A different angle on the bear stories.
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV+Sho...46780/?page=19
A different angle on the bear stories.
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV+Sho...46780/?page=19
In southern NM we mainly have black bears and the occasional cinnamon bear. I've only had one ordeal with a black bear.
2 years ago:
We were on a church camping trip with tents and 5th wheels with a cooking fire, grills, etc in the middle of camp(not everyone on this kind of trip is savy on the ways of avoiding encounters). I must add our tent/fabric house was off to the side a ways.
It had rained like crazy and we camped so much that year my sons voted to pack up early. I began to gather our things inside the tent, while trying muster the courage to tackle the task of packing my huge 50lb tent. All of the sudden I hear a friend tell my sons "Hey boys! There's a bear". I miraculously find myself out of the tent, my boots on, and Rem. 12ga. in hand. A second friend (with .40cal) and I ( with 12.ga) start waving our hands and calmly but loudly saying "HEY BEAR HEY BEAR". At this point we just wanted him to go on about his business down the road. He was about 30 yards away at this point directly up the mountain. He was not afraid of us one bit. In the midst of the excitement, I calmed down enough to get a good look at him.......WOW! What a beautiful bear.
As he saunters across the mtn, we decide it would be a good idea to put a little fear of man in him (...near him). I shot off a round (intentionally missing) just behind him. This was mainly to make a really loud noise to say "You're not welcome here this weekend".......He slowly turns his head and stares at us as if to say "Is that all you got?"So I repeat that process of shooting just behind him, and we get the same response. What's that definition of insanity?......something about doing the same thing over and over expecting different results....
At this point he makes his way into the woods, while we slowly loose sight of him, but it wasn't 5 minutes later that we see he has made his way down to the dirt road. He decided to investigate a little further, and starts walking directly for us about 60-75 yards away. We stop walking down the road to drive him out, and begin to slowly back peddle to maintain a comfortable distance. I am at the ready and with some brief discussion we agree that at this distance a little peppering will not deliver any mortal wounds. I am not the kind to just go around harming animals at the drop of a hat, but with kids and women in camp we wanted him to get the message. As soon as he turned his body to step off a log, I cracked off a third shot, which simulated a half hearted spanking to his thick haired butt. He only ran 10-15 feet and continued sauntering around (confirming the distance was well outside of injury for such an animal and gun combo), but in a direction that told us he'd leave us alone.
This years camping trip I'll be carrying my new 45XD.Hoping the only thing I have to point it at is a series of circles on a piece of paper.
On that note, KNOW YOUR TARGET! This past week I heard a story of a man that was pretending to be a bear out side a tent (the classic camping prank), and his brother (on the inside of the tent) shot him....dead.....Thinking he was shooting a bear.
Well as EDD270 said cats are the scary ones. As much as I like talking bout bears, I thought I would tell this one
WOLVERINE!!!! Saw one once outside of Leadville,co. I had no idea what it even was. So like a curious cat I fallowed the creature for a while threw some thick bush. At one point we ( wolverine and I ) stopped in a clearing filled with a marsh type pond. It was on the other side of the water and gave me a very serious leave me alone look. I studied the creature as the sun was shining on him/her. It was a dark colored animal with a rusty colored stripes.
Years latter me and a old trapper were chatting and I told him the story, as soon as I told him the colors. He said " it's one of those pesky wolverines " as my heart sunk a bit, amazement wash over me. For the simple fact that I got to see one. Heck I wasn't even awear they were in Colorado.
Just had to tell that one
This, 100 times over. I carry made in Montana UDAP.Originally Posted by fly fisher
I'm fascinated by bears, particularly griz (despite being a die-hard Bobcat fan) and I've had close contact with an in-captivity but still wild bear thanks to a friend. I now know what grizzly bear kisses feel like - imagine a large cat tongue/sandpaper with really slimy saliva and large, terrifying teeth.
Bear expert Casey Anderson did a demonstration that underlines why I carry bear spray and not a .44. When the moment arrives and you have an 800 pound, pissed off momma bear charging you, adrenaline coursing through your veins and no time for a second shot, would you trust your marksmanship and one bullet (which might not stop her) or a 20 foot radius of bear spray?
Sure, the noise of a gunshot could work to scare her off. But I'd rather trust that she doesn't like spicy food.
Also, it's non-fatal, and I'd prefer for a bear to survive to terrify someone else than to have to be put down because of a hole I put in her.
That being said - use bear-proof food containers (for all of your "smellables - including camp trash, toiletries, etc.), don't just rely on hanging food. Don't even give them the chance of becoming used to free food. Never feed wild animals of any kind, especially predators.
It's also beneficial to better understand bear behavior. Don't get between momma and cubs. Don't become a competing predator (if you caught a fish and he wants it, give it to him.) Bears become violent if threatened, hungry, or if their young are threatened. Otherwise, they'll mostly avoid human contact unless they have come to think of humans as a source of food.
Respect bears, be smart, you'll be ok.
Hey a wild animal is a wild animal you need to respect them and there space...I live in northern NH and we have lots of deer ,bear, moose and coyotes here.. Any of which could take you out if you messed with them but if you give them space most of the time its not a big deal at all..Enjoy your trip..
Depending on where we are, we are usually pretty heavily armed in the Cascades. After a winter camp in a snow cave we woke up with cougar prints circling our camp.
It's a nimbers game for me,, how many tens of million hiking hours are put in by hikers in "bear states" in the US? how many fatal encounters each year? 1? .5? .25?
Number wise, I have a better chance of getting gang raped by the Swedish Bikini Team out in them woods,,,
I'll take my chances
Slack
Now that is something one needs to prepare for! Acclimating to their presence, etc...
There are more than bears to watch for around here. A guy was killed by a bull moose a few years ago in Red Lodge. Went for a walk on a Sunday morning outside his cabin and was pummeled by the moose. Turns out that the moose had been wounded by an out of season arrow shot and had taken a general dislike for humans.
Love is blind. Marriage is an eye opener.
Elk are always good for kicking a tourist butte. Raccoons will attack. There are lots of fun ways for stupid people to get wrecked in the woods.
Carpe noctem!!
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