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Old 01-08-2011, 11:35 AM   #11
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Re: Bears

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Originally Posted by Ford_6L_E350
We all know someone who has been severly bitten by a dog, most of us have not met anyone attacked by a bear.
Mike
I wish that were true. A good friend was severelly mauled by a grizzly and his fiance killed. He has permanent scars on his face where the bear took a chunk out and he can't use his left side very well. Walks with a cane now and obvious facial scarring

Also my dad was camping tent ripped open and brown bear almost deciding to take a chunk out of his face. Luckily other campers made enough noise to scare it away.

I was stalked by a big brown bear for 5 miles while hiking through heavy brush when I worked in Alaska for a summer. I don't know why it never charged.... Also been hiking numerous times and come across grizzly. My most recent encounter just this last summer pic below......

However with all that said I have gotten over my fear of bears and it was one of the reasons I bought a Sportsmobile so I can still camp in bear country and not be so worried with my family. Also I obviously still hike in bear country too.


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Old 01-08-2011, 01:39 PM   #12
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Re: Bears

The closest i've been to a (black) bear was a 2 week hiking trip way up the Yosemite valley in the early 1970's. There were several evenings that bears snooped around camp.

One of those nites i woke up to an awful smell. Opened my eyes and saw a bear smelling and licking the face of the guy to my right who was wide-eyed-scared-speachless. Neither of us made a sound, and the bear just wandered off. I never want to be that close again!

Second encounter in the same general area i was following a stream back to camp after fishing one afternoon and a mama and two cubs crossed about 20 yards downstreem, she got up on her rear legs to sniff the air, then quickly rambled off into the brush with her cubs.

The third was hilarious. One nite we woke to noise in camp and watched a cub on all fours on his mama's back (also on all fours) swatting at our leather food bag strung between two trees!

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Old 01-08-2011, 01:48 PM   #13
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Re: Bears

We have camped in bear country many times with the SMB and never had a problem. Most bears you meet in the wild (not campgrounds) are going to be as scared of you, as you are of them. This is especially true for black bears. After all we are the bears only predator.

When camping I always have bear spray easily accessible not only for the bears but also for the two legged predators mentioned above. We also have an alarm on the van and I keep the remote handy because bears don't like loud noises and I figure the sound of the alarm will send any curious bears packing. If you are sleeping in the van and a bear is outside the horn would probably work just as good.

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Old 01-08-2011, 04:18 PM   #14
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Re: Bears

All this talk of Bears had me thinking....
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Old 01-08-2011, 09:21 PM   #15
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Re: Bears

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Originally Posted by denverguy
We go camping in bear country from time to time and are considering getting a SM canvas Penthouse top.

Our major concern is our grand kids will be sleeping on the top bed from time to time.

Has anyone out there had any issues with bears since it's only a canvas top like a tent?

There will obviously be a food smell in the camper due to cooking and food in the fridge.

Thanks


None ever, and I frequent Yosemite enough that many of the rangers know me.

One thing to keep in mind is you’ll never know what the bear (any bear) has been through before you encounter it so it’s always best to be cautious. But there is also a big difference between a grizzly and a black bear. I’ve had more meets with black bears than I can remember and only a couple put me in a dangerous predicament. I don’t like how moody a grizzly can get, but I really don’t know them like the California bears I’ve had the pleasure to meet. Most of those encounters with black bears were like waking to one licking my boots, or having one lay down across my legs thinking the tent was a big rock to rest against…things like that. When I was a firefighter one of them crunched my wallet and badge. Try to explain that one to the chief! That bear also ate a can of tomato sauce. Their nose can smell through most anything. There was no stopping it and its cub from raiding our camp.
I’ve been chased by a bear twice, both due to stupid moves I made…yes getting between a mother and cub. Once was when I attempted to snap a photograph, and the other trying to get my wallet back. But most of the time they act like a dog watching that steak cook on the grill…turn your back and the food is gone. I’ve had to chase down a few bears with a backpack or food bag in its mouth. One thing for sure is they understand that backpacks equal food, and they seem to know every serial number of any ice chest ever made. Cover them up or keep them out of view. The Yosemite bears have become quite clever. They know that food is in the RV because they can smell it even if you don’t cook in it but aren’t sure how to get to it. I got stuck in court for several days there and had to leave my van parked in the parking lot at the lodge. I made up some pepper spray and misted around the van each morning and night. Although it seemed silly, I did sleep a little better while being away from the vehicle. The rangers thought it was a good idea (or were laughing behind my back ). They had a couple of vans broke into by bears in that parking lot so I took desperate measures.

When cooking outside keep a lookout and don’t leave food out. After you’re done with your BBQ (if you use one) keep the lid off so the bear can see nothing is in it. So far I haven’t been harassed by rangers for leaving it out but that might change some day. I keep mine in the back of my Aluminess box but wonder if bears might try to pry it open. So far no problems to date.

I think that if the rig is occupied and you’re not cooking in it, you’ll never have a problem. There is really no difference between a PH RV and hard sided RV...they know there is food in there. Just use common sense and you should be OK

Here are a couple of similar posts:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3006
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2946


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Old 01-09-2011, 08:25 PM   #16
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Re: Bears

My brother sent this to me a while back. If you don't mind a bit of foul language in the last paragraph you might get a good chuckle out of it. Now don't go jumpin down to the last paragraph...start from the top.

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Old 01-09-2011, 09:02 PM   #17
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Re: Bears

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My brother sent this to me a while back. If you don't mind a bit of foul language in the last paragraph you might get a good chuckle out of it. Now don't go jumpin down to the last paragraph...start from the top.
ROFLMAO
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Old 01-15-2011, 05:43 PM   #18
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Re: Bears

While talking about bears....
Just got these from my brother in law....

Polar Bear Attack in the High Arctic

This is from up in the North West Territory, this chap is lucky to be alive.
The guy survived the bear attack.
The bear jumped on him while he was sleeping in his tent
and he managed to get it off of him and shoot it.


the tent

[Warning, Graphic Image - changed to link]
http://sportsmobileforum.com/gallery...3f3fef13aa.jpg
the bear


[Warning, Graphic Image- changed to link]
http://sportsmobileforum.com/gallery...dc7bf8403a.jpg
the man....backside


the tent from the inside


[Warning, REALLY Graphic Image- changed to text]
http://sportsmobileforum.com/gallery/images/upload/8449cd15bc09b1807169b91d5a596a66.jpg
the man's foot....or what is left of it.
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Old 01-15-2011, 06:13 PM   #19
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Re: Bears

That last pic is seriously nasty!
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Old 01-15-2011, 06:55 PM   #20
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Re: Bears

Made some edits, not for the faint of heart. Copy the last link if you really can't resist.
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