# Why kill the bear? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 27, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775 "2012-08-27T01:16:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![al27052](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@al27052](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/al27052)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/21 "2012-08-27T13:06:22Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Don’t they do the same with tigers in India? Once a tiger has eaten human flesh it becomes far more dangerous than other tigers because it suddenly sees human as lunch, an edible prey. > > The bear that ate Timothy Treadwell and his companion in Alaska was hunted down and killed for much the same reasons. AFAIK, man-eating tigers that actually approach human settlements are usually old/injured/sick, an d cannot hunt normal prey easily anymore. They get desperately hungry, and, while they normally will avoid human settlements, eventually they get so hungry that they approach and eat a person. The wiki on it is good reading. > **[Tiger attack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_attack)** > > Tiger attacks are a form of human–wildlife conflict which have killed more humans than attacks by any of the other big cats, with the majority of these attacks occurring in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Southeast Asia. > Like most other predators, tigers tend to attack humans only while hunting or when they feel threatened. If a human comes too close and surprises a sleeping or feeding tiger, or a tigress with her cubs, the tiger is prone to respond with aggression. Tigers have also been known t... ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/22 "2012-08-27T13:42:37Z")
The bear has reasons for killing, and so do we. This aversion to seeing people as part of the food chain is beyond me. We have a life which we want to live – and man is curious and adventurous by nature – and when bears taste human flesh, they become a greater threat to humans. So, we, being the ultimate tool maker (thanks evolution), put those tools to use. I don’t deny the bears have tendencies and areas they frequent, but don’t deny that humans explore, study… and, well, act human. We get around. If bears eat us and become more dangerous because they see us as prey… then we rise to the top of the food chain. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/23 "2012-08-27T13:52:07Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > I read about this today and the story had some comments from the Park superintendent about advice they give to park goers: > > So a 1/4 mile is about 400 metres. Not having dealt with bears at all or even been in that part of the world, I don’t question the reasons behind staying a 1/4 mile away but how practical is it? > > Are we talking a lot of open ground? forest? a mix? Much of Denali Park is open terrain with scrub brush which is thick enough in many areas to conceal a bear. 50 yards is far too close in any conditions, as a bear can cover that distance before you can react. While this man was an experienced camper and hiker, his failure to move away from the area immediately was fatal for him. Bear’s are usually killed because they are sitting on their food cache and will defend it against all comers. Also, when a bear decides that humans are easy prey and a quick lunch, it’s a death sentence for it. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/24 "2012-08-27T22:46:09Z")
Yeah, the Superintendent of the Park said that they put the grizzly down because it killed the stupid hiker, dragged the body 150 yards into the woods, ate it, and sat on it, defending it against predators. If it had just mauled him and then fled, they usually don’t put them down. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/25 "2012-08-27T22:52:16Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Unfortunately, a second bear was also at the kill site when authorities arrived and, although it was not instrumental in their deaths, it wouldn’t vacate the feed and it too was put down. I thought on of the bears charged the Rangers. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/26 "2012-08-27T23:02:49Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > 50 yards is far too close in any conditions, as a bear can cover that distance before you can react. Typical quoted top speed for a bear is 35 mph. Once up to that speed, the bear would cover 50 yards in 3 seconds - definitely quick, but a lot longer than normal human reaction time. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/27 "2012-08-27T23:28:38Z")
Hunters harvest about 2,000 of the estimated 30,000 Brown Bears in Alaska every year. I can’t think of a good reason to not kill the bear. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/28 "2012-08-28T00:24:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **drastic\_quench** : > > One thing hikers can do is wear a bear bell. It is essentially a jingle bell. People scoff at them and say, “That won’t scare a bear.” Well, no shit, but that’s not the point. Bear bells alert bears to your presence. Many attacks happen because people inadvertently sneak up on or surprise brown bears. With a bell, they hear you coming, and they’ll actively want to get out of your way - in general. Then there’s bear spray, which is a big canister of pepper spray that shoots about 30 feet. Lots of folks in Denali and Glacier carry both. While we’re on the topic, do you know how to tell brown bear scat from black bear scat? The brown bear scat has little bells in it and smells like pepper. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/29 "2012-08-28T01:38:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > While we’re on the topic, do you know how to tell brown bear scat from black bear scat? > > The brown bear scat has little bells in it and smells like pepper. Bazinga! > [@Xema](#): > > Typical quoted top speed for a bear is 35 mph. Once up to that speed, the bear would cover 50 yards in 3 seconds - definitely quick, but a lot longer than normal human reaction time. And since the comedy club has been opened, I just want to say that I always wear tennis shoes in bear country. Invariably, someone in my party will point out that a human can’t outrun a bear. My reply, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun you.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/30 "2012-08-28T02:11:48Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Typical quoted top speed for a bear is 35 mph. Once up to that speed, the bear would cover 50 yards in 3 seconds - definitely quick, but a lot longer than normal human reaction time. Yeah, you’d have enough time to turn around and almost take two steps. Weapons are not allowed in the park. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/31 "2012-08-28T02:25:53Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Weapons are not allowed in the park. How about bear-deterrent spray? ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/32 "2012-08-28T03:40:38Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Yeah, you’d have enough time to turn around and almost take two steps. Weapons are not allowed in the park. I know a lot of hikers - even very liberal ones - that conceal carry when on the trail and especially so in brown bear country. Typically they’re not permitted, but they do it illegally anyway. It’s quite the issue in the hiker community. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/33 "2012-08-28T05:14:25Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Yeah, you’d have enough time to turn around and almost take two steps. Weapons are not allowed in the park. I believe they’ve allowed guns for the past few years. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/34 "2012-08-28T05:38:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Also note that the wilderness management folks who end up with the job of killing the bear generally hate doing it, and blame the stupid human who got himself Darwinized for making it necessary. I encountered a bear in 2004 on the High Sierra Trail in Sequoia NP: [http://www.tmk.com/transient/6F5S3305-m.jpg](http://www.tmk.com/transient/6F5S3305-m.jpg) \* After going well out of my way to locate a ranger and notify them (the paperwork says “Report all bear sightings to a ranger” in quite a few places), I was told “We know about it, it’s been up around Crescent Meadow for a couple of days”. Apparently they don’t post notices or close the area as that would encourage people to try to see the bear. Of course, that doesn’t help the people (like me) who happened to be there anyway and met the bear by surprise. - That’s a full-frame picture from my camera. All I did was re-size it. I tell people the picture is blurry because “the bear was nervous”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/35 "2012-08-28T14:28:53Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > I believe they’ve allowed guns for the past few years. Looks like you’re [right](http://www.nps.gov/dena/parkmgmt/firearms.htm). Even so, a charging grizzly is going to be tough to kill, even with a large caliber handgun. Or even hit, in the few seconds the guy would have had, for that matter. I would bet he was unarmed, and probably just had either bear spray, which is fairly ineffective against grizzlies, or was wearing bells, which do nothing other than announce where dinner can be found. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/36 "2012-08-28T14:35:23Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Looks like you’re [right](http://www.nps.gov/dena/parkmgmt/firearms.htm). Even so, a charging grizzly is going to be tough to kill, even with a large caliber handgun. Or even hit, in the few seconds the guy would have had, for that matter. I would bet he was unarmed, and probably just had either bear spray, which is fairly ineffective against grizzlies, or was wearing bells, which do nothing other than announce where dinner can be found. The Treadwell bear was taken down with a large caliber pistol and two shotguns. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/37 "2012-08-28T14:43:25Z")
NPR had an interview with the park superintendent where he goes into detail about the circumstances surrounding this particular bear’s behaviour and how it was determined to be a threat. > **[Denali National Park Still Closed After Bear Attack](https://www.npr.org/2012/08/27/160131217/denali-national-park-still-closed-after-bear-attack)** > > Part of Alaska's Denali National Park is still closed after a hiker was mauled to death by a grizzly bear on Friday. It was the first fatality from a bear attack in the park's nearly 100 year history. Melissa Block talks to park superintendent Paul... ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/38 "2012-08-28T14:44:38Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > The Treadwell bear was taken down with a large caliber pistol and two shotguns. Emphasis on the word “shotguns”. Even large caliber pistols are fairly useless against a charging bear. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/39 "2012-08-28T14:58:11Z")
People are delicious. You can’t eat just one. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775/40 "2012-08-28T15:29:15Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Looks like you’re [right](http://www.nps.gov/dena/parkmgmt/firearms.htm). Even so, a charging grizzly is going to be tough to kill, even with a large caliber handgun. Or even hit, in the few seconds the guy would have had, for that matter. I would bet he was unarmed, and probably just had either bear spray, which is fairly ineffective against grizzlies, or was wearing bells, which do nothing other than announce where dinner can be found. That’s not how bears work. They want to avoid you. Also, you may not kill a charging bear with a 9mm, .45, or even .357 and .44mag, but you’ll very likely scare them off with just the gunshot sound. Wounded predators don’t fight to the death either, unless cornered. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kill-the-bear/632775.md?page=3)