Moonage SpaceDream

No one knows how long it had been, before yesterday, since a black bear was killed in Clark County.

This much is sure: The lethal weapon used in that previous incident — perhaps a century or more ago — wasn’t a 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe.

The collision of the 6,500-pound SUV and a 250-pound bear was brutal proof that bears are inching closer to Lexington — yesterday’s encounter was technically in the Lexington metropolitan area — and that people are going to have to learn to co-exist with them.

I can remember a time, not too long ago, when spotting a deer or a bear was a very exciting event.  Now, deer are a menace and not really the least bit special to spot.   Bear on the other hand are still pretty exciting to view in the wild.  The problem is that they are already moving to where the easy eating is.  Shortly after my son was born, on a very cold wintry night drive home, I hit a large deer.  Luckily I was in a van and although the wreck damaged the van, no one was hurt,  I hear of deer/car collisions all the time where I live.  I can not imagine hitting a bear.  We’ve done a heck of a good job re-stocking and re-acclimating wildlife to the woods of Kentucky.  What no one has done is come up with a plan for man and animals to co-exist safely.  This is not good for either.

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