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Thread: Bears

  1. #11
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hammock engineer View Post
    I should add that if I was in an area really in the middle of nowhere where people usually are not found, I would consider carrying bear spray. I think, just my opinion without a lot of research, that bears not used to seeing people would be more likely to approach you and see what you are and if there was a food oportunity.
    Well, though I certainly agree with you on carrying that bear spay, what about the bears that are used to seing people? Like the one that killed the lady in GSMNP, the child in Murphy, NC or the 11 year old snatched from his tent a couple of weeks ago at the campground in Utah? None of these were at deep wilderness locations.

    I always carry some form of defence if legal, and pray that I never even have to think about using it. And so far, so good. Its all just been useles extra weight I had to lug. The closest bad outcome was the near porcupine attack in Colorado!
    Last edited by BillyBob58; 06-27-2007 at 13:24.

  2. #12
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    Bear spray: Pretty much useless with an aggressive bear, particularly if it has been sprayed before. Pepper spray works once, from what I've been told by a lot of backcountry folks while living in Colorado. I don't know if that is true, but I do know that if you are exposed to it enough, you develop a tolerance to it; ask any soldier that had the pleasure of sitting in a gas chamber during training.

    Firearms: Unless unless it is a large caliber or point blank and well placed; you're gonna make it mad and it's going after you for sport. Plus, the added weight is an issue for some of us.

    I've been very lucky over the years and all of my bear encounters have been peaceful. But, I approach the bear factor when hiking the same as I do the shark factor when diving; it is their domain and I'm the interloper. If you're attacked, (odds are against it by the way) fight!

    Adventure carries risk, always has. That has never stopped the brave or the curious from taking the risk.

    By the way, spent one winter pulling mama bears and their cubs out of their dens to weigh and measure them with the Wildlife Society. You wanna talk about scary!
    Last edited by Cannibal; 06-27-2007 at 14:13.

  3. #13
    slowhike's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cannibal View Post
    .
    By the way, spent one winter pulling mama bears and their cubs out of their dens to weigh and measure them with the Wildlife Society. You wanna talk about scary!
    wow cannibal, that's cool!
    hey billybob, just curious as to where you read that about black bears being more likely to stalk humans as food. it just seems in contrast to what i've herd many times, from various sources. ...tim
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  4. #14
    Senior Member FanaticFringer's Avatar
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    Just look at that cute bear taking a nap in that hammock. He would'nt hurt a flea.
    "Every day above ground is a good day"

  5. #15
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FanaticFringer View Post
    Just look at that cute bear taking a nap in that hammock. He would'nt hurt a flea.
    If I came back to camp from getting water to see that cute bear taking a nap in my hammock, I'd be breaking the LNT code cause my hammock would be left right there!

  6. #16
    slowhike's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cannibal View Post
    If I came back to camp from getting water to see that cute bear taking a nap in my hammock, I'd be breaking the LNT code cause my hammock would be left right there!
    LOL... yep, because mama wouldn't be far away!!!
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  7. #17
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    Yeah, then you would come back the next day to the whole bear family moving in and fighting over the hammock.
    Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
    The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".

  8. #18
    slowhike's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hammock engineer View Post
    Yeah, then you would come back the next day to the whole bear family moving in and fighting over the hammock.
    i think we should re-write the "Goldilocks" story.
    when she lays down in the hammock... Ahhhh, this one is just right!!!
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  9. #19
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by slowhike View Post
    wow cannibal, that's cool!
    hey billybob, just curious as to where you read that about black bears being more likely to stalk humans as food. it just seems in contrast to what i've herd many times, from various sources. ...tim
    Tim,
    I can't remember. It may have been in that book I referenced above, or it may have been in another book about bears. Now understand they were not saying you were more likely to be attacked by a black than a Griz, due to temper differences. And I don't think they were saying you were more likely to survive the Gris attack. They were just speaking of of motivation for attack. And saying that stalking a human for food( to eat the human, as opposed to just trying to get the humans food) was more likely to happen with a black than a Griz.

    Which is logical when you consider the advice the experts give on how to handle a Griz attack vs. BBear attack. Don't they say to play dead with the Griz, but to fight the black? ESPECIALLY if the black has come into camp or followed you in the woods? I think they say that because once the black has broken into your tent and started chewing on you, or followed you thru the woods before an attack, that means you are on the menue. If you play dead with the Griz, he might just slap you around a bit once he realizes the threat is gone. If you play dead with the black, he is just tickled about the easy meal he has found.

    Look at those recent examples in Utah, NC and GSMNP. It appears those bears all had meals planned. And all black bears.
    Last edited by BillyBob58; 06-27-2007 at 22:02.

  10. #20
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    You know, if you get to researching this stuff, you realize it's more common than you think. But anyway, just looking at the 2000s, check out how often a black bear kills, and how often it seems associated with predation of the human by the bear. I have read somewhere else recently that black bears are much less likely to attack to protect their cubs than a Griz is.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...rica_by_decade

    There were about 52 recorded deaths due to black bears between 1900 and 2003 and about 50 deaths due to brown bears and about 5 due to polar bears in the same period. The most recent data is the most reliable and complete, but does not necessarily include all of the fatal attacks that have occurred in North America. Prior to recent decades bear attacks were not well documented, particularly those which took place in isolated regions. As a result there were more attacks and fatalities than have been recorded as shown here, particularly in Canada and Alaska.

    2005 was a notably bad year for fatal bear attacks in Canada with 5 in the span of only a few months, generating increased media attention on the subject. Wildlife conservation officials issued public warnings in certain areas known to have large bear populations in close proximity to humans.

    [edit] 2000s
    Name, age, gender Date Species Location, comments

    Samuel Evan Ives, 11, male June 17, 2007 Black Taken from a tent in American Fork Canyon in the Uinta National Forest in Utah County, Utah where he was sleeping with his stepfather, mother and 6-year-old brother. The bear was later destroyed by state Wildlife officials.[1]


    Elora Petrasek, 6, female April 13, 2006 Black She was killed and her mother and 2 year-old brother seriously injured in an attack in the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee.[2]


    Arthur Louie, 60, male September 20, 2005 Brown Killed by a female and two cubs while he was walking back to his mining camp after his truck had a flat tire at Bowron River, British Columbia.[3]

    Jacqueline Perry, 30, female September 6, 2005 Black Killed in a predatory attack at the Missinaibi Lake Provincial Park, north of Chapleau, Ontario, Canada. Her husband was seriously injured trying to protect her. Ministry staff shot and killed the bear at approximately 8:00 a.m. Saturday, September 10, 2005, near the area where the fatal attack occurred in a remote area of the park. [4][5] The bear involved had already attempted to attack two fisherman an hour before this attack occurred

    Harvey Robinson, 69, male August 26, 2005 Black Fatally mauled while picking plums at Selkirk, north of Winnipeg, Manitoba.


    Rich Huffman, 61, male; Kathy Huffman, 58, female June 23, 2005 Brown Killed in their tent at a campsite along the Hulahula river 12 miles upriver from Kaktovik in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.


    Isabelle Dube, 35, female June 5, 2005 Brown Killed while jogging with 2 friends on the Bench Trail in Canmore, Alberta


    Merlyn Carter, 71, male 2005 Black Found dead in the main cabin of his fishing camp located 300 km Northeast of Ft. Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada.


    Timothy Treadwell, 46, male ; Amie Huguenard, 37, female October 2003 Brown Found by their pilot, dead and partially consumed at Katmai National Park, Alaska on October 6, 2003. Treadwell was world-famous for his books and documentaries on living with wild bears in Alaska. State Troopers investigating the incident recovered an audiotape of the attack.[6]

    Forestry worker April 17, 2003 Black Stalked, killed and partially consumed by a large, black bear near Waswanipi, a village in northern Quebec.

    male citizen of Alberta, Canada September 2002 Black Attacked and killed at a remote oil rigging site in northeastern British Columbia.

    male hunter September 2002 Black Attacked and killed in his campsite in Gaspé region of Quebec.

    Ester Schwimmer, 5 months, female August 2002 Black Bear grabs and kills 5 month old infant from stroller on the porch of home in Fallsburg, New York

    Adelia Maestras Trujillo, 93, female August 2001 Black Bear breaks into a house in and is confronted by the elderly owner who dies during the attack.


    Kyle Harry, 18, male June 3, 2001 Black Attacked and killed at a rural campsite 25 km. east of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, Canada.

    George Tullos, 41, male July 14, 2000 Brown His partially consumed body was found at Run Amuk campground in Hyder, Alaska.

    Mary-Beth Miller, 24, female July 2000 Black Attacked and killed while on a training run in Quebec, Canada.

    Glena Ann Bradley, female May 2000 Black Killed and partially consumed by a 112 pound female and her 40 pound yearling. The attack occurred near the Goshen Prong/Little River trail junction 1.5 miles upstream from Elkmont, Great Smoky Mountains near Gatlinburg, Tennessee

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