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19 Oct 2011 11:07

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U.S.: Owner of Ohio exotic wildlife preserve opens cages, commits suicide

  • It’s always been a fear of mine knowing (the preserve’s owner) had all those animals. I have kids.
  • Neighbor Danielle White • Discussing the bizarre incident involving an Ohio wildlife preserve, where numerous animals — lions, tigers and bears, plus more — had to be taken down in shoot-to-kill fashion after the owner opened up the cages housing numerous animals … then reportedly committed suicide, allowing the animals to run free throughout the area and creating a number of challenges for authorities. The preserve had been the subject of many complaints over the past decade. White, for example, once saw a lion escape. Most of the animals have been put down, but nearby schools had to close as a result of the bizarre incident. source

14 Feb 2011 15:30

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Offbeat: Study rules new winner in “history’s biggest bear” contest

  • 2M the age, in years, of the skeletal remains of a South American bear have been studied
  • 11 the bear’s projected height (in feet), giving this fellow the mantle of tallest bear ever
  • 3,500the bear’s projected weight (in pounds), which easily breaks that record, as well source

09 Feb 2011 13:44

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Offbeat: How do you get rid of an unwanted bear? Play some honky-tonk

  • problem Whilst doing some work on a hospital in Boulder, CO, a plumber found an unwanted guest sleeping underneath one of the residence buildings: a hibernating bear.
  • solution Rather than tranquilize the bear, they blasted country music, and it ran away. Because even bears don’t like country music (except for these bears, of course). source

18 Dec 2010 12:34

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Offbeat: Bear cubs with murderous past now cute, cuddly zoo animals

These Montana bears look cute at the zoo, but they may be accessories to murder. See, their now-euthanized mom was involved in this scary incident. (But not this one.) source

29 Jul 2010 09:14

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U.S.: Scary: A woman recalls how she survived a Montana bear attack

  • Within hundredths of seconds, I felt the teeth in my arm, heard bones breaking. I screamed and that seemed to aggravate him. He sunk his teeth into me again. So I decided to play dead and mean it.
  • London, Ontario resident Deb Freele • Describing her initial reaction to waking up in a Montana campground to a bear chewing on her arm. The playing dead trick worked, because she survived, along with another man. Another man at Soda Butte, a popular campground near Yellowstone National Park, wasn’t so lucky. It was the first fatal bear attack in Montana since 2001. source

23 Jul 2010 14:21

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World: Your life sucks less than this: Bear with its head stuck in a jar

  • Poor guy! For the last two weeks, this Canadian bear has been wandering around the forest with a jar stuck on its head. Jokes aside, this is really scary for the guy, because he can’t eat, drink or anything. Animal control has been trying (and failing) to help him out. Some argue that this is a perfect example of the humans having unintended consequences on the environment. Because, really, who wants to see a bear in such an awful situation? source

26 Oct 2009 21:14

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Offbeat: Wildlife biologist ruins our myths of Winnie the Pooh and Yogi Bear

Lynn Rogers, the subject of BBC documentary “Bearwalker of the Northwoods,” says that bears are friendly (when not on ice skates) and don’t like honey. source