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NEWS

Winston-Salem police shoot, kill bear

Tuesday, July 14, 2009
(Updated 2:44 pm)
Staff Reports

WINSTON-SALEM — Officers shot and killed a bear they perceived as a threat Monday night after finding it going through trash cans in someone's back yard, police said.

Officers responded to 225 Kramer Court on a report of a bear going through trash cans.

The officers perceived the bear as a threat and shot it, police said in a statement. Police did not elaborate.

City sanitation workers removed the bear.

N.C. Wildlife workers were also notified.

There were no injuries or property damage, police said.

The shooting comes amid recent reports by residents of bear sightings throughout the Triad.

The bear population in North Carolina has also increased significantly in the past several years, climbing from about 4,000 bears living on 2.5 million acres in 1971 to about 11,000 living on almost 10 million acres in 2004.

Accompanying Photos

File photo (News & Record)

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Doug Johnson

July 14, 2009 - 6:29 am EDT

Wonder were PETA is?

Happy

July 14, 2009 - 7:09 am EDT

I do have a bleeding heart but was it really necessary to KILL the bear? Could the bear not have been tranquilized and relocated to a zoo or away from residential areas? The only crime this bear committed was trying to survive. I am aware that bears are wild and dangerous animals but surely just killing them outright should have been a last resort.

superfantastic

July 14, 2009 - 7:10 am EDT

Wait! A bear looking for food is a threat??? Give me a break, somebody must have wanted to fire that gun they never get to use! This is horrible, WSPD should be ashamed of themselves! Hey guys/gals, go back to directing church traffic that is what your good at!

Yoda

July 14, 2009 - 7:47 am EDT

Wait a minute nothing, as a hunter I can assure you this bear would have turned on these police officer with a vengence, not to mention had a child went out side, that wild animal would attack. It would have been a different story then. Just a year or so ago we had a bear attack a man in his back yard. He heard something in the backyard went out side to see what it was, the bear attack him. You should have seen it on the news it was a big story. The article stated the police felt they needed to shoot this bear more than likly the bear showed behaviour that cause these police to feel threathen. They did the right thing.

Noyouranidiot

July 14, 2009 - 8:56 am EDT

Yoda, if you are as you claim a "hunter", you have to be one of the most ill-informed hunters on the face of the earth. The bear would not have turned on the police officer with a vengeance if it had been foraging through a trash can -- it would have run away given the opportunity. For that matter, it probably would have run away from a small child, given the opportunity. If there is any legitimacy to the police version of the story it is because the approach of the officer(s) made the bear perceive that it was trapped. They should have viewed it from a distance and made sure that it had an avenue of escape since did not have tranquilizers. There was no purpose for the police to be there unless a person was being physically attacked or was cornered, felt to be in imminent danger of being attacked, and had called 911.

In Buncombe County (Asheville), we have multiple bear sightings in residential areas every day. The police will not respond to 911 calls of such sightings unless there is clearly imminent danger, and the public has been informed of this. Guess how many bear attacks we have had. ZERO. This is because we have learned to co-exist with wildlife -- and we have PLENTY of hunters up here.

You imply that black bears in the Piedmont have some sort of predatory nature. That is laughable. The real story is that you had officers inexperienced in dealing with wildlife and/or some trigger-happy cop who didn't know better.

ESLLEL

July 14, 2009 - 9:31 am EDT

I am with Yoda...they should have killed the bear. As far as "Noyouranidiot"...YOU ARE THE IDIOT. you may live the mountains and yes they have bears there but here in the city/town of Winston-Salem we just dont have bears running in our back yards. We will NEVER know what would have happen but you try standing out there while he is eating from the garbage and take you chance "tough ass" !

Noyouranidiot

July 14, 2009 - 10:54 am EDT

You're missing the point. If it looked like a place where the bear might perceive that it was cornered, then not a chance in hell I'd stand near it. But that doesn't entitle me to shoot it, either.

The issue is one of judgment. The police should have exercised far better decision-making in sizing up the scene.

And yes, you do have bears living in Winston-Salem -- as evidenced not only by the recent news articles but by the fact that black bears often cover anywhere from 500-1000 square miles in their feeding territories. Plenty of rural areas around W-S. You'd better get used to this, and if you really are as afraid of them as you sound, you might want to hope for a plentiful acorn crop this fall. That way when they come out of their deep sleep next spring they won't be looking for, shall we say, larger morsels.

countryboy

July 14, 2009 - 1:24 pm EDT

Since you are in Buncombe County, I have a really great idea...oh, never mind.

lisak

July 14, 2009 - 7:41 am EDT

THEY MAKE TRANQUILIZERS FOR SUCH PROBLEMS! You can't tell me that they couldn't have tranquilized this bear. Threatning my foot. It was only trying to eat for goodness sakes. If the police were hungry enough they would raid a trash can too. I think someone was trigger happy. The police dept. should be reprimanding someone. there is no sense in this tragedy.

jeffjet

July 14, 2009 - 7:56 am EDT

Black bears don't attack unless they feel threatened themselves or it's a female with cubs nearby. Bears eat about anything and a trash can with many odors is a great place to look for food. Loud noises scare them off (banging on pots and pans works really well). Black bears aren't like Grizzy bears that will attack when someone makes an aggressive stance. Black bears will try and eat something they perceive as dead (sleeping camper). It's just practice to keep food stored away from where one sleeps; not in a tent if camping. That's what they make bear bags for. The WSPD shouldn't have shot the bear. They could easily have called any number of animal businesses that capture wild animals and had the bear tranquilized and escorted back to the mountains. I wonder if this is the fate of every bear sighted in a town or city now; LET'S SHOOT THEM!

voteformccain

July 14, 2009 - 8:28 am EDT

I hope the officer never goes hungry and has to look in garbage cans for food.

countryboy

July 14, 2009 - 1:21 pm EDT

The officer would need a search warrant to go into the garbage can...the bear does not. Bears have more rights than cops. WOW.

Noyouranidiot

July 14, 2009 - 2:27 pm EDT

Strong logic there. WOW.

bmk8960

July 14, 2009 - 8:40 am EDT

I dont think tranquilizer guns and darts are part of the police arsenal that they carry. They probably did call animal control before the bear was shot too. Bear acted in a threatening way, and human life > bear life, so it was shot. Get over it.

adoptashelterpet

July 14, 2009 - 9:05 am EDT

So we have been warning residents for weeks what to do if you see the bear, stay inside, leave it alone and call Animal Control who is trained to handle the situation, yet the police come out and shoot the bear. HELLO folks are we still in Mayberry and Barney GOT use his one bullet!! Please, we over develop their land then we kill them when they infringe on us looking for food.

Happy

July 14, 2009 - 2:33 pm EDT

Kudos for your clever response. :-)

DrMaryJohnson

July 14, 2009 - 9:54 am EDT

PETA has its moments. This would be one of them.

Noyouranidiot is right. Bears run when given the opportunity. It was not necessary to kill the bear.

Working down East these days (long "irrelevant" story that JR & company have thus far elected to ignore). Bears are everywhere - and coexist with people fairly easily.

The police sent exactly the wrong message to city residents.

kaye

July 14, 2009 - 10:51 am EDT

PLEASE STOP DESTROYING THESE CREATURES HABITAT AND THEY WON'T HAVE TO COME INTO OUR AREAS TO FIND FOOD. THIS SADDENS ME WHEN I SEE DEER KILLED ON THE ROADS, WHILE THEY ARE ONLY TRYING TO SURVIVE. THEY SHOULD HAVE SEDATED HIM AND TOOK HIM TO AN AREAS WHERE HE COULD LIVE IN PEACE.

countryboy

July 14, 2009 - 1:14 pm EDT

Please quit destroying their habitat? Where do you live...where do you work...what roads do you drive on...where do you shop...? Now that you have everything you need everyone else has to stop? I apologize if that is too direct, but liberal hypocrisy (and conservative hypocrisy) is out of control

Noyouranidiot

July 14, 2009 - 2:29 pm EDT

Being a passive beneficiary of the actions of others (to develop, to pave roads, to shop) does not constitute hypocrisy, countrybumpkin. Without the presence of those extra roads, office buildings, and stores, many of us would simply find other alternatives. Save that carping for the builders who complain on behalf of the bears -- good luck finding those.

moongirl

July 14, 2009 - 2:44 pm EDT

Right, like you're working hard on those "other alternatives". Passive beneficiary my ass!

Noyouranidiot

July 14, 2009 - 3:16 pm EDT

moonbeam, "alternatives" in this case means using pre-existing roads, working at pre-existing office buildings, or shopping at pre-existing stores. If you live in Greensboro, think about the Shops at Friendly. What did you do before they existed? Did you simply not ever go to Harris Teeter, Blue Ridge Mountain Sports / Great Outdoor Provision Company, Foot Locker, etc.? Or did you find alternatives? What did you do before the Urban Loop was built? Not leave Greensboro? No, I imagine you found alternatives.

But if people build those alternatives, they will often be used -- the response was to countrybumpkin's post about hypocrisy. But you didn't see that (or understand it), so that's okay.

countryboy

July 14, 2009 - 2:44 pm EDT

Passive beneficiary? WOW...the air really is thin up there.

Noyouranidiot

July 14, 2009 - 3:17 pm EDT

And it looks like reading comprehension is suffering down in the Lowlands.

ginnydaley

July 14, 2009 - 10:50 am EDT

This is ignorant and shameful behavior. The local police and animal control should learn how to deal properly with black bears so they can set an appropriate example and educate the public. Black bears aren't the threat people, like Yoda, perceive them to be. And they are pretty easy to co-exist with. Just remove any tempting food sources and they won't come around. Respect, not fear.

archiel

July 14, 2009 - 11:02 am EDT

A perfect example of why some people, including many law enforcement officers, have no business carrying a loaded gun in public.

radar

July 14, 2009 - 11:24 am EDT

Tons of idiots around I see. Always ready to judge an officer doing their job. If you can do it any better, have at it! "They should have viewed it from a distance and made sure that it had an avenue of escape since they did not have tranquilizers." That’s right, avenue of escape in a residential section of the city? Give me a break. It was going to eventually create more danger for everyone involved (or in this case undoubtedly did) to "view the bear from a distance". Another comment was correct, police officers don't usually have tranquilizers in their arsenals of defense. And no, animal control isn't always available at a moments notice. Complain and whine, but GET OVER IT! Help your local law enforcement by donating the funds to provide their officers with tranquilizer guns for their vehicles. DO something positive from this perceived negative experience. Get involved to help or SHUT UP!

radar

July 14, 2009 - 11:31 am EDT

Hold on...Black Bears aren't dangerous....right! Follow the links:

http://www.mountainnature.com/Wildlife/Bears/BearEncounters.htm

http://www.mountainnature.com/Wildlife/Bears/BearGuideForLocals.htm

Noyouranidiot

July 14, 2009 - 11:55 am EDT

Plenty of avenues for escape in a residential section of a city -- bears are pretty smart when it comes to movement. No proof that the bear would have created more danger by people viewing it from a distance -- that's bad logic. I'm pretty much over it -- it's the police that look like fools here. Law enforcement had no business answering this call. A bear in your trash can is not an emergency.

Not worth looking at your links. Black bear attacks in the SE have almost always been caused by 1) someone running away and thus the bear mistaking it for prey; 2) starving bears after a poor fall acorn crop resorting to desperate tactics (not the case this summer with a strong crop last year); 3) female bears in defense of cubs.

Truly predatory black bear attacks (healthy bears, usually male, viewing a human as a food source) happen almost exclsuively in Alaska and Canada, where population density is much less and bears have not been conditioned to fear humans, as they have in the relatively more densely populated areas of the SE.

But your ignorance shines through nonetheless.

radar

July 14, 2009 - 12:13 pm EDT

Idiot...glad you're so much of a Black Bear Expert that you choose not to further your education. Try clicking on the Google Map link in this article Idiotboy. Oh never mind you are a probably a self proclaimed geographer too. Thanks for pointing out my bad logic also. From the area this particular bear was located it would be virtually impossible to continue to "view it from a distance". Your name says it all. Here to prove a point. Even if it is rediculous.

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