Bear update
Bear death creates debate
by Kelly Stemcosky
kstemcosky@tiogapublishing.com
Published: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 3:55 PM CDT
The bear treed on Main Street, Wellsboro, last Monday, June 29, was the only one put down for aggressive tendencies in at least eight years, said Pennsylvania Game Commissioner Rodney Mee.
The animal was destroyed after an investigation revealed the animal had charged campers in Chatham Township two months previously.
Putting down a wild animal occurs infrequently, he added. Mee said the only other bears put down in that same period were a mother and cub that were too mangy and emancipated to be treated last winter. Those were the only three bears euthanized in Tioga County during his time as a Game Commissioner since 2001.
There is, however, possibility of another. A troublesome bear was tagged in Addison, N.Y., and then reported stealing food from grills at Hills Creek two years ago. Mee said it was never caught.
