Bears

[MCBushbaby]

grizzly bears in an attack will go for the head proven fact, where is it you get your experience from i have made my experience clear just so the readers can decipher this and make an informed decision

Ranger station, let's not get into experience wars

[Beo]

First of all that is what the Forestry Service teaches and most likely why he placed it there and because your up there being all Grizzly Adams with your bears and disagree with the info doesn't mean you gotta call him (MW) and Mitch, an azzhole. And as you said in post 17 that's your opinion. And yes I have "read" books on what to do and almost everyone says to lay down at some point and cover your head.

"playing dead in a daytime grizzly encounter tends to reduce the level of injury sustained by most attack victims"
Was an option that is given and I am sure this was a statistic from a number of encounters, and just because you live in the wilds with those bears doesn't mean your opinion is only right one.

[MCBushbaby]

I completely understand where Wareagle is coming from. I mean, he's living backcountry and probably has more experience with bears than anyone here, and when someone contradicts him on bear facts I'd be like someone trying to argue with Gary Kasparov on the best opening (I'm on a ches thing today, I don't know where it came from). Name calling aside, all it good.

[Beo]

I will say this because I know that Medicine Wolf is the kinda guy who wouldn't and wouldn't care what you think or if you believed it or not. He is and has been for the past 15 years been involved with the US Forestry Service, either as a private contractor or instructor and now works as a Ranger in Northern Montana, he has worked with several game preserves and wildlife preserves and even helped in the tagging of grizzlies in Montana, was on the team in Washington State's North Cascades that tagged the few remaining bears left in the wild there, and works on the team of trackers that hunt poachers of wolves in Northern Montana now. So yeah he has a few credintials to his name.
All that being said I agree with Mitch its just opinions and all are welcome, fact is I know next to nothing on bears except the documentries I have watch and books I have read.

[rt36crazyfists]

well thanks everyone for the information, although it kinda lost some value to me when wareagle declared war(i know, with good intentions, thank you), i'm still a little confused as to what the consensus is, I will reread. I must say though i think i am a bit wiser after this than before this thread. Alos, I asked the question, so I feel a slight need to justify it, statistics like the likeliness of a bear attack are often unbiased when they very well should be. It is not likely that a random person is attacked by a bear, most people will never happen upon a bear, but how about an outdoorsman, that ups the odds a tad donit? even if it is still very unlikley, this is then impractical information that i still want, a kind of mental security. having a plan, knowing what to do is something i want when i happen upon a bear. The giant teeth, sharp claws and great strength are a little more imediate and intimidating than a more common cause of death. Well, my rant has gone on long enough, thank yous for taking the time to teach me.

[wildWoman]

well thanks everyone for the information, although it kinda lost some value to me when wareagle declared war(i know, with good intentions, thank you), i'm still a little confused as to what the consensus is, I will reread. I must say though i think i am a bit wiser after this than before this thread. Alos, I asked the question, so I feel a slight need to justify it, statistics like the likeliness of a bear attack are often unbiased when they very well should be. It is not likely that a random person is attacked by a bear, most people will never happen upon a bear, but how about an outdoorsman, that ups the odds a tad donit? even if it is still very unlikley, this is then impractical information that i still want, a kind of mental security. having a plan, knowing what to do is something i want when i happen upon a bear. The giant teeth, sharp claws and great strength are a little more imediate and intimidating than a more common cause of death. Well, my rant has gone on long enough, thank yous for taking the time to teach me.

Your best preparation, in my opinion, is to learn the body language of bears. Otherwise it's like interacting with any other animal (cat, cow, what have you) oor a person from a different culture: you may feel threatened for no reason, just because you're unable to understand what is being said; and also, your behaviour might unwittingly trigger a reaction you were not aiming for.
Short of living somewhere that exposes you to plenty of bears every year as where we are, or becoming a biologist, do check out www.bear.org, that has slide shows and videos that explain what the bears are "saying".
Living where bears are gives you the advantage that you get to know individual bears. They are all different, from grumpy to calm to goofy, and will behave according to their temperament. With strange bears, you don't know their character, so making a slow detour when you see one, and yodeling out a little ditty every now and then as you walk is a good idea.
For true enjoyment, I think people need to spend the time to learn more bear language, otherwise it's like travelling to France without speaking French and trying to order breakfast there.

[trax]

I think I'd rather take my chances with the bears than with my command of the French language with a French waiter, LOL.

[Rick]

Hopeak - If I sign up would you actually leave my corpse out there the other 9 days?

[Aurelius95]

A lot has been discussed about avoiding bears or fending them off. What is a suitable sidearm for stopping them with lead? I don't own a gun and I'm not off to purchase one, but I was just wondering what do people in the woods carry?

[Rick]

I just wanted to make sure you'd pick up the pieces and mail back home.

[wildWoman]

A lot has been discussed about avoiding bears or fending them off. What is a suitable sidearm for stopping them with lead? I don't own a gun and I'm not off to purchase one, but I was just wondering what do people in the woods carry?

My opinion is that carrying a gun may cause more harm than do good. Most people would be tempted to fire at a bear when it charges them. However, bears often do bluff charges where they veer away from you at the last moment. I don't see too many people who carry a gun waiting that one out. Also if you shoot at a bear, you have a good chance of just getting it REALLY mad, where before it was only slightly irritated. They can keep going for a while still after you shoot at them. Take bear spray instead.
Again, people should learn to understand their body language. It goes a long way to prevent harm to both people and bears.

[Rick]

I'll be straight up with you. If I'm ever charged by a bear it won't much matter if I have bear spray, a gun or a bazooka. I'm quite sure I'll be shaking so bad I couldn't hit the ground with any of them. I think that bear would take one look at me standing there quivering and wrap a big paw around me...

Bear: "Hey, you okay there?"
Me: Shakes head no, brain rattles.
Bear: (taking step back) Well, ooookay then. You just have a good day and I'll be walking off in this direction.
Me: Shaking my head in agreement, brain rattles
Bear in bushes to bear approaching: "Dude, you gotta stop doin' that."
Bear: "I know but it's just so dang much fun."
Both amble away into the bush.
Me: Pass out

[MCBushbaby]

I watched all the black bear videos on bear.org and they are pretty enlightening. However with the frequent human contact, I wonder if these results are anything different than bear encounters in Yellowstone visitor's area? I mean, they're used to seeing humans. One video even showed someone's hand within a foot of a bear cub with mother nearby not caring... so that alone shows they are humanized. Can the lessons be carried over to backcountry bear encounters?

"black bears are more afraid of being attacked than you are" - Probably true
"black bears will bluff charge you but are really just afraid" - sure, I can believe that
"In all our researcher's experience, most black bear sows do not protect their young when we capture them" - I wouldn't dare try to touch a cub in the backcountry, no siree

[crashdive123]

My opinion is that carrying a gun may cause more harm than do good. Most people would be tempted to fire at a bear when it charges them.

Nah. Just use Visa or Mastercard.

[tsitenha]

I love it (not hardly) when people go through the bush country banging on stumps, screeching like banshees, singing (american idol style), caterwawling to "announce ourselves" to the bears ...kind of brings to the forefront the quiteness which we are in the bush for.
Bears encounters illicit a lot of different responses and depending on the originating point of view from docile mobile rugs to nefarious man killers, they vary.
Biggest factor in any encounter is being calm and focused at the task at hand.
In NOntario, average bears are now med and more of a nuisance, though the occasional one can rise to the occasion. A lot of them competing for the same food source.
(in my best Forest Gump voice... bears are like a box of chocolats you never know which one is looking at you)

I favor bear spray, but will carry a rifle if in known nuisance bear proximity

[wildWoman]

I love it (not hardly) when people go through the bush country banging on stumps, screeching like banshees, singing (american idol style), caterwawling to "announce ourselves" to the bears ...kind of brings to the forefront the quiteness which we are in the bush for.

I half agree with you there. Half, because bears in my experience are often quite inattentive, they get absorbed by one thing at a time: digging for ants, eating berries, having a nap, contemplating the view etc. I do holler out something that identifies me as a human moving through the bush when I can't see far ahead, am travelling into the wind, or by a noisy creek. The bears sometimes choose not to move away, which gives me a clear message that I better make a small detour.
Also I'd highly advocate making noise for anyone with dogs. You do not want your dog chasing a bear; depending on the bear that might be the end of your dog and the bear might also chase the dog back to you. No fun either.
I prefer the woods quiet too, but leave that mostly to my winter walks or when the dogs aren't with me.

[canid]

you guys ever read the alaska bear tales books?

the second one has a nice story on an encounter, written from the grizzly's prospective, about such hikers.

[tsitenha]

The point i was trying to make is that if you're so scared of the wildlife that you have to "morse code" a warning as you walk through it or so bored with it that you need extra stimulus of cacophonous music blaring away, whats the point of even going out?...might as well stay in town in some parkland setting.

[flandersander]

Or watch a rap music video that the rappers go out and start fires and build survival shelters. hahaha. lol.

[canid]

"In all our researcher's experience, most black bear sows do not protect their young when we capture them" - I wouldn't dare try to touch a cub in the backcountry, no siree

yeah, but i love the part of the article i first read that in where they said they had observed black bear mothers start running off with thier cubs then drop them and keep running.