Riders hit a black bear on I-95

[Huzband]

We hear plenty about deer & other critters causing havoc, but this strikes me as very unusual. Happened about 9 last night just south of St. Augustine.

 

Florida Times-Union article here .

[alanz]

Odd that three of the six riders hit the bear.

 

That takes either pretty good aim, or pretty good inattention.

[Agent_Orange]

You forget about the 'pinball factor'.

[tallman]

Odd that three of the six riders hit the bear.

 

That takes either pretty good aim, or pretty good inattention.

 

Hope they all are OK.

More likely a result of riding formation and spacing then inattention.

Staggered or side by side formations can end in chain reactions.

Just speculation.

If not that, then target fixation.

Possibly both.

Any way it happened, hope for a quick recovery for all.

[Albert]

I was in front of 3 other bikes going across the Kancamagus highway in New Hampshire when a bear came lumbering across the road. He was a good 50 yards in front of me so it was not a close call but still got our attention. The cool thing was, although we were spaced out along the highway, everyone saw the bear.

[steve.foote]

Odd that three of the six riders hit the bear.

 

That takes either pretty good aim, or pretty good inattention.

 

I would think that anyone riding in that area would have had trouble believing what they were seeing. It's certainly not something that most riders have prepared for.

[bmurphypdx]

I don't think black bears are that uncommon. I saw two in three days in the Pacific Northwest on major roads. AFAIK, black bears have a very wide range. Fortunately, they are more predictable than deer and tend to lumber off into the woods rather than deal with motorists. The exception is around state parks where idiots feed "the cute critters." Heard of a motorhome stopped at Yellowstone to taunt the bears. The RV driver was apparently oblivious to the bikes stopped behind the RV completely exposed to these taunted bears (with traffic backed up behind them and no where to go). Very considerate!!

[bmurphypdx]

Coincidently, after I wrote the post above, I read this morning's New York Times. Here's an article about black bears. While they can be dangerous and I would not test the issue, the article points out how passive black bears are. Here are a couple of quotes from the article:

 

The front window of their sturdy mountain home had been smashed, and when Danny Hyde, a school principal, opened the front door, he discovered that a bear and two cubs had taken up residence. They were still inside, having ripped out cupboards, emptied the refrigerator and feasted on molasses, Fig Newtons, Thin Mints, Cool Whip, ice cream, honey and chicken chow mein. After Mr. Hyde yelled, they bolted out an open window. It took seven people five hours to shovel out the mess.

 

Another:

 

Ms. Bryant recalls one morning feeling a nudge on her elbow while stirring oatmeal. A bear wanted breakfast.

 

So I wouldn't keep any food or anything that smelled like food (the clothes you cooked in) around, I wouldn't tremble around the black bears. Grizzlies on the other hand . . .

[pedro cerveza]

Geese! I though we only had to worry about aligators

[TEWKS]

I was hoping this subject would come up. I took this picture last week while camping. It was my first time ever seeing a black bear in the wild.

 

Pat

[Lone_RT_rider]

Odd that three of the six riders hit the bear.

 

That takes either pretty good aim, or pretty good inattention.

 

I would think that anyone riding in that area would have had trouble believing what they were seeing. It's certainly not something that most riders have prepared for.

 

Exactly Steve, you expect that kind of thing in Gatlinburg, TN or something...

 

 

Shawn

[tallman]

http://www.bear.org/Black/Black_Bear_Populations.html

 

Some surprises on the list.

[Rotor]

We hear plenty about deer & other critters causing havoc, but this strikes me as very unusual. Happened about 9 last night just south of St. Augustine.

 

 

Been here all my life, I live just south of St. Augustine and ride in this area frequently. Obviously, they're here; but, I've NEVER seen a bear on the interstate! Plenty of deer though.