Over in India there is a fierce predator known as the Sloth bear – an animal perhaps the most dangerous of any land animal on earth.
It truly puts all grizzly bears and black bears to shame, as far as aggressiveness and history of attacks and human disfigurement.
According to Wikipedia:
“The sloth bear is more inclined to attack man unprovoked than almost any other animal, and casualties inflicted by it are unfortunately very common, the victim being often terribly disfigured even if not killed, as the bear strikes at the head and face. Blanford was inclined to consider sloth bears more dangerous than tigers…”
Last Wednesday alone, a sloth bear in Jarida village India went on a rampage and killed 4 people in one gruesome attack.
Killing rampages, for some reason, seem to be the Sloth bear’s speciality. According to statistics, one famous killing spree in India saw a single sloth bear responsible for the deaths of 12 people and injuries to 2 dozen others.
Let’s be thankful these angry bears don’t live in North America, as even our resident bears probably wouldn’t stand a chance against them!
Outdoorsguy
Don’t say it to loud.God knows we’ll have some nutcase wanting to bring one over as a pet.
Or maybe the MNR would bring them over and introduce them as a control over the fisher’s that they let go!!!!
Hey Bob..have you heard other people talking about some secret ‘fisher release program’..I’d
love to know if there’s any truth to it.
Outdoorsguy
QUOTE; ‘Bob says: August 10, 2010 at 12:39 pm Or maybe the MNR would bring them over and introduce them as a control over the fisher’s that they let go!!!!’ END QUOTE
Where did this happen ? They can release some on our trap line if they like. Could always use more of them.
Trapper, Ive heard lots of rumours lke that..just never any evidence to prove it.
Just like the story that they released a bunch of cougars..I wonder if perhaps they are just that…rumours
Outdoorsguy
“The fisher release is true. Back in the 70’s fishers were released in Eastern Ontario to help control porcupines. At the time there was a push on to convert marginal farm land to Christmas Tree plantations. The only problem was porcupines loved the young trees. As a response to complaints fishers were thought to be a “green” solution. This is before “green” was a marketing term.”
and the Fisher release program seems to have worked, a lot less Porky’s, oh and a few less small dogs and cats too
I suppose as far as ‘Biological control’ attempts go, the fisher/porcupine was a good one…seeing as the fisher is their only real predator..and you’re right Iggy, you sure don’t see the number of porky’s around like we did 20 – 30 years ago.
Man, they used to wreck havoc at our deer camp…in QC btw..but I haven’t seen one in years. I know the fisher numbers are up back home in too…which has nothing to do with any ON release program.
I’m sure a lack of trapping has more to do with it..
Outdoorsguy
Man we need a spell check or an editing function. I just reread my last post!
There you go Rick, and next time you have a concern over what you posted…just drop me an email and I can fix it up right away…ohhhh these God-like powers.
Outdoorsguy
Thanks Jeff! Next time I should proof read before hitting the submit button. Duh!
Oh you forgot to mention the other side effects of the fisher intro. For a few years after there explosion there was also hardly any squirrels,rabbits,grouse,and god knows how many birds eggs were eaten.I only wish they’d learn how to fly and knock off some sea gulls.
Hey Paul, good point. These are things I wouldn’t have even thought about.
I wonder what other biological control measures our governments have implemented over the years?
I know that turkey vultures were introduced to certain regions of QC years back to help clean-up the road kill…I’m not sure how well it worked, but man I can tell you there are lots of turkey vultures around!
Unfortunately some biological control attempts have taken some really bad turns..such as the Asian Carp invasion in the United States – originally farmed as a biological control fish for sewage treatment facilities until they escaped and, well, the rest they say is history.
If you’re interested, here’s an excerpt on Asian Carp from my book Weird Facts about Fishing:
Asian Invasion
The dreaded Asian carp is, without a doubt, this century’s greatest natural resource blunder. The ravenous fish species from Asia—capable of growing to over 100 pounds—has already destroyed much of the Mississippi and Missouri River watersheds, spreading into much of the Midwest including 15 U.S. states. The Asian carp is an ancestor and direct descendant of the common carp we all know and have, well, come to despise. The common carp was an introduction to North American waters that few of us are very proud of. They are large, bloated specimens of a fish that has already exploded throughout much of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence System and into most of continental North America. The common carp has out-competed native fish species at every turn and is one of this continent’s examples of how a non-native exotic fish can run amok in non native waters. And if you think they’re bad, the Asian carp is a totally new intruder altogether.
The Asian carp has trampled through the Mississippi River Watershed like a herd of longhorn cattle, in such a way that they now make up 90 percent of the fish population in that region. They are prolific and vicious, eating anything in sight including vast amounts of forage food and other game fish and have even become a danger to boaters. They must be bad if they have garnered the attention of congress in the United States with a new bi-partisan bill that will ban the import of any new Asian carp-related species. In a speech, U.S. Senator Carl Levin described the fish as being “like a bull in a China shop” and said they are hazardous to boaters, cause damage to property and cause injuries.
These menacing fish were originally introduced in the United States as an aquaculture tool and a fish for sewage treatment facilities. These voracious eaters were used in the 1970s in states like Louisiana where they were kept in fish farms as a biological control. But as with many other projects with good intentions, things went terribly awry, and flooding allowed these aggressive killers to escape the ponds and enter into the Mississippi River shed. In the last 15 years, they have completely devastated the region’s aquatic habitat. The Asian carp is an invader, the likes of which we have never seen before, and should this aggressive non-native species ever make its way into the Great Lakes, there would be no stopping them. The only passage keeping them from getting into the system is an electric power dam in Chicago that the carp—should it ever malfunction—could utilize to gain access to hundreds and hundreds of miles of cold northern waters habitat in which they could live quite nicely. Asian carp are not only weird, they are downright nasty!
Outdoorsguy
fishers actually kill whitetail also…have seen first hand…also on the cougar front whether the MNR introduced them or not there have been several sightings and trail cam pics of them here in Lanark Highlands
Hello mike from lanark..tks for stopping by and for the comment.
I would love to capture an image of cougars on my trail cams sometime…well, maybe.
Now, not that I am doubting you, but I have never heard of a fisher taking down a white-tailed deer…not a healthy one anyway.
I was a trapper for many years and do realize how powerful fishers are, but you must share that story with us.
Regards,
Outdoorsguy
hehe please do, I hear they take babies out of carriages on front porches too
sorry M from L ,I get a little carriad away. So fill us in