Dumbass Loses Fingers to Bear in Manitowoc

Normally, this would be under the headline of "Dumbass of the Week," but I had to go local with it. Frankly, I hope ever legal precaution possible was taken by Manitowoc County and the City of Manitowoc on this.

I mean, let's be honest with ourselves here.  Who didn't ask themselves when the lawsuit was coming?

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 after she went past barriers and was trying to feed the animal, a Manitowoc police captain said.

"It appears that she suffered loss of some fingers," specifically, all of her thumb and forefinger and parts of her middle and ring fingers, said Capt. Scott Luchterhand.

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, 2 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," Luchterhand said.

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.

"Clearly, these are large, powerful animals," said Aaron Buchholz, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist serving Manitowoc, Kewaunee and Door counties.

Bears in captivity "might even be more dangerous animals" than those in the wild, because bears that aren't used to people have a fear of them and stay away, he said.

Animals that seem tame are "still capable of really hurting you or killing you," he said.

Weiler and Bosworth were at the zoo with Weiler's 3-year-old granddaughter, according to Luchterhand. The girl was not harmed, according to the news release from the mayor's office.

There's been some debate whether the animals have been destroyed yet.  So far, that is only rumor from what I can determine.