We had a chance to chat with Larry Bell about his family’s foundation and the Blue Bag Program while we were at SCI, Reno. The family’s story, of the loss of their daughter, is a tragic one, however, what they’ve created is an inspiration.

New Partnership with International Wildlife Fellowship Foundation Moves Bell Family Blue Bag Program Forward in Africa

SCI Foundation is proud to announce a new partnership between our Foundation, the Ellen and Larry Bell Family, and the International Wildlife Fellowship Foundation (IWFF) aimed at helping those in need in Africa through an expansion of the successful Safari-Care Bell Family Blue Bag program. This new partnership provides Blue Bags and funding for IWFF to purchase and distribute items that will aid in the humanitarian relief and social responsibility efforts for needy individuals in Africa. The funds were provided by SCI Foundation from a special grant provided by the Bell Family.

We’ve been following Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s reports regarding a mountain lion who attacked trail-runner. In the report, we’ve learned that the mountain lion attacked the runner from behind and that the runner made it to the hospital for care for his injuries. CPW indicates that they’re doing a necropsy on the lion. What we do not know is what the runner used in self-defense, if the cat is deceased due to the hiker’s defense or if CPW put it down. We’ll share additional reports if we see them.

CPW and Larimer County investigating mountain lion attack at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. – Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers, working with Larimer County Department of Natural Resources, are investigating a mountain lion attack on a trail runner using the West Ridge Trail at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space on Monday, Feb. 4. The victim was able to defend himself from the attack, resulting in the death of the juvenile mountain lion. The runner was then able to leave the open space property and get himself to a local hospital.

“Mountain lion attacks are not common in Colorado and it is unfortunate that the lion’s hunting instincts were triggered by the runner,” Ty Petersburg, area wildlife manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife said. “This could have had a very different outcome.”

The victim of the attack described hearing something behind him on the trail and was attacked by a mountain lion as he turned around to investigate. The lion lunged at the runner, biting his face and wrist. He was able to fight and break free from the lion, killing the lion in self-defense. The runner sustained serious, but non-life threatening injuries as a result of the attack.

As wildlife officers searched the trail area provided by the runner, the body of a juvenile mountain lion was found within feet of several possessions that the victim asked the officers to look for on the trail. The lion has been taken to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife animal health lab for a necropsy.

“The runner did everything he could to save his life. In the event of a lion attack you need to do anything in your power to fight back just as this gentleman did,” said Mark Leslie, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Northeast Region manager.

Mountain lion attacks on people are rare, with fewer than 20 fatalities in North America in more than 100 years. Since 1990, Colorado has had 16 injuries as a result of mountain lion attacks, and three fatalities. Lion populations are doing very well in Colorado, but they are elusive animals and tend to avoid humans. Most people will never see a lion in the wild, but they are there. If you live, work, or play in mountain lion country, it is important to be alert.

What to do if you encounter a mountain lion:

• Do not approach a lion, especially one that is feeding or with kittens. Most mountain lions will try to avoid a confrontation. Give them a way to escape.
• Stay calm when you come upon a lion. Talk calmly and firmly to it. Move slowly and never turn your back on it.
• Stop or back away slowly, if you can do it safely. Running may stimulate a lion’s instinct to chase and attack. Face the lion and stand upright.
• Do all you can to appear larger. Raise your arms. Open your jacket if you’re wearing one. If you have small children with you, protect them by picking them up so they won’t panic and run.
• If the lion behaves aggressively, throw stones, branches or whatever you can get your hands on without crouching down or turning your back. Wave your arms slowly and speak firmly. What you want to do is convince the lion you are not prey and that you may in fact be a danger to the lion.
• Fight back if a lion attacks you. Lions have been driven away by prey that fights back. People have fought back with rocks, sticks, caps or jackets, garden tools andtheir bare hands successfully. We recommend targeting the eyes and nose as these are sensitive areas. Remain standing or try to get back up!

Respecting wildlife includes being informed on how to avoid or manage wildlife encounters. To learn more about living with wildlife in Colorado, visit cpw.state.co.us.

“Working with like-minded groups like IWFF greatly expands our ability to reach those in need around the world,” said SCI Foundation president Bob Benson. “By supporting local communities and helping to meet their humanitarian needs, we hope to further our conservation mission by helping to alleviate some of the pressures facing wildlife in some of the poorest areas of Africa. If wildlife is to survive, the people living in these areas must see a benefit. We’re hoping, with IWFF’s help, to provide that benefit.”

IWFF’s efforts distributing their Bell Family Blue Bags have been impressive. Since December, Blue Bags containing items like food, clothing, toys and other supplies have been delivered to many places including a Macacasa Village where 120 very poor people live; a foster home where 7 children from terrible conditions now live in a safe and happy home; and to Grace House Shelter for the Homeless in Krugersdorp where 55 adults and 10 small children live.

Through their program, numerous Blue Bag deliveries have also been made to local schools including the Booysens Beertjies Nursery School in Pretoria where 100 small children from a very poor community attend school as well as to the Mangalana Community Schools in Mozambique where many of these children only eat at school, as there is no food in their homes. IWFF supports schools like these through the delivery of Blue Bags containing food, clothing and supplies, so that the children can learn English and get a good education, so that they can find jobs and do not have to turn to poaching to make a living.

Also supported through deliveries of meat, groceries, cleaning materials and clothing via Blue Bags have been the Kungwini Centre where 200 physically and mentally challenged adults and 30 children live and the Elandspoort Child Welfare Centre, where 65 kids from a very poor community come to do their homework after school and to enjoy to what most of them is their only meal of the day. To many of these children, which come from the poorest of families, going to an orphanage where they would receive three meals a day and sleep in a warm bed sounds like going on holiday.

IWFF’s Little Feet Project works to help meet the medical and other needs of children born with club feet like two little boys from a very poor area of Booysens taken away from their parents because of neglect and abuse, which now live in a foster house with five other children that IWFF also supports. IWFF organized for their feet to be fixed by a doctor and Blue Bags were delivered to help with food, clothing and medication for the two boys during their recovery.

“We are very grateful for the partnership between ourselves, SCI Foundation, the Bell Family and Amy Bell Charities,” said IWFF CEO Retha van der Merwe. “This partnership has made a huge difference towards the life changing projects that we aim to do, thereby showing that hunters do care.”

In addition to its humanitarian work, IWFF also directly supports several African-based conservation efforts including the VULPRO Vulture Sanctuary, a rescue center where Vultures poisoned or shocked by electric fencing or wires are rescued, healed and released into nature, and LET IT SWIM at the Josini Dam, an anti-poaching project that looks to stop southern/common reedbuck from being poached and tiger fish from being illegally netted greatly affecting angling-based tourism and the economics of the area, which is the largest and one of a very few places in South Africa where the iconic tiger fish species breed and occur naturally.

Together, we are working to make a real, tangible difference on the ground in Africa. Partnerships like this one greatly expand the reach of much-needed humanitarian programs like the Safari-Care Bell Family Blue Bag program, providing relief and alternatives to poaching and illegal hunting and trapping, supporting wildlife conservation efforts where it matters most. We thank the Bell Family for their generous support and IWFF for their ongoing commitment to helping those in need across Africa.

To learn more about this and other SCI Foundation Humanitarian Services projects, visit SafariClubFoundation.org. To learn more about IWFF, feel free to contact Retha van der Merwe at ceo@iwff.co.za.

CLICK HERE To support this and other SCI Foundation programs, make a donation today.

Categories: Colorado News

Tags: bell family blue bag program, blue bag program, give back foundatins, great giving stories, hunters helping others, Safari Club International Foundation, SCI