Massachusetts
Bear encounters in Massachusetts: what to expect and how to survive
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – Following the South Hadley man who was attacked by a bear in Wyoming, we spoke with bear biologists who told us mother grizzly bears are the most dangerous bears, and luckily here in western Mass we only see black bears. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use caution when going into the woods, no matter what state you’re in.
Some honeymooners opt for a beach vacation, others a European tour, but South Hadley resident Shayne Patrick Burke and his new wife Chloe opted to ring in their marriage with a little nature, and it seems they may have gotten a larger taste of wildlife than they signed up for. During their honeymoon hike, the couple split up and while apart, Shayne was trying to find a particular owl, but what he found was much grislier.
“I was moving. I was just like, just watching my GPS,” Shayne recalled.
When he looked up, he was face to face with a grizzly cub and the mama bear was not far behind.
“She went towards my head, but I kept my hands interlocked like this and just like, protected my arteries and my neck. She bit down and got my left wrist and my right hand. I heard a pop, and at that point in my head I was like, all right, she’s, she’s in my skull.
It turns out it wasn’t his skull but instead a can of bear spray. After a taste of that, the mama bear ran off.”
Western Mass News spoke with bear biologist and founder of Kilham Bear Center in New Hampshire Ben Kilham. He told us this was a case of wrong place at the wrong time.
“He did what he could. They say if a bear attacks, and that one did, with a grizzly bear lay down and cover your neck.”
According to Kilham, mama grizzlies are the most dangerous type of bear there is, and luckily there are no grizzlies anywhere near us here in western Mass or across New England, but we do have black bears. Kilham said large males are the type you want to look out for, but more often than not, they’ll give you a warning called a bluff charge, and that’s why Kilham said it’s very important to understand how bears communicate before stepping into the forest.
“They signal everything that they are up to and they have to because they interact with other bears as strangers so they signal their intention and responded they are quite honestly very easy to read if you have that knowledge.”
While grizzly bear attacks happen several times a year, black bear biologist Dave Wattles told us it is very unlikely to be attacked by a black bear.
“It’s important to know the difference between the temperament and the nature of a black bear and a grizzly bear. A grizzly bear is a much larger, much more inherently much more aggressive animal than the black bear.”
In fact Wattles told us we’re very fortunate here in Massachusetts that we have never had someone seriously injured by a black bear but it is still a possibility. Which is why MassWildlife urges the public not to keep any unsecure food in your yard such as bird feeders, trash or even chickens.
Now, if you do come in contact with a bear, it’s important to talk slowly and stand your ground and never run. If you see the bear before it sees you, keep your distance, make noise so you don’t startle them and back away slowly. As for Burke, Shayne only spent a single night in the hospital, though his recovery will last for months.
Copyright 2024. Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.
We’re still on the good side of the forecast today. We’ll see a good supply of sun to start, then the clouds will increase and a few showers will sink down from the north in the afternoon. We still manage to make it near 70. (Yay.)
Tomorrow’s high temperatures, however, comes after midnight tonight — before falling toward Saturday morning. If you think that’s confusing, try explaining the snow that’ll be flying in the higher elevations across New England (with solid accumulation above 4k feet).
Yes, the weather is upside down for late May.
We can blame an intense, compact upper-level pool of cold air that broke loose from a larger pool near the Arctic Circle days ago.
The pattern across North America has dropped it in our laps for a day, with cold, rainy, windy consequences.
Rain, wind and… snow?
This will be a sneaky storm. Early on, there might even be a calm, bright sky (very) early Saturday morning. Then the clouds move in and the wind intensifies from the northeast. Gust will briefly peak at 50+ along the coast (40+ inland).
Rain will mix with snow in northern New England, and perhaps in the highest elevations of southern New Hampshire and central Massachusetts.
This also depends on the intensity of the precipitation. Heavier bursts of rain can drag down colder air aloft, helping the snowflakes make it from cloud base to your home place (if you live above 1k feet).
Ironically, we’re not expecting a deluge from this storm. Most spots keep near a half inch, with higher amounts near an inch in northeast Mass./southern NH.
And then just like that, it’s over. The storm pulls away Saturday evening, the skies clear and we’re back to sun Sunday. Highs recover to near 70 with the slightest chance for a shower late day.
Better chances – and cooler temps – come both Monday and Tuesday.
Will summer ever take hold? We know from past years that June can really struggle. It appears that the start of the month may not live up to expectations. Although we are at least climbing back to the 80s late next week.
Have a good weekend.
The head of the Massachusetts State Police can’t be sued for an alleged program that secretly recorded officers’ phone conversations with civilians and used them to bring criminal charges, the First Circuit said Thursday.
A group of Massachusetts residents filed a putative class against against Superintendent Geoffrey Noble, as well as Motorola and other companies, over the secret recordings, which were used to propose criminal charges in at least 181 cases without prosecutors’ knowledge, the three judge panel said.
The opinion by Circuit Judge Seth Aframe said the residents, led by Jason Courtemanche, failed to show how they’d be directly …
Massachusetts families are spending 8% of their monthly income on health care, according to a new study. That puts the Bay State toward the higher end of the scale, coming in at No. 12 in the country.
The analysis from personal finance website WalletHub examined where people are spending the most and the least on health care.
Alaska was No. 1 in the U.S., spending over 10% of their income on health care. On the other end of the scale, Utah residents spend 5% of their income on health care.
“Sharp increases in health care costs in recent years have made it difficult for some people to seek essential care,” WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said. “Even in states with lower-than-average health care prices, residents’ incomes may not be enough to keep up with the cost, especially since virtually every part of Americans’ budgets have been impacted by inflation over the past few years.”
To determine how much families are spending, WalletHub analyzed the prices of five key health care components across all 50 states, then combined those costs and compared them with each state’s median household income.
Read more: 1 MA Town Among 250 Best Places To Live In US News Ranking
Massachusetts spends the most on health care compared to other states in the region, according to the study. Vermont is the next-highest state in the Northeast, ranking at No. 14 with residents spending 7.98% of their income on health care.
Here are the top 10 states where people are spending the most on health care:
- Alaska
- Oregon
- Maine
- Mississippi
- West Virginia
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Montana
- South Dakota
- Louisiana
Check out the full study at WalletHub.
-
New Hampshire6 minutes agoRFK Jr. visits NH to unveil new federal actions to fight Lyme disease
-
New Jersey9 minutes agoMercer County, N.J. enacts new policies to limit ICE arrest activity
-
New Mexico16 minutes agoVirgin Galactic partners with nonprofit for menstruation research in space
-
North Carolina24 minutes agoFamilies in Durham say they’re barely getting by; New report says Americans are saving less
-
North Dakota30 minutes agoPublic asked to weigh in on technology use in North Dakota schools
-
Ohio36 minutes agoI-TEAM: FBI searches multiple Stansley Mining properties in NW Ohio
-
Oklahoma42 minutes agoPresident Donald Trump endorses an Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate
-
Oregon48 minutes agoOregon childhood vaccination rates fall to record low as exemptions reach new high
