Grizzlies in Southern Winds

[Jeff Gerke]

Thought this was interesting. Grizzly caught on camera in the Dickinson Park area.

http://county10.com/2012/06/07/g-bruin-caught-on-trail-camera-may-21st/

[Mary D]

A grizz was caught on a hunter's trail camera on the Middle Fork Popo Agie trail last June–confirmed by the WY Game & Fish folks. Per the article above, they have been confirmed in the Big Sandy area. I think you can assume grizz anywhere in the Winds!

[USA Duane Hall]

You mean they passed me by two years ago? :)
Duane

[Jennifer Mitol]

Um, OK…we are headed to the southern Winds in August (thanks to all your suggestions!) and while I have a fair amount of black bear experience…not so much with the Grizz…

We are bringing 2 dogs.

Do we do anything differently than we would have if we just thought black bears were the only "threat?"

There are 6 of us (plus the dogs), we plan on bringing a couple of bear spray cans, and we're currently discussing canisters vs ursacks vs hanging (but we'll be above the tree line for most of it…we're doing the Hailey Pass – Washakie Pass loop from Big Sandy).

So…bear thoughts??

[Mark Ries]

It would be best to keep the appetizers as close to you as possible

[MFR]

My thoughts? Don't bring the dogs.

Griz are very different animals than black bears. Blackies are far more tolerant and far less aggressive. 99% of the time, a griz will run the other way at seeing you. However, the possibility for a dangerous encounter is greatly increased with griz. Black bear sows are known not to attack even when their cubs are being trapped for tracking purposes. Griz–not so much.

We don't need to get into the whole "Bear Danger !" discussion, but you are dealing with a very different animal. A dog would most likely exacerbate the situation exactly when it needs to be de-escalated.

Also, read Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance by Steve Herrerro. He's a professor emeritus at the University of Calgary and spent a career researching bears and their behavior.

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