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11 yr old boy kills bear on family porch

Esav Benyamin said:
A bear that comes onto the porch -- even if it leaves -- is a bear that will be back. Maybe at a worse time, with little kids running around outside. Read the story: this bear was on a collision course with an early demise.
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Hi,

You are correct Esav. My Father-in-law shot a black bear in his kitchen about 15 years ago. It broke through the front door and was tearing the refrigerator apart by the time Roy got his pants on and snuck down the stairs. He used his .44 to put it down. It was an older male bear and had been raiding his feed bunks in the cattle yard for a month or so. The game warden took the bear for the DNR to study.

dalee
 
we have residents on the North Shore here in BC Canada, that actively feed bears. Then they cry and wail and sob and gnash their teeth when the bear is shot after entering their homes.

sometimes i think the game Wardens should go for coffee instead of responding to these calls. It would do society a favour ridding ourselves of urban idiots.
 
I'm glad the kid is being raised with some common sense; I'd like to meet him and his family. We lived in a valley in Montana, and you dealt with these kinds of issues the same way. If you waited for the police or the game wardens, it might literally be spring thaw before they got to your home.

If the bear was a 'problem' animal, I don't care what the location is/was.

thx - cpr
 
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A bear is not on the porch to relax and get some sun or to eat the large quantity of blueberries planted there. He's there for one thing... he thinks, or knows there is food near by. Left alone and not scared off, he WILL come in to find the food. Being a kid of 11, I'd have done the same thing (I like bears, but I love my family.... sorry bear).

I've had bear on my porch 4 times this year (2 different bears). My first step is to try to scare the krap out of them so they won't return. Second time, it's a load of bird shot in the butt as they are running away. Third time they are history. Thankfully so far, I've not had any return after being spanked with bird shot.
 
just to clarify- i was kidding about leaving the bear food, i know thats what makes an animal come back
 
Looks like we're all on the same page now, so I am going to put this in Wilderness & Survival. We've gotten some good ideas so far. I really like timcsaw's post # 24.
 
A bear is not on the porch to relax and get some sun or to eat the large quantity of blueberries planted there. He's there for one thing... he thinks, or knows there is food near by. Left alone and not scared off, he WILL come in to find the food. Being a kid of 11, I'd have done the same thing (I like bears, but I love my family.... sorry bear).

I've had bear on my porch 4 times this year (2 different bears). My first step is to try to scare the krap out of them so they won't return. Second time, it's a load of bird shot in the butt as they are running away. Third time they are history. Thankfully so far, I've not had any return after being spanked with bird shot.
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+1 :thumbup:
 
Good on this kids parents, and good on this kid. I hope the meat is good.
 
Good stuff.

In NZ, if it were my boy, it is likely I would have got bollocked by the authorities for not having my guns under lock and key with the key hidden from all children.... that is the law here nowadays. And I might have gotten an encore for leaving a child under 14 alone without supervision. But no matter what the outcome for me, I would have revelled in the adventure for the boy and have been grateful that it all worked out. And I'd have shared a high five with him (as might some of the cops that I know, although they probably wouldn't do it publicly).

(I would have only reprimanded the boy if he hadn't immediately skinned and butchered the animal to save me the trouble. I hate getting home to find extra work. ;) )

Dang, when I was 11 I virtually had full access to the family armory. Being alone for a while wouldn't have been a problem either.

I applaud the fact that the boy had obviously been taught how to handle a gun.
 
I think if NZ had wild creatures as fearsome as a bear, you'd have laws better able to deal with them. :)
 
I think I missed part of the story. Was the bear attacking the boy or his siblings? I live in rural southern colorado and have had black bears on my porch but never had a reason to shoot one. I'm just asking because we have never had a problem. A fed bear is a dead bear!
 
David M said:
I think I missed part of the story. Was the bear attacking the boy or his siblings? I live in rural southern colorado and have had black bears on my porch but never had a reason to shoot one. I'm just asking because we have never had a problem. A fed bear is a dead bear!
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At some point, after they figure out "your porch" is the gateway to the sweet smelling goodies in your kitchen, you'll be grabbing for that gun.

Allowing black bears on your porch while you do nothing to scare them off and prevent that behavior is a ticket to something bad happening both to you and that bear. Not scaring them off if essentially the same as leaving food in a dog bowl on the porch.
Once they enter your house (and that will eventually happen) that bear must be destroyed.

I like timcsaw's advice but he has more patience than I would have. If it were me, my property is off limits period.
They would fear me and not visit and this is how you correct bad bear behavior.
 
Something to think about...........

If your out walking or hiking and you stumble upon a bear den with cubs in it and momma close by...... no woofing, no standing up on hind legs, no bluff charges but most likely an instant charge and a thorough mauling.
Your on her porch and this is how a bear corrects your behavior or puts a stop to it altogether. ;)
 
Fact of the matter is, we don't know what happened in or around that house. All we have to go by is what we read..... and we all know, or should know, to NOT believe everything your read. Maybe the bear was trying to get into a window or door. Maybe the kid shot him from the other end of the porch, or out a window. Just because some guy writes "point blank range" doesn't make it so, as he would have had to have been there, or be a forensics detective, to be able to tell. This means the author got the info from a second, third, or forth hand source.
Instead of deciding to crucify this kid and standing up for the bear, why not praise this kid for doing what he had to to protect his family? Besides, if ya'll DO believe everything you read, it did say he tried other methods to get rid of the bear. Good for him.
 
Man, some of the comments on that article are crazy.

I personally love the people who say "An 11 year old should never be left alone." Seriously, were these people kept on a leash till they were 18?
 
timcsaw said:
Second time, it's a load of bird shot in the butt as they are running away. Third time they are history. Thankfully so far, I've not had any return after being spanked with bird shot.
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If your heart bleeds for the bear and you want to save the bears life, than shooting it in the hiney with some birdshot is a great idea. I'd think you have fully trained that bear to stay away from human smells after that.

If I had kids living there i'd probable still just take him down, but if it was just me and the wife, bird shot, or maybe just some rock salt loaded in my 12Guage would be the ticket.
 
oilSlick said:
If your heart bleeds for the bear and you want to save the bears life, than shooting it in the hiney with some birdshot is a great idea. I'd think you have fully trained that bear to stay away from human smells after that.

If I had kids living there i'd probable still just take him down, but if it was just me and the wife, bird shot, or maybe just some rock salt loaded in my 12Guage would be the ticket.
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Sure - that's a primo plan.:rolleyes: Then the bear winds up with an ulcerated infection and gets sick and needs to be put down or perhaps attacks someone because he/she/it is too sick to forage for what it normallye eats and either kills/maims someone or (again) is shot and killed.

If I had a hundred bucks for every time I've come across a bear with partially healed wounds from this sort of thing I could take my wife to the Caribbean...
 
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