Black Bears Are Not Harmless

To the Editor:

It has come to my attention through the media — mainly the newspaper and some television — that black bears have been spotted near or about Hanover Road in Newtown. There was also a notation in the media that these bears are basically harmless and won’t hurt human beings.

This is a fallacy. There are a number of species of bears in North America. There is the polar bear, the brown bear or Kodiak bear, the grizzly bear, and the black bear. Of these four species of bear, there is one bear that has killed and eaten more human beings than any of the others. It is the black bear and this is documented. They not only eat berries, insects, and small rodents, but also anything else they can kill when hungry. They are also known to invade garbage dumps, garbage pails, and any other food they can smell. They are carnivores. They can smell their food from a great distance away. As you will notice in your travels throughout the parks in the United States and Canada, where bears are more numerous, the public is advised not to throw away any garbage where bears can get it, and/or your garbage has to be locked up in solid steel containers. I would suggest you do the same in Newtown.

My advice to anyone who lives in an area where black bear are known to habitat is to keep their pets and small children in an area where they can be observed and away from any woods or heavy cover.

And, by the way, I’m sure many people can remember watching Grizzly Adams on television. You have not seen him lately. The reason you haven’t seen him is because his pet bear ate him. That fact is also documented, but the media does not want you to know about that. These are not little cuddly teddy bears like your house pets. They are predators and carnivores. They will kill and eat anything they can get when they are hungry.

Sincerely,

Bernard Sippin

234 Main Street, Monroe                                                 April 13, 2004

(Editor’s note: according to the Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com/name/nm0353624/, Dan Haggerty is still alive and making movies.)