Bear stories and pictures

[northern]

so as to not steal the other thread on what to do to bear proof yourselves. anyone had any bear encounters?
i had a woman radio me from one of my bear stands that there was a small bear climbing the later upto her haha, she had brought peanut butter and crackers to nibble on while in the stand to take a bear haha... she was fine. small bear just wanted the food.
i'll have to look for it, but i have pictures of a bear dead as a stump at the top of a power line pole. we figured he bit the cable and fried. he was crisp and stiff up there though that's for sure.
haha, share away!
here are some black bear pictures from the last week. don't always have my camera, but sometimes do.
some big some small, mostly boars

 

[dipbait]

Wow, how close were you?

A bears nose looks exactly like a dogs nose.

 

[northern]

Wow, how close were you?

A bears nose looks exactly like a dogs nose.

anywhere from 15-40 feet? depends on if i'm in the truck or not haha and what lense is on the camera... can't really get around being close to bear when you're out baiting them, or driving some of these back roads on a 4wheeler or in a truck

 

[stingray4540]

Started out for a hike, just 50 yards from our car when I looked to my left and saw this guy in a gully just 10-15 feet from me. My first reaction was to move away from him and back to the car, since I had food on me, so the pics are crappy as they came hurriedly afterwards as he was walking away. He wasn't interested in us in the least. He just kept moseying along after he sniffed the air. I guess cliff bars aren't hi on there delicacy list.

 

[PB Wilson]

When I was a kid (30 years or so ago) we would visit the town dump in the Adirondacks while on vacation to take in a little bear sighting. Dozens of them from big old males to mama bears with cubs would be walking around while people would throw food toward them and snap pics. The bears basically ignored the people while they broke into hefty bags and ate to their heart's content. I'm kinda surprised they were so mellow, especially with the cubs around. Seems that they knew they had an endless supply of food and didn't care about any pesky people.

Flash forward a few decades when the town dump is closed and the bears became much more determined to break into garbage cans and coolers. The most bears I've seen in the Adirondacks was just outside of the Old Forge Dairy Queen.

In the many, many trips into the woods, I've never had a negative bear encounter. They never got my food (I plan ahead with amazing bear bag placement or now use a bear container) and they've become much more reclusive. Thanks goodness, because I love sharing the woods with them. It's exciting to live among such powerful creatures.

 

[dipbait]

I want to show my bears pic also. Took this in the Smokys last year.