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Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources, Adam Guy/AP
A wild black bear whose head got stuck inside a 2-gallon clear plastic jug is seen in a
July 22, 2008 photo in Minnesota.
A wild black bear whose head got stuck inside a 2-gallon clear plastic jug is seen in a
July 22, 2008 photo in Minnesota.
Minnesota Bear Killed with Head Stuck in Jar
July 31, 2008 12:09 PM
by
Liz Colville
Police shot the bear in Frazee, Minn., to avoid any harm to humans during a local weekend festival.
30-Second Summary
The young male bruin had been wandering around the Frazee area prior to and during the town’s weekend Turkey Days celebration, spending six days with the large plastic jar stuck on its head before police decided to shoot it. They did not have a tranquilizer gun available at the time, despite having been tracking the bear for days.
The police were criticized for killing the bear, receiving “dozens” of e-mails and phone calls from area citizens. By July 30 the bear was weakened by malnourishment; many believed it hadn’t really been a threat to humans.
But the town was “bustling” with visitors during its annual Turkey Days festival. A wildlife supervisor at Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources told the Tribune, “With all the people around … you’re never sure what the outcome is going to be.”
Throughout the previous days, the bear was never in a prime location to be trapped or tranquilized. Proximate to a lot of people, the bear was too dangerous to be approached to try to remove the jar, police said.
The bear was killed behind the coincidentally named Baer Building, a site of the celebration where many people were gathered.
Naplin told the Tribune that it is “very rare” for bears to get stuck in jars. But it also tends to be fatal. A Pennsylvania bear drowned in 2004 after getting a jar stuck on its head and evading game officials trying to help it.
Jon P. Beckmann, who co-authored a 2003 study on California black bears’ lifestyles, told the Los Angeles Times that bears tend to thrive on human garbage because it is “reliable.”
The police were criticized for killing the bear, receiving “dozens” of e-mails and phone calls from area citizens. By July 30 the bear was weakened by malnourishment; many believed it hadn’t really been a threat to humans.
But the town was “bustling” with visitors during its annual Turkey Days festival. A wildlife supervisor at Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources told the Tribune, “With all the people around … you’re never sure what the outcome is going to be.”
Throughout the previous days, the bear was never in a prime location to be trapped or tranquilized. Proximate to a lot of people, the bear was too dangerous to be approached to try to remove the jar, police said.
The bear was killed behind the coincidentally named Baer Building, a site of the celebration where many people were gathered.
Naplin told the Tribune that it is “very rare” for bears to get stuck in jars. But it also tends to be fatal. A Pennsylvania bear drowned in 2004 after getting a jar stuck on its head and evading game officials trying to help it.
Jon P. Beckmann, who co-authored a 2003 study on California black bears’ lifestyles, told the Los Angeles Times that bears tend to thrive on human garbage because it is “reliable.”
Headline Links: Hungry bear killed in Frazee, Minn.
Police were able to remove the jar after some time following the bear’s death, defending their decision to kill it because the bear reemerged so close to a large number of people. Rob Naplin of the Department of Natural Resources said the jar had probably contained popcorn or candy.
Source: UPI
When it was first spotted on July 21 near the town of Lake George, the bear had the jar only partially stuck on its head—over one ear. Spotted again on July 23 in Itasca State Park, wildlife officials created a trap to try to help the bear out of the jar, but the bear would not enter the trap and ended up leaving the park. It was spotted again at a Boy Scout camp, at which point more people were assigned to track the bear. Its final destination, with the jar was fully lodged on its head, was Frazee on July 30, where it was seen as a potential danger to others.
Source: Pioneer Press
Background: Frazee’s Turkey Days; bears and human garbage
The annual Turkey Days celebration is held in Frazee, an important part of the turkey industry. The four-day event features dozens of street vendors, a Turkey Trot run, a car show, a parade, live music, and more. The town of Frazee has a population of about 1,300, and the Turkey Days celebration draws around 2,000 visitors.
Source: DL-Online
A 2003 study reported in the Los Angeles Times found that black bears in urban parts of the Sierra Nevada region of California are substantially overweight compared to their rural counterparts, often “gorging on garbage.” Jon P. Beckmann, a co-author of the study, published in the Journal of Zoology, told the Times, “I wouldn’t say [the bears] are lazy; I would say they are opportunistic. For bears, garbage is the ultimate resource. It stays in the same place, it’s always available and it’s replenished after use.”
Source: Los Angeles Times
Related Topic: Jars rare but dangerous trap for animals
In 2004, a Pennsylvania bear got a jar stuck on its head, managing to escape the grasp of game officials. It was later found drowned in the Susquehanna River. Jerry Feaser of the Pennsylvania Game Commission told the TV station WGAL that these types of events
“are the kinds of things that will happen with wildlife when people leave trash lying about.”
“are the kinds of things that will happen with wildlife when people leave trash lying about.”
Source: WGAL Susquehanna Valley
Wild Oats, a feral cat from Bartlett, Tenn., spent 19 days with a peanut butter jar stuck on her head, eluding her owners by running and hiding when they tried to remove the jar. The “once chubby” cat was found thin and weak after disappearing for several days. Owners coaxed her with treats and water and used oil to remove the jar. Local veterinarian Gerald Blackburn said he’d heard of numerous cats who had survived a variety of predicaments for weeks without nourishment.
Source: Breitbart
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