BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Genie
Date: 27 Nov 08 - 07:42 PM

Greg B: "Sorry to be non-PC, but as a native Californian who now lives in the East, where the bear population is growing and becoming an increasing menace in the hills, I might have named the bugger 'Darwin' and helped him on his way to the bottom of the gorge."

Whatever your feelings about bears, it's hardly appropriate to tag this bear -- who is a "she," BTW -- "Darwin," implying that her plight was due to stupidity.   What is a bear -- or a person, for that matter -- supposed to do when suddenly faced with two oncoming cars on a fairly narrow bridge?    A human climber might well be expected to keep in mind how they had got up onto such a high bridge and, even in the panic of the moment, remember not to jump all the way over the edge.   I wouldn't expect that comibination of memory plus presence-of-mind from even the smartest of bears.   

G

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: semi-submersible
Date: 27 Nov 08 - 05:29 PM

When we ask why they shoot instead of relocating bears who get the trash habit, the conservation officers tell us that there is virtually no unoccupied habitat in North America for black bears.

Local bears (who have to make a living too) will attack or harass the relocated bear until it leaves, is killed, or starves; or else the newcomer displaces one of the local bears from its territory and dooms that one in turn to the same fate. Is trapping and relocating then reasonable or humane?

There's serious effort under way in some bear-rich places, to train the human residents and visitors not to invite trouble with bears: education and planning (with fines up to five figures) for humans, and controlled harassment for individual problem bears. I think mindful people can coexist with bears about as safely as we can with fellow humans and a lot more safely than with automobiles. "But aversive conditioning only works if you secure all the garbage," says slingshot-wielding bear researcher Lori Holmstol, quoted in an article at http://www.bearsmart.com (great info for making both communities and individuals more bear friendly). That one person in a hundred who leaves garbage on a porch may teach a bear a deadly lesson.

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Cluin
Date: 26 Nov 08 - 04:37 PM

Bears, mostly, are territorial (polar bears aren't). Especially the sows. So when you drop the new kid into an established bear's territory, the newcomer gets out of Dodge pretty quick and heads back to where the pickings are easy. And once they've made themselves a habitual nuisance, the only option left, unfortunately is a bullet (or several, often, when it's the cops who have to do it). Not enough zoos or wildlife parks to accomodate all the bears who lose their legitimate fear of our predatory species.

Bears have become an increasing nuisance around here in the last several years. Many blame it on the provincial banning of the spring bear hunt, but I suspect the truth includes other factors: encroachment, increased trash containing wasted food items, milder winters and productive summers... It is nothing to see a bear wandering down our suburban streets or even our paved downtown areas.

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: katlaughing
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 10:33 PM

You've got that right, Joe. The bears stay out of the cities, but the people won't stay out of the wilderness and then all hell breaks lose when there's a forest fire with ER people having to risk all to save the homes etc., etc. Is it too early in the season to say "bah, humbug?"

SRS, that is amazing, although when I think of the Incredible Journey or the old dog my mom's folks gave away, taken out to a ranch far, far away and showing up a year later at their home, I guess it's not so unusual after all.

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 09:27 PM

You can move a bear a couple of hundred miles away and if it is really smart and stubborn it will come back to the same spot within a few days. It is quite astonishing. I used to have to help with the bear trap in the campground where I worked in the North Cascades. Usually getting them a couple of drainages away from where they area problem is sufficient, but every now and then you would hear about one that was taken half-way down the state and the darned thing would come back in a week or two. Or less.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 08:44 PM

That's the problem. They've tried relocating the bears, but the bears keep coming back. That's the problem with moving civilization to a wilderness area. The bears stay out of the cities, but the city people keep building fancy homes in the bear areas.

We don't have a big bear population here at 2,300 feet, so we haven't had a problem with them. Now, the deer are another matter....


-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: gnu
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 08:12 PM

That was a nail-biter indeed!

kat... I am sure that they would if they could... I hope... Joe?

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: katlaughing
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 07:49 PM

Why don't they relocate them instead of killing them. Humankind's solutions to problems they cause always astound me.

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 03:05 PM

I'm afraid that in this area, bears are more likely to be exterminated than rescued. I was surprised that they made the effort to rescue that bear from the bridge at Donner Pass (about 45 minutes "up the hill" from me). Just a few miles away, the bears have been breaking into houses to raid refrigerators, and they have been exterminated.
They haven't been a problem in this area, so I enjoyed seeing this one.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Charley Noble
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 02:25 PM

Cluin-

I like to see rescues which are successful! The polar bear rescue above was certainly a nail-bitter.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 02:13 PM

I noticed this morning that there's a stepladder next to that tree. Now I'm half-wondering if the bear DID get into the garage, took out the stepladder, and....

But he's a cute little critter, Dave. I don't want to have him for dinner until he becomes a problem.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 01:37 PM

Joe O., you said, And I hope he doesn't figure out how to get into the freezer in our garage.

Maybe he SHOULD get there, by your putting him there--in nicely-wrapped pieces!

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Cluin
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 11:24 AM

This recent polar bear rescue in Newfoundland had a nail-biting moment or two, but things worked out alright.

I'd say the guy who climbed up there first has balls.

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: gnu
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 05:30 AM

tAKE great CARE. wHERE THERE ARE LITTLE BEARS, THERE ARE BIG BEARS.

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 02:57 AM

Well, I've lived here in the Sierra Nevada foothills for almost seven years now, and tonight is the first time I've seen a bear (other than in Alaska). I caught him in my headlights as I was driving up to the house - he seemed to be jumping out of our apple tree, and then he ran off into the woods. He was a cute little guy - smaller in frame than a Great Dane but a lot chubbier. I wish I had been able to see him more clearly. And I hope he doesn't figure out how to get into the freezer in our garage.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Oct 07 - 08:12 PM

Now if Sen. Larry Craig was hanging by his bare fingernails from the Rainbow Bridge, would any of us have made an effort to save him?

(This is a transparent attempt to hi-jack a thread that has many more posts than this one)

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Oct 07 - 09:35 AM

Joe-

Most likely what took down your post was your local equivalent of Sasquatch, or perhaps a rabid Republican. In either event, you may want to heed Greg's advice and arm yourself appropriately, or not!

In Maine, we'd assume a moose had tripped over the fence post.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Greg B
Date: 04 Oct 07 - 10:50 PM

Oh a preacher went out walking...it was on a Sunday morn...

Or, rather, "...I don't have to outrun you. I just have to
outrun that god-damed bear!"

Kat, the solution to rattlesnakes is a .22 pistol. Fine solution.
A .410 shotgun works as well if you're a lousy shot. Giving
them a wide berth works, also. The advantage of a wide berth is
that nobody every shot themselves in the foot with a wide berth.

For bears, though, a .357 magnum is just about the minimum
to do much more than piss 'em off. Though a 12-gauge with a
rifled slug would probably work, also... (comments on wide
berth apply as well)

Now, then, there is the question of mountain lions. Ever see
one of them buggers? Big. Real big.

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Oct 07 - 10:36 PM

I'm sure the bears see it the other way around...the people are becoming a menace encroaching on their territory.:-)

I am reminded of the place outside Hartford...big, swanky exclusive subdivisions built on and around some lovely forested hills. Only trouble was no one realised it was an ancient travelling route for rattlesnakes, lots and lots of rattlesnakes. They had to keep their kids inside and really watch their pets. I don't know if they ever came up with any solutions.

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Greg B
Date: 04 Oct 07 - 10:27 PM

Don't underestimate deer, Joe. We regularly lose 4x6 fence posts
to the vermin. They generate huge force when vaulting a fence, or
when the young'uns nearly vault the fence.

Sorry to be non-PC, but as a native Californian who now lives
in the East, where the bear population is growing and becoming
an increasing menace in the hills, I might have named the
bugger 'Darwin' and helped him on his way to the bottom of the
gorge.

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Oct 07 - 09:26 PM

Well, today we found that the deer fence around our vegetable garden was almost down. A fence post had been bent to a 45-degree angle. This is one of your usual steel fence posts. I suppose a man could bend it that far if he really wanted to, but I figure this was done by an animal - and I don't think a deer would do it. Was it a bear? I dunno, but that's our guess. It certainly wasn't a raccoon or a bunny rabbit. I guess we'd better keep an eye out.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 Oct 07 - 09:01 PM

Oh, I keep watching, Liz. All I've seen are deer, deer, and more deer; jackrabbits with huge ears, California quail, assorted toads and frogs and lizards, and three different kinds of (non-poisonous) snakes. Oh, and I saw a bobcat once, and so many varieties of birds I can't count them. And coyotes, and a fox, and raccoons, and an occasional skunk. And various rodents.

I know the bears and mountain lions and rattlesnakes are in the neighborhood, but I haven't seen them - and I don't know that I'm in a hurry to.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Oct 07 - 02:04 PM

The big bad bear barely escaped his strife,
From the Rainbow Bridge he was clinging for his life;
The Bear League showed its pluck,
And on-lookers were awe-struck,
And it was net-save Bear at the end of day!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 02 Oct 07 - 07:07 PM

Joe - perhaps you should try looking out of the windows?

Actually, it's amazing how many people never notice what is outside the vehicle when they commute. I bet there aren't 10 people on my train of a morning who could tell me what the yellow flowered bushes are at West Ham station, and most would say 'what, there's bushes?' (they're yellow broom, planta genista if you want to know), because they simply aren't aware of their surroundings.

Keep watching Joe, you'll be rewarded!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Oct 07 - 02:36 AM

Hey, I live on U.S. 40, and I hadn't seen the story. It's half a mile from several of our favorite hiking spots. It's at an elevationof about 5,000 feet, about 55 miles up the hill from us.
I haven't seen bears in the neighborhood (2,300 feet elevation), but our next-door neighbor said his dogs chased a bear up a tree last week.
Haven't seen rattlesnakes here, either - but my wife has seen both bears in the neighborhood.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 02 Oct 07 - 01:01 AM

Awwww, bless.

Maybe a bear lane is needed on the bridge?

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Rescue from Donner Bridge
From: Sorcha
Date: 01 Oct 07 - 09:43 PM

Bears. Bears and people. People. What can I say? Glad the bear is OK.

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Eescue from Donner Bridge
From: curmudgeon
Date: 01 Oct 07 - 07:48 PM

Would some kind Joeclone please correct this thread title so that more people will read it.

Thanks -- Tom

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Eescue from Donner Bridge
From: open mike
Date: 01 Oct 07 - 06:09 PM

there was an unfortunate incident on montana recently..
there was a bear up a tree. when it got shot with the
tranquilizer it went further up the tree. when the tranq.
took effect it fell and broke its neck. it died. sad.

this story turned out better!

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Eescue from Donner Bridge
From: katlaughing
Date: 01 Oct 07 - 04:38 PM

WOW! How incredible and neat to see, esp. since it had a happy ending. Thanks, Charley!

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Eescue from Donner Bridge
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Oct 07 - 04:37 PM

Here's more of the story:

Bear saved from fatal fall

Andrew Cristancho
Nevada Appeal News Service
September 18, 2007, 4:01 AM

DONNER SUMMIT - About a dozen volunteers safely lowered a tranquilized black bear Sunday morning from picturesque Rainbow Bridge near Donner Summit to the floor of a granite-strewn ravine.

The concerted act of mercy occurred against a backdrop of escalating encounters between humans and bears in the region this year, many resulting in the death of bears in car crashes or their capture by basin residents tired of bruin break-ins.

On Sunday, though, humans turned out to save the life of a 250-pound bear that literally clung for its life through the night.

According to the Truckee BEAR League's Dave Baker, a medium-size bear jumped the railing of Rainbow Bridge, a 100-foot concrete arch near Donner Summit, on Saturday afternoon.

"The bear was crossing the bridge as cars were coming from the east and west," said Baker. "(The cars) pinched the bear up and over the guard rail."

The bear apparently jumped to avoid the cars, then found itself trapped in the concrete girders beneath the highest point of the bridge from 3 p.m. Saturday until its eventual rescue at noon Sunday.

"I've been on a lot of bear rescues, and this is the most intense bear call that I've been on," Baker said.

One of the first on the scene, Baker said he saw claw marks etched into the concrete railing where the bear leaped and then scrambled for a secure hold to prevent falling about 80 feet.

Baker said he and a man from Las Vegas identified only as "Andy" tracked down a 20-by-40-foot nylon net from an Army surplus store in Reno. Assisted by rock and tree climbers, Baker strung the orange cargo mesh beneath the span of the 80-year-old bridge.

A Nevada County Animal Control official then shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart.

"We thought it would take 15 minutes - no, it took forever," said Executive Director Ann Bryant, of the BEAR League, of the wait for the sedative to take effect.

"He kept lifting his head up - he was really fighting it."

According to Baker, Mike Turner, of Turner's Tree Service, donned a safety harness and lowered himself over the bridge in an effort to push the bear off the girder and into the net.

Bryant said the bear was in danger of falling toward the net's outside edge, which could have ended with the animal landing on the granite crags below.

"Then I yelled, 'It's a good time to give her a nudge - she'll just fall in there,'" Bryant said of the tense moment. "[Turner] just pushed her with a pole and a boot, and the bear tumbled into the net. As soon as she fell, the net became a bag."

When the bear reached the ground, it staggered out, still groggy from the drugged dart.

At that point, nearly 100 spectators lining the roadway cheered and applauded the brown-furred bruin, Bryant said.

Bryant said she and BEAR League volunteer Kellie Baker then herded the animal into the shade, away from the crowds, where it lay down.

The BEAR League worked alongside Nevada County Animal Control, Truckee Animal Control and the California Highway Patrol to help in the rescue effort and control traffic and crowds, according to Truckee Animal Control Officer Dan Olsen.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Big Bear Eescue from Donner Bridge
From: pdq
Date: 01 Oct 07 - 02:36 PM

Once the net was in place and the bear tranquilized, it was still not in the net. One of the rescue party leader yelled to the man closest to the bear: "kick him!".

I'm not sure that is what the man wanted to hear.

Subject: BS: Big Bear Eescue from Donner Bridge
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Oct 07 - 02:29 PM

You won't believe this story but it has a happy ending and some great images: click here for a good time!

Every once in a while it's nice to read that some folks can get it right, and that there's more to bear survival than meets the eye!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble