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this is a funny story my dad used to tell . My uncle was dating this girl who could talk the hind leg off a cow . Well anyway one day they were hiking up near the usa , Canadian border I think Wyoming somewhere and they saw a bear and they stopped , however the girl kept talking and walking and not noticing the bear . That bear heard her and took one look at her and hauled butt . My uncle walked by the girl and said 'thank you so much " and gave her a kiss and talk about someone who had no idea what she had done simply by talking the whole time and not paying attention . LOL ....I don't think I would want to walk in the woods with her these days .
Many areas with Bears equate a gunshot to a possible meal. So, they also think humans around mean a possible free snack. I don't know if I'd be talking loudly.
Last edited by 1AngryTaxPayer; 04-07-2015 at 01:07 PM..
Ahhh...the bear country tactics topic. Never gets old. Lol. If k am going into notorious bear country, I carry a Marlin, Guide Gun carbine in 45 70. I've never had to use it, and hope I never do. My main focus of caution is in the smells I give off. No open food containers and especially no fresh meats. Bodily functions are taken care of away from camp and are buried well, having a bit of lime in the gear to put in the hole doesn't hurt either. I also do this on my back trail where a relief stop was taken. I don't want Mr. bruin finding things, and getting curious about who's pooping in HIS woods and following my trail.
If my gal is going with, it can't be at a certain time of the month. This one is a biggy. If you examine documented bear attacks, many victim s are female. Certain smells will bring a bear a running, and in a very aggressive mood. I have yet to read a case, where a bear actually attacks a camp, tearing into a tent or dragging off someone in a sleeping bag, where some kind of scent was not the key. It doesn't pay to advertise. Smell is the biggest thing all animals key on. Their nose is their most important thing.
I live in bear country and hike all the time. The most dangerous is in spring when they're hungry.
Late fall is bad, too, particularly if it's been a poor year for key bear foods like berries or white bark pine nuts. If a bear doesn't put on enough fat, it won't survive the winter, and late fall is when the underweight bears are getting desperate.
I still remember the video some bear researches took and showed on a documentary. They were clear across on the other side of a hill, at least a quarter of a mile away next to their car. A mama grizzley bear on the other side of the hill took one look at them and took off straight towards them like a quarter horse. I think they had just enough time to fold up their cameras and jump in their car before she reached them. Her lightning fast reaction time, her speed, and the distance this mama bear was willing to run to protect her cubs made me vow to forever stay out of bear country.
this is a funny story my dad used to tell . My uncle was dating this girl who could talk the hind leg off a cow . Well anyway one day they were hiking up near the usa , Canadian border I think Wyoming somewhere and they saw a bear and they stopped , however the girl kept talking and walking and not noticing the bear . That bear heard her and took one look at her and hauled butt . My uncle walked by the girl and said 'thank you so much " and gave her a kiss and talk about someone who had no idea what she had done simply by talking the whole time and not paying attention . LOL ....I don't think I would want to walk in the woods with her these days .
That's generally what bears do; they don't like loud noises. I've seen several bears including one Grizzly on my place since I moved here eight years ago. All of them left after hearing any kind of noise, even talking quietly at a distance. A few years ago I was coming to my front stairs with my two dogs when suddenly my younger one went on high alert. I looked, saw a bear about a hundred yards away, and immediately got her up the stairs where my older one was already waiting. When I looked up the bear was nowhere to be seen.
Bear spray is the best way to repel a charging bear, but Grizzlies break off charges 95% of the time on their own. That's why the best course of action if a bear charges is to stand your ground.
I agree with the poster who is more concerned with mountain lions, but I'll remind him that a number of mother bears have fled leaving their cubs when people spooked them. This has happened numerous times in Yellowstone.
Bears are attracted to bright colors on tents and clothing. They're attracted to bear spray when some city slicker decides to spray his gear. This makes sense; I like a touch of Tabasco, but I don't like to drink it straight.
Bears are not drawn to gunfire or any other loud noises. I believe that only snakes suffer from more misinformation than do bears. I recall seeing a post on some forum from someone, undoubtedly a legend in his own mind, who claimed that he only escaped a pursuing moccasin because he had his .45 auto loaded with hollowpoints.
I did once talk to a man who had been shooting arrows at a target near his house while his old dog slept peacefully near him. A neighbot later asked him how his old dog got along with the new one. The new one was a coyote who had been watching with great interest from a few yards behind. Coyotes, particularly young ones, have often joined hikers.
Actually in a few areas bears ARE drawn to gunfire, because they've learned it's a dinner bell. Hear a gunshot, check it out, find a tasty gut pile (or sometimes, if the bear is lucky and the hunter is not, the entire elk or deer). It's a pretty good testimony to just how bright bears are that they can learn to make that association!
Actually in a few areas bears ARE drawn to gunfire, because they've learned it's a dinner bell. Hear a gunshot, check it out, find a tasty gut pile (or sometimes, if the bear is lucky and the hunter is not, the entire elk or deer). It's a pretty good testimony to just how bright bears are that they can learn to make that association!
I took a fishing trip to Katmai National Park several years ago -- mainly Brooks River/Brooks Lodge. That's fly-in only, arriving by seaplane. Before we were allowed to step foot onto the shore, rangers gave us all the dos and don'ts of fishing there. Number one was, if you have a fish on the line and a bear approaches, cut the line. They don't want the bears associating people with a fish dinner.
That was also where a friend and I came within inches of a big brown. We saw him coming down a narrow trail toward us, so we followed the ranger's instructions (given when we first arrived), stepped off the trail a foot or two and both began saying, "hi bear, hi bear" so that he'd hear us and not be startled when he finally saw us. It worked, as he ambled on past us, close enough that we could have reached out and touched him.
Bears are nearly blind, relying mostly on their sense of smell and hearing. That's the purpose of talking or wearing bells -- so you don't startle them. In most cases, bears want to avoid humans just as much as humans want to avoid bears, but if their minds are on something (like dinner) they're apt to not notice humans until the last moment.
Another incident while at Brooks illustrates this. A wildlife photographer from National Geographic had his camera and tripod on the river bank at Brooks Falls photographing the browns catching fish. His attention was on the bears in the falls. A bear came out of the woods behind him on a dead trot toward the falls. His attention was also on the falls. He ran over the photographer and his tripod/camera, sending both flying. The bear never slowed down until he was in the water. (The photographer was not injured other than for a few scrapes and bruises.)
The National Park Service has since built a "viewing stand" where that photographer was run over. I've not been back to see it, but I believe it's elevated and fenced off a bit so bears aren't so apt to come barreling through the photographers.
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