The Bears,

[jgr451]

Originally posted by tim
The grizzly bears out west are wild and ferocious! They will attack at any chance they get! They will sneak into your camp at night and you will never hear them coming. They will tear apart your camp looking for food. If you store your food in on your bike, they will destroy it! The tent won't stop them. The ranger won't stop them. Our Government is turning them loose all over in the Northwest. BE CAREFUL! BE AWARE! A favorite hideout for the "grizz" is Glacier National Park. They will EAT you!

Yeah what HE said.And,the Canadian Grizz are WORSE,if ya can believe that!!!The blacks are almost but not quite so bad,only because they are a little smaller than the grizzz.They do love Americans though,something about not eating enough back bacon and poutine as a youngster growing up,gives the Americans a really bear-attractive smell.

Or something..
Gotta watchem,that's for sure.....

[jgr451]

Originally posted by YB in IN
Also wipe your seat down before you turn in. The bears can smell the sweat on it. I have a buddy who was at a campground where the director said that a motorcyclist had his seat torn apart by a bear. The director had started giving towels to bikes coming in just to wipe down seats.

I always thought it was raccoons and porcupines that went for butt sweat? Bears go for BLOOD and MEAT.Like pepperoni sticks,beef jerky and salami.Pizza and stuff like that.

[jgr451]

Originally posted by tim
A picture of baby Grizz?

Hey!!!
I've got one of those!!A trophy..
Only mine says Montana Bear,he was captured,shrunk and stuffed by the Montana Highway Patrol.They gave him to my daughter when we were there so she wouldn't feel scared.

Oh yeah and he's white.Guess he started out as a polar bear.Either that or a spirit bear,aka the white phase of the black bear,aka the Kermode bear..You never can tell about bears.
Or folks either for that matter.From nice guy,well liked by his neighbours,to serial killer,in a minute...

[jdcoffman]

Not trying to gross anyone out but bears do smell blood real well, and if your wife or girlfriend is at that time of the month you don't really want to be camping in bear country. unless! oh never mind.
Consider a Black bear as friendly as a 600 lb Rottweiler.

[timsh]

If your are going to camp in Grizzly country it is best to sleep in a tree. Grizzlys can't climb trees, although they might try to push it over to get to YOU.

[MarkF]

Originally posted by tim
The grizzly bears out west are wild and ferocious! They will attack at any chance they get! They will sneak into your camp at night and you will never hear them coming. They will tear apart your camp looking for food. If you store your food in on your bike, they will destroy it! The tent won't stop them. The ranger won't stop them. Our Government is turning them loose all over in the Northwest. BE CAREFUL! BE AWARE! A favorite hideout for the "grizz" is Glacier National Park. They will EAT you!

For real? The government is actively populating the area with dangerous wildlife?

MarkF

[MarkF]

Originally posted by jdcoffman
Not trying to gross anyone out but bears do smell blood real well, and if your wife or girlfriend is at that time of the month you don't really want to be camping in bear country. unless! oh never mind.

Are you kidding? I have done a bit of reading as a former SCUBA diver and it has been stated many times that amount of actual blood in you know what is very small. So small that experts say it won't trigger shark attacks. And we all know how easily sharks are attracted to a small amount of blood diluted in millions of gallons of seawater.

Sorry if this subject offends. But I had to question what sounds like a rural legend.

MarkF

[Gnome]

Bear defense 101;

A Black bear will stalk you and eat you if he is hungry. Although, if you yell and are aggresive towards him he'll leave you quickly and try for an easier food.

The Griz. Best defense is drop down and play dead. Don't move,don't run. PLAY DEAD or you will be. (the Griz,would rather eat something else than you, BUT if you look to be a threat to him, or HER,you're toast,unless you follow this rule)

Don't get these two confused , it could get real ugly.

Motel 8 is starting to look good eh?

[jdcoffman]

Originally posted by MarkF
Are you kidding? I have done a bit of reading as a former SCUBA diver and it has been stated many times that amount of actual blood in you know what is very small. So small that experts say it won't trigger shark attacks. And we all know how easily sharks are attracted to a small amount of blood diluted in millions of gallons of seawater.

Sorry if this subject offends. But I had to question what sounds like a rural legend.

MarkF

When I lived in Ketchikan, Ak I watched bears at the local dump eating old sanitary napkins...numerous reports in Alaska where people sleeping in their sleeping bags were sought out and attacked by bears....your right it's probably just some hick thing to say. Any bear aficionados out there that can clear this up?

[jdcoffman]

1) At your campsite, never leave dirty dishes unwashed, lying unprotected. Left over food is a welcome mat for any animal in the wilderness.

2)Never leave cosmetics or soaps lying freely at your campsite. This again is a welcome mat for especially bears. Bears are attracted to scents, and the sweeter smelling the better the chance to have one come visit your campsite.

3) WOMEN: Do not start out on a hike while on your monthly cycle. Again, the animals are attracted to scents, and bears especially have been known to violently attack women who are on their monthly cycle.


If you would begin your cycle while on the trail, stop your hike and return to civilization.

Remember
I found this tid bit of information on the internet...

[timsh]

Originally posted by MarkF
For real? The government is actively populating the area with dangerous wildlife?

MarkF

This is for real. The Federal Government would like to have most of our state wilderness. The people of the State of Idaho including our Governor, is opposed to it. The government then started to plant wolves and grizzlies and now say our forest is endangered species habitat. Now they put gates across the road or just tear the road out so that we cannot get into the back country. This is happening very close to where I live.

[jgr451]

Anybody know how many bear-human encounters there are per year that result in injuries to the humans?
Or how many people are killed in such encounters per year?

Tim why does the government want humans out of the back country?And why does it transplant predators there?Why wouldn't gates on the roads do the job?Do you know how much it costs to keep up a back country road?And why they are there in the first place?

Sheeesssshhhh!!I was kidding with my "dangerous bears"post!!

[montana]

Okay, bottom line:

Take bear bells with you when you hike.

Put them on the slowest runner in your group.

[rad]

Originally posted by Gnome
Bear defense 101;

A Black bear will stalk you and eat you if he is hungry. Although, if you yell and are aggresive towards him he'll leave you quickly and try for an easier food.

The Griz. Best defense is drop down and play dead. Don't move,don't run. PLAY DEAD or you will be. (the Griz,would rather eat something else than you, BUT if you look to be a threat to him, or HER,you're toast,unless you follow this rule)

Don't get these two confused , it could get real ugly.

Motel 8 is starting to look good eh?

I would concur with what you said, with the following qualification. In order to know what type of action you should take in response to a Brown Bear encounter/attack it is best to determine what behavior the Brown Bear exhibited prior to the encounter/attack.

Was the BrownÔÇÖs behavior predatory or defensive?. If it was defensive; such as a chance encounter on a trail, then the play'n dead may be effective ÔÇÿcause the Bear may just be tryÔÇÖn to neutralizing the threat. If the behavior was predatory; the Brown was stalk'n you from a ridge line than cuts you off on the trail ahead, play'n dead will just make you a much easier meal.

For clarification, I know none of this from experience. Info was a result of a lot of research.

[111768]

Living in Alaska for the past 30 years by no means makes myself or other Alaskans experts on the subject. However, after reading some of these post , I assure you all that your fellow man down there is much more of a threat to you and your loved ones than some sow with cubs or some loner boar. I've mountained biked, hiked, fished, camped, etc, and have never had a problem. Dosen't mean it won't or can't happen, But we go where we want, enjoy our beautiful countryside(be it in Idaho or Alaska or wherever) and use common sense. Oh and make sure the slowest hiker/biker brings up the rear. So relax and enjoy. If the bear knows your there, it probably will go the other way, and if it dosen't..............