Grizzly confrontation. (Exercising the Right).Late in the evening of October 27th, 15-year-old Daniel Pickar of Kalispell, Montana Kalispell is a city in Flathead County, Montana, USA. The population was 14,223 at the 2000 census. A 2004 estimate placed its population at 17,381. It is the county seat of Flathead CountyGR6. , thought his dog, Bessie, was chasing a small animal, so he went to look for the pet. Taught by his father to carry a firearm, he took his 20-gauge shotgun with him, since the Pickars have had constant run-ins with skunks, foxes, weasels, mountain lions, and black bears during the dozen years they have lived in the area. As he rounded the corner of the family chicken coop, Daniel saw Bessie scampering toward him with a large, very angry grizzly bear grizzly bear or grizzly, large, powerful North American brown bear, characterized by gray-streaked, or grizzled, fur. Grizzlies are 6 to 8 ft (180–250 cm) long, stand 3 1-2 to 4 ft (105–120 cm) at the humped shoulder, and weigh up to in hot pursuit. Fearing that he and the dog would be seriously harmed, or worse, he fired two blasts from a distance of about 20 yards, mortally wounding the grizzly. A November 14th Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. dispatch quoted the youth as saying, "I just saw a big, furry thing running at me, so I shot twice. After I shot, it kind of grunted and that was the only indication that I might have hit it. I've never been more scared in my life." Grizzly bears are listed as "threatened" under federal endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. statutes, so it is illegal to kill them except in self-defense (Law) in protection of self, - it being permitted in law to a party on whom a grave wrong is attempted to resist the wrong, even at the peril of the life of the assailiant. - Wharton. See also: Self-defense . Wildlife officials ruled the shooting justified. In the words of Flathead County Attorney Tom Esch, "As much as we regret the loss of a bear, we're glad we're not grieving the loss of a 15-year-old boy." |
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