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Hunting & Fishing Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

G

Guest

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#1
Game officials seem to be calling this a legitimate kill, but given the bear's history of being hand fed by locals for 17 years, I'm not sure it belongs in the books for "wild game"?

bigpabear.jpeg


http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101120/NEWS/11200302/-1/news



By DAVID KIDWELL
Pocono Record Visual Editor
November 20, 2010

Leroy Lewis stood in the doorway of his tiny mobile home in Bushkill on Monday evening and wept as a Pennsylvania Game Commission officer told him his beloved bear, Bozo, had been shot by a hunter.

Seventeen years of memories filled Lewis' mind as he digested the news that Bozo was dead. In those years, Lewis watched this wild animal-turned-pet grow as he hand-fed it table scraps and store-bought pies and other sweets.

When Bozo was shot by a hunter Monday, he weighed nearly 900 pounds. That made Bozo the largest black bear ever killed in Pennsylvania.

A trophy for David Price, the hunter, the kill was a heartbreak for Lewis.

"I'm devastated. I'm just devastated," he said Friday. "I mean I feel like I lost a friend. He used to come knock on the door when he was hungry."

Price shot the bear with a crossbow on the opening day of Pennsylvania's new archery season for bear hunting. The game commission says Price followed the law when he bagged the giant bear.

Price killed the bear near Lewis' trailer, which sits between Fernwood Resort and the border of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Lewis said he started feeding the bear when it was maybe 2 years old.

"He was just so friendly that I felt like feeding him," he said. "I never felt like I did anything wrong."

The game commission, in fact, thought Lewis was doing wrong by feeding the bear. It cited him in October for feeding wildlife.

On Friday, Lewis flipped through stacks of photos, some featuring him posing with the bear and even draped over the bear.

"I fed him for 17 years and I raised him from a cub," Lewis recalled. "He loved doughnuts and anything sweet. I was never scared of him."
 
#3
Re: Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

That whiny baby was playing with fire feeding a bear. Knocking at your door for food is only moments away from knocking through your door to take the food if you don't answer.

Being from the relatively local region, this moron's one of the outspoken voices of stupidity. Most people see them as exactly what they are, wildlife. Let them feed on their own.

My parents have kept honey bees for years, when they moved into the Pocono's their local bear (small by comparison at appx 550-600lb) tore through 3 rows of electrified wire to get at the hives several times in the first summer. My dad gave up and called the game commission to see what he could legally do about it.

The game commission even went so far as telling him that if he shot the bear during the season in the back yard with the bee hives still there they'd consider it baiting... which is illegal in PA.

I'm going to stop before getting too far, the stupidity of people and the game commission abounds in PA, more PA hunters need to figure out how to control things with their vote instead of just rolling over with the status quo.

BTW, Kudos to the hunter, that's going to be a hard to beat record. Whether it stands as a "hand fed" or "wild" bear it doesn't really matter to me. To console that mopey moron who fed the thing for so many years I'd be very tempted to mail him a nice neck roast with a donut for dessert.
 
#9
Re: Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: coldboremiracle</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Sounds like a real dumbass!, if he hadn't been "raising" the bear, it may have stayed wild enough, and average sized enough to stay alive. Or not. </div></div>

I challenge you to find very many 10+ year old black bears in PA. They are very few and far between.

This story really pisses me off though. Where are the citations from the game commission for feeding wild animals? My buddies grandmother was fined year after year for picking up the apples from her apple tree and putting them in a trough for the deer in her back yard. IF she had let the apples lay, no fine. but because she purposefully placed them in a feeding appliance/contraption, she was fined. THe folks feeding this bear were so much more blatant about it and to be honest, I think it's about time this nuisance bear was removed from the gene pool. He was big enough to cause some serious issues .

the thing that sucks the most, is that the hunter will never be known as "the guy that took the largest black bear in PA with a crossbow, OR ANY OTHER WEAPON" but instead, he's "the bozo that shot bozo"...just a friggen shame. Just exactly what the anti-hunting crowd needs in their armory.
 
#10
Re: Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

I've been on vacation for a few weeks (deer season) and a fellow driver called me up a few days ago saying something about our boss's brother inlaw or something like that in PA killing a record bear with a cross bow. LMFAO I THINK I FOUND IT!!!! Lookin forward gettin back to work and finding out IF the dude is getting attacked by the "bear people" or not. I'm with the rest of ya here... don't feed the bears cause they'll break in your house for food. Hand raised or wild, who cares and a 900 pound congrats goes to the hunter.
 
#12
Re: Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JasonB</div><div class="ubbcode-body">


This story really pisses me off though. Where are the citations from the game commission for feeding wild animals? My buddies grandmother was fined year after year......

</div></div>

Dude.........

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">"He was just so friendly that I felt like feeding him," he said. "I never felt like I did anything wrong."

The game commission, in fact, thought Lewis was doing wrong by feeding the bear. It cited him in October for feeding wildlife.
</div></div>
 
#15
Re: Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

I'd like to hear the hunters side of the story so we know if he just happened into a monster bear or finally tracked down and shot that big s.o.b. that's been tearing up his trash cans, or if he knew it was Yogi the donut eater.

Either way, the ass who was hand feeding him is probably directly responsible for the bear being darted because he was de-sensitized to humans. Anyway, should be tasty, at least as bears go.
 
#16
Re: Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: KClark</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><span style="color: #FF0000">I'd like to hear the hunters side of the story</span> so we know if he just happened into a monster bear or finally tracked down and shot that big s.o.b. that's been tearing up his trash cans, or if he knew it was Yogi the donut eater.

Either way, the ass who was hand feeding him is probably directly responsible for the bear being darted because he was de-sensitized to humans. Anyway, should be tasty, at least as bears go. </div></div>
.
According to something that was on the news here earlier in the week (keep in mind it is the news) the hunter wasn't aware that "bozo" was this guys "friend" or that he was fed by other people in the area. Supposedly he made the statement that if he were aware of that he would not have shot him (bozo).
 
#17
Re: Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tripwire</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JasonB</div><div class="ubbcode-body">


This story really pisses me off though. Where are the citations from the game commission for feeding wild animals? My buddies grandmother was fined year after year......

</div></div>

Dude.........

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">"He was just so friendly that I felt like feeding him," he said. "I never felt like I did anything wrong."

The game commission, in fact, thought Lewis was doing wrong by feeding the bear. It cited him in October for feeding wildlife.
</div></div> </div></div>

Talking mostly about the rest of the idiots that were on the news talking about how they fed the damn thing every day. There's literally 20+ people who spoke up to the local news about how often Bozo comes around to eat.
 
#18
Re: Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

20 people were feeding that hog? I knew bears could eat a lot but that is beyond rediculous. Makes me wonder if he had a schedule, "10:15 Smith house, 10:30 Jones house, etc." The people that were feeding it will never believe it but they are a lot safer with that bear gone.
 
#20
Re: Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

Its always a bit sad to lose a friend, but how was this hunter to know any different.

Trust me fellas, I know what your all saying as I hunt too...

Hell, in my profession I see thousands of animals come and go each year, some to my hands, sadly I must say.

When you see this magnitude of animals, you can tell that there are some that are different to rest and if given the chance to bond with an animal under whatever circumstances it almost blurs the lines between a pet and a beast, if your so inclined to think that way.

So i understand where this man is coming from, it doesnt always happen, in fact it is rare but to those who do witness it, its a very special thing...

Still doesnt stop me from pulling the trigger... I just make sure I pay my respects.

laugh.gif
 
#21
Re: Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JasonB</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
coldboremiracle said:
Sounds like a real dumbass!, if he hadn't been "raising" the bear, it may have stayed wild enough, and average sized enough to stay alive. Or not. </div></div>

I challenge you to find very many 10+ year old black bears in PA. They are very few and far between.

/quote]

That's no joke. Any big game is hunted hard in PA. That area is only about 30 mins from where I grew up. Many city folks are moving into those areas and building McMansions. The bears are getting pushed off the mountain into new areas where there were never homes before. 3 or so years ago a 700lb blackie was hit by a semi in the town I grew up in. Plenty of berries, crops and trash cans in town to fatten them up quickly.

I never saw a black bear while out in the woods growing up - and I spent a lot of time in the woods year round. Now I see several every time I go back for a visit.
Click to expand...
 
#23
Re: Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

if he was in the woods and was in season and taken legal well good for him. if he was a pet then he sould have been locked up. needs to start up a fund or something so the hunter can have a full body mount. it would look cool....
 
#24
Re: Bozo the Bear - Record Kill or Not?

this bear was taken in my neck of the woods. it will not be officially deemed a record or at least 2nd or third until the skull is dried for about 3 months.

it is a real bear though. i'd post links to the local media reports, but i'm a little lazy tonight. wnep-16, wbre-28, wyou-22 are the local stations and the scranton times is the paper if your willing to check it out.

starts off with an old buck that's been feeding the bear for awhile, and was warned about feeding it. the guy stopped feeding it. the also used to go out and hug it and shit like that.

enter the hunter - a legal licensed hunter using legal means -has been in the area spotting the large bear from time to time over the last few years.

the catch is the hunter didn't know of the feeding situation - just thought this was a rare and HUGE bear that managed to survive. if you saw this bear wouldn't you hunt it?

so the legal hunter harvested the legal bear by legal means.

enter the public - after people up in arms here, and some also supporting the hunter, the hunter came out with an apology and the explaination that he did not know of the feeding.

1. remember, legal licensed hunter legally harvesting game

2. feeding this or any bear (or for the most part ANY wildlife causes the loss of fear of man, and creates the potential for disaster.

3. nuisance bears in my area are quite frequent, and cause alot of damage to property. why? someone feeds them and when the animal wants some more and the "feeder" either stops or will not give more, the bear which is quite powerful, cunning, and now brazen, breaks into the house for more food.

usually ends with a dead bear. bear's fault or the "feeder's" fault?
 
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