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Bear Attack in Cairo NY

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dave
Posts: 712
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:14 pm
Location: Acra New York

Bear Attack in Cairo NY

Unread post by dave »

On April 13, 2011 a woman in Cairo New York was attacked by a Black Bear. It is our understanding that she was attacked near her home on North Alpine Drive in Round Top New York. She did sustain injuries from the attack. It was reported that she sustain lacerations from the attack. She was able to call 911 for help. The severity of the injuries is not known at this time. Greene County Sheriff and Emergency Medical Services were dispatched to her home.

Black bears have been coming out of their den over the last couple of weeks. There are a good population of Black bears in this region. People need to be mindful of garbage cans and bird feeders. Black bears are hungry this time of year, so people have to remember to not make food available to them around houses. It should be noted that we don't know if she had food available around her house, and the reason of the attack.

Update (late 4/13/11): According to the DEC Press Office, the women was taking her garbage out to the curb when the bear charged her and knocked her down. The Bear then left with the garbage. She was taken to Albany Med with minor injuries.

Update (late 4/14/11): The women has been identified as 53 year old Joan Bair(?). There is a question as to whether she was taking garbage out to her garbage cans, or she went out to pickup the garbage after the bear had knocked the garbage cans down. It was also reported that she had previous back problems that were re-injured after she was knocked down by the bear and mauled. Authorities are recommending that people keep their garbage cans inside when possible. No word if the DEC will trap the bear and remove it. It was also reported that bears had come into this neighborhood before, but had not been there in a while.

Update (late 4/14/11): In an interview with Joy Bayer, she said that when she came home around 2PM, she saw that the garbage cans were knocked over, and garbage was out of the cans. She then headed down the driveway. The bear came up on the back of her and knocked her over. The bear then used it's front paw to holder down by pressing on her back. The bear then collected garbage bags and then walked off with the garbage bag. The DEC has vowed to catch the bear and destroy it. Joy doesn't want the bear destroyed, but the DEC states that the bear is not afraid of people and is going after garbage. A feed bear is a dead bear. She is doing well at Albany Medical Center. The bear held her down where she had back surgery 10 years ago.

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Adult Black Bear

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Map showing the location of the attack on the women.

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Adult Black Bear

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Black Bear going after garbage
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mike
Posts: 1442
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:20 pm
Location: Ravena, NY

Re: Bear Attack in Cairo NY

Unread post by mike »

I suppose that if she went out to pick up the garbage that they bear had strewn all over, that would be an invasion of his food territory. Bear like to protect their feeding grounds. Especially when they are hungry. Probably just one of those rare events. Hopefully, she will get better soon.

Bear spray works well in these situations. But, it is possible that she didn't see the bear, or assumed that it wouldn't charge her.
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