Bear Attacks

Does it seem like bear attacks are up all across the country? Yellowstone National Park, Montana, Arizona, now New Jersey. In this latest one a couple of teenagers were in a tent in a park when a bear came around, apparently in search of food. It walked into the tent and made some mild attempt at attacking the young boys. I say mild because neither of them were hurt badly. The boys had been trained to make noise and wave their arms to look bigger, and apparently that was enough to bug the bear and it took off.

In Montana a young woman was jogging when she ran upon two black bear cubs. She thought, "Oh no," and took off. The mother ran her down and scratched her on the chest and bit her arm. The woman fought back, heaving a rock at the bear. That actually wasn't a good decision she decided later, because the bear was backing off when she threw the rock. Getting hit made the bear mad and she came after the woman again. But, fortunately, her wounds were relatively minor, as well.

But two people have been killed this year, one by a black bear in Arizona and one by a grizzly in Yellowstone. Some of these bears mean business.

People are wondering what has the bears so aggressive this year. Is it because bear populations are up, and there are more of them for people to encounter? Or is it that the weather is so hot all over that normal food sources for the bear, such as berries in the high country, are not available, and they are coming into more populated areas in search of something to eat? Don't know.

But bear attacks are occurring in other countries, too. Twelve year old Olle Frisk and some friends were skiing in Sweden when they woke a female brown bear. It dragged him into its den and attacked him. The bear bit him on both legs and clawed his back. He is recovering from his injuries. Olle has told the media that he thought he was going to die during the attack.

Bears can be aggressive. They have too be. Through much of the summer they can be vegetarians. But as winter approaches and they need to put on reserves of fat, they look for meat. And to eat meat they have to kill. That's aggression. They are also aggressive in defense of their territory, and for a female, she'll be aggressive to defend her young. It is the way God made them. I don't fault the beasts for behaving as beasts.

But I do look forward to the day when God's redemption is complete, and the resulting peace and harmony will be so great that even the animals will be affected. Of that peace and righteous Isaiah 11 says, "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra (think rattle snake here), and the young child put his hand into the viper's next. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover over the sea."

If that figurative or literal? Is there a literal day when wolf and lamb, leopard and goat, bear and cow, rattle snake and child will be friends? I don't know. But whether this description is literal or figurative, I know God's redemption will be wonderful, and it will happen, because God will bring it about by his awesome power.

Warren is a family counselor, minister, teacher, and author. His first book, "Roaring Lions, Cracking Rocks and Other Gems from Proverbs," is a collection of essays or devotionals on 118 different proverbs. He is currently working on a second volume.

Warren maintains a website at http://www.warrentbaldwin.com/. His blog, Family Fountain, has frequent articles about family, Proverbs, and attitudes for healthy living. You can find it at http://www.warrenbaldwin.blogspot.com/.

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