Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Lesson learned from the bouncing bear

It was almost two years ago that a single bear fell from a single tree and made one of the greatest video clips of all time.
This week in Missoula, Mont., state government officials showed they have learned some important lessons from the "bouncing bear" as they avoided a similar incident.
For those who have forgotten, the bouncing bear was a 2-year-old black bear who made his way down from the mountains surrounding Missoula and found his way into a tree in a residential area. After being shot with a tranquilizer by Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials, the bear fell from the tree. Unfortunately for the bear, somebody had the idea of placing a trampoline to break his fall. What ensued was the bear catapulting into the air and onto the ground (it's okay to laugh at it because the bear wasn't injured).
The clip aired all over the country and likely embarrassed the FWP people to no end. Monday, FWP had its chance for redemption. According to the Montana Kaimin, a young female bear had once again wondered into town by accident, this time with two fellow bears. My guess is they were paying homage to the bouncing bear so close to the two-year anniversary. They probably wanted to re-enact the event that mad that bear more famous than Smokey.
Or maybe these bears were trying to become famous themselves by doing the same thing. You know the kind of bears I'm talking about. The ones that think they are so Hollywood.
Officials rounded up the other two without incident, but the baby was resilient and made its way into a tree. Before stunning the bear with a "jab stick," I'm sure FWP officials had a meeting to discuss their course of action.
Okay, we need to avoid the embarrassment of the bouncing bear that replayed all over the world last time. So how can we get 'R done this time?
Well, how about a trampoline, surrounded by smaller trampolines to help break the fall. This way, the second trampoline hit will only create a minor bounce.
Yes, yes, I like it.
Um sir, how about we just catch it with a net?
Hmmm...
Pure genius. Instead of using something designed to make things bounce, the officials went for something that is designed to catch things. The bear plummeted again, 25 feet, but landed safely in the net. She was then placed in a carrier for large dogs.
Unfortunately for the FWP, there were apparently no cameras around this time to catch the successful capture. The bouncing bear and the trampoline that made him famous will live on forever.
As for the new bouncing bear wanna be, the smart thinking of the FWP ruined her plan for fame and fortune. Sometimes fortune shines upon you and sometimes it stabs you with a jab stick.

1 comment:

Gary said...
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