Saturday, October 29, 2005

Eight-year-old kills bear

You gonna eat that?
"I was scared," she said, then paused for dramatic emphasis. "Because bears will eat anything!"

[Officials] shook their heads in amazement at the news that the first hunter to bag a bear was a third-grade girl from Kitzmiller, on Maryland's border with West Virginia.

...The Humane Society of the United States, which has urged Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) to ban bear hunts, expressed concern Monday over the age of the hunter and noted that the first bear killed last year was a young bear.

"Governor Ehrlich is personally responsible for exposing young children and young bears to this cruelty," read the news release.

So how did Sierra make the shot? "I'm fast at everything," she explained.

"I can't imagine the pride," said Tim Kvech, 31, the second hunter to bring in a bear. "My daughter's 9, and I can't do that."

The third hunter to come in -- and the third to arrive in a red pickup -- was Tera Roach, 23, a Reisterstown, Md., native. She had trapped two bears in Maine, but the bear she shot Monday, a 147-pound female, was her first bear kill in Maryland.

Hearing of Sierra's feat, Roach said, "That's good to see any kids out there, especially girls."

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