Utah Boy Killed in Bear Attack

Where were the parents. Why didn't they run to thier child. I feel for them but, a bit on the coward side if you ask me. What were they doing?

To the person who posted dumb parents, are you insane? First of all they were asleep and woke up to their son screaming and being dragged away. I'm sure by the time they could even get up and out of the tent their son was long gone. I can't imagine their horror as they tried to figure out what was happening, which way he had been taken, and it was dark. Shame on you, your lack of empathy is sicking. I feel for this family and can not imagine what they are going through.

I agree with Jamie. Person who posted 'Dumb Parents' IS insane. If your child was attacked, ripped up and eaten by a hungry Black Bear... what would you do! Imagine the parents. All the gossip that is going around about them. The truth is that they are just parents and they care for their children and really do regret that moment that they lost their son.

Poor bear! Shot and killed. We humans have no consideration for wildlife anymore.

Bison Souvlaki wrote:

Poor bear! Shot and killed. We humans have no consideration for wildlife anymore.

You're an idiot! You have no idea. Go ahead and just sit there in your stupid cubicle at work and feel sorry for the "poor bear" while the rest of us have to deal with these animals. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS LIKE TO HAVE YOUR FAMILY THREATENED BY AN ANIMAL THAT IS NOT AFRAID OF HUMANS. I personally have a friend who could not go into his backyard due to a pack of wolves in his backyard. He had to pack a gun in order to feed his livestock. Finally the Fish and Game had to come and kill the pack due to them not leaving. You know, I've never seen a 20 foot crocodile in my life. I'd love to see one in your backyard chasing your wife and kids while I feel sorry for the poor hungry crocodile. Get a clue!

I can't stop thinking about Sam's last minutes. My productivity at work and at home has nearly halted. I cry everytime I think about it and I don't even know Sam. My god, to be the mother. God bless you woman. You have my deepest empathy and my prayers for peace of mind.

Re. comments about dumb parents and poor bear, these individuals seem to have no mores' or acceptable social or ethical standards. These parents live with the fact their child was viciously murdered by an animal.
Why didn't they run after the child? From all accounts, it was pitch dark and according to a website about black bears I was just on, these creatures can run over 30 miles an hour. There is, most likly, no way the father could ever have caught up with the bear.
Yes, I do pity the animals out there foraging for food, but people's lives always come first before animals. Would anyone say poor animal if their own child was viciously taken? Just being a mother, or even just another human being, I've lost sleep thinking about Sam's last moments.
I pray for his parents (and for Sam) because this horror will NEVER go away and will haunt them and their family the rest of their days here on earth. May God bless them and be merciful - forever and ever - Amen.

"Viciously murdered by an animal?"

The bear did not "murder" the boy. You are trying to apply human morals to a wild animal. When an animal attacks a human it is always doing one of two things: Procuring an easy meal (a little boy is a much easier prey item to catch than a deer or rabbit), or eliminating a percieved threat. Nothing more, nothing less. Humans are the only animals capable of cold blooded murder...all other animals do it for survival.

I feel for the family. Believe me, I do. But demonizing wild animals, who only come into contact with humans because WE expand into their homes is asinine. With continual human expansion into wilderness areas, we are forcing wild animals to DEAL WITH US. Expecting them to obey our "rules" is simply stupid.

I live in the middle of the desert in New Mexico. I also do venomous snake removal (as a purely volunteer service, no money). I have to say, I'm sick of people who choose to move into the desert, and then complain about the scorpions, centipedes, snakes, and other "creepy crawlies" they find in their house and yard. Or bitch and moan when their cat gets eaten by a coyote because they, the pet owner, chose to let their cat run free IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT. Perhaps those people should go move back to the concrete jungles of L.A. or New York, where there are no scorpions or snakes to worry about, only drug dealers, gangs, rapists, and murderers.

Again, my sympathies are with the family. It is always tragic when something like this occurs. But demonizing the animals is not the answer.

I forgot mention this in my previous message, but as a closing to the above message, I would like to state the obvious: Humans, are by far, the most dangerous and deadly animals on this planet. We not only kill more of every other animal on this planet, we also kill more humans than any other animal does. That should put things into perspective.

Good Job Snakeman!

The most awesome display of power in the world is the snake. While on safari once in Botswana we spied a Cape Cobra. Magnificent.

Then the most magnificent, the Black Mamba in Etosha Park, Namibia. Talk about a chill. I've seen you snake wranglers in action and you have a steel nerve.

Snakeman wrote:

"Viciously murdered by an animal?"
The bear did not "murder" the boy. You are trying to apply human morals to a wild animal. When an animal attacks a human it is always doing one of two things: Procuring an easy meal (a little boy is a much easier prey item to catch than a deer or rabbit), or eliminating a percieved threat. Nothing more, nothing less. Humans are the only animals capable of cold blooded murder...all other animals do it for survival.
I feel for the family. Believe me, I do. But demonizing wild animals, who only come into contact with humans because WE expand into their homes is asinine. With continual human expansion into wilderness areas, we are forcing wild animals to DEAL WITH US. Expecting them to obey our "rules" is simply stupid.
I live in the middle of the desert in New Mexico. I also do venomous snake removal (as a purely volunteer service, no money). I have to say, I'm sick of people who choose to move into the desert, and then complain about the scorpions, centipedes, snakes, and other "creepy crawlies" they find in their house and yard. Or bitch and moan when their cat gets eaten by a coyote because they, the pet owner, chose to let their cat run free IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT. Perhaps those people should go move back to the concrete jungles of L.A. or New York, where there are no scorpions or snakes to worry about, only drug dealers, gangs, rapists, and murderers.
Again, my sympathies are with the family. It is always tragic when something like this occurs. But demonizing the animals is not the answer.

Well said!

ABQ NM mother of five wrote:

I can't stop thinking about Sam's last minutes. My productivity at work and at home has nearly halted. I cry everytime I think about it and I don't even know Sam. My god, to be the mother. God bless you woman. You have my deepest empathy and my prayers for peace of mind.

I myself do not know Sam, but he has touched my heart and i think about him all the time, i can't get him off my mind.I have been crying ever since. Send his Family a card and you will feel just alittle better. Take Care

Belinda wrote:

<quoted text>
I myself do not know Sam, but he has touched my heart and i think about him all the time, i can't get him off my mind.I have been crying ever since. Send his Family a card and you will feel just alittle better. Take Care

I wonder if you feel the same way about Milke, a young child in Sierra Leone who had her feet and hands cut off by the RUF? Yes, you are right, that cruel bear is worse than the human carnage and genocide that has occurred in recent times in Africa.

I can't begin to imagine the horror of that night. It is dark no moon the tree's a close and the wind is blowing slightly. All is still but then you wake to hear the piercing terrified screams of your son as he is being dragged away and you are waking from a sound deep sleep in a strange place, in a strange setting. You have yourself and your spouse and perhaps other children to protech. What do you do? All the sudden no more screams! No more sound, Well, poor bear & dumb parent what would you do? THAT"S RIGHT DUMMIES! You don't have a clue what you would do because you were not there and it didn't happen to you. You wern't frozen with fear and panic as a bear tore your son our of his sleeping tent to devoure him. No it wasn't the bears fault, he was doing what hungry bears do. But that doesn't really make the family feel any less pain or regret. They have suffered a terrible loss, in a terrible way, that is going to leave terrible scars, both inside and out. Could it have been prevented? Maybe, but Maybe not? Who knows? We need to examine our pocedures to make sure they are as safe as they can be but the most important thing we need to do is support and love this family which needs large amounts of possitive energy so that they can heal. Don't remember how Sam died - REMEMBER HOW SAM LIVED!

"I can't begin to imagine the horror of that night."

Yes, imagine those poor Tutsi's killed by the Hutu's in Rwanda. It's makes you sick, right?

Don't defend the bear. If we attacked it's cubs you don't think it would be pissed off. The bear deserved to die for it's actions. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family. To you Mother and Father, do not pass guilt on yourself. This was something completely out of the norm. You would be no match for an animal of that size had you tried to do something. Remember the good times with your son and know that he is in a good place now.

Snakeman wrote:

"Viciously murdered by an animal?"
The bear did not "murder" the boy. You are trying to apply human morals to a wild animal. When an animal attacks a human it is always doing one of two things: Procuring an easy meal (a little boy is a much easier prey item to catch than a deer or rabbit), or eliminating a percieved threat. Nothing more, nothing less. Humans are the only animals capable of cold blooded murder...all other animals do it for survival.
I feel for the family. Believe me, I do. But demonizing wild animals, who only come into contact with humans because WE expand into their homes is asinine. With continual human expansion into wilderness areas, we are forcing wild animals to DEAL WITH US. Expecting them to obey our "rules" is simply stupid.
I live in the middle of the desert in New Mexico. I also do venomous snake removal (as a purely volunteer service, no money). I have to say, I'm sick of people who choose to move into the desert, and then complain about the scorpions, centipedes, snakes, and other "creepy crawlies" they find in their house and yard. Or bitch and moan when their cat gets eaten by a coyote because they, the pet owner, chose to let their cat run free IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT. Perhaps those people should go move back to the concrete jungles of L.A. or New York, where there are no scorpions or snakes to worry about, only drug dealers, gangs, rapists, and murderers.
Again, my sympathies are with the family. It is always tragic when something like this occurs. But demonizing the animals is not the answer.

You are a Jack ass! Do us all a favor and do not pro-create.

dumb parents wrote:

Where were the parents. Why didn't they run to thier child. I feel for them but, a bit on the coward side if you ask me. What were they doing?

I wonder what the Jews thought during the Shoah?

I agree with so many of you here. What an awful thing to happen to a child, to anyone, and there is no way anyone can say what the parents should or should not have done. Realistically unless you have some kind of combat or survival training who would not panic and confused in that situation. Also, I understand and agree that this bear needed to be put down to prevent such an unexpected attack from happening again. But, when we leave our towns and cities and enter the wilderness we have to understand we also leave behind some of the rules of conduct we are used to ( not that all humans live by these!). We can't expect animals to behave like people. Things in the wild are, well, WILD. Animals need to kill thier food themselves it's not available to them wrapped up neatly in the grocery store. Although it's rare in most of the places we hike and camp in the US when we enter the wilderness we risk becoming part of the food chain.
This was an awful thing and I can only hope that once that bear had the boy into the woods that she killed him quickly before the shock cleared enough for him to realize what was going to happen.

Lets hope the poor bear did not suffer as it felt the sting of the bullet enter into it's body, and it took in it's last glimpse of sunlight into it it big brown eyes.

Poor Bear!