Three-year-old attacked by black bear Red Lodge Montana | how to keep your kids safe

Intro on August 11th in the small community of Red Lodge Montana a family made one of the Cardinal mistakes of camping in Bear Country and it might have cost a little girl her life according to a press release published by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks a three-year-old girl was attacked and injured by a black bear at around 10:00 while inside her family's tent upon hearing this story I knew immediately what had happened someone had been careless with ATT tracton and an innocent girl and a black bear paid the price according to investigators from Fish Wildlife and Parks they found unsecured attractants including garbage a cooler and human food around and inside the tent where the attack occurred the female black bear that was involved in this incident apparently was previously unknown to Wildlife managers and had no apparent history of conflicts with humans the Bear quote likely became food conditioned and human habituated after accessing unsecured attractants in the How to keep kids safe area listen I know that a lot of you parents have this fear that while camping a bear or some other animal will come into your tent and do someone harm but incidents like this are extremely predictable and avoidable I have three young children and their safety is always my top priority every single one of my children has camped in Grizzly and blackbear Country since they were newborns for that reason my wife and I take food trash and odor management very seriously attractants of any kind are never allowed in our tent or near our sleeping gear obviously this means that our food and garbage are properly stored in a bare safe Locker or in our car but Beyond food and trash there are other items that can also attract bears including hand lotions Cosmetics lip balms soaps and in some cases even water bottles whether we're in bare country or not we guard our Tandon sleeping area from exposure to all possible attractants Bears have a remarkable truly otherworldly sense of smell and odors from previous trips and outings can and do Linger on Fabrics including tent canvas and bedding just don't take the chance keep everything that might be attracted in your car or a bear box now if you have kids you know that they also tend to collect odors especially food ODS for that reason my wife and I follow a simple schedule every night when camping our kids have their play and eating clothes and then they have their sleeping clothes and each night we wipe them clean and change their clothes before we get into bed and all their dirty clothes are properly secured in either our car or a bear box and I admit that sometimes it is a chore but it's also a small price to pay for their Bear spray safety finally we always keep an appropriate deterrent Within Reach even at night just remember if keeping bear spray in your tent make sure it is an unused canister because expelled bear spray has an odor and can attract bears and other animals to your tent it's not my intention to rub salt into anybody's wounds as a parent myself I imagine this little girl's family is struggling quite a bit right now and fortunately her injuries appear to be minor but we cannot afford to not discuss what needs to be learned from this attack this is the kind of thing that should never happen and is easy to avoid now I don't know what kind of camping experience this little girl's family has had over the years this could have been their first outing and then again her parents or Guardians may have been camping their entire lives without a problem but this speaks to one of my primary cautions about spending time in Wild Spaces experience is a mirage there are a great many people including Timothy Treadwell who routinely ignored proper food storage protocols when camping in bare country and for years it wasn't a problem at least until it turned deadly do yourself a huge favor and Bear attack learn the be attack ABCs which include avoiding conflicts in large part by storing your food trash and gear properly you and your family are at your most vulnerable when asleep sleep for that reason you never want to incentivize any investigation of your sleeping area by a bear and while everyone nowadays is terrified of being labeled a quote Karen if you are camped by me and my family and you leave food trash and other attractants streun about you can expect me to say something about it if you're too much of a princess to take care of your own trash stay the heck out of Yellowstone that is exactly what I did 3 years ago when a group of narcissistic College kids through a frat party that lasted until 2:00 in the morning in the campsite neighboring my campsite not only did they disrupt my family's sleep which was inconsiderate enough but the fact that they left beer trash and food strewn about all night long in Grizzly country was a far greater concern for me it's not just a matter of courtesy it's a life and death matter of human safety and children aren't the only ones that are put at risk when people don't properly manage their food and trash adults are harmed too in 2021 65-year-old Leia Lan was dragged from her tent by a grizzly bear near aando Montana not only had Leia and her companions kept food in their tents but the subsequent investigation concluded that past campers had also failed to manage their food and trash properly the incident they claimed L life almost exactly mirrors this most recent episode in Red Lodge Montana the most notable exception being that the three-year-old victim in this case has been hospitalized Lei who has been described as an experienced camper never made it that far she died in her campsite as her friends attempted to free her from the Grizzlies My thoughts Jaws if you see someone failing to manage their food trash and other attractants responsibly I encourage you to make the camp manager host or Rangers aware of the issue let the proper authorities handle the situation but I hope this incident will remind you that failure to manage odors and attractants can have dire consequences in Bear Country finally while my primary concern is with the welfare of this precious child I am also angry that a bear was necessarily euthanized after the fact if you followed at home in Wild space as long you know that I love bears I have had them in my campsite I've encountered them on the trails I have observed them responsibly since I was a teenager they are amazing animals and yes when they die needlessly because of human foolishness it angers me someone after watching my latest video where I discuss how to stop a charging or attacking bear left a comment seemingly celebrating a young woman who has been filming herself hand feeding wild black bears arguing that bears are quote misunderstood animals and that's true bears are misunderstood they are neither pets nor monsters if you spend time in Bear Country please commit to keeping Bears Wild by properly managing your food trash and gear people who intentionally or unintentionally give wild bears food are placing both people and bears In Harm's Way in my book both practices are equally contemptible my kids love our bear encounters but as a parent it is my responsibility to ensure that our outings are safe there is no better reason to keep a clean Camp until next time this is Mike wishing this precious little girl a speedy recovery and hoping all of us will commit to cleaning up after ourselves when exploring Wild Spaces