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I almost stepped on a massive black bear taking a snooze under some debris in a contract logging company clear cut while walking a wildlife survey. Not sure what shocked me more...realizing where I almost placed my boot or wondering why the bear didn't hear me approaching. That particular clearcut was a horrific obstacle course and my angry cussing should have woken it up from a lot farther away. . The bear sat up sleepily. I was anything but sleepy. We stared at each other for a moment then both of us turned around and headed in opposite directions. I made record time through the debris without even noticing and stood panting, shaking with adrenalin on the adjacent beach.
I think I would have had a coronary. I've had recurrent nightmares about bears since I was little.
I've spent quite a bit of time in "bear" country and had numerous encounters. Grizzly bears are very unpredictable! Always have your bear spray out and ready to go! When things happen......they happen very fast! I've never personally been "threatened" but have known people where the encounter didn't end well for the person and the bear!
I sure most people know this but you NEVER run...you can't outrun a bear. Also even a Grizzly can climb a tree much faster than you!
I PERSONALLY experienced a close encounter with a bear (thankfully, black bear as opposed to a grizzly) in Yellowstone Park, as my family and I spread out our food on the picnic table and were ready to dig in. We noticed the bear looking in our direction (food on table....yum), and we calmly and slowly walked away, LEFT all food, did not look back, and got into the car parked 50 yards away. When we were safely in our car, we looked back, and Yogi was on top of the picnic table, helping himself/herself to our fried chicken, cole slaw and potato salad.
A very strong memory, even though it happened decades ago.
Unfortunately, you handed the bear a HUGE reward for doing basically nothing more menacing than looking in your direction. You also probably sealed that bear's fate...to be destroyed. Bears that become dependent on human food end up dead. I know you said this happened a long time ago. Bear encounter guidance has evolved a lot, thank goodness. These days people are advised not to cave in to a mildly interested bear but to group up and stand their ground in a non-threatening manner, defend what's theirs, and force the bear to show them the same respect it would show another bear. It works and teaches the bear not to mess with people instead of losing its life because of them.
Last edited by Parnassia; 08-19-2021 at 01:22 PM..
Unfortunately, you handed the bear a HUGE reward for doing basically nothing more menacing than looking in your direction. You also probably sealed that bear's fate...to be destroyed. Bears that become dependent on human food end up dead. I know you said this happened a long time ago. Bear encounter guidance has evolved a lot, thank goodness. These days people are advised not to cave in to a mildly interested bear but to group up and stand their ground in a non-threatening manner, defend what's theirs, and force the bear to show them the same respect it would show another bear. It works and teaches the bear not to mess with people instead of losing its life because of them.
How can you say that? You honestly think my family should have continued eating our food at the picnic table, setting up for a competitive situation with a 500-pound bear? We should have been the guinea pigs to "teach the bear not to mess with people"? With two young children in tow?
I say we did the right thing by not chancing it. We know for sure that if we "relinquished our ground," we would live to tell the story. Who knows what the ending would have been had the bear approached the table and we refused to hand over the food? (We were told that some of the bears in Yellowstone can be quite aggressive.)
The bear didn't feel like attacking them. They didn't startle him because he saw them from down the road, and the bear didn't see them as a threat or as prey. That's all. He wasn't hungry. Brown bears are nothing to mess with, but they do have their moods. Like any animal. Those two guys were so very very lucky. Hope they don't think it's mojo.
I PERSONALLY experienced a close encounter with a bear (thankfully, black bear as opposed to a grizzly) in Yellowstone Park, as my family and I spread out our food on the picnic table and were ready to dig in. We noticed the bear looking in our direction (food on table....yum), and we calmly and slowly walked away, LEFT all food, did not look back, and got into the car parked 50 yards away. When we were safely in our car, we looked back, and Yogi was on top of the picnic table, helping himself/herself to our fried chicken, cole slaw and potato salad.
A very strong memory, even though it happened decades ago.
My closest encounter with a bear not in a zoo happened when I was driving to Haute Gorges Park in Quebec Canada. A bear crossed the road right in front of my car.
How can you say that? You honestly think my family should have continued eating our food at the picnic table, setting up for a competitive situation with a 500-pound bear? We should have been the guinea pigs to "teach the bear not to mess with people"? With two young children in tow?
I say we did the right thing by not chancing it. We know for sure that if we "relinquished our ground," we would live to tell the story. Who knows what the ending would have been had the bear approached the table and we refused to hand over the food? (We were told that some of the bears in Yellowstone can be quite aggressive.)
It wasn't a 500-lb. black bear. Even 300-pounders are quite rare.
Yes, you should have just continued with your lunch. You watch too much television. You 'chanced it' by driving to the park, risking becoming one or more of the 35,000+ people who die each year on U.S. roads. Everything is a risk. The ratio of bear attacks to Yellowstone visitors is in the millions-to-one range, and those are disproportionately brown bear attacks.
It's not the end of the world, but perhaps you should understand that you are quite misinformed about bears. They present a certain risk, yes, but so do many thinks. Just eating your lunch while a black bear looked at you? Again, the odds of an attack were less than the odds of a serious auto accident. And you risked that.
How can you say that? You honestly think my family should have continued eating our food at the picnic table, setting up for a competitive situation with a 500-pound bear? We should have been the guinea pigs to "teach the bear not to mess with people"? With two young children in tow?
I say we did the right thing by not chancing it. We know for sure that if we "relinquished our ground," we would live to tell the story. Who knows what the ending would have been had the bear approached the table and we refused to hand over the food? (We were told that some of the bears in Yellowstone can be quite aggressive.)
How dare you not take a chance to see what the bear would have done, especially with the little kids!
I agree with DC Donna - If I have two young children with me and a bear approaches we are out of there. Now if I could grab the food with me so it doesn't get the "reward" I would do so. However, my safety and the safety of my children come first. I can't read a bear's mind to know what its intentions are. IMO better to err on the side of caution.
It wasn't a 500-lb. black bear. Even 300-pounders are quite rare.
Yes, you should have just continued with your lunch. You watch too much television. You 'chanced it' by driving to the park, risking becoming one or more of the 35,000+ people who die each year on U.S. roads. Everything is a risk. The ratio of bear attacks to Yellowstone visitors is in the millions-to-one range, and those are disproportionately brown bear attacks.
It's not the end of the world, but perhaps you should understand that you are quite misinformed about bears. They present a certain risk, yes, but so do many thinks. Just eating your lunch while a black bear looked at you? Again, the odds of an attack were less than the odds of a serious auto accident. And you risked that.
Perspective. Facts should rule over emotions.
You're being very brave suggesting that I - along with a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old - keep munching on our lunch as a big bear (300 pounds or whatever) comes ambling about wanting some food from our table. Visitors were WARNED that these black bears, cute and harmless as they may appear, may become aggressive, especially when food is at stake.
And of course everything is a risk. But that doesn't mean that you intentionally set up a competition for food between a bear several feet away and yourselves, especially since rangers warned visitors to maintain a safe distance.
We did the right thing.
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. The bear sat up sleepily. I was anything but sleepy. We stared at each other for a moment then both of us turned around and headed in opposite directions. I made record time through the debris without even noticing and stood panting, shaking with adrenalin on the adjacent beach.
