Bears

[Billy Bob]

I smell a TREE HUGGER in here.......

[cram]

Bears care about grubs and garbage. They do not want to eat you. MOre people die every summer on hwy 60 from hitting moose, than have ever died in Ontario from Bear attack.

Edited July 20, 2012 by cram

[jedimaster]

Bears care about grubs and garbage. They do not want to eat you. MOre people die every summer on hwy 60 from hitting moose, than have ever died in Ontario from Bear attack.

 

Not everyone is allergic to peanuts but we take preacations against that in our schools don't we? Population control is a reasonable precaution in the eyes scientists.

[Live2fish85]

I am not a tree hugger at all. I just don't agree with shooting a bear because he is in your town.

 

I have two kids. I if I lived up north I wouldn't let my 5 year old outside with out my supervision. If I did it would be because there is a fence there. We have seen bears in Kkllbear when I was a kid I didn't freak out and my parents didn't let me they taught me. Kids are smarter then you think and if you don't let a 5 year old run in an open backyard unattended you would be fine.

 

Most bears won't attact a human unless it is startled or something. I have spent alot.of.time in the north seen lots of bears and never been or had problems with you. Using your brain can go a long ways.

 

You guys say bring back the spring hunt because there are more bears, really that haven't had to many bear attacks this year or last few that I have heard of. The bear in Burlington was shot as they didn't want to wait lol, did it attack anyone or cause any harm no. It just would have cost to much to relocate it.

 

Bear really doesn't taste good. I have had it and it is very lean , hard yo cook well and doesn't taste great. Most people just want the fur from it and to say they shot a massive bear.

 

I would be agreeing if you wanted to shot all these crackheads and scum that hurt people everyday for a couple bucks or cause they wear a different colour shirt or gang clothing. They are alot more dangerous then any bear.

[NBR]

Let me see You go to bear country and see a bear. We can't have that can we! Wild food for bears is just getting under way so they are probably having to forage a bit and since they are eating machines they gravitate to the most likely spots. Out side of dumpsters camp grounds are probably high on the list.

[jimmer]

Was the bear's name Ted? Maybe you could have offered him a beer!

[jedimaster]

if you don't let a 5 year old run in an open backyard unattended you would be fine.

 

Thats pretty easy to say but when you are outside with your kids you have never zipped inside to grab them a drink or a popsicle. You are being pretty unrealistic to say kids are never outside by themselves. And this is not just up north. No offense, I am far more likely to be comfortable with my kids in site of me outside up north than I am in Toronto.

 

I guess your right though we should treat all animals with respect and never kill or harm them for food or sport either. I mean you say that there is NO danger to humans because bad things don't happen. So it must just all be for fun right? Kind of like fishing? You better sell all your fishing gear and never go fishing then, because after all whats the differenece between jabbing a steel fishing hook through a fishes mouth and jerking it out of the water where it can't breathe and holding it in the sun to bake while you take a picture of it for sport, only to just kill it and eat it, or throw it back in the water. I doubt anyone would be OK with taking a grappling hook to a bears mouth and dragging it under water for a few minutes while it thrashes around gasping for air so you can get a nice picture of it, only to rip the hook out of its mouth and let go back into the woods.

[capt bruce]

The ending of the spring hunt was just wrong . Most bear hunting in ontario is done over bait , this said (my first hunt was a spring bear when I was 13 with my grandad , damn was I so proud to bring home the meat for the family) so do not tell me mothers with cubs were taken , not hard to tell a male bear from a female with cubs when hunting this way . Fall bear is very fatty , lean spring bear is great tasteing and healthy eating. We outlaw pitbull like dogs ?? but bears , oh how cute theres a bear , or Im a man "me no afraid of no BEAR " . Sad when my neibor can feed bears in his backyard but DO not own a bulldog type dog... only in CANADA , a country that was built on the trapping , forestry etc. industrys , now its the hug a bear , tree ,porcupine , rattlesnake what ever , you bear lovers , love them all you want hopefully they will be eating you . and leave me alone ..

[Rod Caster]

Most nature in and around the city is all screwed up and unaturalized anyway. It only makes sense that if there was a bear around it would be quickly dispatched. Big city life...you get what you ask for. I'd still rather deal with angry bears than angry gangs

Nuissance bears up here go unreported and smothered in BBQ sauce. Since the MNR is reportedly out of money, I don't think they really care or know about a few missing, garbage eating bears.

[BillM]

Bears, the new menace to society.

[Live2fish85]

I am not agiainst hunting. But everyone is freaking they need to be killed because they see more.

 

Fishing is alot different. I won't even bother with the lack of brains on that comment.

 

There are alot of better tasting animals then bear.

 

I am not against hunting and I love eating wild game, I don't agree with morons saying " they see more so they need to shoot them". That was why they stopped the bear hunt to bring them back. All you really care about is the fur. Things are different now then 50 years ago food is easy to get now, there are plenty of other animals to eat and if.your hurting that bad to eat now the government will help. I have no problem with the fall bear hunt, go for it and have fun. But if you guys want to keep hunting them putting the spring hunt on and you won't have them soon enough.

Edited July 20, 2012 by Live2fish85

[John]

The problem with bears that has been very very well documented over the years is this.

Bears in the woods doing there thing are not a problem. 99 percent of tthe bear encounters are not a problem.

There are however three situations where bears are a problem.

 

1) Rogue freak out not wired properly black bears that will stalk humans.

2) a mother and her cub with a human in between.

3) A bear that has associated human pressence with food.

 

Not all of these will relate into a bad encounter every time. However the chances of being in a a deadly or life threatening encounter in one of these three are greatly increased over the typical encounter of "Hey look a bear walked through our camp sight/driveway/backyard/trailer park and I shouted at it and it ran away."

 

People have a good amount of control over reducing these like putting there stuff away, however the only real answer is to reduce the bear population to the point where they bears have no need or desire to come out of where they typically live in search of food.

 

As the bear population increase there home range gets cramped and they spread and encroach on urban areas as far south as Oshawa and Oakville. I have even heard of them being in Rouge River valley.

 

No one is asking for a mass cull on bears like they were asian carp or round eyed gobies. Population control is something that is not able to be sustained with a fall bear hunt.

I see this as being a two pronged issue.

1) remove the bears that are currently associating humans with food in and around urban areas.

2) bring back the spring bear hunt to encouage more hunters to harvest bears and help control the population to a sustainable level within the areas that they should naturally be.

 

Make no mistake about it, a bear should not be living in a town or city. A grown adult knows enough to stand up tall and make some noise to scare off a bear. A child will freak out cry and run.

 

I know all sorts of people that never had an incident with a bear. But I bet my last dollar anyone that has been mauled, attacked or chased by a bear couldn't give a rats ass how many times you or I have seen a bear without incident.

 

I guess living in the big city you realize that you and your family are in greater danger from your own city folk that you ever are spending a week in close proximity to those mean, vicious, human killer bears......... There are more people killed and injured every year in Southern Ontario as innocent victims of incidental gunfire (being in the wrong place at the wrong time), than there are from ALL wildlife encounters combined. We have more rogue freaked out humans per square mile than bears.......

 

So if one gets in between a mother and her cub that is cause to destroy the mother? Hell if you got between me and my child and started to pose a perceived threat I would tear your balls off first and ask questions later..........just sayin'...

 

OK I like this one...."a bear that associated human presence with food"! Don't feed the dang' bears!!!!!!!!!!!! Put food away, leave your campsite free of food scraps....Would you scrape food scraps on the dining room floor after your meal, would ya??? Probably not.

 

So, how many bears would you think we would need to "cull", (kill), every Spring to solve the problem? 100, 1000, 10,000, 100,000??? This is a recent phenomenon.....think about why the bears are encroaching on "OUR" properties. Maybe because "WE" use their's for recreation? Maybe because we build on their forage areas? Do you have any statistics, accurate ones, not just "we see more bears therefore there are more bears", that show the bear population today compared to say 25, 50 ,75 years ago?

 

How many incidents do you think there are every year regarding dogs attacking humans?? Maybe a Spring dog hunt will solve the problem?

 

Use common sense, practice cleanliness around your cottage, trailer, campsite. Teach your children well, bring them up with a strong respect for wildlife........not as tree huggers, but as one's responsible for their actions.

[glen]

100,000 bears every spring should do the trick.

[ctranter]

Wow, I am genuinely surprised at some of the fearful responses here. Some of you guys clearly need to spend more time in the bush if you are that scared of a black bear.

 

It is a wild animal that demands respect. After that, it follows the same rules of the animal kingdom as the rest of nature: Eat easy meals, spend as little energy as possible acquiring that food, avoid risk or danger at all costs, make babies and protect babies. I understand that animals do cross over into more urban spaces from time to time and thats why people with guns have to take them out. What I don't understand is a) why people are shocked to find wild animals WHILE IN THE WILD and why people think bears are bloodthirsty meat-fiends who will tear down your cabin door in the middle of the night and eat your girlfriend while making you watch...

 

Seriously people, get that lump between your shoulders check out, because clearly something is missing inside.

[jedimaster]

So you think that in a campsite where there are 300 sites separated by what 3 feet of treeline that if your site is clean everything will be fine? What about your house? rofl that's so funny. A bear will surely look at my clean yard and the fact that I have no bird seed out and will just walk around the block.

 

Yes the stats are everywhere that suggest the bear population is gaining ground steadily or rapidly and that there are more and more encounters with bears every day than there were prior. Here is a source, and there is a quote from a different source.

 

http://www.ontarioblackbears.com/

 

researches have said the bear population in Ontario has risen to over 250,000 animals since the cancellation of the spring hunt. That's 1/3rd the population of Black Bears in all of Canada. There are so many bears that smaller bears are being pushed south by bigger dominant territorial bears. They are now showing up in Southern Ontario. Rural areas just north of Toronto are having bear problems when Black Bears have not been seen there for over 130 years.

[blarg]

I get a kick out of the usual comments that we are invading their space, we are just as much part of the natural world as the bear.

[DRIFTER_016]

If you havent noticed by now, I down play bear sightings. I've been living and camping in bear infested woods for over 40 years. I've been face to face with them from 5 feet away. Sure, some common sense and caution is needed, but I've never been afraid of them. In fact I enjoy and look forward to my encounters with them. They are a nusience at best, but nothing that should strike the fear of God into you. I often camp in areas where there is bear scat and tracks all over the road on the drive in. Not to mention the physical sightings. A couple of years ago I saw 7 bears on my drive in, within a half mile of where I was tenting. Didn't phase me at all. Like any other wildlife, I'm just happy to see them and enjoy nature.

 

I alos do a lot of camping in bear country and while I'm not scared of them I have a healthy respect for them. Twice I have had large grizzlies sniffing at my tent in the middle of the night.

I don't care who you are but that will unnerve anyone.

 

Last year my friend was tenting in the site beside me and he had one pushing in on the side of his tent in the middle of the night. He hauled off and punched it in the nose as hard as he could!! It went away an beat up on my other friends trailers because it was all ticked off. LOL

[jedimaster]

I don't think ANYONE has suggested that all the bear be culled. You guys are pretty funny. Protect the bear's and leave it alone, its cute and cuddly, but let me go fishing and pull fish around by there jaws with a shard of steel. Makes me laugh a bit. I don't think anyone here has said they are afraid of a bear. however there are some realities when living in Bear country. and I used to live with bears around us frequently for a number of years. The Feeling of every single one of my neighbours was if a bear stays in the woods, fine. If it comes into town repeatedly it gets put down. The spring bear hunt encourages more hunters to help control the population. It happens in the fall regardless. So why not have it when it encourages the best numbers of hunters to help control the population to safer and sustainable limits. If there was a population concern of not enough than they would have a lottery like deer. (Only X number of bears here or there). The fact is the MnR knows there are too many that's why anyone with a hunting license can go shoot a bear regardless of how many others are also doing the same.

 

If there were all of a sudden no limits on say Walleye in Pigeon. What would that tell you? I think it would tell me that there are too many walleye in Pigeon Lake.

[DRIFTER_016]

The biggest thing hunting does is teach the bears to be wary of humans.

Since they have not been pursued with the same intensity since the spring bear hunt ended they have grown bolder and lost their fear of humans. This coupled with the increase in population is causing the issue.

 

The spring bear hunt was not cancelled because the bear population was crashing (it was stable) it was cancelled by antis blackmailing Southern & Southwestern Ontario politicians during an election year.

These antis told the politicians in power that their votes would go to the opposition unless the hunt was cancelled.

 

I'm not a bear hunter but I won't hesitate to shoot one that is acting agressively.

My firearm comes camping with me just in case.

[Live2fish85]

I alos do a lot of camping in bear country and while I'm not scared of them I have a healthy respect for them. Twice I have had large grizzlies sniffing at my tent in the middle of the night.

I don't care who you are but that will unnerve anyone.

 

Last year my friend was tenting in the site beside me and he had one pushing in on the side of his tent in the middle of the night. He hauled off and punched it in the nose as hard as he could!! It went away an beat up on my other friends trailers because it was all ticked off. LOL

 

 

I am always cautious and have full respect for any wildlife. Having a Grizzly near you and a black bear are two different stories. I would crap my pants if I had a Grizzly that close lol. I still don't think we need to kill them like others think.

[jedimaster]

I am always cautious and have full respect for any wildlife. Having a Grizzly near you and a black bear are two different stories. I would crap my pants if I had a Grizzly that close lol. I still don't think we need to kill them like others think.

 

I would be willing to bet that if you were sitting on one side of your camp ground and your daughter on the other and a black bear walked through your camp site in between you and your child you would think a bit differently.

[Live2fish85]

Also Jedi if you read my second.comment on here you will.see that I said if the bear is a constant nuisance then has to be dealt with. I just don't agree with killing them because we see more.

Edited July 20, 2012 by Live2fish85

[Billy Bob]

I am always cautious and have full respect for any wildlife. Having a Grizzly near you and a black bear are two different stories. I would crap my pants if I had a Grizzly that close lol. I still don't think we need to kill them like others think.

 

The hunters are not saying to KILL ALL THE BEARS...but rather HARVEST the bears in the spring time again......it worked back then, why not now.

[Live2fish85]

The hunters are not saying to KILL ALL THE BEARS...but rather HARVEST the bears in the spring time again......it worked back then, why not now.

 

I don't think that it was cancelled purely because of politics, I remember

my grandfather telling me it was that there populations were decreasing. I am not against hunting bear but there have been more sightings which is great. Teach people how to respect them and properly act when encountering them.

 

There really isn't more attacks know that you hear of, when you do it was usually startled or provoked some how. Which has always been the case.

 

If your worried about something getting worst go to toronto and kill some scum, kind of like the 3that happened in Toronto this past week and a bit. Really these bears cause a bit of a nuisance and lets bring the spring bear hunt back. Yet these clowns run around toronto shooting everyone because they got a problem with one person. If your so worried about your kids lets deal with a real problem.

[Millhouse2020]

The biggest thing hunting does is teach the bears to be wary of humans.

Since they have not been pursued with the same intensity since the spring bear hunt ended they have grown bolder and lost their fear of humans. This coupled with the increase in population is causing the issue.

 

The spring bear hunt was not cancelled because the bear population was crashing (it was stable) it was cancelled by antis blackmailing Southern & Southwestern Ontario politicians during an election year.

These antis told the politicians in power that their votes would go to the opposition unless the hunt was cancelled.

 

I'm not a bear hunter but I won't hesitate to shoot one that is acting agressively.

My firearm comes camping with me just in case.

 

 

X2, the hunt was cancelled because it was an easy target for anti hunting groups who want to take hunting rights away. They used emotion and false information to get people on board their cause. I remember them showing videos of poachers shooting bears treed or cornered by dogs... this is not how bears are hunted in Onatrio. Furthermore, they tried to paint baiting as an un-sporting way to hunt bears but anyone who is a hunter understands baiting is necessary to properly asses the bear for its sex before harvesting it. If you think these anti groups pose no threat to you and your fishing rights, I seem to recall a nice billboard on the Gardiner with "Fishing sucks.com" on the banner and a pic of a dog with a lure in his mouth. They're are out there, they are persistent and creative and some wont be happy untill we can't hunt or fish AT ALL in my opinion.

 

 

I have noticed a rise in the bear population in my region in northern ON since they cancelled the hunt. There are far more bears around and naturally more become nuisance bears. Hunting is and should be used as a wildlife management tool. When the spring hunt was taken away, less bears are harvested which means there are more left in the bush, its simple math. Lots of hunters, including myself, are busy pursuing other game through the fall so we hunt bears little or not at all but we would if there was a spring hunt. Furthermore, lots of non-residents hunted bear during the spring via guide services. Their livelihoods were hurt by this decision as well.

 

I dont think anyone is suggesting that we should fear every bear, or that culling bears is the solution. Use hunting, including the spring hunt, to better manage the number of bears in the province. There are clearly more than enough to support the spring hunt. It would bring revenues in to the province in liscense fees and to rural communities for guiding services, accomodations etc and there would be fewer nuisance bears over time. Of this you can be certain.

 

Right now, you have money wasted on relocating bears and many bear encounters being unreported since the locals simply killed the problem animal. For the life of me, I cannot understand why this is a better solution than having a spring hunt. Rest assured many bears are being killed by people who feel they have no other options, I know of many personally... In my opinion, reinstating a spring hunt would help reduce the number of problem animals, bring revenue into the province and give sportsman more opportunities to enjoy their sport. What is so wrong with that???