10.8.2010

First I want to remind you of the charity project to help our friends in the bear sanctuary Gnadenhof. Greetings from Herr Knut

Knuti’s Weekly’s first charity performance for bears

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18.8.2010 – Posted by Knuti-Judi

‘Jarhead’ is a free bear once again – Cub’s head was stuck inside plastic container for 10 days

OCALA, Fla. — A black bear cub in Florida affectionately known as “jarhead” can finally enjoy a good meal.
A clear plastic container was removed from the 6-month-old cub’s head after being stuck for at least 10 days. The cub poked its head into the jar when digging through trash in a neighborhood in central Florida.
Biologists say the cub was days away from death because the jar made it impossible to eat or drink. The team had to tranquilize the mother bear and then grab the cub to remove the jar from the bear’s head.
The subdued mother was then put in a trap and the cubs followed. After she awoke and nursed the cubs, the bears were moved to a less populated area nearby.

Read more

18.8.2010 – Posted by Patricia Roberts, Source

Belgian and Dutch campers surprised by a bear family in Sweden (and believe it or not – Mervi was not around so she is not to blame).

An 11-year old Dutch boy had the adventure of his life while on vacation in Sweden. One morning, when he felt the need for an urgent sanitary business, he left the camper and stood all of a sudden face-to-face with a bear and her cubs. And even though he was almost frozen by fear, he continued his sanitary business and so did the bear family, they also continued their family walk. A little while later, they came back to visit these strange two-leggers and one of the cubs was even sooo curious that he simply came closer and closer. And that was the sign for the tourists to decide that it might be wise to hide in the cars. But nonetheless, even they were actually a bit scared, they all adored the great pics they could make of the close encounter.

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17.8.2010 – Posted by Patricia Roberts, Source: Het Laatste Nieuws

Fresh-born baby panda in China

Baby was born last Friday, August 13th, and please take a good look at the cover sheet (yes, indeed, all bears).

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Löwe und Tiger zeugen “Liger” / Lion and Tiger conceive “Liger”
16.08.2010-posted by caren

source: http://news.de.msn.com/kurznotiert-bilder.aspx?cp-documentid=154411992

 
picture dpa

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Punch in nose saves man from polar bear

By CBC News, CBC News – Posted by Betsy

A 67-year-old man says he survived a polar bear attack in Nunavut by punching the bear in the face, a tactic he learned from an Inuit elder.

A 67-year-old man says he survived a polar bear attack in Nunavut by punching the bear in the face, a tactic he learned from an Inuit elder.

Wes Werbowy, a longtime wilderness consultant, said the close bear encounter came while he was camping on July 16 near Whale Cove, Nunavut, where he was training three Inuit hunters to be eco-tour guides.

The campers were about 48 kilometres inland from Whale Cove. Werbowy said they had set up separate sleeping and cooking tents in order to minimize the risk of a bear coming close.

But that did not deter a large male polar bear from approaching Werbowy’s tent just after 3 a.m., while he was tucked into his sleeping bag.

“I heard the scenting sound of a bear, and it’s sort of … inhaling, trying to get the scent of his supper,” said Werbowy, making a deep snorting sound to imitate the bear’s sound.

Bear stood on firearm

In a CBC News interview that aired Friday morning, Werbowy said he began to unzip his sleeping bag, but the sound must have reminded the bear of food being unwrapped.

“The bear was like an apparition,” he said. “There was no beginning of the movement; there was no subtlety. It was ‘Vroomp!’ [and] he was there.

“The front of my tent is collapsed inward, and his nose is about two feet from my face.”

If Werbowy’s situation was not already dire enough, he said the polar bear was standing on his firearm, which he had left at the front of his now-collapsed tent.

So Werbowy said he did what an Inuit elder once told him to do: punch the polar bear in the nose.

“I quite believed it’s going to be the last thing I ever did, so I might as well do a good job,” he said. “The bear vanished as rapidly as he appeared.”

Punching the bear’s nose felt like punching a slab of hamburger meat, Werbowy recalled.

How to deal with polar bears

Punching a polar bear in the face would likely not be the first advice campers would get from officials at parks like Auyuittuq National Park in eastern Nunavut.

Parks Canada, which operates the Baffin Island park, advises campers to avoid getting close to a polar bear as much as possible.

Staff with the federal agency say campers should travel in groups, watch their surroundings, keep their food and garbage in bear-proof containers, and never approch a polar bear or its food, mainly seals. Campers should also avoid getting close to a female bear with cubs, as she would likely attack to defend her cubs, according to the agency. Generally, if people come within visible proximity of a polar bear, they are advised to back away quietly and calmly, not run away.

Only when a polar bear charges, or it looks like it intends to stalk or hunt a human, should campers fight back with whatever weapon or bear deterrent they have handy, according to Parks Canada.

(Source: Polar Bear Encounters,  Auyuittuq National Park, Parks Canada)

Karate punch

Werbowy said the advice came from an elder who had encountered a bear while building an igloo some time ago.

“He spun and gave him a back fist with … the snow knife handle and hit him right on the nose, and the bear ran off,” Werbowy said. “And he had described that experience to me, and that stuck in my mind.

“I could almost hear the man’s words, and I’m looking at that nose. and I yelled the words ‘Get out!’ at the top of my lungs, but the ‘out’ was sort of like a ‘kee-yai!’ in a karate punch as I hit him square on the nose.”

Roused and elated, Werbowy got out of his tent and greeted his camp mates.

One of them, James Enuapik, said he wanted to “shake hands with the hand that punched a bear.”

The group later tracked the bear, which they estimated was a healthy male that weighed about 450 kilograms (1,000 pounds).

Nose most sensitive part

Later, Werbowy said he was applauded by Inuit elders, who believe the polar bear will never bother another human again.

Enuapik said the advice that saved Werbowy’s life is well known to Inuit hunters in Nunavut, which is home to much of Canada’s polar bear population.

“My uncle fought a bear three times,” Enuapik told The Canadian Press. “The three encounters he had with a bear, he always would punch its nose. It’s the most sensitive part of the polar bear.”

As for Werbowy, he said every day since that fateful punch has felt like a blessing.

I do not have a scratch, and the bear is alive. We didn’t have to kill him,” he said. “It was a win-win-win all the way around.”

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14.8.2010 – Posted by Patricia Roberts, Source: Het Laatste Nieuws

Father and Child

This could have been the inspiration for “The Lion King”. Father and child are looking over the Serengeti.

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13.8.2010 – Posted by Patricia Roberts, Source: YouTube