Bears

Don't bears seem to be making headlines a lot more frequently these days? My cousin Howie has told me for years that he has the deepest repect for bears. I've actually caught Howie rubbing his back up and down against a tree because he claimed he saw a bear do it. And of course, "bears know all."

Well, recent news has made me think there must be something special about bears.

It started in June. A bear was hungry. And stealing picnic baskets is dated, so naturally the bear chose a convenient McDonald's drive-thru. It seems McDonald's isn't too fond of serving bears, so the bear was denied his morning Egg McMuffin.

Within the next couple weeks, another bear made headlines when a man rode a bike into a bear. I'm not really sure how a bicyclist can miss a 500-pound bear, but evidently it is possible. I don't ride a bike too frequently, but I know if I'm riding in a car at 45mph, I would notice a bear blocking my way. But maybe in Colorado it's not that strange. The article references a woman who ran into a bear during a triathalon in 2007. After the man rode into the bear, he was a little banged up, but he was feeling well enough to pedal his way to the hospital.

But this man going to the hospital wasn't the only bear-related news this year involving a hospital. Strangely, it's not even the only one where no one got seriously hurt. In late September, a bear in a hospital made news without even making contact with humans. This bear walked through the automatic doors of a California hospital, but seemingly got scared by the second set of doors and left.

Most recently, a hungry bear made news in Canada for trying to "eat fresh." Now, this story upsets me. A bear walks into Subway in search of food, and the so-called "Sandwich Artist" at Subway runs away. What kind of service is that? Being ignored, the bear attempts to serve himself. After being ignored, the bear is clearly offended by the lack of service and leaves the shop. Authorities found the bear and killed it. ...And that's the part I don't understand. Did I miss something? Did this bear hurt someone? ::sigh:: Silly Canadians....

More bear news to come!