A black bear led police and game officials on a merry chase through the city of Roanoke, Virginia. It took three tranquilizer darts, a beanbag gun and a pepper-ball gun to finally subdue the bear, who is apparently a reincarnation of Rasputin. But that's not the bad news. The bad news is that bear sightings are increasing rapidly in Virginia.
RICHMOND (AP) — It took three tranquilizer darts, a beanbag gun and a pepper-ball gun to bring down a black bear running through Roanoke, police and game officials close on its tail.
The 140-pound bear, which lumbered through the city two weeks ago, was turned over to Michael Vaughan, professor of wildlife science at Virginia Tech, who has been studying bears for 26 years. He said he will use the bear for his reproductive physiology research.
The sight of a bear running down a street hasn't been a rare sight this summer. Bear sightings and encounters have been on the rise, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries said.
"I suspect it's because we've had some hot and dry conditions and there may not be as much water or food in their natural habitat," Mr. Vaughan said. He said black bears typically are shy and try to avoid humans.
Unless you really want to encourage a visit by a hungry bear (in which case, you deserve one) it is important to keep food sources tightly controlled. Garbage and even bird feeders can attract bears. Incidentally, if you do run into a bear, whatever you do, do not look the bear in the eyes. That is considered by bears to be a challenge. (That is serious advice, BTW.)
Only 140 pounds? Is that a typical weight down there? Tiny!
What they really really really like is fermented sweet cherries. Excellent for chumming.
Probably a yearling. Nowhere near full growth yet.
I have always found the best solution for escaping a charging bear is to hang around people who run slower than I do.
Do what we do: steal your companions boots to be sure they run slower.
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