Bears

[Murphie]

We just had a bear in the cg. Didn't invite him into our new Jayco . The bear was probably one of the guard bears that was protecting a grow-op in Christina Lake area where I am now in B.C. There was a guy who left a bag of dog food
out about two sites over the other night and the bear had a nice snack. Dumb.
At night here, you can hear people setting off fire works to scare them off. Not worried. The wife is a little though. At least were not in a tent. First year I forgot to bring the bear spray. Oh well.

[altar1]

You can tell a Grizzly from other types of bears during an autopsy of the bear. Grizzly's tummys are full of bearspray canisters and bear bells.

-Old Canadian saying


Tom

[RVhiker]

How well does bear spray work? Is one kind of bear spray better than another?

[Murphie]

I wouldn't see the need to use bear spray in a cg. We do a lot of hiking and I have it for that reason. This bear was large today. He wasn't afraid of people.
The conservation guys set a trap for him just up the hill from where I am. The guy who used them for guards fed them dog food. Sadly garbage bears end up having to be killed usually. They will trap him and move first though.

[mcfarmall]

Wow, I must have been spending too much time in the woods! They use bears to guard their d o o b i e plantations nowdays????

[Gibby3275]

Originally Posted by mcfarmall

Wow, I must have been spending too much time in the woods! They use bears to guard their d o o b i e plantations nowdays????

Yes, and they carry Glocks!! :hihi:


.

[mcfarmall]

In SW Michigan, we only have folks setting the woods on fire when they toss their Mountain Dew 2 liter m e th-lab-gone-bad out the car window!!

[cekkk]

http://deathby1000papercuts.com/wp-c...8/download.jpg

[Murphie]

There is yet another bear in our cg. He is about 100 yards from our trailer. The park manager just informed the few of us still up that he is big like the last one and not to leave food out. I was informed that the last bear I wrote about was caught and taken away and than shot. That's the sad part. Had they driven him over the next ridge and released him he would be back next week.
They were aware of two in our area so this is the second I guess. The park conservationists can't keek up this year to all the calls.

There is a small town close to us by the U.S. Boarder called Grand Forks. You see deer in the parks, walking down the streets and in the school playgrounds.
They are safe from their predators but drive the town folk nuts. Kinda cute to see mom and the fawns. The bears I can do without.
I can hear the dogs barking close to us. The bear is on the move I guess. I have no food out so it's not a problem for us. Kinda exciting though in a way.
Doubt If this guys fate will be any better than the last guy.

[cekkk]

We have had bears returning to campgrounds here in Colorado. It's not a good thing. A couple years back one pulled a camper out of his tent and killed him at 1:30 in the morning, if I recall correctly. DOW thought they got him/her, but a few nights later, about the same time, came in and got another. I grew up and worked in large cities, but after 20 years of living near these wild animals, basically living in a national forest, seeing them all on our property, I've come to respect them not as cute critters, but as creatures who, if they are still alive, are extremely good at what it takes to survive those predators and people that would kill them, droughts that make finding enough food and water to survive very difficult, hard winters and declining habitat. Survival is their way of life. They are far better at what they do than most of us are at what we do. And bears are said to be the strongest mountain animal and among the strongest animals pound for pound. And those cute deer, if accustom to people as they are here, will not get out of your way as you approach them, even yelling and waving arms, until they are good and ready. I've nearly bumped into them in the dark and had them surprise me in the day time just walking into a stall where one was sleeping. When they finally do react they can do some serious damage. A neighbor's visitor was kicked and hurt pretty bad by a young doe she tried to pet.

[Albertaguy]

There was quite a write up on these guys who were feeding the bears to protect their grow op. They showed film of the bears just hanging around when the Mounties did their thing. The sad part was that if they could not relocate the bears and wean them off the dog food then all the bears would have to be destroyed and I believe there were about a dozen of them.

Many years ago I rented a cabin on Kootenay Lk in BC and a bear was hanging around our campsite so the rangers set a trap and caught him. He had 3 coloured paint spots on him and the rangers said that if he showed back up at the site again he would be destroyed. They had relocated him many miles away but each time he would make his way back.

[Murphie]

I was told that the bears went into hibernation

[cekkk]

Originally Posted by Murphie

I was told that the bears went into hibernation

Bears do not truly "hibernate" but go into a torpor, they slow down. They maintain most of their normal body temperature, requiring calories, and are aware of their surroundings, but don't rise to urinate, etc., as mammals do that actually do hibernate. Don't stick your nose in their den, though, they're just groggy. Surviving winter sleep depends on their success or lack thereof in packing in sufficient calories before they den up to sustain not only themselves, but the cubs they wake up to "bear." Those cubs' survival depends on mom's having found enough food to get them all to spring. Some scientists argue that they actually do hibernate, but then qualify the statement pointing out the differences. My friend and neighbor is a DOW assistant who assists primarily with bear management, so that's what I've learned from him over the years, so I'm not pretending to know more than that. Still, up here where we deal with them, we still use the H word.

[EXTremist]

I'll never forget when I was 10 years old and my dad took us cross country in a 28 foot Winnebago. While staying in Yellowstone the motorhome next to us must have had some food in an outside storage compartment. We heard the noise that night and the next morning you could see the claw marks in the side of their motorhome where the bear tore the storage door right off and peeled back the siding to get to the food!!!

[MaggieJoe]

I hike a lot and have never encountered a bear. On two separate guide led hikes in Alaska the bear protection was different. On the first the guide carried a rifle, Said you first shoot over the bear to scare it off, then shoot at it as a last resort. The second guide carried no firearms, just a loud air siren canister. Said bears hate the noise and leave when it goes off. I'm not one to carry a gun as I hike so the air siren canister seems a good option ... for hiking and camping. Any thoughts.

[cekkk]

Originally Posted by MaggieJoe

I hike a lot and have never encountered a bear. On two separate guide led hikes in Alaska the bear protection was different. On the first the guide carried a rifle, Said you first shoot over the bear to scare it off, then shoot at it as a last resort. The second guide carried no firearms, just a loud air siren canister. Said bears hate the noise and leave when it goes off. I'm not one to carry a gun as I hike so the air siren canister seems a good option ... for hiking and camping. Any thoughts.

I'd suggest talking to a DOW officer. A neighbor who works as a DOW volunteer hunts in Alaska at least once a year. He carries bear spray and claims the bears react to it and forget about you if they are charging. He knows of a case where a charging bear was hit by a clean kill shot, kept coming sixty yards before dropping. The spray supposedly causes them to either veer off or stop and worry about the sting. If that's true, we need to get that information out to all the bears so they'll know how to react.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I've read that the difference in black bear droppings and grizzly bear droppings is black bear droppings have berry pits in them. Grizzly droppings have pepper spray canisters in them.

[cekkk]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

I've read that the difference in black bear droppings and grizzly bear droppings is black bear droppings have berry pits in them. Grizzly droppings have pepper spray canisters in them.

Bear spray isn't ordinary pepper spray. It comes in a farily large cannister & fogs up to 30 feet, unlike the stuff carried in purses. It can be found in strengths up to 20%. And unlike regular spray, it's approved by the EPA, which guarantees it doesn't work IMO. Still, in an emergency situation, I think I'd have a better chance of hitting the charging 800 pound killing machine with a fog than with a bullet. And unless you are actually hunting at the time, there's not much of a likelihood of having a weapon heavy enough to do serious damage at the ready.

[Murphie]

I've run across several bears while hiking over the years. Most of them have been across a valley or on an opposite hill. A friend of mine is a conservation officer and this is what they use to protect themselves.
He tells me that he has to go to court to give evidense against people who cut down trees on crown land. They use DNA to match the stump up with the stolen trees. They also have to be careful of coming in contact with the occasional grow-op farmer. They usually know the characters who make a living this way.
During the end of the growing season these guys rent 5 ton trucks and drive them up into the bush to get their product to market. You would be amazed at how they get these trucks up steep narrow roads that you would think only a 4x4 would go.
Anyway I don't want you to think that my province is full of these characters. Like the US which we thourouly enjoy and vacation in, it is very beautiful. Sadly the pine beatle and now the fir beatle are making some of our pristine areas on both sides of the boarder look kind of devastated. Transporting firewood is a huge no no now. For the first time in years because of the cool summer we were allowed to have a campfire. Usually in the summer months there is a ban. This year we bought a portable campfire anticipating the ban, but never used it until tonight in our back yard at home. I was surprised on how well it worked, and the people who have them tell me they really like them.

[Seann45]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

I've read that the difference in black bear droppings and grizzly bear droppings is black bear droppings have berry pits in them. Grizzly droppings have pepper spray canisters in them.

and little bells dont forget those silly little bells...