Bears are racking up some big Ws against humans in the United States this month. First from a National Park Service press release, “On the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 16, a male, age 29, sustained injuries from a bear while hiking on the Turbid Lake Trail, located northeast of Mary Bay in Yellowstone Lake. The male was hiking alone when he encountered the bear near Turbid Lake. The hiker began to deploy bear spray when the bear made contact, and he sustained significant but non-life-threatening injuries to his chest and left arm. National Park Service medics responded to the incident and walked out with the hiker. Once arriving to the trailhead, NPS transported the hiker in a park ambulance to the Lake Medical Clinic. He was then flown to a nearby hospital for treatment. The hiker thought the bear was a black bear; however, the location, size, and behavior of the described bear suggest it might have been a grizzly bear. Bear management staff will attempt to confirm the species through DNA analysis, if possible. The Turbid Lake Trail is closed until further notice. Bear management staff are sweeping the trail to ensure no other hikers are on the trail.”
“Because this incident was a defensive reaction by the bear during a surprise encounter, the park will not be taking any management action against the bear,” the release continued. For those keeping score at home, the bear defeated the hiker in close combat, trail closed so he doesn’t have to deal with them for at least a few days, park rangers won’t kill him for the attack. So much winning.
Meanwhile in Arkansas, a 72 year-old man succumbed to his injuries caused earlier this month when a bear suffering from rabies and “distemper” ripped the man off his ride-on-mower and made his objection to the noise caused by the lawn care machinery known to the man, per USA Today. That bear was not so lucky however as it was blasted by state game wardens the next day.