Manitowoc zoo black bear bites off woman's fingers
Police says alcohol a factor in incident
Gannett Wisconsin Media • March 7, 2010
MANITOWOC — An Asiatic black bear at Lincoln Park Zoo bit off all or parts of four fingers from the hand of a 47-year-old woman Friday morning after she went past barriers and was trying to feed the animal, a Manitowoc police captain said.
The woman, identified as Tracy Weiler of Manitowoc, was taken to a hospital in Green Bay, about 40 miles north of Manitowoc, and later transferred to Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, he said.
Her boyfriend, Lawrence Bosworth, 51, also of Manitowoc, tried to pry the bear's mouth off her hand and also was bitten, according to Luchterhand.
In his case, the bite did not result in the loss of fingers. He was taken to Aurora Medical Center in Two Rivers, two miles from the zoo.
Alcohol was a factor with both adults, according to a news release from Mayor Justin Nickels.
"The female was trying to feed the bear something out of a plastic bag," Capt. Scott Luchterhand.
He said she apparently went beyond the railing visitors are supposed to stay behind and put her hand through the fence.
Signs on the enclosure housing the bears say, "Stay away from fence" and "Do not feed animals."
A wooden viewing platform surrounded by railings is about 5 feet from the pen.
Weiler and Bosworth were at the zoo with Weiler's 3-year-old granddaughter, Luchterhand said. The girl was not harmed, according to the news release from the mayor's office.
The two bears, named Moe and Honey, were isolated in their pen.
"I'm not sure if we're going to be able to identify which bear it was," Luchterhand said.
"It appears, at this point, the bears will be saved," he said later, meaning they will not be euthanized.
That decision was made by the Manitowoc County Health Department in consultation with a veterinarian at the Communicable Disease Epidemiology Section of the Wisconsin Division of Public Health, said Mark Chatenka, environmental sanitarian at the health department.
Weiler and Bosworth agreed to undergo a series of preventative rabies vaccines, he said. The bears will be observed for a few days for signs of rabies.
State law requires wild animals to be euthanized if they bite someone unless the victim agrees to the vaccinations, Chatenka said.
Weiler and Bosworth will have to pay for the vaccines, but if the animals were put down, they would have had to pay for euthanizing the bears and sending their heads to the state laboratory for testing as well as for replacing the bears.
The zoo closed for the rest of the day after the 11:30 a.m. incident and reopened Saturday for regular zoo hours.
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Not All People In Wisconsin Are Smart
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03-07-2010 10:58 AM•_•_•_▬_▬_▬_•_•_•
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03-07-2010 11:00 AMDumbazzes. And they considered punishing the bears?????? Even dumber....
Getting bad advice is unfortunate, taking bad advice is a Serious matter!!
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03-07-2010 11:01 AMFK'n Wisconsin people!!!!
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03-07-2010 11:25 AMHey now
Originally Posted by Wrinkleface
FK'n Wisconsin people!!!!
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03-07-2010 11:27 AMWho-Ray! They got what they deserved!!!! how stupid can you be!!.......................................RJR............................. ...
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03-07-2010 11:36 AM Originally Posted by robertjr
Taking Over the World One Thread at a Time
The Penguin Cometh
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03-07-2010 12:00 PMWonder if they'll quit drinking????? Originally Posted by robertjr
Getting bad advice is unfortunate, taking bad advice is a Serious matter!!
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03-07-2010 12:08 PMhas 1 more hand!!!!! Originally Posted by Ratickle
OK, that was bad!!
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03-07-2010 12:12 PMShe just can't hold her cigarette and hold her drink at the same time Originally Posted by Wrinkleface
has 1 more hand!!!!! OK, that was bad!!
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03-08-2010 10:47 PMNobody said anything about this today.
Of Course alcohol was involved; this IS Wisconsin. And Manitowoc, home of, um, err, I got it, a WWII submarine, is such as exciting place. What else to do but get all pissed up and feed the bears at the zoo. Makes sense to me.
Glad I am resident of Michigan and only visit here for a little bit each week.
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03-08-2010 11:23 PMare you kidding!! now she can go on disability and drink even more!! Originally Posted by Ratickle
The zoo closed for the rest of the day after the 11:30 a.m. incident and reopened Saturday for regular zoo hours
they were already boozed up pretty good by 11:30 AM!!!
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03-08-2010 11:36 PMya sure it wasn't from the night before. Friday after work until sometime Sunday for many around here. Originally Posted by slowride33
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03-11-2010 08:16 PMShe tested at a 0.16 BAC, several hours after the incident. Her boyfriend, Lawrence Bosworth, 51, tested at a 0.26 BAC, three times the legal limit, tested almost immediately after the incident. Thats some serious drinking before noon
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03-12-2010 05:30 PMamazing,they were there with a three year old child, who the hell was planning on driving home? Originally Posted by MacGyver
She tested at a 0.16 BAC, several hours after the incident. Her boyfriend, Lawrence Bosworth, 51, tested at a 0.26 BAC, three times the legal limit, tested almost immediately after the incident. Thats some serious drinking before noon
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03-13-2010 06:01 PMWhy do ya say that? Originally Posted by MacGyver
She just can't hold her cigarette and hold her drink at the same time
Is she missing all her toes too?
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03-13-2010 06:04 PMActually, the sub is pretty cool. Originally Posted by waybomb
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03-13-2010 06:21 PMTitle is misleading- not all people in WI are smart? The smart ones left already....
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03-14-2010 12:59 AMWatch it buddy Originally Posted by MarylandMark
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03-14-2010 03:11 AMNice! Originally Posted by MacGyver
Watch it buddy
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03-14-2010 03:14 AM Originally Posted by MacGyver
Watch it buddy
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