Bears

CASPER, Wyo. -- Drought conditions causing a lack of food may be pushing young black bears closer to humans and into towns, according to wildlife officials.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department trapped one yearling male black bear near Garden Creek on Saturday after a two-week search. They relocated him high in the Laramie Range, said Justin Binfet, Casper region wildlife management coordinator for Game and Fish.

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BEARSVILLE, N.Y. — The upstate New York hamlet of Bearsville is living up to its name.

SCRANTON, Pa. -- A mama bear and three of her cubs were caught on camera at a northeastern Pennsylvania television station seconds before a live weather report was about to begin.

OGDEN — An addition to the MTC Park in Ogden is a cute attraction as well as a monument to the volunteers who serve there each week.

A carved female and a male bear, facing each other with a bench between them, are adorned with the words “Love Hill” encased in a heart and the instructions “propose here.” Both bears have the wide eyes of those contemplating marriage.

“I thought because they are posing for pictures all the time and weddings, something romantic would fit in,” said Dennis Miller, who carved the bears and made the bench between them, then built steps up the hill to the creation.

PROVO — While bringing a gun to a bear fight may seem like a solid way to win, experts say the gun largely provides a false sense of security — and would be similar to trying to shoot, and stop, a small car careening toward you at speeds of up to 35 mph.

In a new package of policies criticized even by some hunters, the Alaska Board of Game on Tuesday opened the door to aerial gunning of bears by state wildlife officials. It also debated a measure that would allow more widespread snaring of bears -- including grizzlies, which are officially considered threatened across most of the U.S.