Oct 26, 2005

Crazy and Twinned

It was a school morning, but Sierra Stiles wasn't gathering her books. Instead, in the pre-dawn blackness, the 8-year-old pulled on a camouflage shirt, pants and boots, and grabbed a high-powered hunting rifle. The third-grader from Western Maryland had beaten out 1,992 applicants to be selected through a state lottery as one of only 200 to obtain hunting licenses for Maryland's second black bear hunt in a half-century. Hiding with her father behind trees on her family's farm, Sierra used a .243-caliber rifle to shoot a 211-pound male black bear Monday morning, the first kill of the season, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. In the end, the youngest and smallest hunter also proved to be the quickest to claim a trophy."I'm so proud of her," said Robert Harvey, 65, her great-uncle, who owns the farm in Kitzmiller where the bear was shot. "It's good to get these kids outside, so they can really learn". Sierra's bear, which she plans to turn into a rug, was one of 13 to be registered with game officers Monday at the Mount Nebo Wildlife Management Area just north of Oakland, with another two weighed-in at a state office in Frostburg. It was the first day of a season expected to last three or four days, or until at least 40 are killed, twice as many as last year, state officials said. The plan is to kill no more than 55 bears this year. Barred in Maryland since 1953, black bear hunting was resumed last fall in Garrett and western Allegany counties by wildlife managers who concluded that the animals were no longer endangered, with at least 500 in the state; maybe. Happy Hunting!

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