Wildlife scored again, this time in Tennessee. This time, a black bear.

Toll this time: One dead, two seriously injured.

The perpetrator: a black bear, which is – as I write this – still on the loose.

The news hit the headlines with the gruesome details concerning the attack on an Ohio mother and her two children, a 2-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl.

Susan Cenkus was with her son Luke and daughter Elora at a pool below a waterfall in the Cherokee National Forest, a 640,000-acre reserve along the Tennessee-North Carolina border.

According to campers on the scene, the 300- to 400-pound animal appeared and attacked Luke, grabbing him by the head. Mrs. Cenkus fought the animal in an attempt to save her son, but she was attacked, picked up by the bear and dragged off the trail.

Others campers beat at the animal, finally chasing it off.

In the meantime, little Elora ran off and wasn't seen again for an hour. At that point, Danny Stinnett, who was searching for her, came upon her body, still clothed in a bathing suit, with the bear standing over her. Stinnett said the bear was at least 5'8" tall. He took a shot at the animal, but it got away – it may not have been hit.

The search is on for the animal – trackers are using scent dogs as well as using traps baited with sweets. So far, no success.

Luke required brain surgery for puncture wounds, which pierced his skull and brain. Doctors believe he will recover. His mother is critically injured and not able to speak.

She had at least eight major puncture wounds in her neck, several of which involved her spine. In addition, there were puncture wounds on her body too numerous to count. Medical reports say she's undergone surgery, but will require much more in addition to skin grafts.

Funeral arrangements for Elora have yet to be announced.

Of course, the goal is to find the attacking animal and destroy it – animal speak for "kill it."

Reaction from wildlife specialists is uniform: Black bears don't usually attack people.

Unless of course, they do.

They hope to find this animal so the brain can be examined. Rangers believe it may be sick or have an infection, which could have caused it to attack.

On the other hand, perhaps it just wanted a kill or a meal.

According to Dan Hicks, with the Tennessee State Wildlife Resources Agency, this is only the second documented attack on humans by a black bear in modern Tennessee history.

Official speak for "the woods are safe."

In May 2000, Glenda Ann Bradley was attacked, killed and partially eaten by two female black bears while she walked near a trailhead in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Her husband, who'd been fishing nearby, found her body with the animals standing over her.

Wildlife experts concluded the attack was predatory.

In other words, it was intentional – attack, kill, eat. Just like the wild animals they are.

Unfortunately, as the human population grows, there's development in formerly wild areas reducing wildlife habitat. Conversely, much farmland has been returned to its "natural state," which provides habitat for wildlife.

In addition, environmentalists and animal-rights activists have scored big wins by portraying wild animals as cute and cuddly and not to be restricted, hunted or killed for any reason.

A result of this attitude is that people have lost their fear of wild animals. They forget there is danger in the woods. Watch tourists in Yellowstone or Yosemite or any country area in their efforts to "feed the bears." Are they so stupid they can't see the danger?

Yes, stupid and foolish.

Laws against hunting, and virtually any animal killing, enables the wildlife population to increase and become accustomed to humans. Included in that population are the animals that will attack and kill people, large and small.

We already know dogs and cats are attacked: They're small, well fed and there for the taking. A tasty treat! So are farm animals.

Next in line are people, and while such attacks are not that common, if you're the one, that's all that matters. I don't take great comfort in knowing that while mountain lion attacks are few, they're increasing. So are those of wolves, coyotes and bears.

Remember, even deer – yes, Bambi – have attacked and killed dogs and people.

Also worrisome is that the numbers of cougar/mountain lion sightings have increased greatly over the last 10 years. We're still told that cats are nocturnal and avoid people. That the cats are getting bold enough to be seen by humans means it's inevitable human attacks will increase.

In 1994, Barbara Schoener was mauled, killed and partially eaten by a mountain lion while running in the Auburn State Recreational Area in Northern California.

Experts traditionally tell us that mountain lions and bears are shy and prefer to avoid people. How does that jibe with what Massachusetts Wildlife Biologists who say: Bears are learning to associate people with food.

I'll add: as food.

In Fallsburg, N.Y., in August 2002, a black bear came into a summer camp, walked onto a cabin porch, snatched a 5-month-old child out of a carriage, carrying it off and killing it.

Biologists also say people are less heedful of bears.

They're so cute. Let's take a picture.

Not much consolation in that for an 81-year-old woman who was mauled in her own home in the Adirondacks in 2001.

Not much consolation for the state of Arizona which was sued by the family of a disfigured teen attending a mountain camp and who was attacked by a bear that had been tagged and "relocated" for safety.

Not much consolation for the residents of Massachusetts and Connecticut who are enduring increased bear incursions and attacks. It's a matter of time until further tragedies.

New Jersey has reinstituted limited bear hunts to help control the growing population of the animals.

Connecticut takes a more politically correct approach. We are told to learn the facts about black bears and learn how to co-exist with the bears.

Co-exist? At what point does that become stupid advice?

How many people will have to die before we're struck with common sense?

Stay turned. This story isn't over.