There is a certain fear that people attach to animals such
as bears, wolves, and lions. If you have spent anytime in a wilderness area you
have likely come into some sort of contact with a bear. For me, it was a bear
standing inches from my car at the dump. For my father it is the bear tracks he
has noticed countless times in the woods by our camp. For others it may be the simple fact that they
have to lock their food in containers at night when they go camping to prevent
bears from stealing it. Regardless, the presence of bears is almost there in
the wilderness with us- physically and psychologically- especially in the
Adirondacks, but this fear may not be completely valid.
Most bear
incidents occur in the high peaks region, where they took food from campers and
caused them to abort their trips. A series of bear anecdotes from 2000 all
report the failure of hanging their food from trees. One story explained that a
“bear broke a bag pulley system and ate four days of food at one sitting.
Needless to say our trip was cut short…” (Jenkins, 64). Bear-proof food storage
containers (such as that shown below) are a solution, but they can cause bears
to become more daring about meal time raids. The bears, however, are not
causing physical injury to these campers, they’re just taking their food.
Year after year more people in the
Adirondacks are injured by animals other than bears. Although bears and animals
that are perceived as scarier can do great harm, the smaller animals have taken
a greater toll on humans in the Adirondacks. In 2000, for example, there were
six reported bear incidents, and 2,700 people in the park treated for injuries
from other animals (Jenkins, 65). Some of these injuries were caused by wild
animals such as raccoons and skunks, but the majority were caused by household
pets, including cats and dogs. So for now, maybe the general public should be
less worried about the animals lurking in the woods, especially bears, and more
worried about the pets inside of their homes.
Jenkins, Jerry and Andy Keal. The Adirondack Atlas: A Geographic Portrait of the Adirondack Park Bronx: Syracuse University Press and the Adirondack Museum, 2004. 146-152.
Print.
My home is right outside of the Berkshires and I go to the Adirondacks at least once a year. I've encountered bears many times and they've never been violent or causing any harm besides knocking a trashcan over. Yet, I am so scared of bears. I've watched many bears from windows or even outside but from afar and it's because of their size, claws and teeth that I can't help but have occasional nightmares about them. But I do love this post because I know my fear is slightly irrational!
ReplyDeleteI have seen many bears and have never had a problem with being attacked by them. Bears are seen as being very scary creatures when in reality they are just fighting for what they need to survive, like food. I think that the media plays a role in the perception of bears. By advertising bear attacks that are actually rare and usually the fault of the human, they paint bears in bad light. Therefore, I think it is good to educate individuals about the reality of bears like you did in your post.
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