Park Officials Under Fire After Bear Kills Boy at Campsite

Samuel Ives, 11, died after a black bear dragged him from his tent at the Timpooneke Campground in American Fork Canyon, Utah Sunday night. According to a report in The Salt Lake Tribune (SLT), Samuel and his family had no idea that earlier in the day, the same bear had harassed other campers in the area. There has never been a fatal bear attack in Utah's recorded history, but Samuel's family say the campground should have been closed down and there should have been stronger warnings to campers about the aggressive bear.

The Ives are experienced campers and did not have food in the tent. Their food was locked away in their car. Their camp was set up in a primitive, wooded area about a mile outside the boundary of the campground. The tent was a Father's Day present and was being used by the family for the first time on Sunday. Family members first believed Samuel was being kidnapped as they heard him scream during the dark night hours. The stepfather ran for help and called park officials, who later discovered that Samuel had been dragged from the tent, in his sleeping bag, by a black bear.

Officials from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) shot and killed the male bear on Monday. Since the middle of May, humans have experienced at least six bear encounters in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Black bears typically do not attack people, but the dry conditions and the increase of human encroachment on bear country has led to the rise in bear encounters. Wildlife experts agree that more can be done to keep campgrounds safe, but the responsibility lies squarely with humans. People forget that when they are camping, they are among wild animals.

Western Wildlife Conservancy director, Kirk Robinson, told reporters at The SLT that the campground where Ives was killed should have been closed immediately after the first report of an aggressive bear on Sunday. Robinson adds that bears become stressed in dry conditions and steps to make humans safe should also be taken. Park officials should consider adding metal food storage bins, educating campers about wild animals, and cleaning dirty grills and camp scraps. Bears typically do not consider humans to be food, but when campers grill burgers or chicken, the smell of the food permeates a person's body, clothes, and sleeping bags, which can cause predatory behavior by bears. Residents in wild life habitats also contribute to bears learning that people have food by putting out bird feeders, keeping dirty grills, and feeding their pets outdoors.

Jim Karpowitz, director of the DWR says they have signs posted throughout campgrounds and trailheads of bear country. Karpowitz adds that it is "almost ludicrous to think that every time there is a human conflict with the environment we are going to close the forest." Wildlife officials say that it is practically impossible to ward everybody in a large national forest every time a bear wanders by. Officials were ready to close the Timpooneke Campground if the bear had not been killed by 2 pm on Sunday. They dispatched a team to kill the bear after the first report and following continued harassment with dogs and guns, they did not think the bear would return.

According to the bear.org website, attacks on humans by black bears are rare. On average, the 500,000 black bears in North America kill fewer than one person every three years. The recorded killings for the previous century only totaled 28 in North America, and rarely occurred in campgrounds. Most of the killings were unprovoked acts of predation and most attacks were not by bears that are familiar with people. Most of the campground killings that are publicized have been by grizzly bears. Surprisingly, for each black bear killing, there are 17 deaths by spiders, 25 deaths by snakes, and 67 deaths by dogs.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources provides instructions on what to do if you encounter a bear:

Do not make direct eye contact - that is an act of aggression to a bear

Stay calm, back away slowly - NEVER turn and run

Make noise, clap your hands, throw rocks, and raise your arms with a jacket or blanket to appear larger than the bear.

NEVER approach a bear. Do not feed bears. If you are attacked, fight, kick, scream, and yell. Usually bears are very afraid of humans.

For more information about black bears and how to be safe when sharing their habitat, click here.

Salt Lake Tribune, Bear victim: 'Just the friendliest kid', say grieving family, friends, http://www.sltrib.com/ci_6183554