I guess Will Ferrell got lucky!

[Son of a Son]

The animal trainer, well, not so much.

The Link

 

[AuburnTexas]

That bites.

 

[Third Coast]

Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you.

 

[ctrl+alt+del]

Son of a Son: The bearer of bad news.

 

[Uncle Rico]

if there is video i couldn't bear to watch it.

 

[chango]

I watched it. Its unbearable. . .

 

[Red Five]

You woke the bears! Why did you do that?!

 

[SigPi_Horn]

I can't bear to hear anymore jokes.

 

[MilkmanDan]

In a related story, the bear has requested the pepper spray be administered prior to his next attack, as humans are bland and need seasoning.

 

[kevwun]

I bet one of the other trainers was a menstruating woman. Brick is so wise.

 

[crash_davis]

the bear wanted to see if we taste like chicken.

 

[crash_davis]

i guess the bear got tired of the trainer asking him if he shits in the woods.

 

[Kwisatz]

I find these tasteless jokes unbearable.

 

[7 Iron]

This bear was an actor correct?

I bet they were filming a bear-wrestling scene and he took the director's command to 'cut' literally.

 

[El_Oso]

too bad my "tocayo" didn't ******* maul Will Ferrell. He would have done us all a favor.

 

[EPThorn]

Yeah, that bear what certainly a huge pain in the neck.

 

[big_longhorn]

Actually, Ferrell was never in any danger. Studio policy will not allow it. All on-screen proximity to the bear featured award-winning stuntman Randy Miller as Farrell's stand-in.
Moreover, Stephan was not a trainer. He owned a computer company. Predators in Action was doing a promo, featuring Rocky the bear, for Stephan's computer company. Since, over the years, Stephan had worked with the animals some, he was much closer to the action than Ferrell was.

Randy Miller, raison d'etre for Predators, is the son of my ex-significant other. He used to trap quite a few wild animals and ride some mean dirt bikes around the Houston area when he lived with us. He started Predators after great success in the '80's and '90's with his Original New York Seltzer.

Another of Randy's bears was featured in the cave scene with Michael J. Fox in 1990's Back to the Future Part III.

He won major awards for his stunt work and animal handling with the big cats in the movie Gladiators, even subbing for RC.

Stephan was Randy's cousin. Stephan's father also died young, reviving those memories in the extended family.

Perhaps some of you might include them in your prayers.


Predators in Action, on better days:


Randy with Rocky

Even a woman works with the bears

Sad that the state may euthanize this magnificent animal

 

[Xminus6]

given that he was so familiar with that animal, he should have definitely sensed something bad was bruin'.

 

[FugleBunny]

in those bear pics, why are the trainer's hands in the bear's mouth?

 

[big_longhorn]

Randy said the bear went from full "comfort mode" to full "bite mode" in an incredibly short period of time. After he has grieved awhile, he may come to understand what happened. He did not at the time, nor does he now.

The hand in the mouth is a "gag", similar to the way some cat trainers put their heads in the cat's mouth. It's to demonstrate total faith / confidence in the animal -- "See, he won't bite me."

 

[russwm]

"That bear ain't go crazy; that bear went bear! You know when he was really crazy? When he was riding around on a unicycle with a Hitler helmet on!"

Scroll to about the 1:20 mark.

That Tiger went Tiger

 

[shorty]

lol, I have to believe old Will puckered a bit when he heard the bear had killed one of his trainers. I will bet it will be several years before he has to use a large man-klller as part of a movie, commercial, etc.

 

[BayouCityOrange]

That bear's behavior was the polar opposite of how it acted in "Semi-Pro".

 

[accuratehorn]

Must have been a grizzly scene to witness.