Bears

[daveb]

Maybe some have seen this. Not sure if this is a stunt with a trained bear...I would hope so. I expected to see him ride off on a bike at the end of the video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaQiHA307Q0

[Marcel Huijser]

Irresponsible for many reasons...

[86Scotty]

Completely fake. No way the people would be that relaxed.

[BCam]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

Completely fake. No way the people would be that relaxed.

Not necessarily fake, especially if the bear had a habit of visiting picnic tables and the people knew it. Aside from the people's reaction, I've been in campgrounds where bears took things off tables occupied by people and weren't the least bit aggressive.

On the other hand, it's pretty stupid to play into it.

[killacks]

...thought this said "beers."

Although, clearly beers were involved

[ctb]

Man...reckless and disregard for your own personal safety...ALL THE INTERNET VIDEOS with wildlife (Ridiculousness, MTV) ALWAYS have the moment where the wild animal is eating or seems happy a human is standing right there, changes its mind (B/C IT IS WILD) attacks...the latest is the woman shooting some pics of a Bison, Bison says no, horns her OUT OF HER PANTS, 10 feet in air...BIson seems to be wearing her pants on horn as striding back to home....geeeeeeze

We have taken great wildlife shots from our bear-proof/hmmm maybe resistant, SMB and stayed safe lol...

[TRAVRSS]

Had one walk into camp last week up at Mono Hot Springs and help itself to our trash about fifteen feet away. There were three of them actually, and they came back each night. The last night one was in the back of the Silverado prying open the coolers when we chased them off. I felt for the gals sleeping in tents. The wife wanted to know how we were going to keep them from coming through the canvas top. The hatchet, I replied...

Last year we watched this one for five minutes, about a quarter mile from the trailhead of the hike we had just done.

Lot's of bear stories, but I won't bore ya'll...

Da Bears!

[Marcel Huijser]

I know some of you know this and act on it, but this is for those who do not yet know this and who may not yet act on it.


Camping in bear country:

Make trash and food inaccessible to wildlife; especially overnight. Do not leave food and trash out unattended, not even visible through a car window... this includes coolers... some habituated bears know what is inside... bears can easily peel open a car door with their claws if they think there is a reward. Manage food / trash odors as best as you can, including dish water... bears smell way better than we do. If you can't lock food and trash out of sight, hang it from trees (many drawings, videos on the internet on how to do this with ropes) or put it in a bear proof container. Do not attract bears to your camp ever. This is really important. It gets everyone in trouble... you, other people, and especially the bears... it is not OK to leave out attractants. It is irresponsible.


When hiking in bear country:
1. Make noise regularly when hiking... the purpose is to not surprise them at close range. This is especially important near streams (they can't hear you as well), blind corners, ridges, thick vegetation.
2. Hiking in groups of 4 or more results in fewer conflicts with bears.
3. Carry bear spray on your belt or chest (within reach), and know how to use it. Bear spray is more effective and safer for you, others, and bears compared to firearms.
4. Give the animals space.
5. Learn how to tell black bears from grizzly bears and act accordingly when you are in an area where grizzly bears are known to be present... there is tons of stuff on the internet that shows you what to do and what not to do if you encounter a bear (e.g. REI website, state wildlife agencies websites... stay away from the "rambo" or "man against beast" types of websites). Especially with grizzly bears it is important that you do not show behavior that challenges them.

Sorry if this sounds like a lecture, ... but I guess it is a lecture because it is serious stuff with real consequences.
We can share the outdoors with bears if we behave responsibly.
In fact, watching wildlife is one of the reasons why we do what we do... so, let's keep it a place that we share with wild animals and do our part to minimize conflicts.


Thanks for "bearing with me" !



Marcel

[Marcel Huijser]

And now that I am sharing some bear insights:


... the bags many of us have on our spare tire should not have trash in them (and no food, or anything that may smell interesting to a bear) if you are camping in an area with bears... of course rodents will get into it just about anywhere, but definitely do not store trash in those bags in bear country.

[AndrewInSeattle]

Originally Posted by Marcel Huijser

I know some of you know this and act on it, but this is for those who do not yet know this and who may not yet act on it.
Marcel

Thanks Marcel. What seems obvious to some is new information to others, and people have to learn this stuff for the first time somewhere.

I'd just add -- and this is what infuriates me most about that video and similar ones -- is that when a dangerous animal becomes habituated to humans, it often becomes necessary for rangers or other authorities to kill it for public safety reasons. They usually say "destroy" or "euthanize", but it's the same thing. So even if you're so macho you're not afraid of the bear, you should still be afraid for the bear.

I personally don't carry bear spray, but I'm not in grizzly country and I make a lot of noise whenever sight-lines are limited. Note that Canada classifies all defensive sprays as weapons, so you can't bring it across the border (assuming the border re-opens eventually).