Outdoor Life Newswire

A ranch hand in Colorado was sucker-punched by a black bear after he left an outhouse. While the man was answering the call of nature, the black bear made a meal of his lunch. When the ranch hand stepped out, he walked right into an angry bear.

One punch from the bear and the ranch hand was knocked more than 10 feet. He made it to his car, but the bear was on his tail. The bear then chewed on the car’s tires and sniffed around the windows. The ranch hand must not have felt too threatened because he reportedly took pictures with his cell phone before leaving the area.

To combat aggressive animal activities in two Arizona counties, a bill was presented to the governor that would outlaw feeding wild animals. If signed into law, a $300 fine would be given to anyone caught giving food to wildllife in Maricopa and Pima counties.

Several animal encounters, including incidents with mountain lions, have been tied to food being left for everything from squirrels to coyotes. According to the Arizona Republic, state biologists have been seeking the power to cite animal-feeding offenders for a couple of years. The governor is expected to act quickly on the bill.

Deer traditionally take a lot of blame for destroying vegetation and wilderness habitat. Now for one area of the Rocky Mountain National Park, elk are the culprit. In an effort to save aspens, willows and beavers in the area, the park suggested culling the herd of 700 animals annually.

Rangers would enter the park at night, using silencers to trim the elk population. Night shooting is considered the best option because it won’t disturb people enjoying the park during the day. A fence could be erected, as well, to protect nearly 550 acres of young aspen.

A handful of environmental groups, including the Wilderness Society, say wolves should be reintroduced. Rob Edward of the conservationist group Sinapu, told the Denver Post that wolves would make the elk wary and mobile. This could restore the natural balance of nature, instead of placing the burden on man to maintain the herd.

A black bear attacked a hunter, causing severe injuries, before being shot and killed by another hunter in the area. The events took place just outside Olympic National Park.

The victim suffered a compound fracture in his arm, a broken hand and bite marks. Though he lost a significant amount of blood, he is expected to make a full recovery.

According to local state troopers, this is a rare attack for this area. Most wildlife encounters involve cougars, not bears.

Hunting black bears in New Jersey is one of the most contentious outdoor issues in the country. The courts have been used repeatedly to both end and protect bear seasons over the past three years in the state. If the hunt happens again this season, it’s sure to garner just as much attention.

On the last day of the 2005 season, 197 anti-hunters gathered at Wawayanda State Park to protest bear hunting. Six were arrested when they crossed a barricade set up by police. Of those six, four are now suing the Department of Environmental Protection. Their grievance is park police infringed on their first amendment right when they crossed the barricade to “commit acts of civil disobedience.”

The police officer in charge of security at Wawayanda said the barrier was constructed to protect hunters bringing bears to a nearby check station.

Though some authorities around the country have denied the expansiveness of the mountain lion’s range, more and more sightings are proving that the big felines have spread across the land. The latest run-in with a cougar occurred in a Los Angeles suburb, where a two-year-old, male lion slept under bushes in a small neighborhood.

The cat was tranquilized and removed, but not before a nearby school went into lockdown mode, fearing for the students’ safety.

Conservationists should celebrate as federal officials begin the process of removing the Grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone from endangered species protection. The move will shift management responsibilities from the feds to the state of Wyoming. This means a limited hunting season could be on the horizon.

I wrote a short post recently on the Endangered Species Act, and here is one of the rare success stories. Of course, the biggest obstacle to beginning a hunt will be public outcry. The same people that watch bears from cars on the roads of Yellowstone, feed them junk food and otherwise intefere with habitat will almost certainly claim that a bear hunt will destroy the fragile species. Pish posh. Having followed the New Jersey bear debacle for the last three years, it's pretty obvious that hunter's don't have a negative impact on animals that are deemed "huntable" by wildlife officials. In fact, my bet would be that the incidents of bear attacks/encounters will be drastically reduced when a few hunters take to the mountains.

Speaking of which, one of our editors here was charged by a grizzly during a deer hunt in Alaska. I'll be posting his exclusive report on the website this week. Just hearing him tell the story will make you need a new pair of underwear.

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