insurance for bee keepers against 'bear attacks' ~ the moral story !

Sure you have heard the ‘moral story’- of two friends venturing into a forest – being chased by a bear.  One of them climbed the tree fast leaving the other in lurch.  The 2^nd fell flat holding his breath; bear came near, smelled, presuming him to be dead went on.  The 1^st man came down and asked what did the bear whisper ? – the man on ground replied ‘to stay away from friends who run away at the time of danger’! 

- just take it on ‘moral story value’.  Bears may still harm the dead and they can climb the trees as well !!

Like many other animals, the  bear's first reaction upon detecting a human is to run away – but not the only reaction and they might furiously attack due to varied reasons.   Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails. While the polar bear is mostly carnivorous, and the giant panda feeds almost entirely on bamboo, the remaining six species are omnivorous with varied diets.

Bears have been hunted since prehistoric times for their meat and fur. The poaching and international trade of these most threatened populations are prohibited, but still ongoing. In Northern parts of India,  occasionally one can see a chained bear paraded on the streets !

A bear attack is an attack by any mammal of the Ursidae family, on another animal, although it usually refers to bears attacking humans or domestic pets. Bear attacks are relatively rare, but frequent enough to be of concern for those who are in bear habitats. Bear attacks can be fatal and often hikers, hunters, fisherman, and others in bear country take precautions against bear attacks.   Most bear attacks occur when the animal is defending itself against anything they perceive as a threat to themselves or their territory.   Some species are more aggressive than others; sloth bears, Asiatic black bears, and brown bears are more likely to injure people than other species, and the American black bear is comparatively timid.

According to experts, playing dead may be an option when confronted by a brown bear or a grizzly – but not with black bear or a polar bear.  According to some other biologists, a well placed bullet might stop an aggressive grizzly, but still may not be effective  ~ and in the moment of stress, one has to be a great expert to fire at a 500-pound animal charging at great speed from close quarters.   Another says, the  best way to avoid a run-in with a brown bear is to make sure the animal hears you before it sees you, because they are more likely to charge if they are surprised. None has a bear brain and whether it is so, is not exactly known !

~one may be surprised to know that there are insurance options available – not only for personal injuries from bear attacks but for property as well !

Away in Turkey  -  beekeepers can now get insured for bear attacks on their hives, it's reported.  Beekeepers in  Turkey have been dealing with the financial burden of bears destroying their hives for years, but now they'll be reimbursed by a government-supported scheme, the Anadolu news agency reports. "No matter what they did, bears were able to damage the hives," says Bahri Yilmaz, president of the Turkish Beekeepers Union. "Some tried to hang the hives high up the trees. Some used live wires - nothing worked." The Agricultural Insurance Pool will pay out 175 liras ($65; £45; Rs.4200 approx) for each hive lost to a hungry bear, says Mr Yilmaz.

While bears are known to enjoy honey, they'll also gobble up the bees and larvae from inside a hive. One beekeeper points out that shooting the wild animals is illegal, leaving them with few options to protect their livelihoods. "That's why this insurance is very important," says Neset Nuhoglu, who works in Ordu, on Turkey's northern coast. Another man tells the agency that beekeepers will still try to save the hives, but knowing there's insurance available will provide peace of mind. Turkey is one of the world's biggest honey producers, second only to China in 2013, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Yogi Bear debuting in 1958,  is a family cartoon character that has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera and was eventually more popular than Huckleberry Hound.  Yogi was one of several Hanna-Barbera characters to have a collar. This allowed animators to keep his body static, redrawing only his head in each frame when he spoke. This reduced the number of drawings needed for a seven-minute cartoon from around 14,000 to around 2,000.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.

8^th Apr 2015.