Another bear attack. Should I get some spray?

>forget bear spray, I'm bring Axe spray on my next trip.

Doug, love that "little" lighter (I don't have a lot of luck with Bics).

Possible stove replacement for an overnighter?

Might be able to "cook" with it and a Ti Sierra cup while hiking?

Melt snow with it?

Oops … thread drift. Apology tendered:-)

"I once ruptured a canister after doing a belly flop in a parking lot during a foot pursuit."

Please tell me this is on youtube somewhere…..

"but my friend felt bad because the bear ended up tangerine colored."

Are you kidding! That bear went back to his friends showing off his new tat! I'll bet it was the envy of the grunge polar bear clan.

Having been sprayed in the face with OC, thanks quickdraw Mailman, I'll tell you that stuff works. Sorry Doug, no video.

not advocating bucking the EPA's approved bear spray list, but…. I've recently switched to a lighter OC spray- it's Fox Labs Mark 4 heavy fog; 3 oz of OC spray, finger loop like bear sprays have, weight is 4.5 oz (vs 12.7 oz for my approved one)- the contents are very, very close in regards to concentration- just less product

it's a smaller diameter too that just happens to fit my stretch pocket on my shoulder strap perfectly

they also make a 4 oz version, but it appears it's a custom (minimum 32 orders) order

They make capsicum spray for humans, and also for bears. The bear flavor does indeed have more capsicum and the can specifically says not for use on humans. I'd go for the higher octane stuff on the big fuzzies, myself.

The Fox contains 2% Capsaicin, just like the Counter Assault.
I bought a 4 oz container (net content) at Bear Arms in Scottsdale. Weighs 6 oz with holster. I never go into the backcountry without it. I carry it mainly for dogs.

The Fox only sprays 12 feet, but in a bear attack it would be better than nothing…just more up close and personal.

"when a polar bear stuck its head into my friend's tent one night. He hosed the bear down with pepper spray"

Oh man, I'd be so relieved if I had pepper spray in that situation. I mean on the trail you can give a treking pole a good throw, but when your treking poles are holding up your tarp, and your arms and legs are bundled you're in such a compromised position. Bear spray ftw there.

Everyones post here seems to mention carrying bear spray in an easy to reach pouch or beltloop which is great. I read a horrible story from a few years ago where some venture out kids packed the bear spray at the bottom of the backpack. The brown bear messed up 6 of them before they managed to maneuver it out of the pack.

" Though still a wild animal that demands respect, we have no record of fatalities or maulings related to black bears in Yosemite. "

Boarloney.

There have been several mailings i know of, one happened to the camper next to me in Tuolumne Campground. Joker tried to retrieve food from Mama bear.

Of course he didn't report it. Why would he want the fines and jail time?

That being said, the only wild animal fatalities I am aware of (leaving out bees etc) in Yosemite were from deer kicking people.

"Of course he didn't report it. Why would he want the fines and jail time?"

Sometimes I wonder how many DLP (abbr. "Defence of Life and Property") situations are not reported because the person happens to carry a bear tag with him. Investigations into DLP is a headache, and I know a couple who just notched the tag instead of getting the authorities involved.

I know a few in my circle who buy the tags just for that reason; even if they have no plan on hunting bears.

I carry a salt shaker in Oregon. Salt their tail and they leave me alone.

Years ago, we were coming into the Staircase campground in Olympic National Park to see a black bear slide down the road bank and head towards the lake, but it was headed down a point where there were lots of campers. We told the ranger what was going on and he went down and tossed M-80 firecrackers at the bear, which worked well.

In Tehipite Valley, the bears throw them back.

My closest encounter with a black bear was the last day of the Rae Lakes loop. We heard a commotion outside the tent, unzipped it and saw the bear had my dad's pack. It was about 10 feet away. I tossed some small rocks towards it (not to hit it, but to make noise) and it ran off. We had already put our food and other attractants in the steel bear boxes, but stuffed our packs in after that.

I told the 3rd guy in our group to put some small rocks near the opening of his tent, in case the bear came back. In a couple of minutes he had a pile of baseball-sized rocks. Not exactly what I meant.

There was an incident in Yosemite a few years back, Little Yosemite Valley specifically. Some people were throwing rocks at a mother bear with cub. One rock hit the cub in the head and killed it.

Boy, I would sure hate to have that on my conscience.

–B.G.–

DLP bears generally make terrible rugs.

>"DLP bears generally make terrible rugs."

In Alaska, any DLP animals as well as road-kills are the property of the State, but the shooter / driver is required to harvest the hide of fur bearers and the edible meat (Spring bear and herbivores). But, yeah, skinning out an animal to hand the meat and hide over to the State and you're probably not working really carefully. Plus (as I assume you meant), sometimes those bears are more driven to dumpster-dive because they are sick or underfed.

But, in Alaska, even with a clean DLP, you don't get the hide. And rarely is it unambiguously a clean kill (road kills are assumed to be random, no-fault events, and runners with dogs aren't faulted for that (maybe they should be), but incidents around homes always seems to be associated with improperly stored garbage* or poorly fenced poultry or livestock.

*There are some claw marks on my "bear-proof" garbage can.

>"I know a few in my circle who buy the tags just for that reason; even if they have no plan on hunting bears."

I've got 5 bear tags right now. But why not? They're free. YSMV (Your State May Vary).

I always carry bear spray because I've had several close encounters with bears and cougars. I keep it easily accessible so I can reach it at a moment's notice.

There's just too many unforseen things that can happen out in the wilderness. Bears, cougars, stray dogs, even other people unfortunately. You never know what's around the next corner on the trail, and you might be unfortunate enough to surprise a mama bear and her cubs.

The way I see it, if you can't outrun something that can potentially kill you, you had better have a way of fighting back.

This was circulating my news feed today:

Här går björnen till attack – han svarar med ett galet vrål

The men involved were out training their hunting dogs.

"The way I see it, if you can't outrun something that can potentially kill you, you had better have a way of fighting back."

STAY HOME!

Tom, in regards to the bear that was destroyed recently near JBLM, would you have rather seen that bear sprayed by a civilian or shot by fish and wildlife?

I can't go back in time to spray that bear when it first started acting aggressive before its most recent incident which lead to its demise but it seems to me that if it learned early on to not approach people, it'd still would be living its life in them thar woods. Who knows but that's my theory.

There are a couple spots on the wonderland where bears have bluff charged Rangers and hikers. Not a big deal until a hiker gets injured and then the NPS has to go hunt the bear down. For all parties concerned, I hope that never happens.

Trust me, there's plenty of people I'd like to bear spray who set these animals up for failure, not least of all the parents of the 16 year old girl who were trying to take a picture of her standing three feet away from a bison who ended up goring and trampling her.

"Tom, in regards to the bear that was destroyed recently near JBLM, would you have rather seen that bear sprayed by a civilian or shot by fish and wildlife?I can't go back in time to spray that bear when it first started acting aggressive before its most recent incident which lead to its demise but it seems to me that if it learned early on to not approach people, it'd still would be living its life in them thar woods. Who knows but that's my theory."

It was a front country military base, Ian. Are you suggesting that every person on the base carry bear spray? Luck of the draw for that particular bear that he was born there. He fate was decided before he took his first breath. Sometimes it just works out that way. No matter if he got sprayed by a runner, sooner or later he would have dumpster dived close to base housing where kids were playing, and he would have ended up the same way. My theory.

"There are a couple spots on the wonderland where bears have bluff charged Rangers and hikers. Not a big deal until a hiker gets injured and then the NPS has to go hunt the bear down. For all parties concerned, I hope that never happens."

This is an exact replay of what happened down in the Sierra in the upper Bubbs Creek drainage back in the late 90's-early 2000's. They had to put down a couple of bears, but wisely instituted, AND enforced, a canister required policy. End of problem. Unfortunately, there is a general attitude up here in WA state that we don't have anything to learn from others, CA in particular, so I fear it will go hard for bears until we finally get around to reinventing the wheel. Institute a canister required policy in MRNP, end of problem. Again, my theory.

Trust me, there's plenty of people I'd like to bear spray who set these animals up for failure, not least of all the parents of the 16 year old girl who were trying to take a picture of her standing three feet away from a bison who ended up goring and trampling her.

The few stories I've heard from the wonderland, the hikers were on the move and not in camp when they were bluff charged. The ranger had a bear try to back him down some ridge, and again, not in a campsite. To my knowledge, no one was hurt and no bear was destroyed,

I saw four bears on the wonderland last year.m none of them were in camp. Mthre were on the trail, and one was on the road. The bear poles seem to work fine, and hikers are required to stay in designated campsites that have either a bear pole or bear box, so I'm not sure if there's a problem with this arrangement. I can only speak from my limited experiences so maybe there's more going on here that I'm unaware of.

To my knowledge, there's either a bear wire available or a cannister requirement in Oly park depending on where you go. I've only hiked out to Enchanted Valley where there was a bear wire so I can't speak to the other zillion acres,

I've said it here before but I guess I should say it again, I don't take my bear spray on most trips. I'll read these stories from time to time and chastise myself for not carrying it more often. I don't think there's a good chance that I'll ever get attacked but if I ever am, bear spray seems to be the best option for all parties concerned.

Edit: ugh. Typing on my iPad with the typical fat thumb typos. Spelling nazis will have to deal with it or piss off.

I've been OC sprayed twice at work for training purposes. It sucks but better than being shot.

"The few stories I've heard from the wonderland, the hikers were on the move and not in camp when they were bluff charged. The ranger had a bear try to back him down some ridge, and again, not in a campsite. To my knowledge, no one was hurt and no bear was destroyed,"

Bears don't bluff charge people just to see them pee in their pants. It is pretty much accepted that they are trying to separate them from their backpacks, which are known by bears to contain food. This is behavior peculiar to habituated bears, where a human = food association has been established. It may result from poor food management in campsites or on the trail, but it is a food related issue. In the case of non habituated bears, it is either a sow with cubs, or a predatory bear, and they aren't bluffing. That is how I have come to understand the issue. I will add that in 40 years of backpacking, I have had two encounters with bears, both in the sierra early on in my career, and both were food related. The first was a yearling bear not long out on his own, and I ran him off my food by throwing rocks at him. The second incident occurred at Vidette Meadows, and was much more serious. It involved a very large bear who knocked my food bag down from a hang and had possession of said food. I ran him off with firecrackers in a very, very tense encounter that ended well for me, but came perilously close to turning out otherwise. I did a ver y thorough post mortem after that second incident and have ever since been very careful about the kind of food I carry, where I hike, and when/where I eat. I also no longer cook my food. Net result = zero bear encounters in 38 years and counting. My conclusion is
bear problems are food problems, but that is purely my own conclusion. A follow on conclusion is that bear spray is unnecessary in the Sierra and the Cascades, with the possible exception of the North Cascades now that grizzlies are starting to reestablish a presence there.

http://www.ibtimes.com/russian-woman-who-survived-bear-attack-55-year-old-lives-after-being-buried-alive-1925849

Natalya Pasternak had been collecting birch sap, for juice, in a forest in Tynda, in southeastern Russia, with a friend when her dog began to bark, warning of some impending danger. Then, a 4-year-old female bear attacked as Pasternak's friend ran for help.

For bears to attack humans with the intent to eat them is "extremely rare," John Beecham, an expert on bears who was not speaking in reference to the attack on Pasternak, told National Geographic. Typically, bears attack humans either defensively, such as if they are defending their cubs or their food, or if they are surprised.

more at link …

Eric, the bear article doesn't even state whether it was a black bear or a brown bear, so it is difficult to consider here.

–B.G.–

bob im sure the bear experts here can ID it … who know, but it doesnt look that big regardless

for those of us who are in country where there is more than cute fuzzy black bears … its something to consider … just like the polar bear discussion on this thread

they recently estimated that there are around 60 or so grizz in the squamish/pemberton area