When you think of wild bears, you picture this evil creature…..growling and showing his teeth…..ready to bite you in half. At least that’s what I picture when I think of bears in the wild. My kids picture the same type of beast. I don’t think they would be brave enough to get anywhere near a wild bear. We have taught them about being safe while out in the woods since they were little.
One kid in our neighborhood didn’t have the same sense…and lost a part of his finger! Let me explain……..
A house in our neighborhood had a bear stuck up in a tree. This is fairly common here around this time of year. The bears are hungry and looking for food, so they venture out into the city to try and find food. Game and Fish was called in to remove the bear from the tree and take him away. While this cute, cuddly bear was in a cage to be taken away, the neighborhood kids tried to get a closer look. The video from KOAT-7 shows the kids taking pictures with their phones. The kids were trying to get the bear to lick their hands. Well…you know what happened, next, the bear took a piece of one of the boys fingers.
WHY didn’t an adult stop these kids? What the heck were they thinking?!?!
When Game and Fish were interviewed, they said they can’t put blame on the kid or the bear….uummm…no it is your fault. Yes, the kid is 12 and should have known better….but the adults should have realized what a bad decision they were making and stopped them. I would have gotten between the kids and the bear and told them to stay back so they didn’t get bit.
The bear will now be put down..for several reasons. A) This is the 3rd time they have caught this bear in the city and B) He bit someone. I don’t blame him for biting. He is a wild animal that was caught and caged then had a bunch of little hands in his reach…..he was scared, of course he is going to bite. Jeez.
What do you think?
About Amber
The bear is just doing what he was made to do. Kinda sad that a bear has to be put down for attacking someone who should have been under parental supervision to begin with.
You should google “the Bear Whisper”. This town took a different approach on bears and its working really great. Thanks for letting us in on this interesting story!
I will have to look it up. I’m just amazed that with all these adults around, they were allowing children to play with a bear. What were these kids thinking….I mean shouldn’t they know not to play with bears…jeez!
I agree, where were the parents or the Fish and Game employees? Who would let any child so close to a bear cage?
This does seem very wrong. I love wildlife, but don’t know nearly enough about it. However it does seem very wrong
We have had two bear sightings in our area lately, which has me freaked out! My two year old loves stuffed animal bears, but I think if she saw one in real life, she’d be terrified of it (as would I). That is truly insane that those kids were close enough to the bear to be able to be bitten. Why didn’t their parents teach them that bears are unsafe, even if in a cage, where were the parents and why weren’t any of the adults around paying attention to the danger the kids had put themselves in?
I think you’re right, the bear was actually being tempted by the kids. I know had it been my kids, it wouldn’t have been allowed. Actually, I would have been scared to have them too close anyway. I don’t live in areas where there are bears so to me, it’s scary.
That’s just ridiculous they’re obviously t fault who lets a bunch of kids touch a wil animal, poor bear
Bear was just a frightened wild animal.
Talk with your kids – Excellent time to assess how much commonsense our kids have and whether they would or wouldn’t think letting a wild bear lick their finger was a good idea. 12 year olds are at an age where many kids are venturing into the possibility of drugs, sex and other serious life situations where commonsense is what we hope will keep them safe.