BILLINGS, Mont. -- A government wildlife worker who recently landed her dream job researching grizzly bears in a Montana mountain range is recovering from a bear attack that left her with a fractured skull and other serious injuries. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seasonal field assistant Amber Kornak was attacked on May 17 while working alone near a stream in the Cabinet Mountains, agency spokeswoman Jennifer Strickland said. While being mauled, the 28-year-old Kornak managed to reach a canister of Mace-like bear spray and ended the attack, inadvertently spraying herself in the process. She then walked to her work vehicle and drove to find help, according to Strickland. 911 call: Bear picked up Colo. girl "by her butt" Working with grizzlies had been a longstanding career goal for Kornak, who is recovering at a hospital in Kalispell following surgery for the skull injury and from severe cuts to her head, neck and back, said Jenna Hemer, a friend who spoke with Kornak following … [Read more...] about Wildlife worker on “dream” job mauled by bear in Montana
Bears
What’s with these black bears showing up in Burnsville?
Bears are not a common sight in the southwest metro. Black bear territory is traditionally in the northeast third of the state. As a rule, they generally try to avoid people. They’ve been known to raid the occasional garbage can or wreck the occasional bee farm, but they prefer snuffling around in the woods to loping down highways. That evening, the bear ventured near the crowded Town and Country Campground. Savage police headed to the scene. Corralling bears is not a normal part of suburban policework. The officers called the DNR for advice. “Well, if you see him, you’re going to have to put him down,” the DNR rep said. There were too many people, too much food roasting over too many fires. Food and people are a bad pairing when it comes to pacifying black bears. There was no telling how it was going to react. But surely it could be sedated? Carted lovingly back to some forest and left to run free? Nope -- this isn’t a Disney movie. Most DNR staff … [Read more...] about What’s with these black bears showing up in Burnsville?
Region V softball tourney: Falcons advance, Crimson Bears drops game to Sitka
No. 1 seed TMHS starts title push with wide-margin win Spectators have grown to expect wide-margin wins from this year’s Thunder Mountain High School softball team. And that’s just what the Falcons delivered in the opening game of the Region V softball tournament at Dudley Field in Ketchikan. TMHS won 7-2, leading Ketchikan since the bottom of the second inning. Junior pitcher Kyra Jenkins Hayes commanded play from both the mound and the plate, pitching a complete game with six strikeouts while notching a game-high three RBI, earning two of them on a third-inning home run. Jhaelah Schultz and Kiara Hodges tallied Kayhi’s pair of RBI. The Kings struck first in the top of the first inning. Jenkins Hayes gave up a single to Kayhi’s Breanna Gentry and walked Grace Clarke, allowing Schultz to open scoring on a hard ground ball double to right field, bringing Gentry home. The Falcons responded in the bottom of the second when Peyton Harp doubled on a line drive to … [Read more...] about Region V softball tourney: Falcons advance, Crimson Bears drops game to Sitka
Border walls aim to keep out migrants, but also threaten bears, deer, other wildlife
Kim Hjelmgaard USA TODAY Published 10:33 p.m. UTC May 24, 2018 ZAGREB, Croatia — Eastern European countries have built hundreds of miles of border fences to clamp down on migrants from the Middle East and North Africa, but scientists say these barriers pose a threat to the region's wildlife. Especially vulnerable are migrating bear, deer, lynx and wolf populations. The majority of brown bears in Europe spend their lives ranging across as many as nine nations, according to Djuro Huber, a biologist at the University of Zagreb in Croatia. Only three out of 10 of the brown bears will stay in just one country. "We have a lot of data that shows that bears that used to cross back and forth between Croatia and Slovenia just aren't doing that now because of the barriers," Huber said. More: Trump isn't the only one who wants to build a wall. These European nations already did More: From 7 to 77: There's been an explosion in building border walls … [Read more...] about Border walls aim to keep out migrants, but also threaten bears, deer, other wildlife
Region V softball tourney: Falcons advance, Crimson Bears drop four-run lead to Sitka
No. 1 seed TMHS starts title push with wide-margin win Spectators have grown to expect wide-margin wins from this year’s Thunder Mountain High School softball team. And that’s just what the Falcons delivered in the opening game of the Region V softball tournament at Dudley Field in Ketchikan. TMHS won 7-2, leading Ketchikan since the bottom of the second inning. Junior pitcher Kyra Jenkins Hayes commanded play from both the mound and the plate, pitching a complete game with six strikeouts while notching a game-high three RBI, earning two of them on a third-inning home run. Jhaelah Schultz and Kiara Hodges tallied Kayhi’s pair of RBI. The Kings struck first in the top of the first inning. Jenkins Hayes gave up a single to Kayhi’s Breanna Gentry and walked Grace Clarke, allowing Schultz to open scoring on a hard ground ball doubleto right field, bringing Gentry home. The Falcons responded in the bottom of the second when Peyton Harp doubled on a line drive to … [Read more...] about Region V softball tourney: Falcons advance, Crimson Bears drop four-run lead to Sitka