HikeArizona.COM

http://www.wmicentral.com/news/bear-bru ... 002e0.html

Bear brutally mauls woman in Pinetop; officials believe they have the bear responsible
Posted: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 8:29 am

PHOENIX - A Gilbert woman was attacked by an adult male black bear while walking her dog in Pinetop late Tuesday evening. The attack occurred near Sports Village Loop approximately 60 yards from the dumpster where the bear was scavenging. The bear returned to attack the victim several times, and a passing motorist was able to scare the bear away.

The woman was flown to the Phoenix area for medical treatment and is in surgery at this time.

Within a few hours, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services personnel arrived and used dogs to... [ Read Full Story ]

UPDATE: Lana Hollingsworth has been identified as the Gilbert woman who was viciously attacked by a bear late last night in Pinetop. She is listed in critical condition at Scottsdale's Osborn hospital and is currently in the intensive care unit.

All kidding aside, or not, maybe, but what does it say about me when the first thing I thought when I read this was, "Bear Grylls?"? Maybe I heard too many people mention that guys name today

"Because we don't have bears around here and don't have to worry about such things." :roll:

The quantity and quality of human refuse is a problem that so few people really understand. Making it accessible to wildlife (from bears to pigeons) upsets the balance on a colossal scale. It's only when humans are injured that we actually notice it at all - and then we often blame the wild creatures. In this case, it sounds to me like this bear had some issues, but if he'd been defending his food hoard from a raccoon or a coyote, no one would ever have taken note.

Wrong place, wrong time, wrong world...

Hand-feeding Burger King food to bears?

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/20 ... _bears.php

kingsnake wrote:Hand-feeding Burger King food to bears?

My cousins and I were returning from a long hike in GSMNP years ago, and found a huge throng of tourons feeding a bear and cubs in the TH parking lot. The bears were still hungry when the people ran out of food, so they moved with anticipation toward others in the crowd, which instantly dispersed in a panic. Getting to our car in that mess was inconvenient. At that point, being trampled by fleeing people was more likely than any harm from the bears.

kingsnake wrote:Hand-feeding Burger King food to bears?

Really? Just don't know what to say.

kevinweitzel75 wrote:

kingsnake wrote:Hand-feeding Burger King food to bears?

Really? Just don't know what to say.

Those people were complete morons, do they have any idea the amount of sodium and calories in those burgers?

To say nothing of the bears who failed to heed the lessons of "Super Size Me"

kingsnake wrote:To say nothing of the bears who failed to heed the lessons of "Super Size Me"

I rented that movie for my Vegan buddy, just in case he had any doubts about the culinary direction he was going.

Yellowstone National Park grizzly bear kills hiker

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14057707

The best part? Rangers say they don't plan on jerking their knee and blowing the bear away ...

Gilbert woman has passed away.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Woma ... 74798.html

GILBERT, Ariz. – A family member has confirmed that Lana Hollingsworth, the Gilbert woman who as attacked by a bear in late June, died overnight.

According to doctors, Hollingsworth died of a massive brain hemorrhage. She had undergone several surgeries in the three weeks since she was mauled on June 28.

Doctors believe an unknown bacteria, possibly from the bear’s claws, sparked an infection that they could not control. The theory is that the rampant infection might have caused the hemorrhage.

Robert Oates, Hollingsworth’s son, said the black bear essentially scalped his mother as she walked her dog outside her vacation home in Pinetop.

According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the bear attacked Hollingsworth three times before a neighbor was able to chase it into the woods.

Hollingsworth was flown to Healthcare Osborn Medical Center where doctors performed a series of surgeries to repair her skull and her badly injured arms. Physicians kept her in a medically-induced coma most of the time. By July 6, Hollingsworth had already undergone seven surgeries.

Community members organized several fundraisers to help Hollingsworth’s family pay for her rapidly mounting medical expenses. They also set up an account in Hollingsworth's name at Bank of America.

The bear, which had been scavenging for trash near a Dumpster at the time of the attack, was quickly tracked down and killed. The Arizona Department of Health Services ran a rabies test. It came back negative.

Bear attacks on humans are rare. Only seven incidents, including the attack on Hollingsworth, have been documented in Arizona since 1990, which is as far back as the department’s database tracks.

Hollingsworth was 61 years old.

That's very sad. I hadn't heard the news since being gone for 3 weeks.

Anyone hear about a women who was attacked in Payson earlier this week or last week?

@RangerKelly
viewtopic.php?f=71&t=7010

I know everyone is going to assume a bias on my part but it seems like every time I hear about an individual being attacked by an animal lately there is almost always a dog with that person. It may just be coincidence, however...

@jeffmacewen
You know that the incident from this thread was last year right? But I see and understand your point and that kind of coincidence may not be all that surprising....