-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
bears
- Thread starter andrew7978
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2008
- Messages
- 9,491
I also see alot of wildlife in my area as well. Red fox, coyotes, ton of deer and Turkey, etc. No bears, probably a good thing, we have alot of curious children running around with out a care. It would be nice to spot one on a trail though. (from a distance ofcourse) I wonder how far south these bears and moose have been sighted, I am in north west Fairfield county.
Great pics by the way!
Great pics by the way!
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2005
- Messages
- 2,617
We had this guy running around here last November http://wcco.com/local/moose.Minnetonka.Interstate.2.362806.html
This happened no more then 20 miles from downtown Minneapolis.
Helle
This happened no more then 20 miles from downtown Minneapolis.
Helle
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 2,018
Tonym, a moose was hit on the Merrit parkway a few months ago. Can't remember exactly when, but it was between between Stamford and New Haven. I know that is a big area, but that is as much as I can remember. That was my wife's commute up until last week. At any rate, they range pretty far south in CT.
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2005
- Messages
- 887
We had a mother black bear and two little cubs--one black, one cinnamon phase--come to our campsite early one morning near Mount Baldy in Philmont Scout Ranch, near Cimarron, New Mexico, back around late June in, I think, 1985 or so. We were camped at the edge of a clearing, just next to some woods where the bears apparently came from. We'd taken seriously the warnings to put ALL of our stuff that potentially smelled like bear food--toothpaste, bandaids, deodorant, etc.) up in the burlap bear-bags we hung in trees outside the main tent area. Mama bear apparently left her cubs in the woods, then knocked over a few backpacks. My tentmate and I, who were the Scouts leading our crew, got up before everyone else, and thus were the first ones to encounter the bear. I was in front of the tent, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and trying to figure out what I had to make happen to get breakfast under way, when my tentmate shouted, from near the trees from which he'd just retrieved the bearbags, "THERE'S A BEAR BEHIND ME!" I looked, and there was a bear, about 15-20 feet behind him, stopped on the dirt road that went past the campsite. Tentmate Danny, still holding a burlap bearbag over each shoulder, walked a few paces back toward the camp; the bear likewise took a few steps, then stopped. This happened about twice. The fog clearing from my mind, I shouted, "DROP THE BEARBAGS!" Danny ignored this, and continued his slow, un-panicked return toward the campsite.
Meanwhile, the other, sleeping Scouts had begun to wake up, had figured that there was a bear at the campsite, and were reacting. One of the adult leaders had also awakened by then and was standing in front of his tent, holding his hands out toward the Scouts, saying, "Don't panic! Don't panic!" Actually, panic was the last thing on anybody's mind. I was surprised to see that every single Scout was frantically rummaging through his pack for his camera. I could see the she-bear getting worried as Scout after Scout emerged from the tents, all obviously with attention focused on her, some slowly advancing as they took their pictures. She wheeled around and retreated into the forest. Only after she had left the campsite and returned to the forest did we notice her little cubs with her. The three made their way with apparent unconcern back into the trees and out of sight.
I'm very happy that all ended as well as it did--for a good deal of the time, the mama bear was actually on the far side of our tents from the treeline, where her cubs were. It was also food for thought that none of us saw the two cubs, with our attention focused so much on the mother bear. Another interesting observation: though of course I was very concerned about the bear following Danny, it was also very obvious that she was not stalking him. Curious, yes; hungry, yes--but her demeanor toward him was plainly not that of predator toward prey. Interesting that you could tell. Also interesting was the fact that, though the bear was apparently fairly unintimidated by one or two people, having a dozen or so of them appearing from different quarters did unnerve her enough to make her depart. (The paparazzi-like flicker of camera flashes probably enhanced this effect.)
Finally, it hammered deep into my mind the fact that it is a VERY GOOD IDEA to keep all of one's interesting-smelling-to-bears stuff in such a way that it can easily be removed from one's other gear and hoisted high into a tree a ways away from one's main camp. Ever since, I've always tried to keep my food and food-smelling things like toothpaste, etc. in its own bag, or in a couple of bags, so that I won't forget and leave some yummy-smelling thing deep down in my pack, where it'd attract bears. One reason I don't oil my knives with clove-scented tea oil, as I've heard some people do, for example.
Meanwhile, the other, sleeping Scouts had begun to wake up, had figured that there was a bear at the campsite, and were reacting. One of the adult leaders had also awakened by then and was standing in front of his tent, holding his hands out toward the Scouts, saying, "Don't panic! Don't panic!" Actually, panic was the last thing on anybody's mind. I was surprised to see that every single Scout was frantically rummaging through his pack for his camera. I could see the she-bear getting worried as Scout after Scout emerged from the tents, all obviously with attention focused on her, some slowly advancing as they took their pictures. She wheeled around and retreated into the forest. Only after she had left the campsite and returned to the forest did we notice her little cubs with her. The three made their way with apparent unconcern back into the trees and out of sight.
I'm very happy that all ended as well as it did--for a good deal of the time, the mama bear was actually on the far side of our tents from the treeline, where her cubs were. It was also food for thought that none of us saw the two cubs, with our attention focused so much on the mother bear. Another interesting observation: though of course I was very concerned about the bear following Danny, it was also very obvious that she was not stalking him. Curious, yes; hungry, yes--but her demeanor toward him was plainly not that of predator toward prey. Interesting that you could tell. Also interesting was the fact that, though the bear was apparently fairly unintimidated by one or two people, having a dozen or so of them appearing from different quarters did unnerve her enough to make her depart. (The paparazzi-like flicker of camera flashes probably enhanced this effect.)
Finally, it hammered deep into my mind the fact that it is a VERY GOOD IDEA to keep all of one's interesting-smelling-to-bears stuff in such a way that it can easily be removed from one's other gear and hoisted high into a tree a ways away from one's main camp. Ever since, I've always tried to keep my food and food-smelling things like toothpaste, etc. in its own bag, or in a couple of bags, so that I won't forget and leave some yummy-smelling thing deep down in my pack, where it'd attract bears. One reason I don't oil my knives with clove-scented tea oil, as I've heard some people do, for example.
Geeze Helle, almost next door to my sister's place
Why not go over and say howdy, I'm sure she'll have a hotdish to share, ya know
Shakopee land of the Roller Coaster and Prince the Music Legend
I used to live up in WBL, then over to Edina, then Up to Little Sauk Center, then down to Chaska, then over to Shakopee.....hey, a guy knows good rent when he sees it in the paper the lesiure of 6 month leases
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2006
- Messages
- 6,214
Brian Jones
Moderator
- Joined
- Jan 17, 1999
- Messages
- 7,560
Glacier National Park, Montana.
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2006
- Messages
- 6,214
That is very cool. Love to visit that park. Has the Going to the Sun Road been re-opened yet?
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2006
- Messages
- 6,214
Yeah, sorry, I'm a bit of a stuck record I guess. Big fan of wolves. I guess they would help keep the deer population down but I don't think they're a predator of the bears are they? They'd probably take a cub if they could though.
Something of interest off Wikipedia:
Though many hunters, prior to and even after reintroduction, claimed that wolves would wipe out entire populations of elk, deer and other ungulates, most ecosystems where wolves have been reintroduced have actually become much healthier than they were before. Since Wolves have arrived, the food chain within the Yellowstone ecosystem has been re-ordered to deliver a banquet that favors a more varied array of species. Prior to wolves, high numbers of elk were linked to declines in aspen and willow communities, which negatively affected beaver and moose. Pre-wolf, coyote numbers swelled, affecting small rodent populations, foxes, and the production of pronghorn antelope. Pre-wolf scavengers had slimmer pickings. Today with wolves taking elk, reducing their numbers, and leaving more carcasses on the landscape, grizzlies and wolverines have easier access to more meat, meaning a better chance for larger litters of cubs and pups. Coyote numbers have been significantly reduced, meaning more mice and pocket gophers for foxes and avian predators like hawks and eagles.[104] Wolves play an undeniably important role in the environment and through education organizations some people may be slowly getting the message that they are vital. In addition, reports have been published placing the value of revenue from wolf-watching as upward of $25 million.
Something of interest off Wikipedia:
Though many hunters, prior to and even after reintroduction, claimed that wolves would wipe out entire populations of elk, deer and other ungulates, most ecosystems where wolves have been reintroduced have actually become much healthier than they were before. Since Wolves have arrived, the food chain within the Yellowstone ecosystem has been re-ordered to deliver a banquet that favors a more varied array of species. Prior to wolves, high numbers of elk were linked to declines in aspen and willow communities, which negatively affected beaver and moose. Pre-wolf, coyote numbers swelled, affecting small rodent populations, foxes, and the production of pronghorn antelope. Pre-wolf scavengers had slimmer pickings. Today with wolves taking elk, reducing their numbers, and leaving more carcasses on the landscape, grizzlies and wolverines have easier access to more meat, meaning a better chance for larger litters of cubs and pups. Coyote numbers have been significantly reduced, meaning more mice and pocket gophers for foxes and avian predators like hawks and eagles.[104] Wolves play an undeniably important role in the environment and through education organizations some people may be slowly getting the message that they are vital. In addition, reports have been published placing the value of revenue from wolf-watching as upward of $25 million.