West Virginia’s mascot shoots and kills a black bear with the musket we all thought was a prop | Dr. Saturday - Yahoo! Sports

Jonathan Kimble, the psycho bear killer and mascot for West Virginia's Mountaineers, (see yesterday's post on this story)  is sorry and in trouble. Sort of sorry, and kind of in trouble; doesn't seem to be any big issue for the parties involved, it's simply a matter of responding to no doubt what they see as over reactions from the rest of the country. Including Graham Watson, write of the piece, who writes:

OK. Your first thought after reading this should be: "Holy crap, that thing really works?"

Your second thought should be: "Holy crap, does Dana Holgorsen know?"

And then somewhere, in the recesses of your mind, you should be just a little impressed that Kimble shot a bear out of a tree with a musket. I mean, look at that thing.

And then you should be outraged -- if you value animal rights or don't like hunting or -- because it was a small (possible baby) bear he shot out of the tree.

Coyotes on the Beach

Oregon beaches have been experiencing coyotes on the beaches for awhile now. (I wrote about coyotes in the Newport area in May of 2010,) for Oreogn L.O.W.F.I. I've heard them at night; it's both a cool and an eerie sound to hear them so close, and right on the beach. But, like bear and deer in the area, the coyotes in human developed areas are a problem, for both humans and animals. There's the reason why bear, deer, coyote, etc. are "infringing" in human populated areas. The animal's habitat is being decreased, the animals move in. There are other reasons as well: for example, humans feeding wildlife, particularly bears. (A Yachats, Oregon women was found guilty of feeding bears on her property; she was banned from living in the area) as I also blogged on L.O.W.F.I.

On Thursday, a five year old was bitten by a coyote on the beach in Nehalem State Park. (Nehalem is on the coast.) Wildlife authorities shot and killed the coyote; the child is undergoing a rabies shots series.

'The rare bear bunch! Rare white� black beast captured on camera is not a polar bear'

Beautiful photographs of the "spirit bear": The rare bear bunch! Rare white black beast captured on camera is not a polar bear | Mail Online

Animal Sacrifice: Two Sad, Strange Events of Animal Slaughter | MonsterTracker.com since the year 2000 has been investgating cryptozoology, cryptids, and other mysterious creatures.

My new article for Monster Tracker:
Animal Sacrifice: Two Sad, Strange Events of Animal Slaughter | MonsterTracker.com since the year 2000 has been investgating cryptozoology, cryptids, and other mysterious creatures.

Two weird and very sad events, hard to read about, juxtaposed in animal news. This one in Ohio, a state that has its share of spooky, Fortean events in general: Ohio wild-animal killings renew call for ban on exotic pets - latimes.com.
The owner of Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, Ohio, apparently flung open the reserve's cages, slashed open its pens and then killed himself. Dozens of wild and dangerous animals -- including grizzly bears, lions, tigers and a baboon -- were then free to roam the area. Most of them were gunned down by public safety officers.

Update on Bear on Bike Path

A news report of a bear seen on the bike path 2 miles from my house turned out to be incorrect. It was a brown sheep; not a bear.

The bike path in runs along a creek; brambly banks on either side. A nice bit of nature just yards away from the busy streets, commercial areas, etc. One of the businesses that fronts the very busy street has had a few sheep that graze in back of the building. I've seen them there myself many times. Apparently one of the sheep managed to make its way from behind the shop, and up onto the other side, to the bike path. Why or how it was the person mistook the sheep for a bear . . . but, in a way, it makes a bit of sense. You don't expect to see sheep, unless you know they're there, and actually a fixture in that spot. Bear have been seen in the area although certainly not in town like this.

Pretty funny actually. Glad all is okay; no scared bears, or humans, everyone safe. Including the sheep, who made it back and is safe.

Bear on the Eugene Bike Path: Close to Home, Literally

Wow, if you know this area in Eugene, Oregon, where I live, you'd know that this is very odd: Bear wanders onto west Eugene bike path.
This is literally less than two miles from my house. Right in the middle of town. I have been on this path many times. One more example of signals: of wild animals seeking food, safety, habitat, as well as possible disorientation from... who knows what. Ever encroaching human habitats and construction, pollution and environmental changes, etc.

Not the first time a wild animal has been seen in this town; a few years ago there was a cougar seen on the University of Oregon campus. There are wild turkeys all around the hills, we often see deer just a mile or so from here. It's always amazing to me, the juxtaposition of city life: traffic, buildings, "downtown" (such as that is, given Eugene's crazy-wild ass hat stupid ideas of urban planning, but that's an entirely different subject) and wild animals, such as deer, bear, cougar, etc.