Camping in black bear country

[brookieman]

Uhm, I dissagree. I haven't camped in a Provincial Park since I was very young. All my bear encounters (except the last 5 years in my backyard) have been in deep, dense, unpopulated bush where the bears have very few, if any, encounters with humans. They are predators, and intelligent scavengers. If they smell food, they will take advantage of the situation.

 

And when the bears have not seen people, they just think they are a new weird food source. Why should they be scared if they are the top predator in their home range? It is up to the people camping to be smarter than the bears.

 

As for the Algonquin bears. It was my understanding that when a bear grows large enough to take down a full grown moose, they start taking down people as well. I researched this a few years ago when the bears were huge up here. People make a lot less fuss than a full grown moose.

 

Pam

 

Pam, i must completely disagree with you. You should re-check your fact finding. While i agree they will take advantage of any food left carelessly lying around....so will a dog...or any animal for that matter.

 

Regarding your comment on taking down humans...i'm still shaking my head. How many predatory attacks are you aware of in the past 100 years....me, i don't know of too many. Compared to the number of back country travellers, it's certainly not much. Black bears rarely attack moose and the ones that are attacked are either sick or weak, or young. YOU WILL NEVER SEE A BLACK BEAR GO AFTER A HEALTHY FULL GROWN MOOSE. Bears are smart enough to know they'd likely not win that battle. Futher, moose are consistenly in their environment so they know where they stand with them. Not so in truly "back country" non park encounters with humans. Chances are you'll see their asses as they run into the safety of the bush. Have a conversation with any biologist and i'm pretty sure they'll concur.

[brookieman]

oh, i hust wanted to ad something Pam. Balck Bears are Omnivores, yet their is only 10% meat. They'll take advantage of sick animals or "easy prey", but mostly they forage for berries, insects etc...They may be at the top of the food chain, but they'll almost never look for a fight. They look at things in terms of energy consumption. Foraging doesn't consume much, tussling does. They'd rather just move on.

 

Are you talking from experience or just what you've read and believe as gospel?

[Rizzo]

We're in his domain people

 

its all my domain. Last I checked humans are number 1

[danc]

Here's a few bear stories from the past in my neck of the woods. You guys can decide how they fit into this thread.

 

About 12 years ago, our local news station did a story about bears from a small mining camp approximately 100 miles north of Thunder Bay. Apparently one of the workers there had befriended a bear, and it was a frequent visitor to his cabin. Not just to the property of the cabin, but this huge bear would come right inside his cabin for dinner every night. It practically took up half of his tiny sitting area. He would feed it and scold it when it's manners were bad. The bear knew when it was being scolded and it cowered when doing so. And all of this was on video on our local news.

 

A few years ago a friend of mine had a boat seat chewed up by a bear during the night. Apparently he had gotten some fish slime on the seat and the bear couldn't resist. We had a good laugh over this as the seat was so torn up that it had to be replaced. We were camped about 50 yards away, coolers of food on the ground.

 

Once I was fishing a very small creek. The banks were impossible to walk, so we would bring a 10' square ended punt and drift down the creek. We'd stash a bicycle in the woods at the end of the drift and one of us would ride the bike back to pick up the vehicle when we were done. About half way down we could hear branches cracking and some commotion coming our way. We stopped talking and waited, as the noises grew louder. Suddenly a huge bear sticks his face through the bushes, not 3' from my face. We had a 20 second staring contest before I won and the bear wondered off.

 

Bears should be respected, but not feared in my opinion. I see them all the time. A mother with cubs should be given total respect, as should any wild animal with young. They are a treat to see. Enjoy it when you do see one. And my food stays on the ground.

[Rizzo]

After reading all these encounters people have had, I actually feel much more comfortable about a bear encounter. Sounds like a lot of the time they are curious or looking for an EASY meal...and if they aren't, just yell and hoof 'em in his furry nuts

[Muskieman]

I've never hung food in the trees nor have I made any special effort to prevent an encounter with a

bear...as far as i go is to move my food away from camp .

 

While i lived in Revelstoke B.C '92-93...I became a statistic..

 

I was working for a Brushing company.. using a tool called a Whacker .. kinda like a golf club with a 10" blade... anyway,

I was in the Kootnay mountains and heard a SNORT behind me ... It was a 150-180lb Black Bear..20 feet away and coming closer.

I had taken the "Be Bear Aware" program that lasts 3 days..just a week earlier

I was fully aware of what i should do, no eye contact, be very loud and make yourself look as big as possible....and DO NOT RUN!!

 

Well!! that went right out the window I turned and SPEEDWALKED away and in a second

the bear swatted my right butt cheek and i fell face first into some ferns and rolled over onto my back

hoping to kick at the bear ,,, IT WORKED..it stopped it from coming over my legs ....

 

and now to answer two questions that were asked on previous posts....

 

My boss was up the hill 60 or so yards away and with him was his DOG a Doberman Pinscher..

and in my bosses hand was a... AIR HORN... that i credit to probably saving my life..

as soon as the dog barked and the horn went off the bear was off like a shot!

 

I got away with a trip to the hospital in Revelstoke

 

I was in there for a whole 35 minutes... I have 4 slashes on my butt ..now look like stretch marks

and a puncture wound on my shin..

 

My concencus in this little encounter is that I was at the right place at the wrong time.. I assume that he did,nt see me and when he did he was beyond the point of no return....fight or flight response ,, he chose fight.

 

After all of this I have gained more respect for the bears...but am not fearful.

 

I now own an airhorn and it sleeps in the tent with me....

 

A cap gun is always worn by my wife when blueberry picking

[danc]

That's quite a story Randy. One to tell to your grandchildren. As you said, respect is the key. I've got a few scars from when I was a kid similar to the ones that you've described. But they were made by a domestic dog. Not a bear. In fact, I've read many more newspaper articles in the past about people being mauled/killed by domestic dogs than bears. I wonder if people hang their steaks in a tree when they are bar-b-queuing in their back yards? You can't be too safe out there.

[addy79]

thats a great point Dan!

[jedimaster]

I think we would all agree that leaving open food around your campsite is a no no. Part of the reason for hanging your food is not to keep the bears away its to keep them from eating your food. Thats why I keep the food hung away from my tent. Like I said I don't particularly want to come back to my campsite to find all my food eaten. If your comfortabe with carrying a barrel with you and jamming it under a picnic table than go ahead, but when I am in bear country I pack very light as we are portaging and I don't portage with barrels or coolers. I choose to hang my food to prevent it from being eaten.

 

As for predatory bears they are there and they will attack and kill moose. Part of the reason people are asking for the return of the spring bear hunt is because black bears are preying on moose and the population has seen a steady decline since the spring bear hunts removal.

 

Here is a link to a study on Black bears. some quick points from the 5 year study incase you don't want to read it.

 

five year on-going study (1992-97) of large (120kg+) adult male black bears

 

there could be as many as 191 large males breeding within unhunted Algonquin Park

 

Predation by black bears on as many as five moose (Alces alces) (four calves, one yearling bull and possibly one cow) and one black bear has been documented during this study.

 

Predation by large adult male black bears on Algonquin Park moose (Alces alces) and other bears in excess of 40kg has been documented, proving that these bears are capable of preying on, and have developed a search image for, prey equal to or larger in size than many humans.

 

Back country bears that normally avoid human contact become quite tolerant of human presence at dump sites (food sources) that they frequent during the non-breeding period. The presence of food at back country campsites however, may trigger unpredictable responses toward humans by these same bears.

 

As a result of five human deaths inflicted by two large adult male black bears (Ursus americanus) in Algonquin Park, Ontario, a long-term study is being conducted to examine certain aspects of bears anatomy, physiology and behaviour which might lead toward a better understanding of such attacks. While it is extremely unusual to be attacked by a black bear, most such instances across North America ( 96.6%, n = 29) involve adult males in excess of 120kg body weight. Evidence at Algonquin Park kill sites indicated that the attacks were predatory in nature.

 

Perhaps the most prototypical quote form this survey is this last one.

Funding constraints have led to a phasing out of the Algonquin Black Bear Study. Monitoring of the one remaining radio-collared bear will continue through 2001. In addition, efforts will be made to publish the results of this 10-year project.

[jedimaster]

Oops, here is the link

http://www.algonquin-eco-watch.com/blackbear.htm

[graftongal]

Always walk away from a bear slowly keeping eye contact and never run.

 

 

I had taken the "Be Bear Aware" program that lasts 3 days..just a week earlier

I was fully aware of what i should do, no eye contact, be very loud and make yourself look as big as possible....and DO NOT RUN!!

 

OK, so should a person keep eye contact, or avoid it?

 

I laughed when I ready your story Randy, but I am glad that you came away from it with only minor injuries. I think I would do the exact same thing, no matter what I have been taught!

[Rizzo]

. I wonder if people hang their steaks in a tree when they are bar-b-queuing in their back yards

 

hahaha too funny Dan. We do that where I come from. Tell the neighbour kids its a "pinata" and voila, got yourself a tenderized steak

[pameladallaire]

My husband complains that I don't fear bears enough. Telling a hungry bear to shoo at your screen door isn't terrified of bears.

 

I am talking about my own experiences and reading the research on-line about the Algonquin bears. Some of the links are still on-line. Read at your own leisure. Black Bear study.

 

Pam

 

Ooops, someone already posted the link.

Edited October 19, 2007 by Pamela Dallaire

[glen]

Leave your food out in the open. That way when the bears are done eating it and you they will be full for when i go camping.

 

Bears don't kill a lot of people but i would not want to be one of them.

[jedimaster]

That's quite a story Randy. One to tell to your grandchildren. As you said, respect is the key. I've got a few scars from when I was a kid similar to the ones that you've described. But they were made by a domestic dog. Not a bear. In fact, I've read many more newspaper articles in the past about people being mauled/killed by domestic dogs than bears. I wonder if people hang their steaks in a tree when they are bar-b-queuing in their back yards? You can't be too safe out there.

 

Dan,

If my dog was a wild dog like a Timberwolf I would hang my steaks. but since as you say its domesticated than no I wouldn't hang it. But if I was a stranger at someones house that had pitbulls I certainly would think twice about walking around with steaks in my hand. I would think if people kept Black Bears as pets in there back yards there would be more bear maulings than there would dog maulings. And I doubt very much you would go prancing around your backyard with a steak in your hand while a bear is in there.

 

If all your basing your decsions on are statistics and not common sense then good luck to you. I studied statistics in greapth in school. The first thing they teach you about statistics is that its only a mathematical guess and common sense and logic ALWAYS need to be applied to any statistical information.

 

More dog attacks than bear attacks, certainly does not mean its safer to walk around with a steak in your hand in front of a bear than a dog.

 

You are comparing a domesticated dog to a wild bear. I would not treat them both in the same manor.

Edited October 19, 2007 by jedimaster

[addy79]

if were getting all technical here, i would re-examine your statement about pitbulls, they arent as bad as the ontario gov't has made em out to be, im sure this could be proven statistically as well...

 

haha sidetrack...

 

just eat the food before you go to bed n catch some more in the mornin!!

[Rizzo]

your statement about pitbulls, they arent as bad as the ontario gov't has made em out to be

 

sweet and cuddly they are...rrrrriiiiiiigggggghhhhhhttttttt

[Sinker]

Speaking of bears.....lol

 

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=675609

[Hookset]

if were getting all technical here, i would re-examine your statement about pitbulls, they arent as bad as the ontario gov't has made em out to be, im sure this could be proven statistically as well...

 

Sorry, I screwed up the quote thing again...

 

Had a Pit Bull jump out of a Pickup and attacked my German Shepard. It wasn't pretty. I hit that damn thing as hard as I could, then I put the boots to it. Two other guys my size tried to help as well and it still took us what felt like 5 minutes to get it to let go. My Shep stopped fighting it 3 times and completely let go, but the

Pit Bull never did. But I'm not a Pit Bull expert and I've never tied one up in a tree to keep it away from a Bear while I camp in Muskoka. I know I'm not helping but this topic is getting dumber by the minute....

 

 

Hookset.

Edited October 19, 2007 by Hookset

[addy79]

raise em proper and you wont have these problems...

the main downfall to this breed are all the punk kids in the city that raised em to fight THERE battles.

[addy79]

too much of a tangent, im droppin the subject.

 

sorry for the hijack.

 

[jedimaster]

lol, ok I think we all need to just go fishing. I am very sorry for picking on Pitbulls. I hope no Pit Bulls read this and bite my balls off because of what I said.