Fatal Polar Bear Attack
Bears
Sad story. Many thoughts and questions come to mind. Do Schools in remote areas REALLY need to be "gun free zones"? Has the ESA classification of "threatened " 15 years ago emboldened polar bear? I realize that humans are just another prey species of polar bear, so I was surprised at the statement that this was the first polar bear /human fatality in the US in 30 years. Possibly such incidents are under reported? As PH Capstick said, "when someone is eaten, they just aren't anymore".
https://apnews.com/article/animal-attacks-bears-animals-polar-anchorage-d4269df76e01a894e86c7f2ea0c66711
I have bowhunted Polar Bear twice, once in 2006 and again in 2007. On one of those two hunts, we had problems with wolves....as did another bowhunter that was afield at the same time. Some of the sled dogs were killed, and some of the wolves were killed. I remember someone mentioning that they had never heard of a documented attack of a human by wolves......to which one of the village elders commented "then no one ever asked us". I suspect that until the age of the internet and "instant information", it is possible that a lot of these types of attacks went unreported, or at least not in such a way that the general public would ever hear of it. Back in the 1980's, while on a drilling platform in the Appalachian Basin, I remember one of the roughnecks that used to work in Alaska recounting the story of a drilling rig member that was killed and partially devoured right at the wellsite by a polar bear. In this day and age, it would be instant headlines read across the country....or further.
"the first polar bear /human fatality in the US in 30 years". This statement, of course, refers to "documented" cases and specifically to the US.
Very few people live in areas of the US that are also inhabited by Polar Bears. And these people are well aware of how dangerous Polar Bears are. They understand very well how to survive in remote areas, are self reliant and do not rely on the government to protect themselves from danger. (They are not like city folk in LA who think it is cute to have mountain lions in their neighborhood and never wonder what an urban mountain lion might eat to survive.)
So I'm not surprised that polar bear/ human fatalities would be rare. Not because Polar Bears aren't dangerous but because the humans in their areas are very aware of the danger.
And until internet social media took hold (which really is quite recent), events in these remote areas were rarely publicized so if a fatality occurred it is very likely that only people in the immediate area would hear about it.
"They understand very well how to survive in remote areas, are self reliant and do not rely on the government to protect themselves from danger."
I'd argue the exact opposite point about most of these coastal villages. While maybe true decades ago, now they seem nearly 100% reliant on the government for survival.
I don’t know what the sea ice conditions are up there but there saying climate change was a factor in this attack
Polar bear attack in Wales, Alaska, highlights climate change
Who is they, saying it is due to climate change. The usual suspects I guess. LMAO
For whatever reason (political I'm sure or the make believe warm and fuzzy people get nowadays about animals), the news likes to say that no matter what animal killed a human. It is always person killed by meat eating animal and that it is extremely rare. Make sense? Not!!!
