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Black bear encounters


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Viewing 16 posts - 26 through 41 (of 41 total)
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  • #1793779
    Justin Baker
    BPL Member

    @justin_baker

    Locale: Santa Rosa, CA

    They don't call hammocks bear tacos for nothing :)
    I wouldn't want to spook a bear that close in fear that it might swipe/claw at you out of instinctual defense before running.

    #1793793
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    Unfortunately, I do not live in California, nor do I have any stats to provide you.

    However, based on where I trek (the Canadian Rockies), I will see a bear on the trail approximately one out of five trips. And it still shakes me to the core but has obviously not prevented me from going out into the backcountry. I carry bear spray and bangers. Thankfully I have not had to use bear spray but have hiked KM's with my hand close to the trigger in certain areas.

    Paranoid? No. Just a big believer in Murphy's Law.

    #1793799
    Buck Nelson
    BPL Member

    @colter

    Locale: Alaska

    Bears aren't the only danger. Murphy's law applies to many situations. I'm not saying to not carry bear spray, but bear spray has risks of it's own:

    Authorities say a Salt Lake City Marriott hotel was evacuated and a housekeeper was taken to the hospital after a can of bear repellant …

    Accidental Bear Spray Discharge Forces Evacuation of Visitor Center at Grand Teton National Park…The first emergency units to arrive found approximately 20 employees and visitors in the main lobby coughing and experiencing other side effects from the pepper spray.

    Bear spray prompts Centennial hotel evacuation…

    Anti-bear spray discharge closes Alaska airport. One person was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

    A Portland hotel was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after a large bottle of a spray used to deter grizzly bears was accidentally discharged. One person with respiratory problems was taken to Mt. Hood Medical Center for treatment, according to investigators.

    GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — Someone accidentally sprayed bear repellent in a suburban Denver hotel…One person was taken to a local hospital

    Winnipeg: Bear Spray Forces Apartment Block Evacuation Paramedics called

    Officials at the San Francisco International Airport are praising the swift actions of the authorities that responded to Sunday's incident in which the release of bear repellent led to the evacuation of around 200 people from the international terminal.

    Bear spray forced evacuation of Toronto building

    The Juneau International Airport evacuated due to bear spray…

    Bear repellent causes vet clinic evacuations, two employees were evaluated for respiratory distress

    police were dealing with a number of incidents of people being hit with bear spray in the city’s north-central area. Police said there were several victims

    bear spray canisters enter the waste stream, causing a serious environmental concern. In addition, waste disposal workers are exposed to accidental discharge of pepper-laced propellant

    #1793835
    Mike M
    BPL Member

    @mtwarden

    Locale: Montana

    I've had one bad encounters with bears and that's with nearly 25 years of working near, around and amongst them (grizzly and black). That one encounter was with a predatory black bear in the Great Bear Wilderness (first season as a wilderness ranger). I found a spot to camp at a high mountain lake when I noticed a black bear on the far side of the lake. Didn't think a thing about it. Noticed he was working his way around the lake, still paid him no mind. Once he got within a couple of yards I shouted a couple of times thinking he'd scurry off. Instead he very slowly kept coming towards me, stopping occasionally and standing on his hind legs to sniff the air. I got out a pot and banged on it loudly, nothing. Now I was starting to get a wee nervous (more so as I had no bear spray or firearm). I started to quickly pack up figured maybe I was on his turf and we wanted me out of there- I was going to oblige :) He got within 20 or so yards and I starting lobbing rocks his way, one even luckily hit him- nothing. No reaction from him except to keep coming forward. I started down the trail at a good clip, looking over my shoulder- he was following, not running after me, but following pretty close behind. I'd stop every now and agin, shout and pitch a couple of rocks- no reaction. He was clearly sizing me up, no if, ands or buts. After about a mile he finally stopped and I didn't. I put on another five miles or so that evening before camping, that night I was a little restless to put it mildly.

    #1793841
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    Interesting cases presented. But I only take bear spray into the bush.

    These sound more like Darwin Awards.

    #1793883
    Art Sandt
    Member

    @artsandt

    Bruce, if you looked at the risks from the perspective of the activity, you would see where David is coming from.

    Hiking in the wilderness carries many risks, but dying of a scooter accident–just to use a random example–is not one of them. Your chances from dying due to out-of-control scooters goes up as you approach an urban area, but down as you travel away from paved roads, and goes to zero as you get about a quarter mile away from any paved surface. If you agree that a rampaging scooter driver is no threat on a trail at 10,500', then wouldn't you also agree that a predatory bear is no threat in a densely-populated urban complex that's separated from any bear habitat by hundreds of miles of uninhabitable desert?

    Putting it another way, if I step outside my house in Kansas City, my risk of being threatened by a wild bear is not what it would be if I were to unzip the door of my tent and crawl out into the backcountry of Glacier National Park. On the other hand, my risk of being threatened by a local gang is very high once I leave my house in Kansas City, yet that risk becomes almost zero as I'm standing outside my tent in Glacier, looking at miles and miles of uninhabited mountains, valleys, and lakes. Or am I mistaken? If I'm mistaken, please point out how. Because I do not think I'm mistaken.

    If it's true that different activities carry different risks, then why would the risks of living in an urban area carry any relevance to hiking in the backcountry?

    #1793889
    James holden
    BPL Member

    @bearbreeder-2

    suburban bears are a very real concern in quite a few parts of canada

    there have been attacks, provoked or not, in the greater vancouver area and around canmore

    in fact,if you drive through squamish or whistler … theres a very good chance you will see bears at the town limits

    i ran into a cute black bear once jogging in anmore … literally it hit my knee … luckily it ran away

    i dont think people realize how close the suburbs are to the wilderness up here in BC … one of my friends has a family of bears that loiters around her house ,,, paw prints on the car are pretty common … and its not like she lives in the boonies

    #1793906
    Randy Nelson
    BPL Member

    @rlnunix

    Locale: Rockies

    "I love statistics. Perhaps we can discuss how many people venture into the backcountry in California versus how many live in urban areas. Re-work the averages. Report back."

    I don't think you have to re-work the averages for comparison when one of them has 0 incidents. David, it sounds like it's a much different situation up north but that doesn't mean the same rational applies in other areas. I live in Colorado. From what I've read, there have been 3 fatal black attacks in the written history of Colorado. And none have been in the backcountry. You know what we say when we see someone carrying bear spray or wearing bear bells in Colorado? "Hey! Welcome to Colorado! Where're you from?" :)

    Someone said the odds were probably the same for bear attacks vs lightning. I don't know about attacks but 3 death in 100+ years vs 3 per year for lightning? I know the one that concerns me. And the one that I've had some pretty close calls with. It isn't bears.

    #1793922
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    No doubt that there are geographical differences and I did qualify that I do not live in California, but lest we not simply talk about deaths from bears. There are also maulings from bears.

    But realistically, in a an area that has bears, why take the chance in not bringing bear spray? Is this a weight 'thing?' Is this a situation where limited probability of death by bear outweighs the very real chance that one could encounter a bear?

    In bear country, I carry bear spray. I would hate to be in a situation where I was being mauled and think, "Gee, I should have brought that 8 oz canister of bear spray."

    But as you said, geographic context is warranted.

    Thanks for the discussion.

    #1793975
    Buck Nelson
    BPL Member

    @colter

    Locale: Alaska

    Art, you are absolutely correct that risks vary in many ways influenced by activity, geographic location, etc.

    Still, even for backpacking in the backcountry, bears are one of the least likely ways to die. Falling, hypothermia, drowning, rock fall, etc are all far more dangerous.

    Check out what's actually killing people in the backcountry, in this case National Parks, National Forests and State Forests in 2010: http://www.edarnell.com/Stats.htm

    David, you obviously do not only carry bear spray in the bush. Bear spray is a weapon, and has to be transported, and with weapons there are accidents. It is all about cost/benefit: costs in money, weight, accidental discharge and the not carrying of other gear more likely to save a life. Benefits might include the remote but real possibility of prevention of injury or death, negative reinforcement of bold bears, and peace of mind. It's situational. Bear spray might make good sense if camping along a salmon stream in Alaska, and probably does not make sense backpacking in New Mexico.

    I think fear of bears likely kills more people than bears do. A family drowned outside of town here a few years ago. They saw a bear and got so scared they ran out into the water and drowned. In another incident down by Anchorage a teenager shot and killed another when he heard something outside his tent. Surveys have shown that 50% of women in Alaska say they are afraid to go into the backcountry because of bears. Heart disease kills 600,000 people a year in the United States. Bears kills about one. Exercise, like backpacking in bear country, is one of the best ways to prevent heart disease.

    #1794066
    Eric Blumensaadt
    BPL Member

    @danepacker

    Locale: Mojave Desert

    I've scared away three black bears in my life, two in Yosemite, one in Pennsylvania.

    I had one mountain lion (in a raging blizzard at 10:10 PM) roar loudly just outside my tent. It was probably surprised at my scent as it hunted, stalking upwind for deer. That woke me RIGHT up out of a good sleep! This was in the Spring Mountains just outside of Las Vegas. Nearly peed my sleeping bag.

    #1796236
    Roger Heward
    Member

    @green1

    Locale: Alberta, Canada

    What Eric said about how to behave around different types of bears is spot on, follow that advice and you're pretty well set.

    David said something about bear spray being required in Alberta… This is generally false. The one exception is a single trail in Banff National park (Minewanka) where you must carry bear spray, and must hike in a large tight group, you will be fined if you are found hiking without bearspray or in a small group/alone on that one trail. (And that's a new rule this year due to a large number of bear encounters in that area, there's been some debate that if it's really that bad then maybe they should simply close it)

    I have been hiking/camping in Bear country for more than 20 years, I have run in to both black and grizzly bears a dozen times or more. I have never carried bear spray, and I've only once hiked with someone else who did.

    Is bear spray a good idea? Maybe. Used properly it is an effective deterrent. However it has some big issues issues such as the high risk of spraying yourself (either due to wind, or simple misuse), and when dealing with a bear encounter that's the worst thing that can happen to you, the other is a false sense of security, relying on bear spray instead of on proper dealings with the bear can be lethal. If you don't use the spray properly (which means letting the bear get a LOT closer than you will be comfortable with before triggering it) there's a real danger that it won't have any effect, or worse yet, could anger the bear.
    Additionally, bear spray is actually an attractant for bears, so if you have residue on yourself, your clothing, or your gear, it could actually attract a bear.

    I'm not trying to tell anyone not to carry bear spray, just make sure you know how to use it, and know how to use it PROPERLY, and never allow it's presence to be an excuse for skipping real bear safety such as proper food storage/disposal or proper behaviour around these animals.

    #1796283
    Mike W
    BPL Member

    @skopeo

    Locale: British Columbia

    #1798707
    Kelly Gigliotti
    Member

    @kellyg

    I was walking between a campground and the freeway of the Columbia River Gorge, toward a trailhead, when I came upon a furry black butt sticking out of the weeds several feet off the trail. Scared me silly. It didn't know I was there — it was digging in the dirt and quite intent upon it. I was alone so started backing up and pulling out my poles that were strapped to my pack. After a while, I sensed it was gone, so I passed through the area to the trailhead and did my hike. When I returned to the area that afternoon…I could hear a baby bear in the bushes, crying for mother. Sounded like a kitten, is what I remember. Another hiker confirmed that a mother & babe were known to be in the area. All within view of freeway traffic. My only other experience was finding a very large pile of huckleberry scat last year, near a meadow. I left and took a hike somewhere else!

    #1798724
    Eli .
    Member

    @feileung

    @Kelly

    Those bears are probably 80% deaf from being sandwiched between the road and train tracks their entire lives. No wonder it didn't hear you.

    #1798844
    Dan @ Durston Gear
    BPL Member

    @dandydan

    Locale: Canadian Rockies

    Where I hike (south western BC usually) I mostly see black bears and the odd grizzly in a few spots. I only carry spray in grizzly country. I've just ran into way too many black bears on the trail that scamper off when they see me, or just stand there and stare until I yell something and then they scamper off. I carry spray in griz country, but I'm not that optimistic it would actually deter the bear if I needed it to. I'm resigned to the fact that I have a 1 in a million chance of getting eaten, and if the spray saves my butt then that's a nice break.

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