Man, 78, mauled by bear in Utah

What is it about the small Utah bear population and Utahans?

Man, 78, mauled by bear. “The man is recovering; the animal was shot and killed.”  By Brett Prettyman. The Salt Lake Tribune.

Earlier Utah bear stories posted here:

• Aug. 5, 2009. Utahans killing bears at record rates
• June 18, 2007. Utah black bear rips open tent, carries off boy in sleeping bag, kills.

Earlier stories this year:

• July 3, 2009. Bountiful rain means bears in Utah have plenty of food. Encounters » Humans should be alert in bear country. By Brett Prettyman. The Salt Lake Tribune
• Feb. 8, 2009. U.S, Utah Judges Differ in Fatal Bear Attack Case. By Matthew Heller. On Point.

Anti-wolf anger boils over into bad joke about “Obama Tags”

Rex Rammell jokes he’d buy an “Obama Tag”

Wolves in the state have become an avatar, a pariah.  It often seems that the hatred has little to do with facts, science, or the wolves themselves and more to do with a deep-seated hatred for the federal government that will take any opportunity to emerge.  Rammell’s canned-elk, anti-government soap-box has blown over, now it’s become an anti-wolf, anti-government soap-box :

Rammell howls at Otter for not buying wolf tag – Times-News

After an audience member shouted a question about “Obama tags” during a discussion on wolves, Rammell responded, “The Obama tags? We’d buy some of those.”

Rammell’s Obama ‘joke’ troubles Idaho leaders – Idaho Statesman

Rammell’s got a lot of wacky history in Idaho.  When his domestic elk escaped their pen threatening wild elk with disease and foreign genes, Rammell sought a stand-off, ballooning the incident into some sort of referendum on government and private property rights even as his membership in the Idaho establishment secured him special favors.