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Strollerderby
Kid Shoots Bear That Won’t Leave Him Alone
The bear wouldn’t leave his porch, so an eleven-year-old boy went and got his shotgun. Then he killed the bear.
Well – that’s one way to deal with it.
The bear had officially been making a nuisance of itself in and around the boy’s Idaho neighborhood according to wildlife officials. So the boy won’t be facing any charges for taking a bear without a permit. It is actually black bear season in Idaho at the moment, so the family has applied to keep the bear’s carcass.
See a bear on the porch, and most people would likely have the same response as this kid. But it bears noting that black bears are rarely a threat to humans. Since 1900, there have been only forty-five human deaths caused by black bears. Compare that to five hundred human/black bear encounters between 1960 and 1980 alone, and it’s pretty minuscule.
Although you can’t fault the kid for trying to protect his family, is it possible he could have simply stayed inside until the bear finally DID leave the porch?
Would you applaud your kid for this move or use it as a lesson on animals?
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11 Comments
raj gorham commented on Nov 16 09 at 3:07 pmMy mom often has bears in her yard in rural NH. I was in her house once when a black bear hopped up onto her porch to go after the birdfeeder. I was pretty scared as I looked at the huge bear through the sliding glass door but I never ever would have considered killing the bear. The bear was not trying to harm me and I had no reason to harm him (her)
TolaniLucia commented on Nov 16 09 at 3:29 pmCreepy. I do not think for one second that he was trying to protect his family.There is plenty of distance between him and the bear. Why is an eleven year old shooting a gun without his parent’s near by anyways? No, this is about a kid who wanted to shoot and kill something and sadly had the gun and chance to do it.
Eric commented on Nov 16 09 at 6:17 pmWhen bears become habituated to people, they become dangerous. Was this bear there? I don’t know. If the bear was a problem in the neighborhood it doesn’t sound good. I’ve camped in black and brown bear country quite a bit, and had my first really nasty bear experience just this last summer. There’s lots of bears out there, I have no problem getting rid of the ones that regularly visit people’s porches.
Ali commented on Nov 16 09 at 8:13 pmHe did the right thing. Bears can hurt people, especially a child. He must have been scared to death. Macho little dude, sure his mom had low phthalates in her system. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/11/softeners-in-plastics-may-affect-masculinity-in-young-boys-study-says.html
marj commented on Nov 16 09 at 8:36 pmWell, it’s nice to know they rarely kill humans. Although, if this kid or any of his family or friends were among that small statistic, I’m not sure it’d be any comfort to him. I probably would have called animal control, but then, my area does not have a bear hunting season.
jenny tries too hard commented on Nov 16 09 at 8:45 pmthis is a bear, not a cat or a dog, and this was not a fluke, but a regualr occurence. The bear had clearly lost the fear of humans and their entrapments that usually keeps us all safe. Would y’all be happier if this were a headline about a boy being mauled by a bear, even though he had a gun and knew how to safely use it?
jinxy commented on Nov 18 09 at 12:05 amis no one concerned about the fact that an 11 yr old boy not only had a gun, but had access to that gun? I understand some parents teach their children to hunt at a young age, but guns should be locked in a cabinet. Maybe he did a service to his family, but couldnt his dad have done the same thing? I would have called the Humane Society myself.
Eric commented on Nov 18 09 at 9:08 amjinxy, guns and access to guns, have never been the problem. The problem is people. I had my first rifle in my bedroom once I was 12. This one will blow some minds: Starting in junior high, my father (born in ’52) rode the bus to school with his shotgun most days of pheasant season. He and his friends shotguns would sit over by the coat rack till after school when they would go hunting.
TolaniLucia commented on Nov 19 09 at 1:24 pmEric guns can change how people think. The problem is people you are right. And since this is a parenting site I am going to be a bit forward in questioning your folks parenting practices. Hunters or not letting a teenager sleep with a rifle in their room is stupid.
TolaniLucia commented on Nov 19 09 at 1:27 pmso, when I say that yes, in fact the problem is people, I speak in part about the people who would allow their child to sleep with a gun and have open, unsupervised access to one.
Ri-chan commented on Nov 22 09 at 6:21 pmYeah, he definatly did the right thing killing the bear. A bear can seriously hurt you. They’re very scary animals and if one is as close as your porch it poses a significant risk to your well being.
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