quote:The 15-year-old American boy was woken up by a 400-pound bear that had entered the campsite for emotionally-troubled youths.
When the boy tried to leave his tent, the bear bit him on the arm, Alaska policeman Adam Benson told the Associated Press news agency.
According to Mr Benson, the boy then decided to fight back.
He delivered several punches to the bear, using his uninjured arm. But when he attempted to flee the animal for the second time, it bit him again, now leaving puncture wounds below the ribs.
Once again, the boy attacked the bear with his fists.
Momentarily punch-drunk, the beast relinquished its hold.
The boy swiftly made his exit, pursued by the bear.
It's not just mammals who better start watching who they're picking on:
quote:DELTONA, Fla. -- An alligator dragged a 12-year-old swimmer underwater in a lake, but the boy punched the reptile and swam safely to shore.
Malcolm Locke was treated for cuts and scrapes that were not considered life threatening.
He was bit while swimming Wednesday in Lake Diana, near his grandmother's house just north of Orlando.
He saw the alligator's tail first, he said. "It was coming right at me," he told NBC's "Today" show Thursday.
Malcolm, who is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, tried to swim away, but the alligator, which was 4 to 6 feet long, attacked his head and pulled him under water, officials said.
"It took a bite out of my head and a big chunk out of my ear," Malcolm said.
He punched the alligator, and "it just squirmed away," he said. He swam to shore, and a neighbor drove him to a hospital.
Anyone who thinks America's kids are getting soft better not try to pick a fight with one.
posted
The BBC article omits the other side of the story. The boy was part of one of those "at-risk" programs. Fine, some people's childhoods suck, it's good if they can get away from it all. Anyway, he was told repeatedly about the dangers bears pose in the Alaskan wilderness, but nevertheless snuck food into his tent and left it lying open during the night. Balls or no, his brains are right up there with the NY woman.
And so, of course, they track down and kill the bear. Darwin would not be proud Posts: 1839 | Registered: May 1999
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quote:Anyway, he was told repeatedly about the dangers bears pose in the Alaskan wilderness, but nevertheless snuck food into his tent and left it lying open during the night.
I'll half-agree with you, because this isn't exactly how it went down. Stupid kid, but the counselors are paid to be smarter - they weren't.
Here's a bit from the Seattle Times:
quote:Benson said the counselors the evening before had checked on the campers to make sure there was no food left out to attract bears.
The boy had some Rice-A-Roni he wanted to keep.
"He said, 'No, don't take this. I'm going to eat this in a little while.' Apparently he fell asleep before he got it done. There was some food left at the foot of his tent," Benson said.
Rice-A-Roni??? That means it's wet, smelly, sticks to whatever container it's in, right?
Even if the kid had finished the stuff, whatever he was eating it out of would have smelled strongly of Rice-A-Roni.
So yeah, the kid deserves some blame, but the counselors really deserve to be raked over the coals - this was just the kind of bad situation they are paid to prevent.
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Oh definitely. I'm no fan of the lawsuit culture, but had the kid gotten seriously injured, I'd be completely behind a legal reaming of those counselors. (Not quite gene-pool-chlorine, but the best our society seems to offer ATM.)
Posts: 1839 | Registered: May 1999
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Forget mace spray! Instead, be prepared by carrying the all new self defence tool - a 12 year old child!
Might get a bit cumbersome, but then safety from bear and alligator attacks can never come at too high a price.
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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