From keep and bear arms

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MD: Man shoots bear in self-defense
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Maryland Natural Resources Police said Friday they will not charge an Amish Road man who shot a bear after it charged him and his wife and then attempted to come through a window after the couple sought refuge inside their home Wednesday evening."

"'They had every right to do what they did,' said Clarissa Harris, a biologist with the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service. 'It is appropriate to defend yourself or your family or your livestock.'" ...

"The bear then attempted to pull an air conditioning unit out of the window frame as the wife held onto the unit from inside."

"The husband grabbed a shotgun, loaded it with No. 4 pellets and shot through the window at the bear, according to Turner."

Any chance this bear was tested for rabies? Sounds a bit unusual to me, especially the air cond. tug-o-war. Didn't realize the MD summer was that hot this year.

We have a number of "home invasion" bears every year here in NY. Unfortunately, most of them are the result of becoming too accustomed to humans because they are either feeding them directly, through bird feeders, compost piles, garbage, pet foods left outside or barbeque grills with food left on them. Once they lose the fear of humans and houses, they quickly learn how to find the kitchen. This only reinforces the positive aspects of home invasions and ultimately a bear-human interaction results, usually with the bear losing out.

I heard of one recently that is likely to go 500-600 lbs. - really likes breaaking in to houses. Unfortunately, it looks like a homeowner or the conservation officers will probably be forced to shoot it before a hunter gets a crack at it this season.

It so happens that this bear did test positive for rabies. This particular incident personally involved me as our state health lab was involved in the testing of this bear. To my knowledge, this is the first bear that the state has tested for rabies in my 24 year career. The local paper's version of the story can be read here:

http://www.times-news.com/archivesearch/local_story_247103843.html

A rabid bear is the stuff nightmares are made of. Good on the guy for putting an end to that bear before it did anyone any harm.