Gordon Grice's Blog, page 91

Bear Attack Research

A lifetime of bears -- An interesting profile in the Edmonton Journal:

"By the time Stenhouse got outside, a woman was whacking the bear with a broom. Realizing the situation was spiralling out of control, Stenhouse took a moment to figure out his next move. It was too dangerous to shoot from where he was standing. Just then, someone fired a couple of shots from across the street, and the bear went down.

It was too late, however, to save the victim. A good part of his skull had been torn apart. Blood had spilled everywhere.

Polar bears attacks such as this one had been rare in Churchill up until this point. People had been charged by animals in the past, but only one person -a teenager who was throwing rocks at an animal -had ever been killed.

The blood-soaked tracks leading to the scene of this attack suggested that the victim had been scavenging through the remnants of a burntdown hotel in the middle of the night when the bear came around with the same idea."


Photography by Wayne T. Allison

Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Kills Hiker

After a spate of attacks by black bears, here's the second grizzly attack in the news:
BBC News - Yellowstone National Park grizzly bear kills hiker:

"A female grizzly bear has killed a man out on a hike with his wife in the US after the couple apparently surprised the bear and its cubs, officials say.

The attack took place on the Wapiti Lake Trail, in an isolated area near the middle of Yellowstone National Park, officials said.

The woman survived despite being chased by the bear and lifted into the air by her rucksack, she told park officials."


Thanks to Jay and Laura for the news tip. 
Photo by Wayne T. Allison. 

Man Survives Grizzly Attack

Our bumper crop of bear attacks continues with another from British Columbia. Unlike the others reported over the past few days, this one involves a brown bear.
Man attacked by bear a nature lover: family: "John Johnson, 51, from Wuikinuxv, a village of about 70 people on the Wannock River 80 kilometres from Bella Bella on the central coast, suffered a broken arm, cuts and puncture wounds in the attack. He also needed skin grafts on his head."

Death Stories: Slice, Conclusion

Thomas Cole: Subsiding Waters of the Deluge

 Go to the Beginning of this story

The waters return with constant motion from the lowest depths of the sea to the utmost height of the mountains, not obeying the nature of heavier bodies.
Leonardo da Vinci

"Some day this man's going to walk away," Spitzer said.  Having looked at all the equipment, we were sitting in the reception area of the Center for Human Simulation, where a computer screen greets visitors with the invitation to browse in the bodies of the Visible Humans.  On the couch, for no apparent reason, sat an incongruously primitive cloth dummy wearing a baseball cap that advertised one of the Center's corporate sponsors.  Spitzer was talking about the problems of introducing motion to the digitized cadavers.  The army wants the virtual flesh to interact properly with bullets; surgeons want blood to flow from it convincingly.  Fluid dynamics is an extraordinarily complex field, as Leonardo knew; he returned to the problems of flow throughout his life, and in the end decided the world would die by flood.

The waters of the sea will rise above the high peaks of the mountains towards heaven and fall again on to the dwellings of men. (That is, in Clouds.)
Leonardo

Spitzer's view is more optimistic.  "There's a bigger pay-off than saving your life," he said.  "Entertainment."  He posited that the movies will solve the problems of virtual bullets and blood before scientists ever get around to it.  Special effects companies have already used the data set to lend verisimilitude to their animations in commercials and short sequences in a few films (the Bruce Willis science fiction picture Fifth Dimension, for example).  In theory, they could eventually use it to replace human actors.
Which brought Spitzer to an uncomfortable issue.  If the virtual bodies can be used for realistic simulations of action, they could be used for pornography.  I squirmed at the memory of my early adventure with Jernigan's testicle.
The pornography question came up in the planning stages of the Project.  The scientists at the University of Colorado and the NLM realized they couldn't control the way public-domain materials would be used, but they did want to preserve the donors' anonymity.  There seemed to be no way of doing so short of literally cutting off their faces.  As it turned out, the scientists settled for simply not releasing names.  Reporters quickly deduced Jernigan's identity when Spitzer revealed that the Visible Human Male had been executed in Texas.  He regrets being so specific.  The rest of the world may know the virtual cadaver as Paul Jernigan, but Spitzer never calls him by name.

Leonardo: Deluge over a City

Victim Saved Black Bears' Lives

Interesting new development in the British Columbia black bear case.
B.C. elder killed by black bear had prevented animal's shooting, chief says | Posted | National Post:

"VANCOUVER — Tribal officials wanted to kill problem bears that were frequenting the property of an Xaxli'p First Nations elder, but the 72-year-old woman, who was later mauled to death by one of the bears, had directed the officials to leave the animals alone, an Xaxli'p chief says."

Black Bear Attacks Woman in Car

Yet another attack by a black bear:
Province advises caution after Labrador bear attack - Local - News - The Telegram:

"A woman driving between Churchill Falls and Happy Valley-Goose Bay was bitten, after a black bear got its head into her vehicle through an open window."

Black Bear Attacks Jogger in Washington State

An amazing number of black bear attacks within a few days. Here's the latest, from Washington state:
Black Bear Sought In Attack Near Colville WA:
"A 36-year-old woman was attacked by a black bear while she was jogging in the late morning on a trail between Thomas and Gillette lakes, 17 miles northeast of Colville on the Colville National Forest. She dropped to the ground into a protective fetal position and the bear batted at her and then left the area. Later in the day she was treated and released at Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville."

Black Bear Eats British Columbia Woman

CTV British Columbia - B.C. conservation officers probe possible fatal bear attack - CTV News:

"A pool of blood, pair of glasses and a blood-stained jacket covered with animal fur were found near the woman's home."

The link includes some interesting video.

Update from CTV:

Four black bears have been caught and killed by wildlife officials, including one who they think dragged the victim away.

"The final bear that we snared (Saturday) evening was within metres of where the remains were found and it fit the description," conservation officer Rod Olsen said. "We're hopeful we have the right animal."

Further tests will determine if one of the bears was involved in the attack.

This later report also says the victim had already complained about bears trying to enter her home. Though officials are being careful not to spell things out until they have all the facts, it seems clear that this was a simple predatory attack. 

Rabid fox attacks Florida couple

Another rabid fox attack, this one from Florida.

Rabid fox attacks couple:

"'He was trying to get a piece of that arm,' Jim said. 'He was shaking, kicking and raising all kinds of Cain trying to get a piece of that arm.'Anna Jo says minutes passed before her husband could pry off the animal.'I threw him on the ground and kicked him a few times, and he got me inside the leg,' he said. 'I thought he was down. Wrong.'

The fox mangled Anna Jo's arm. 

'It was like a big gush of blood out of this huge hole in my arm,' she said. 'I mean, we're talking big.'"

Black Bear Attacks Woman in Arizona

Gilbert woman attacked by bear in Pinetop - East Valley Tribune::

""This was a predatory attack and the animal was considered extremely dangerous. The department had to dispatch it for the public's safety."
Game and Fish Department is examining the bear to confirm it is the same animal that attacked the woman. Officials do not believe it is afflicted by any disease, but testing will be conducted to be sure."