Bear for the barbecue.Good eats! That's likely what a 422-pound black bear was looking for in a Porthill, Idaho, backyard in early October. Greg Johnson, a conservation officer with Idaho Fish and Game, indicated to BonnerCountyDailyBee.com that "a bad berry crop this year has forced the bears BEARS See: Bonds Enabling Annual Retirement Savings (BEARS) to scrounge more for food" He believes that the bear came up to the home because "there was a barbecue grill on the home's porch." "Bears will take advantage of easy food sources," he said. In general, Johnson may be correct, but this bear's actions seemed to indicate that it had a meal of fresh meat in mind. On the day of the incident, a pair of two-year-old twins, Cleo and Charles, and their three-year-old sister, Brooklyn, were playing in the backyard when Brooklyn spotted a bear running toward the house. She screamed, "Bear, bear," and the children's aunt, who was babysitting them, rushed out of the house, grabbed the kids, and scurried back in the house, closing a sliding glass door behind her as the bear rapidly approached. The bear "began pawing at the door and damaged the screen door, and window frame," reported DailyBee.com. The aunt put the kids in a bedroom, loaded a rifle, and shot the bear dead on the step. Though it may have been questionable as to whether the four humans were still in danger at the time the aunt shot the bear, she did have a valid bear-hunting license and will not face charges. In the 1990s, black bears averaged killing three people a year and seriously injuring about a dozen. It appears this bear was trying to up the average. Now it's going to the grill. |
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