Bear Attack-Algonquin Park, Canada
John Ramsay
Getting http://www.thestar.com/editorial/news/
July 16, 1997 [News][The Toronto Star]
Bear mauls boy in Algonquin Park
11-year-old on his first camping trip thought it was a nightmare
By Luke Hendry
Toronto Star Staff Reporter
Nicholas Aikins thought he was having a nightmare.
The 11-year-old Montreal boy awoke from his first camping trip early
yesterday to find a black bear dragging him by the foot from the tent
where he was sleeping with two other boys.
``He thought it was a donkey,'' Nicholas' mother Robin said in an
interview last night. ``He started trying to get it off of him and (he
started) crawling. He doesn't really remember.''
Hearing the boys' screams, two quick-thinking counsellors raced to save
Nicholas.
One smashed a canoe paddle over the bear's head and beat it with a
second paddle until the bear ran off growling and climbed a nearby tree.
In the panic, the second counsellor managed to rush about a half dozen
other kids into canoes and out of the bear's reach.
Nicholas, who lost 23 chunks of flesh in the attack - most of them around
his buttocks and hip - underwent plastic surgery in a Montreal hospital
last night and is expected to make a full recovery.
Nicholas and about seven other kids were camping along the north shore of
Opeongo Lake, at the park's west end, when the bear tore into their tent
about 2 a.m. yesterday.
After the attack, the group paddled to a nearby campsite where they found
campers with a motorboat.
They rushed Nicholas to a park station where they called an ambulance that
took the boy to hospital in Barry's Bay, 170 kilometres west of
Ottawa.
Last night officials were still searching for the bear and park
superintendent John Winters said that once found, it will be destroyed and
the body analyzed for disease or abnormalities.
Winters stressed such an attack is very rare and expressed shock at the
incident since black bears are normally afraid of humans and the only food
at the camp site was in a canoe.
Only two other humans have been attacked by bears in the park's 104-year
history. Three boys were killed in 1978, and an adult couple, trapped on
an island with a bear, were killed in 1991.
Nicholas' 14-year-old sister Kelly was also on the overnight canoe trip,
organized by the summer camp where they were staying. She wasn't hurt.
Robin Aikins, however, says she'll continue to let her children go
tenting, but wants them better prepared to deal with nature next time.
--
John Ramsay
Welland, Ontario, Canada
dickross
John Ramsay wrote:
>
> Getting http://www.thestar.com/editorial/news/
> July 16, 1997 [News][The Toronto Star]
>
> Bear mauls boy in Algonquin Park
>
> 11-year-old on his first camping trip thought it was a nightmare
>
> By Luke Hendry
> Toronto Star Staff Reporter
>
> Nicholas Aikins thought he was having a nightmare.
>
> The 11-year-old Montreal boy awoke from his first camping trip early
> yesterday to find a black bear dragging him by the foot from the tent
> where he was sleeping with two other boys.
>
that he had "snacks" in his tent or sleeping bag, or crumbs and smells
leftover from snacks.
--
Dick _ _
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Pete Hickey
>from past experience with 11 year old boys,...I think it's very likely
>that he had "snacks" in his tent or sleeping bag, or crumbs and smells
>leftover from snacks.
>
Well, according to an article in yesterday's paper, they're
claiming that it *was* a rare case of predation. It was not
in an area with 'problem' bears, but a remote area. They've
shipped the body of the bear to a university to examine it
for any abnormalities that may have caused its predation.
I suspect that before doing this, they did check if the
boy had snacks with him.
--
The following address is not valid: junk...@mudhead.uottawa.ca
It is there as an experiment to see if email spammers scan content
as well as headers.
--
Pete Hickey | | VEIWIT
Communication Services | Pe...@mudhead.uottawa.CA | Makers of transparent
University of Ottawa | | mirrors for
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John Ramsay
Pete Hickey (pe...@botman.uottawa.ca.DELETE.TO.EMAIL.ME) wrote:
Hi all, since my original posting I saw/heard on TV news that the
counsellor who saved the boy was scrupulous about removing all snacks,
including chewing gum, from the boys before they bedded down.
Paul Weiss
In article <5qnk3t$14uo$1...@mercury.cc.uottawa.ca>,
pe...@botman.uottawa.ca.DELETE.TO.EMAIL.ME (Pete Hickey) wrote:
> In article <33CD9E...@swbell.net>, dickross <dick...@swbell.net> wrote:
>
> >from past experience with 11 year old boys,...I think it's very likely
> >that he had "snacks" in his tent or sleeping bag, or crumbs and smells
> >leftover from snacks.
> >
>
> Well, according to an article in yesterday's paper, they're
> claiming that it *was* a rare case of predation. It was not
> in an area with 'problem' bears, but a remote area. They've
> shipped the body of the bear to a university to examine it
> for any abnormalities that may have caused its predation.
> I suspect that before doing this, they did check if the
> boy had snacks with him.
>
>
I heard that it happened on Opeongo and that is ANYTHING but remote ...
direct access to Highway 60 with every beginner yahoo who thinks they want
to have a whack at wilderness camping and canoeing heading straight for
it! Given the size of the lake and the potential for problems with some
beginners who leave common sense at the dock when they shove off, I've
always been amazed that there aren't more accidents, drownings, bear
maulings or whatever!
The last couple killed by a bear in Algonquin were attacked on Bates
Island which is also in Lake Opeongo (coincidence?) The conclusion with
respect to that particular bear was that no "camping" errors had been made
and that this was also a case of predation - wrong bear, wrong place,
wrong time!
Let's assume for the moment that this most recent mauling was, in fact, a
case of predation rather than a camper error related to food in the tent,
for example. It doesn't seem like a tremendous leap of imagination to
hypothesize that constant environmental pressure on the bear population
from a horde of humans could cause bears to turn psycho (= predaceous). I
know that only two occurences can hardly be considered a pattern, but it
does lead one to think ... ??!! I could be mistaken, of course, but I
thought that it was a fairly well studied phenomenon that overcrowding can
lead to psychological deviation of all kinds. Well, why not in bears?
--
Cheers,
Paul Weiss
Backwater Trails: http://www.netaccess.on.ca/~cpweiss/BWT/BWT.html
E-mail: cpw...@netaccess.on.ca
Personal Home Page: http://www.netaccess.on.ca/~cpweiss/
Quote:"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us."
"Does anal retentive have a hyphen?"
gjcl...@julian.uwo.ca
Just curious; on what basis are you able to apply this theory of
"overcrowding leading to psychological deviation" to bears? As well, how
can you simply state that psycho = predacious? Besides, what exactly is
a 'psycho bear'? I fully agree with you that there are a lot of
senseless and ignorant campers out there, especially along the Hwy. 60
corridor of the park, but I would like to find out the results of the
bear's pathology before leaping to that hypothesis. From what I
understand, the case of predation on Bates Island was due to rabies. If
the pathology is negative in this case, it is much more likely (than a
'psycho bear') that a first time camper at 11 years of age, probably
wasn't as bear smart as we hear. Nonetheless, I'm very interested in the
conclusions!
Greg Clarke
In article <cpweiss-1907...@gimel09.netaccess.on.ca>,
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
Paul Weiss
> Just curious; on what basis are you able to apply this theory of
> "overcrowding leading to psychological deviation" to bears?
No particular basis at all ... as I said, just a leap of imagination that,
under the circumstances, didn't seem to be particularly large to me! To
reiterate, I had always heard that it was a reasonably well-studied
phenomenon that overcrowding led to psychological deviation in various
human settings such as prisons, large cities, etc. and certainly in
studies of laboratory rats, so why not in bears in the wild?
>As well, how
> can you simply state that psycho = predacious? Besides, what exactly is
> a 'psycho bear'?
By "psycho bear", I meant to categorize a bear that was acting way outside
of the normal parameters for expected bear behaviour (strictly my own
definition, by the way). In that sense, there could be a whole fistful of
ways that a bear could be "psycho" just as there are lots and lots of ways
for humans to behave that would range from simply neurotic to fully
fledged deranged or psychotic. For the purposes of this discussion, the
only specific version of "psycho bear" that I was interested in was a
predaceous bear.
>I fully agree with you that there are a lot of
> senseless and ignorant campers out there, especially along the Hwy. 60
> corridor of the park, but I would like to find out the results of the
> bear's pathology before leaping to that hypothesis.
I read in the Globe that the autopsy had been completed and there was
nothing found that would indicate any reason for abnormal behaviour.
>From what I
> understand, the case of predation on Bates Island was due to rabies. If
> the pathology is negative in this case, it is much more likely (than a
> 'psycho bear') that a first time camper at 11 years of age, probably
> wasn't as bear smart as we hear.
Well, if there was food involved, neither the boy or the camp counsellors
are admitting it ... not that I would expect much else!
> Nonetheless, I'm very interested in the
> conclusions!
>
Once again, I was just wondering if there were other backcountry
enthusiasts out there who are inclined to think (as I do) that serious
overcrowding of a wilderness setting by humans could be the cause of an
increase in aberrant behaviour in the resident animal population?
FRED41957
>Once again, I was just wondering if there were other backcountry
>enthusiasts out there who are inclined to think (as I do) that serious
>overcrowding of a wilderness setting by humans could be the cause of an
>increase in aberrant behaviour in the resident animal >population?
you're assumptions are correct. It doesn't require much imagination to see
how disturbed habitats can lead to disturbed animal behaviour.
Unfortunately with the human population expanding we're going to see more
stories like this as well as the cougar attacks in Co. People talk about
food as the reason for the bear attack, but if it was a " psycho " bear (
whatever that means ) maybe it just got pissed off by all the noise. If
you've ever camped next to a scout group you'll know what I'm talking
about.
Naturman
Why do people tend to project there own human emotions in a wild creature
like the bear? I am not going to dispute that bears can or cannot have
physical mental illnesses such as schizophrenia for example. They are
organic creatures thus are prone to physical irregularities like humans.
Keep in mind that there environment is very different than modern man.
Thus the statistical occurances in mental, physical irregularities might
not be the same as for humans.
Man overcrowding bear habitat will have a basic result of disturbing the
natural fauna in the area. Now that in turn can change bear behavior. Its
like someone remodelling your home without your approval and placing your
refrigirator or bathroom in someone elses house down the block. This is
going to change the way you behave.
Paul
Mark Rickert
>I heard that it happened on Opeongo and that is ANYTHING but remote ...
>direct access to Highway 60 with every beginner yahoo who thinks they want
>to have a whack at wilderness camping and canoeing heading straight for
>it! Given the size of the lake and the potential for problems with some
>beginners who leave common sense at the dock when they shove off, I've
>always been amazed that there aren't more accidents, drownings, bear
>maulings or whatever!
>
>The last couple killed by a bear in Algonquin were attacked on Bates
>Island which is also in Lake Opeongo (coincidence?) The conclusion with
>respect to that particular bear was that no "camping" errors had been made
>and that this was also a case of predation - wrong bear, wrong place,
>wrong time!
>
>Let's assume for the moment that this most recent mauling was, in fact, a
>case of predation rather than a camper error related to food in the tent,
>for example. It doesn't seem like a tremendous leap of imagination to
>hypothesize that constant environmental pressure on the bear population
>from a horde of humans could cause bears to turn psycho (= predaceous). I
>know that only two occurences can hardly be considered a pattern, but it
>does lead one to think ... ??!! I could be mistaken, of course, but I
>thought that it was a fairly well studied phenomenon that overcrowding can
>lead to psychological deviation of all kinds. Well, why not in bears?
>
>--
>Cheers,
>Paul Weiss
Seems to me that the lack of hunting pressure has reduced the
bear population's fear of men to the point where we have reverted back
to "food source" status. Makes as much or more sense as "psycho
bears". Maybe that is a Psycho bear! ;-)
Mark
Lloyd Bowles
> Seems to me that the lack of hunting pressure has reduced the
> bear population's fear of men to the point where we have reverted back
> to "food source" status. Makes as much or more sense as "psycho
> bears". Maybe that is a Psycho bear! ;-)
>
> Mark
The salmon were spawning & grizzlies were feasting but ignoring the
paddlers. Then all the bears tensed up & headed for the bush. A large
grizzly appeared & paced the shore threatening the paddlers.
It seems that bears can be psychos & bears are plenty intelligent enough
to be afraid of nutcases of their own kind. I expect that bears are
individuals just as we are.
--
Lloyd Bowles
The Mad Canoeist
"Keep the open side up!"
Your friends in the adirondacks
I've seen more folks who've lost food this weekend to bears than in the
last 3 years put together. If travelling the Adirondacks be aware!
One party had been without for 32 hours. Stated that a screwtop bottle
of Gatorade was found down the trail, intact, licked clean and with the
top screwed on.
Another party lost half their provisions the first night, hanging a bag
off a single branch. The bear climbed the tree, broke and rode the
branch to the ground. The following night, following the DEC guidelines
of suspending 15 feet off the ground and 8+ feet from either of the 2
trees you suspend your bag from cost the remainder of their food when
the bear simply severed the line at ground level.
We plan to stock bear canisters by next weekend if we can find a
supplier.
Rick
--
Naturman
> The 11-year-old Montreal boy awoke from his first camping trip early
>> yesterday to find a black bear dragging him by the foot from the tent
>> where he was sleeping with two other boys.
>>
>that he had "snacks" in his tent or sleeping bag, or crumbs and smells
>leftover from snacks.
>
I agree but even more likely are food spillages which occur on gear and
clothing. Sometimes wiping with a damp rag doesn't remove the residue
smells. My dog usually finds these spots on my gear thats when the soap
comes out.
There is an important point to this story, in an interview on CBC radio. I
don't remember who it was. But "the bear dragging the boy out of the tent"
was never verified, it was too dark. The spin that the media related to the
public is quite different that yes he was dragged out of the tent.
Paul
Dave Johnston
In article <cpweiss-2108...@gimel28.netaccess.on.ca>,
cpw...@netaccess.on.ca says...
>territory marking thing, I should think) because the boy had wet himself
>inside his sleeping bag. If that's true, (and it certainly has the ring
of
>possible authenticity), it really makes you think about the safety of
the
>often used practice of peeing into a Nalgene inside the tent during
severe
>weather problems.
>
This brings up something I've often wondered about.
Is it better to pee near your tent/campsite in the hope of repelling
a bear (black bears) or to pee some distance away in case it might be
inclined to come in for a closer snif? I've always moved 10-15 yards
away from my tent but some of my canoeing buddies just "hang it out the
door" especially if it's cold. I always thought that this was a bad idea.
I've spent many years in Algonquin without encountering a bear. So far...
Any opinions ?
dave
Robert Cadloff
> There is an important point to this story, in an interview on CBC radio. I
> don't remember who it was. But "the bear dragging the boy out of the tent"
> was never verified, it was too dark. The spin that the media related to the
> public is quite different that yes he was dragged out of the tent.
> Paul
well, the kid's Mum was on the radio here in Montreal a couple of days
after the incident, and she verified that he was indeed pulled out of
the tent by Teddy.
And she oughta know.
--
Robert Cadloff, Nortel, Montreal
---------------------------------------------
****Reply to: rcadloff at nortel dot ca ****
---------------------------------------------
514-956-1010 X4492
There's a better than even chance that my opinions
are not shared by my employer.
They'll come around eventually.
Lloyd Bowles
Paul Weiss wrote:
> It's only a third-party story so I certainly vouch for its accuracy, but
> I've now heard that the bear was investigating the smell of urine (a
> territory marking thing, I should think) because the boy had wet himself
> inside his sleeping bag.
On the other hand, he may have wet himself as a result of the bear
attack.
Mike Nowacki
Paul Weiss wrote:
> It's only a third-party story so I certainly vouch for its accuracy, but
> I've now heard that the bear was investigating the smell of urine (a
> territory marking thing, I should think) because the boy had wet himself
> inside his sleeping bag.
He most likely wet himself when he woke up and realized what was
happening. Or did the kid admit to wetting the bed before the attack?
Mike
--
Mike Nowacki
Expedition Leader, Inc.
Makers of the Canadian Shield: composite camping mattress.
http://www.expedition-leader.com
mi...@expedition-leader.com
