap to attract the male and my assistant was delegated to hose her off every hour or so. Remember, this is in someones driveway in a residential area.
About midnight, the boar came down and the warden tranked him while he was free (not in a trap). Didn't go down quickly, so the warden hit him again (too much testosterone?). We were using Telazol, which is very safe because you really can't overdose an animal unless you REALLY, REALLY try. We did what we had to: blood sample, pulled a tooth, treated any wounds with first aid cream, put on a collar.
We were waiting for the bear to come out from under the drug when the warden got another call. That left the F & W biologist, me, and my RA. You have to stay around to make sure the bear comes out of it. Otherwise, ravens/crows can go for the eyes, another bear, etc can come along and get into a fight with it. Because it had taken two doses to knock the bear out, it took forever to wake him up. We were throwing rocks (well, pebbles and gravel) at him, shouting, etc. It's now about dawn and the teenage girl walks out of the house to go to work. The bear is half-awake and lying partially under her car. She screams and runs back as we're yelling at her to go back inside the house. One of us had to call her boss and explain why she wasn't coming in (fortunately, she worked as receptionist for her uncle).
It's now about 8 AM. The bear is almost completely awake. The homeowner has a 10 week old Lab puppy, who has come out and is barking at the bear, who is responsive. We get them separated. The bear goes over to the fishpond and drinks about 5 gallons of water (Telazol leaves a headache and a terrible thirst, not to mention the new ear "jewelry") and rips open a 50 lb bag of puppy chow. With 50 pounds of dog food for a 10 week old puppy laying on the patio and three trees of ripe avocados, any wonder why they have bears?
We have the additional problem of crowd control on the whole neighborhood, together with all their friends, neighbors, and relatives, together with a horny, frustrated,groggy bear with a SUPER drug hangover, and a barking puppy. I have an 8 AM class, so I bail out of there. Get to a 3 hour class an hour and a half late, with the biggest cup of coffee I could find (between classes and two bears, I've been up about 48 hours). The class was taught by my Graduate Chair (major professor). He looks at me and says "You guys get another bear last night". I could only glare at him with a "year"
So, be a little understanding of what can happen.
PS: We spent 3 weeks looking for the male bear. His collar went inactive, so we thought he'd been poached. The collar was "somewhere" in a mixed patch of poison oak and blackberries. Finally, my RA looked up and it was hanging on a ladder rung *(made of rebar) about 8 feet up. It itched, so the bear was scratching and got it pulled of.
God, I loved it!
1) Bears are attracted to things besides hand-outs. Fruits such as figs, avocados, berries (including those from poison oak and pyrocanthus), apples, cherries, and others. Also animal parts such as fried turkey carcasses, roadkill, dog food, fish in fish ponds,fast food containers, jars (especially mayo, catsup).
2) Local LE doesn't care. The most common question: Is my 223 ( 12 ga, 357, etc) big enough to kill a bear? Homemowner: If I see a bear in my back yard, can I go inside, get my 30-30 and kill it in self-defense?
3) Local F & W might be 50 miles away. They'll ask local LE: "is there a threat to human life, livestock, or property?" LE thinks "Gee, it's a bear and old lady Smith's poodle keeps nipping it on the butt". So he answers "Yeah, it's a threat" Warden says "well, you gotta put it down, then"
4) Use of drugs to tranquilize is strictly controlled. You must be trained (24 hr course) that includes : Federal drug laws, administration techniques (airguns, blowguns, spears, cartridge guns), antidotes, first aid, contra=indications (some drugs can't be used on certain animals; certain animals can't be tranked at certain times of the year), complications (bloat, overheating), Federal storage laws for narcotics,and dosages (based on animal size). You must pass the course test and be certified. Course must be taught by a senior veterinarian with x years experience. Then, YOU must have a prescription issued by a wildlife veterinarian and must be using it "under his supervision" (loose definition). Generally, normal performance of his duties is enough for the last. Of course, controlled substances must be controlled-reports issued. If you miss, you HAVE TO FIND the dart-you can't leave it out there. One guy I know missed an elk and spent 3 days looking for the dart.
PS: Course also includes personal safety-how DO you handle a 6x6 bull elk that's starting to come awake.
5) LE is interested in public safety, primarily, then PR. Animal care is pretty far down on the list.
Give you one example of what typically happens:
We captured a small sow. This was in a trap in someone's driveway in what had been an old-time avocado grove. She was so small, we thought she was a cub. She also had the white blaze typical of young bears (in this case, a genetic trait of female bears in that area-we didn't know that at the time) After tranking her, we examined her and saw that, from condition of her teats, she had had at least two litters before. This meant she was about 10 years old,. We had another bear prowling through the brush about 50 feet away. We originally thought it was the mother. As soon as we knew her age, we guessed it was a boar (It was July, breeding season in that area). The warden was on top of the carport with a shotgun, covering us. We decided to keep her in the trap to attract the male and my assistant was delegated to hose her off every hour or so. Remember, this is in someones driveway in a residential area.
About midnight, the boar came down and the warden tranked him while he was free (not in a trap). Didn't go down quickly, so the warden hit him again (too much testosterone?). We were using Telazol, which is very safe because you really can't overdose an animal unless you REALLY, REALLY try. We did what we had to: blood sample, pulled a tooth, treated any wounds with first aid cream, put on a collar.
We were waiting for the bear to come out from under the drug when the warden got another call. That left the F & W biologist, me, and my RA. You have to stay around to make sure the bear comes out of it. Otherwise, ravens/crows can go for the eyes, another bear, etc can come along and get into a fight with it. Because it had taken two doses to knock the bear out, it took forever to wake him up. We were throwing rocks (well, pebbles and gravel) at him, shouting, etc. It's now about dawn and the teenage girl walks out of the house to go to work. The bear is half-awake and lying partially under her car. She screams and runs back as we're yelling at her to go back inside the house. One of us had to call her boss and explain why she wasn't coming in (fortunately, she worked as receptionist for her uncle).
It's now about 8 AM. The bear is almost completely awake. The homeowner has a 10 week old Lab puppy, who has come out and is barking at the bear, who is responsive. We get them separated. The bear goes over to the fishpond and drinks about 5 gallons of water (Telazol leaves a headache and a terrible thirst, not to mention the new ear "jewelry") and rips open a 50 lb bag of puppy chow. With 50 pounds of dog food for a 10 week old puppy laying on the patio and three trees of ripe avocados, any wonder why they have bears?
We have the additional problem of crowd control on the whole neighborhood, together with all their friends, neighbors, and relatives, together with a horny, frustrated,groggy bear with a SUPER drug hangover, and a barking puppy. I have an 8 AM class, so I bail out of there. Get to a 3 hour class an hour and a half late, with the biggest cup of coffee I could find (between classes and two bears, I've been up about 48 hours). The class was taught by my Graduate Chair (major professor). He looks at me and says "You guys get another bear last night". I could only glare at him with a "year"
So, be a little understanding of what can happen.
PS: We spent 3 weeks looking for the male bear. His collar went inactive, so we thought he'd been poached. The collar was "somewhere" in a mixed patch of poison oak and blackberries. Finally, my RA looked up and it was hanging on a ladder rung *(made of rebar) about 8 feet up. It itched, so the bear was scratching and got it pulled of.
God, I loved it!
m1gunner
US Veteran
Around here most "authorities" shoot loose livestock as they are a danger to the public. I have no doubt what they would do to a bear.
Black Bears are considered threatened here and are protected. Yes, we have lots of them in Florida. Encroaching development has seen a lot of Bears in up scale gated(they know the key codes)communities. You can't just go shoot them. FWC needs to come and either trap them or dart them and move them.
Some stupid home owner was outside with family and a bear cam strolling by. He and family went inside the house. He was going to be great white hunter, loaded his 44 Mag and went out and killed bear. He was tried and convicted, as once he went in the house he was no longer in danger.
)communities. You can't just go shoot them. FWC needs to come and either trap them or dart them and move them.Some stupid home owner was outside with family and a bear cam strolling by. He and family went inside the house. He was going to be great white hunter, loaded his 44 Mag and went out and killed bear. He was tried and convicted, as once he went in the house he was no longer in danger.
JJEH
Member
Sounds just wrong to me.
Don't they have a tranquilliser gun there?
Don't they have a tranquilliser gun there?
pineappleshooter
US Veteran
Had the same thing happen with a racoon last weekend. There was an injured coon (couldn't climb trees) wandering around the neighborhood. Animal control was called - they didn't show - apparently they don't work on Sunday. The local PD showed up and my yard looked like something out of a bad episode of "Cops". One cop drove the coon across my yard and under the fence to my neighbors yard where two more cops were waiting (this in addition to the three cops minding traffic in the street). I stepped out my back door and was told quite loudly to get back in my house. About two seconds after I stepped in the back door I hear "Boom" followed by "all clear". I ask the officer what he shot the coon with - turns out it was his sidearm (3rd Gen S&W - didn't see what kind
). So six cops later, one half grown coon is taken care of. This was in suburnban Philly.
). So six cops later, one half grown coon is taken care of. This was in suburnban Philly.
Andy Griffith
Member
Um...if that was an adolescent bear...
That was CRAZY- those are good eat'n!!!! What a waste!!!!
Why the feller didn't ask to keep it for meat, I don't know.
That was CRAZY- those are good eat'n!!!! What a waste!!!!
Why the feller didn't ask to keep it for meat, I don't know.
MrAmbassador
Member
In NJ bears have become a major problem. We went from none when I was a kid to having them on the front porch eating the Halloween pumpkins. I'm not kidding. Nothing short of rebar and chains will keep them out of the garbage and once they sample the trashcan buffet you will never get rid of them. We have an annual bear hunt to control the booming population. My daughter went from animal lover / vegetarian to get my gun I'm killing everyone I see. They recently gave in and sold their house in Rockaway in north Jersey, she's pregnant and doesn't want to deal with the bear problem with a baby. We're all used to seeing road kill deer on the side of the road. I saw my first road kill black bear on the side of the NY State Thruway. recently.
No simple solution to this problem but this is what puzzles me.
A duck caught in an oil slick gets saved, scrubbed in the sink until it's shiney and clean again, kissed on the cheek and turned loose.
A deer with a broken leg gets a thousand dollar repair, is hand fed back to health and set free if possible after all that.
I like ducks and deer but I like bears too. Where does this "grab your gun" mentality come from when it's bears?
A duck caught in an oil slick gets saved, scrubbed in the sink until it's shiney and clean again, kissed on the cheek and turned loose.
A deer with a broken leg gets a thousand dollar repair, is hand fed back to health and set free if possible after all that.
I like ducks and deer but I like bears too. Where does this "grab your gun" mentality come from when it's bears?
pineappleshooter
US Veteran
Like this - oh wait - you said arms bears!
