Black Bear Mauls 8-Year-Old Boy

Boy Survives; Father Is Injured Defending Son In Attack At Tennessee National Park

(AP)  Officials at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park say a black bear mauled an 8-year-old Florida boy and the boy's father was injured while defending him.

Park rangers later killed a bear matching the description of the one in the attack.

Park spokesman Bob Miller says the incident began around 7:30 p.m. Monday when the bear approached Evan Pala of Boca Raton, Florida, while he was playing in a creek. Miller says the bear attacked the boy, was driven off and came back a second time.

Miller says the father was able to drive the bear off with rocks and sticks.

The boy suffered some puncture wounds that were serious but not believed to be life-threatening. The father, John Pala, suffered several cuts during the attack.

[slim1h2o]

Glad that both are ok. Probably should stay away from the bears fishing spot, No?

[Gary Kempf]

It is great they survived. But people need to understand they are the outsiders in these areas. They are in the animals domain. Use common sense!

[toldyouso12]

Every once in a while, it`s a good thing to remember that we are NOT at the very end of the food chain.


Posted by Nancy_Naive at 05:52 AM : Jul 21, 2008 (taken from another bear related article)


No, most of us know that. Bacteria and perhaps Plankton are at the very end of the food chain. I think you meant that we are not at the very top of the food chain. The top is where the predators /meat eaters are.

[toldyouso12]

t is great they survived. But people need to understand they are the outsiders in these areas. They are in the animals domain. Use common sense!

Posted by navpro at 08:36 AM : Aug 12, 2008


Other than to stay out of the woods, there is no common sense tactics for avoiding bears--if they can and want to, they will attempt to enter cabins.

[elukacek]

Um ok lets go swim in the creek where bears go to search for food real smart! And lets kill the bear who was in its territory this annoys me to no end! Dumb *** people!

[jydavis1]

where was dad''s gun ?

[hidegirlgcks]

Poor little guy!! I hope he''s ok. Maybe should wear some bear repelant or something next time.

[tungincheek]

I would love to know how you describe one bear vs. another. Did they have a line-up?

[gopack443]

"Park rangers later killed a bear matching the description of the one in the attack."

And the description was A BLACK BEAR! Sounds to me like they killed one at random to pacify some people.

[nothappyatall]

Park rangers later killed a bear matching the description of the one in the attack."

"Yes sir, he attacked me!"
"What did he look like?"
"He was black, lots of hair and big!"
"Ok, we''ll find him! this should be easy- that''s a rare and unique profile!"

Stay the hel1 out of the bear''s habitat you idiots!

[dogsoul]

....ah yes, here we go with all the people sitting on the edge of their seats just waiting to show how ''green'' they are by slamming mankind & his ways... whatever. It''s Global Warming eh? Really? Um, ya think any bear attacks happened pre-Industrial era? Yeah buddy - guess what USED to live where your home is now... that''s right, other animals.

Look you tree huggers - they were in a park - people SHOULD go to parks - it''s probably the favorite hangout to smoke pot for most of you hippies - but sometimes, there''s a confrontation with an animal...

Liberals - could give a cr*p about an 8 year old boy... but weep inconsolably because some bear got killed - what is WRONG with you people?

[displeased]

Um ok lets go swim in the creek where bears go to search for food real smart! And lets kill the bear who was in its territory this annoys me to no end! Dumb *** people!
Posted by elukacek

This attack is highly unusual, especially from a black bear. Maybe it had rabies or something. Other than swimming pools, there is danger everywhere you swim. Sharks in the ocean, gators down south, bears, poisonous snakes, snappers most other places. In most cases, the animals encountered try to go the other way. It appears from your comment you must be from the city. If that''s the case, your fear is somewhat understandable.

[hwy71so]

One thing you''ve got to be aware of in the wilderness environment is your surroundings. Most likely the boy got too far from his parents and the bear just did what bears do with the young of any larger animal species, singled out a weaker unit. If the boy would have been more closely supervised, I doubt it would have happened.

I hope his recovery goes swiftly. I really hate seeing the kids come to harm.

***And where was his mother? Probably yacking it up on a cell phone somewhere no doubt.

Posted by GOP_forever at 09:01 AM : Aug 12, 2008***

That''s funny right there, I don''t care who you are!

[hwy71so]

BTW, bears aren''t all identical. Just like deer, elk, dogs and people. They''ve each got their own distinctive look.

[cyinzl8r]

Global warming is causing this. Because of man''''s selfishness and propensity to destroy the environment, black bears are being forced to prey on humans to maintain the ecological balance.

Naw it''s bush and cheney''s fault

[talkingham]

Yes, they knew the bear by it''s description. It was a black bear. Just as Stephen Colbert says, KILL IT!!!!

[berniepeders]

Global warming is causing this. Because of man''''s selfishness and propensity to destroy the environment, black bears are being forced to prey on humans to maintain the ecological balance.

Posted by mike071067 at

No, no, no, Mike- haven''t you been paying attention? This is all George Bush''s fault. He''s responsible for absolutely EVERYTHING that happens that someone doesn''t like, right?

[haoli25]

Profiling!!! Call Al Sharpton and Jesse right away!

[slim1h2o]

That''''s funny right there, I don''''t care who you are!

Posted by Hwy71So at 10:01 AM : Aug 12, 2008

Hey Larry, the cable guy,,how are ya? LOL

[cbsfan73]

The problem is that the Smokies are so close to densely populated areas. One of the worst disasters of the area is the cancerous build up (tourist attractions)just west of the park. With Dollywood being the first and worst sinner.

Then they now have gambling on the east side in Cherokee.

The main road through the park gets twenty million visitors per year because there is no park entry fee*.
When you pay $30 to go through the gates of Yellowstone, you are also paying for another guy to go through the Smokies.

Trying to get through that area can be like a city traffic jam at times. The road has entirely too much traffic and most of the tags are not from NC or TN. I was there many times in the 60''s and 70''s and it was so peaceful and not crowded at all. I wish it were like that now.

SOLUTION: Either limit daily entries into the park or change legislation to start charging a fee for people that are not residents of NC or TN.

*This fee would be illegal under the current agreement where the states of TN & NC gave land to the park service with the stipulation that no fees shall be charged to travel the road.

[cbsfan73]

There are signs all around the park and on brochures warning of the potential of a bear encounter.

I suppose out of sight is out of mind. When I am in back country, I stop, look, listen, often and try to be very aware of my surroundings.

[cbsfan73]

Funny thing,

By killing nuisance bears, it seems that park officials are trying to speed up evolution and create a race of cowardly bears just to accommodate greedy and disrespectful humans.

If they are not careful, a lot of those bears might end up being gay (jolly).

[kaiyo4u]

Hey cbsfan73, what are our taxes paying for then?

I don''t think Teddy''s idea of the national park system included user fees to visit them. He wanted our citizens to enjoy and use the parks. Being an avid outdoors man, Teddy wanted the parks for all to enjoy and knowing industrialists, he wanted land preserved for it''s natural beauty.

It would seem our government has it''s priorities a little mixed up when it comes to the general public. You know, the ones who pay the brunt of the taxes...

It is unfortunate the boy was mauled and I am hoping he makes a full recovery. Hopefully he learned a very great lesson and this incident won''t keep him from returning to the forests.

[mountainzen]

Stephen Colbert was right!!

"''Dear Stephen, why aren%u2019t you nicer to bears? I like them a lot! They make me laugh my head off. Love, Joshua.'' Like a lot of kids, Joshua has been misled about bears. They won%u2019t make you laugh your head off, they''ll tear your head off."

%u2014Stephen Colbert, reading a fan letter on his show, The Colbert Report

...But today I see this in the Toronto Globe and Mail %u2014 apparently a 700-pound polar bear showed up at a children%u2019s hockey game. I%u2019ve said this before, they%u2019re after our kids %u2014 they%u2019re tender, juicy, you don%u2019t even have to throw away the bones."

%u2014Stephen Colbert, on his show, The Colbert Report

[mandalay-bay]

Was it Yogi Bear?

[cbsfan73]

kaiyo4u asked:
"Hey cbsfan73, what are our taxes paying for then?"

Go to Wikipedia and search for:
United States federal budget, 2008

National parks collect funds from park use fees and from sales inside the parks.

I kinda like the usage fee. If I go, I pay, if I don''t go, I don''t pay.

[talkingham]

Thankfully it wasn''t a Russian Black bear or we woud have to kill Russia too!

[mandalay-bay]

Why did they have to mention the bear''s race???

[cbsfan73]

MANDALAY-BAY asked:
"Why did they have to mention the bear''''s race???"

To keep from accidentally shooting Yogi or Boo Boo.

[kaiyo4u]

I kinda like the usage fee. If I go, I pay, if I don''''t go, I don''''t pay.

cbsfan73, though I haven''t read the Wikipedia article, I still bet a portion of our taxes are going to the parks.

[slim1h2o]

So a brown bear is going to be an illegal alien?

Speaking of races,,,

[cbsfan73]

kaiyo4u speculated:
"cbsfan73, though I haven''''t read the Wikipedia article, I still bet a portion of our taxes are going to the parks."

Seems that you are right. I had heard that after 1997 the parks would be operated by fees. But apparently some funds are still appropriated by the federal government.

http://home.nps.gov/applications/budget2/npsbud.htm

[cheddarboy82]

why would they kill the bear ?, those idiots shouldn''t be in there territory, especially an eight year old.

[cbsfan73]

kaiyo4u wrote:
"I don''''t think Teddy''''s idea of the national park system included user fees to visit them. He wanted our citizens to enjoy and use the parks. Being an avid outdoors man, Teddy wanted the parks for all to enjoy and knowing industrialists, he wanted land preserved for it''''s natural beauty."

Getting back to the meaty stuff:
Teddy didn''t foresee fifty-five thousand people a day passing through this park.

I look at it the same way biologists look at thinning a deer herd or maintaining a certain number of bears per square mile.

The same should apply to humans too, and there should be limits.

[uaprophet]

I know that boy and father must have gone through some un-bear-able pain. They bear-ly escaped.

[crazycwp]

Another stupid human going into the woods with no idea what awaits them. This is what happens when we get too civilized and forget what our ancestors knew, wild animals and humans just don''t mix. I say put a limit on the people going into the park.

[no2zeebas]

If they were going to kill the bear, it should have at least gotten to eat the stupid boy''s retarded dad...

[displeased]

Another stupid human going into the woods with no idea what awaits them.
Posted by crazycwp

What''s so stupid about going in the woods? These black bear attacks are rare occurrences. It''s like telling somebody that gets in a car accident they were stupid for driving, which by the way you have more chances of getting killed. I guess you consider people who swim in the ocean stupid too?

[meanbiker]

Park rangers later killed a bear matching the description of the one in the attack.


"well it was black.. and a bear, it had a picnic basket and it answered to Yogi"

[meanbiker]

" hey Boo booo.. watch this.. another tourist is in our park?

[nurse70-2009]

I HAVE BEEN TO THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS. THERE ARE BEAR WARNING SIGNS EVERYWHERE! OUR LOG CABIN HAD "BEAR - PROOF" GARBAGE CANS AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR WASTE DISPOSAL SO AS NOT TO ATTRACT BEARS. OF COURSE HUMAN ERROR AND IGNORANCE WAS NOT TO BLAME FOR THE ATTACK. WHO WOULD LET THEIR 8 YEAR-OLD PLAY WITHOUT BEING RIGHT BESIDE THEM ? IT''S A SHAME WE ARE INVADING THEIR TERRITORY, BUT THE BEARS MUST DIE WHEN TOURISTS ARE STUPID!!!! MANKIND IS SO SELFISH .

[slim1h2o]

Posted by nurse70 at 03:25 PM : Aug 12, 2008

Quit YELLING,,,sheeeeezzz!

[papabc]

Wash hands, Try not to smell like a picnic basket lunch.

[yankeerebel7]

Would they have killed it if it was a white bear? Just more of the man trying to hold the black bear down.

[cbsfan73]

nurse70 yelled:
"OF COURSE HUMAN ERROR AND IGNORANCE WAS NOT TO BLAME FOR THE ATTACK. WHO WOULD LET THEIR 8 YEAR-OLD PLAY WITHOUT BEING RIGHT BESIDE THEM ? IT''''S A SHAME WE ARE INVADING THEIR TERRITORY, BUT THE BEARS MUST DIE WHEN TOURISTS ARE STUPID!!!! MANKIND IS SO SELFISH ."

Was or was not?

[chyenna-2009]

I live in the foothlls of the Smoky Mountains. Been there a zillion times. Was walking down the streets of Gatlinburg not long ago and passed by a side street. There, sitting pretty as you please was a black bear. Thinking I was being a good citizen I went next door to the welcome center teling them they had a bear sitting next to their building They could have cared less telling me this occurred all the time. Visitors. If you visit our mountains, be aware, we do have bears and they are hungry. I pray father and dad will be o.k. I don''t know if the father was right next to his son when the attact happened so I''m not going to trash this man, but people, you need to keep your kids safe.

[displeased]

If you can''t let your 8 year old play without standing right next to them, as some of you are suggesting, then it''s a pathetic world we live in. I''m glad my parents weren''t over-protective like that.

The problem with people in the woods is they feed wild animals. People think it''s cute to feed the bear but all they''re doing is giving it a death sentence. For once the bear becomes unafraid of humans and uses them to rummage for food, then they get shot.

[haoli25]

So many children, so few bears. Surely we can spare a few of ''em.

[casey0157]

What? You killed a bear that looks like the one that attacked? Please don''t let our local police read this? That''s a shame to have killed a bear after the fact, during I can understand? That''s just terrible!

[slim1h2o]

Was or was not?

Posted by cbsfan73 at 04:11 PM : Aug 12, 2008

Was or was not,,,What? Esplain yourself,,