NEW VINEYARD – A three-legged bear reported by our readers to be raiding bird feeders and trash cans in several Franklin County towns, was shot and killed by a farmer last night in New Vineyard.
According to Game Warden Jonathan Parker of the Maine Warden Service, at dusk on Monday evening the farmer saw the bear approach and was threatening to get into the pen of pigs. After hollering for the bear to get away and fearing for his livestock, he shot and killed the bear. The farmer then called the Warden Service to report his dispatch of the bear.
The bear was easily recognizable because it had three legs, an ear tag and a large radio collar to track its whereabouts.
Parker, as well as other wardens were very familiar with the three-legged bear after receiving several complaints of it tearing down bird feeders, getting into garbage and going nose-to-nose with pet dogs on porches. Reported recent sightings were in the towns of Weld, Carthage, Strong, Avon and New Vineyard.
“There was a lot of concern,” Parker said of the three-legged bear. After investigating at the scene and knowing the nuisance background of this particular bear, Parker said the farmer was justified in dispatching the bear.
So-called “nuisance bears” associate where people live with food found at bird feeders and trash cans and that “becomes a huge public safety risk,” he said.
Parker said the three-legged bear came from New Hampshire because it was wearing a blue ear tag. Maine’s ear tags are green. Ear tags can indicate a bear that has a nuisance past. Multiple ear tags indicate multiple instances of coming too close too often with people’s residences, pets or livestock.
The Fish & Game Department in New Hampshire has been putting radio collars on the bears they tag that are considered a nuisance in order to track them. Parker noted one such bear they tracked traveled hundreds of miles through New Hampshire, Maine and Canada. With all that travel, it was bound to encounter many residences whose owners may not be careful about how they store their food, waste, or their birds’ food. The bear becomes programed to look for human habitation.
Ideally, no bear would ever have to be killed for threatening public safety, Parker said. Instead, either removing available food sources, such as bird feeders and trash or deterring bears from raiding a beekeeper’s hives by installing electric fencing, would eliminate much of the problem. Without people inadvertently supplying food, bears would return to foraging for food in the wild, Parker said.
“This was really a worse-case scenario: the bear was a risk to a big investment on the landowner’s part. He had already spent thousands on raising his pigs to feed his family and others,” Parker said and added, “This is not the outcome we like to see; we want to protect wildlife.”
View another photo of the bear posted last week here.
One of the crazier bear stories I have ever heard about. That seems like a lot of miles for a three-legged bear. No wonder the bear was so hungry. Nice work David for being vigilant and ending that threat!
Why didn’t they try to trap him and moved him to another location, he didn’t need to shoot it.
What!?! The bear was threatening to kill livestock, right then. When would the farmer have had time to go rig a trap or wait for the Wardens to arrive? Absolutely a good move on the farmers part, glad he got it before it got his livestock!
The bear only had one front leg. I doubt it would have been able to do too much damage, and it was looking for food. Some people worked hard to tag and follow this bear. What a tragedy that someone killed this beautiful creature for being hungry. The situation could have been handled differently.
Love the thought Wilton Resident… we could have provided housing, food stamps, and free veterinarian care. With all those benefits we would need to allow the bear the right to vote. Forget the fact that the bear is illiterate and cannot speak English… it could vote absentee and someone would no doubt help in the ballot selections. After all this is the ‘American Way’.
thanks for ending the threat, bears like that can be very dangerous.
Here we go!
A whole group will pile on the farmer because he didn’t waste half of his day chasing the darn thing around and trying to trap it and help it.
It’s a bear. It’s not a human. The bear was threatening his animals and his living. It would have eventually threatened a person. He did the right thing by shooting it. Farmers, as well as other landowners, kill animals that are preying on their stock and their crops every day.
I hope he got to keep the meat or sent it to a shelter or somewhere that it will get used by someone that needs it.
Shoot Him, Put Him out of his misery ! I just didn’t realize a Bear traveled so far. A three legged Bear at that!
I wonder what the purpose of the tracking collar was. This article makes it sound like those tracking the bear were aware of his nuisance and therefore potentially dangerous behavior. Perhaps he should have been sent to the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray? He would no longer be a nuisance and a threat, and at the same time would be out of danger of being shot.
I really don’t think that a three-legged black bear, which subsists on primarily vegetation and insects, was a real threat to a bunch of pigs. For all we know it could’ve been after any scraps still in the pen. This whole situation should’ve been handled better with this bear being captured and dealt with weeks ago when the complaints started coming in.
Cue the hippy that doesn’t want the bear harmed. I’d love to hear what they’d say if it came next to one of their young children.
“Shoot it! Shoot it!”
To: Anonymous … EXACTLY correct. I have no doubt that the bear was after food scraps and not after the flesh and blood of pigs. How ridiculous, but then that is the mentality of many people around here when it comes to animals…..KILL IT. If farm animals are valued, then shelter them appropriately with proper fencing. Shame on the people of this area for ending the bear’s life after it has traveled through so many other areas. I agree that this should have been dealt with sooner, before it happened upon the wrong person. Relocating the bear to a safe haven such as the Maine Wildlife Park would have been a good option. I realize that we all have our own opinions on things, and I respect everyone’s, so thank you for hearing mine. But I personally feel that the beauty of wildlife belongs to everyone, and they do not recognize land borders. That is why there are regulated hunting seasons set up for certain species.
I would say somebody already did trap it and move it to a different location..Hence the out of state eartag. Good that the farmer got him. Could be someones child he went after instead of pigs
What if a child had startled the bear and the bear attacked. This is not Winnie the pooh people this is a real bear. One less leg does not make it less dangerous.
The bear belonged in Gray at the animal farm.
That said, bears – even black bears – are not sweet cuddly Disney characters. They are quite capable of mayhem. But, they should not be hunted or trapped for “sport.” People thus inclined might be better employed riding shotgun on a convoy through the Khyber Pass.
On the whole, it’s too bad this bear was killed – he might have made a good governor.
That’s true Anonymous. Apparently, the Maine Warden Service is more concerned with ambushing people in the woods who are fishing LEGALLY, or more concerned with who’s ATV is unregistered. It’s all about generating money. Let’s face it, this would’ve cost them time and money. As far as shooting the bear, anyone else would be fined up the ying-yang for pulling this stunt!!!
I’m with Dan M…
I agree, it was getting too aggressive and had to be killed. Too bad though, it should have been taken care of by the warden service last week. The Gray Wildlife Park would have been a good place for it. Now I have to tell my granddaughter who was here that morning to see the bear that it has been killed.
So, anonymouse, why didn’t you go capture it and deal with it then? Not your job, right? Not anyone else’s either. The farmer did his job, now there is no longer a problem.
To Anonymous who posted at 8pm last night….I think you need to “google” Maine Black Bear, they are omnivours which means they eat meat as well as vegetation and pig is one of their favorite foods. I suggest that the next time you see a black bear that you offer him a salad and see if he prefers that over eating you.
The farmer did the right thing in my opinion. New Hampishere game wardens should have done something instead of letting the three legged bear wander all over with only three legs. I am glad the farmer killed it before it attacked and killed his pigs or maybe even a human being. Good job well done.
Where is the uproar every year when bear hunters starve dogs then have them chase a bear up a tree so an out of stater can have the thrill of the kill? That is inhumane; much different than a farmer protecting his livestock. Patti, get in the ring with a 3 legged bear and see if he could do any damage!
@everyone who thinks it was wrong to kill the bear
Put yourself in that position, if the pigs you have worked hard to raise, and are properly contained, are being threatened by a bear then what would you do? It was his farm, his place of work. It is easy for us to say we would have done something us, since we were not the ones having to deal with the bear. It would have been nice to take the steps necessary to restraining the bear and having it placed back in the wild, but the farmer had to make a snap decision. And I am fine with it.
@Patti
If you read the article carefully you would see that the farmer had the pigs in a pen.
The pen is meant to keep the pigs in, not keep bears out.
I’m the farmers father in law. The bear had just left my porch, actually had been looking in the front door I guess wanting to share the pizza that was in the oven. The dog chased it next door where the bear, with only one good arm, commenced to rip the bird feeders out of an apple tree (with his good arm) – not a problem for him whatsoever. I followed him over, was 15 feet away watching the whole thing and he could have cared less. The bear then went over to Dave’s, three of us were standing by the pig pen, and here comes the bear, absolutely no fear. I have been around the woods and wild animals all my life and I will tell you this was potentially big trouble. Forget about the pigs for a minute, this is a domesticated hungry black bear roaming around neighborhoods where children are playing in yards etc. I will tell you that if a child had been in someone’s yard eating a donut or whatever, I have no doubt that this bear would go after the donut. And if someone’s child or grandchild had been hurt or killed because Dave had been irresponsible and let it go, how would the posts read then, and how would Dave live with that, or any of the rest of us that had an opportunity to deal with this but didn’t. I agree that this bear should have been in an animal park and never let loose to begin with, but that didn’t happen, and in this case a quick assessment and decision had to be made and Dave made it. Frankly I’m glad he is the one watching out for my daughter and granddaughter. With all due respect some of these posts are simply made out of sheer ignorance.
As a farmer here in Farmington I know the laws regarding animals worrying livestock. What should the guy have done, waited until the beer took a swipe at his pigs before shooting it? We don’t have to according to the laws.
We have a neighbor over in yuppiedom that is scared to death of deer, but didn’t want anyone to harm it. Now that is a little different and the woman is just as stupid as those of you here that think the animal should have been captured.
We had a bear attacking the fence lines to get at our goats a few years back and luckily had three Great Pyrenees in with the goats that scared it off. But not until the dogs took some pretty big chunks out of the bear.
You do realize bears are wild animals and very vicious when they want to be. To them it is fun to kill, a game and nothing more. Should we wait until it kills a few dozen goats or pigs or whatever livestock we have before shooting them?
You city folk have no idea about the wild animals.
I agree that he did the right thing, They have a young child. The bear walked right by the swingset and towards the three men who were standing right there! If the bear is brave enough to walk toward them, I would be afraid of letting my child outside…These are wild animals people, why would you want to put in a zoo? I think that is worse than killing it!
The farmer did the right thing. In other words, he did what he HAD to do. Do I wish that the bear hadn’t met such an end? Of course! I wish he’d been captured and “re-homed” soon after the first complaints/sightings were made.
People who don’t farm (most people) and/or who aren’t aware of how their food is raised will in most cases side with the “poor” bear. The reaction is almost the same as if the story had been about a poor abandoned three-legged dog or cat who was just scavenging for food. Before I even read the original article about this bear, a family friend spotted him on the Carthage/Weld town line last week. My first thought was for my mother-in-law’s sheep in Carthage who were ready to start lambing. They are fenced into their pasture but the fence is not designed to keep bears and coyotes out.
When we raise livestock, we always have to deal with predators regardless of how well we have secured our animals. I have 100 free ranging chickens and ducks and I also raise pigs seasonally and I have a cow who is about to calve any day. When a calf is born or when I first get my piglets, I always worry about these baby animals against predators like bears, coyotes, and bobcats. I pour my heart and soul into raising my animals, not to mention a lot of money. When they are threatened, I must defend them. It’s part of the contract I have with them.
When a beautiful mink slaughtered 20 of my chickens in one fell swoop, I wanted him dead . I had just raised these birds for 5 months and they had just started to lay their first eggs. My husband shot him when the mink came back for my ducks. When a fox took 24 chickens and 12 ducks over a period of 5 weeks, I wanted him dead. The fox and I made eye contact several times over these weeks because he always came around between 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.. He was a magnifcent creature. I thought that every time I saw him, even when he had a chicken in his mouth. I was never able to get him but he suddenly stopped coming so I assumed someone else did. When a juvenile eagle was feasting on my chickens on a daily basis, I wanted him to GO AWAY (because you can’t shoot an eagle or even think about it). I had to pen up all my free ranging poultry in an area that was covered from above so as to restrict the eagle’s food source with the hopes that he would move on. It took three weeks (of pure misery for my chickens and ducks) but he finally decided to find a new territory.
It’s sad that this bear had to be shot because he was only being a bear. And the farmer was just being a good farmer. He must defend his livestock before they become deadstock.
Ha, ha!! This is all such great entertainment! Silly, but great! Being a born and raised Mainer I can’t imagine people being so ignorant that they don’t recognize the bear was the one in the wrong and farmer simply did what needed to be done. Bears are naturally born killers and this was a particularly dangerous situation that in this Mainer’s opinion, called for, and received, appropriate action.
Hmm – I thought bears ate leaves, flowers, grass, berries, roots, fruits,nuts, grubs & HONEY – pigs?
Yep, they do eat pigs. My feeling, as I’ve said before, is that we should not encourage unwanted bear activity by leaving garbage cans out and bird feeders filled in warm weather. The bear had been habituated to coming around to residences and I think we have to take some responsibility for that as the warden said. I would have liked to have seen this resolved before the bear had to be dispatched by the farmer. I’m sure wildlife officials in NH would have said “good-bye” to this bear without shedding a tear had it been trapped and relocated to the Maine Wildlife Park. It’s just too bad it came to that is all. If it was truly going to destroy livestock…the farmer was in the right even though I hate it.
A few things. Logging camps around here used to raise their own pigs. Occasionally a bear would get an appetite for pork. I have talked to people who were involved in this. The bear would lug the pig off and come back again until he got them all. Generally that bear ended up shot or trapped. This bear made it from Carthage to New Vineyard in a few days with a lot of stops in between. Even if the warden set a live trap where the bear was last seen, it might have already moved on from there. Also bears tend to catch on to the whole trap set up and this one had been trapped before, so there is no guarantee he was going to get trapped again. Gray animal park? I suspect they have a few bears down there and do not have room or resources enough to become the repository for every bear that decides they want to tip over a barbecue grill in Maine or New Hampshire. The owner of the pigs had to make a decision and I believe it was the right one under the set of circumstances he faced. A bear that was that unconcerned by dogs and people is potentially dangerous. Despite the loss of one limb, he proved fairly resourceful. It’s unfortunate but just a fact that humans and wildlife come into conflict sometimes and when there is property and public safety involved the outcome is not always happy for everyone.
not one of you mentioned anything about the bear in the Weld/ Carthage area that killed a 5 year old girll[not right away] and almost killed her mother a little over 100 years ago!!!!!!!!!
I know pig farmers that have lost pigs to bears, also this time of year bears are getting fawns, so they do eat meat. This farmer did what he needed to do and the right thing. I do think that the bear should have been trapped and relocated awhile ago but it didn’t happen. I would like to see when they release a bear that they re-educate the bear to fear humans.
it is unfortunate when any animal life is taken. but it had to be done. that’s just how the world works.
I had a close encounter with a bear a few years ago, and believe me nobody wants to experience that! If they start coming around humans they need to be dealt with. I say he was well justified in shooting the animal, and thank him for taking care of the problem.
Interesting to follow if nothing else. What strikes me is that some people are quick to condemn the farmer withour knowing the whole story, That for filling us in on that Herman. I for one assumed the killing was justified, as wanton killing cannot be that common, can it?
Any wild animal that has associated humans with food has become dangerous, and unfortunatly just relocating them likely makes them someone elses program. Unfortunatly the bear had to be put down, and thats the long and short of it.
@Anonymous I understand your heart goes out to this animal that looks to have already had a few hard knocks! I get it! But what if this bear was in your front yard? What if it was threating your animals, dogs, cats what have you, are you personally willing to cough up the incredible amount of money it takes to trap, check out and maintaining this animal for the rest of it’s life? What if you were willing… What’s your your address so when the next uncontrolled wild animal who is NOT co-existing well with humans comes into our area we can contact you to foot the bill! Let’s face the cold hard facts, this bear was on borrowed time from the time it lost it’s foot! Sad YES! But as sad and heartstrings pulling as It is, there really wasn’t any other foreseeable outcome for this creature! I just wished New Hampshire had not used it for a Learning project and had taken care of this problem bear back when they had it. I feel bad that not all the forest creatures didn’t watch the Disney’s movies so they would know how to act when they came in contact with people and livestock… BUT what are you gonna do…..? Yup you can buy them the tickets but you can’t make them watch the film! Sad… YES, CHANGEABLE Outcome…. Doubtful! Sorry! To the farmer, thanks for taking the risk out for the next group of animals that can not run away because of fences. They would be like shooting Fish in a barrel for a hungry bear!
Love all you monday morning quarterbacks and your advice. I would like to see how you would react in the same situation. Bet you would be screaming for the death of the bear.
Reminds me, when is North Woods Law coming back?
Thank you Farmer Dave for doing what was the necessary and responsible thing. Dad in law, nicely written.
David, you are a good man, and you did the right thing- I’m glad you were prepared and took appropriate action. It couldn’t have been easy, but you did what you had to do.
I have no say in the matter of the shooting, but it has been interesting reading the comments. And while I should bite my tongue, I just had to comment on what Steve writes:
“You do realize bears are wild animals and very vicious when they want to be. To them it is fun to kill, a game and nothing more. Should we wait until it kills a few dozen goats or pigs or whatever livestock we have before shooting them?
You city folk have no idea about the wild animals.”
Just a few corrections:
1. Wild animals are wild and act mostly on instinct, they are ‘viscious’ when they percieve they need to be, not merely because they want to be. Your cute little cuddly domesticated kitty cat will go out and kill song birds, not for fun, but rather out of wild primal instinct. 2. Bears kill because it is fun and just a game? Really? Bears kill primarily to eat or for protection when they feel threatened (from either a real or percieved threat). 3. Some city folk do know about the wild animals.
Hey Yankee. Can’t wait for these people to call because the beaver have knocked down thier expensive ornamental trees and schrubs or the skunks that have dug up thier manicured lawns. Same issue different speicies. Sorry
Anyone that reads knows that bears like porridge, geez.
Way to beat that Republican drum Dan M. I’m sure the bear is Obama’s fault. When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns and pig eating bears will run wildly through our streets.
I really love that people are so quick to judge. If the warden said he was justified, leave the farmer alone. He may be raising food for you to eat. Would you rather have the farmer feed his family bear rather than a good white meat that is healthy for them. HE IS A FARMER. Maybe you should look up the definition and give him credit for using his head.
Some people just don’t have a clue!! Yes bears eat meat like trapper said and is backed by state bioligists bear kill n eat more fawns the coyotes do! The bear was more dangerous with three legs then four! Animals are opportunists so bird feeders, garbage and livestock are an easier food source then chasing down other wild animals especially for a three legged bear! Yes the wardens should have dispatched the bear in the beginning! No they wouldn’t have relocated it they would have dispatched it like the farmer did! U people also need to realize that your food doesn’t just come from the grocery store, someone grows and processes the food u eat! Sounds like some people need to do more research on wildlife and what it takes to bring food to your table! I hope u enjoyed your bacon for breakfast or the bacon on your BLT for lunch, cuz that bear coulda had it instead of u!!
Do any of you that are getting mad about the bear being shot realize that we can LEGALLY kill bear (in season) we kill them to eat them, just like deer, turkey ect.
Hopefully he will be put to good use and his fur and meat donated.
I read on line that a 40 pound pig was $80 to buy. It wouldn’t take me long to get fed up with a marauding bear, no matter how many legs it had.