Photo Series: Bear Attacks, Eats Buck

[Ben Sobieck]

This photo series was e-mailed to the Deer & Deer Hunting. Pretty amazing.

[Ben Sobieck]

Continued.

[elliot921129]

where were these taken?

[msbadger]

when I saw them on another forum...thankfully not the entire series[&o]...It was told that the deer had been struck by a car and a Forest or park ranger was taking the pics...Sorry.... I said it there and will here...I know it's nature but that ranger should have been putting that deer down and not taking pics...if that bear was hungry enough to feed on the side of the road with an audience than it would have come back later for it's meal...talk about giving hunters a bad rep...this hitting the hunting forums is nothing to brag about...JMO

[Everyday Hunter]

ORIGINAL: msbadger

when I saw them on another forum...thankfully not the entire series[&o]...It was told that the deer had been struck by a car ...

That was my question when I saw the first photo. I figured the buck must be injured, and therefore more vulnerable.

Steve

[lando]

I agree! The deer. Should have been put down first! But, the ranger is not allowed to disrupt nature. But an animal hit by a car is not an act of nature. Another thing that was a young cub wasn't it? Where is it mother? I would have been more worried about that while taking pictures! With a fresh kill in the air!

[WeekendWarrior]

Thats a real young bear for an appetite of THAT size

[Sailfish]

Kewl pics.
Amazing for sure!!

[charlie 01]

I agree, the deer should have been put-down. It's a sad way to go.

[Everyday Hunter]

More information on this sequence of photos:
•  I just received an email telling me that these pictures are posted on the Outdoor Life website.
•  According to Outdoor Life, they were taken right here where I live in Warren County, PA.
•  The photographer is unnamed. There are no references to any wildlife conservation officer taking the photos, or being present at the scene. So, any such references are speculation at this point.
•  There are 17 photos in the sequence. (Apparently Ben included them all.)

The bear is obviously a young 'un. Our bear population is pretty good around here, enough that I'll bet more road-killed deer are finished off by bears -- no doubt more often where the deer struggles some distance from the road. I'll bet he thinks he's pretty big stuff now. And as for the buck -- although there are bigger bucks than that around here, it's a very good buck for neck of the woods.

By the way, my personal opinion is that if some kind of law enforcement officer was present at this event, it's up to his discretion as to whether to put the buck out of its misery. He would know all the conditions surrounding the event, and he would be trained to make the judgment.

I suspect I'll find out more about this in the days to come. If I think it's worth posting, I'll add more.

Steve