Sure you have heard the ‘moral
story’- of two friends venturing into a forest – being chased by a bear. One of them climbed the tree fast leaving the
other in lurch. The 2nd fell
flat holding his breath; bear came near, smelled, presuming him to be dead went
on. The 1st man came down and
asked what did the bear whisper ? – the man on ground replied ‘to stay away
from friends who run away at the time of danger’!
- just take it on
‘moral story value’. Bears may still
harm the dead and they can climb the trees as well !!
Like many other
animals, the bear's first reaction upon
detecting a human is to run away – but not the only reaction and they might
furiously attack due to varied reasons.
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Although only eight species of
bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats
throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere.
Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and
Asia. Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky
legs, long snouts, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws,
and short tails. While the polar bear is mostly carnivorous, and the giant
panda feeds almost entirely on bamboo, the remaining six species are omnivorous
with varied diets.
Bears have been
hunted since prehistoric times for their meat and fur. The poaching and
international trade of these most threatened populations are prohibited, but
still ongoing. In Northern parts of India,
occasionally one can see a chained bear paraded on the streets !
A bear attack is an
attack by any mammal of the Ursidae family, on another animal, although it
usually refers to bears attacking humans or domestic pets. Bear attacks are
relatively rare, but frequent enough to be of concern for those who are in bear
habitats. Bear attacks can be fatal and often hikers, hunters, fisherman, and
others in bear country take precautions against bear attacks. Most
bear attacks occur when the animal is defending itself against anything they
perceive as a threat to themselves or their territory. Some species are more aggressive than others;
sloth bears, Asiatic black bears, and brown bears are more likely to injure
people than other species, and the American black bear is comparatively timid.
According to
experts, playing dead may be an option when confronted by a brown bear or a
grizzly – but not with black bear or a polar bear. According to some other biologists, a well
placed bullet might stop an aggressive grizzly, but still may not be
effective ~ and in the moment of stress,
one has to be a great expert to fire at a 500-pound animal charging at great
speed from close quarters. Another says, the best way to avoid a run-in with a brown bear
is to make sure the animal hears you before it sees you, because they are more
likely to charge if they are surprised. None has a bear brain and whether it is
so, is not exactly known !
~one
may be surprised to know that there are insurance options available – not only
for personal injuries from bear attacks but for property as well !
Away in Turkey - beekeepers can now get insured for bear
attacks on their hives, it's reported. Beekeepers
in Turkey have been dealing with the
financial burden of bears destroying their hives for years, but now they'll be
reimbursed by a government-supported scheme, the Anadolu news agency reports.
"No matter what they did, bears were able to damage the hives," says
Bahri Yilmaz, president of the Turkish Beekeepers Union. "Some tried to
hang the hives high up the trees. Some used live wires - nothing worked."
The Agricultural Insurance Pool will pay out 175 liras ($65; £45; Rs.4200
approx) for each hive lost to a hungry bear, says Mr Yilmaz.
While bears are
known to enjoy honey, they'll also gobble up the bees and larvae from inside a
hive. One beekeeper points out that shooting the wild animals is illegal,
leaving them with few options to protect their livelihoods. "That's why
this insurance is very important," says Neset Nuhoglu, who works in Ordu,
on Turkey's northern coast. Another man tells the agency that beekeepers will
still try to save the hives, but knowing there's insurance available will
provide peace of mind. Turkey is one of the world's biggest honey producers,
second only to China in 2013, according to the UN Food and Agriculture
Organisation.
Yogi Bear debuting in 1958, is a family cartoon character that has
appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films. Yogi
Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera and was
eventually more popular than Huckleberry Hound.
Yogi was one of several Hanna-Barbera characters to have a collar. This
allowed animators to keep his body static, redrawing only his head in each
frame when he spoke. This reduced the number of drawings needed for a
seven-minute cartoon from around 14,000 to around 2,000.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar.
8th Apr
2015.