Lions, wolves and bears..Oh MY!!

What you choose is up to you and your comfort level... I carry bear spray in my bag whether they're black, brown, panda, or koala... it'll make them think twice... it also works on other animals and people.. also noise makers, bear cannisters, preppin gfood far from camp etc.all. Aren;t a bad ideas
I don;t carry a fire arm unless I'm hunting... I'm not opposed to it... It's just long guns attract attention, and pistols are hard to get here.
 
Hey Codger,

Good post. We have the same problems up here. They say the Eastern Cougar is extinct, despite numerous sightings and other evidence, including one by a licensed trapper, who, if anybody, should know what the hell a cougar looks like, he should.

Same with Black bears, although in the last couple of years, the police have had to dispatch a few.

Similarly, the governing bodies have denied the existence of Black-legged ticks and Lyme disease here (in Ontario), except for one endemic area (Long Point), but I noticed just this past week, they finally admit that's it's here.

Doc
 
The Z said:
What would you call proper preparations? I will be camping in a very rural area of NH at the beginning of October and there are Black Bear, Moose, and who knows what else there. I wasn't planning on buying bear spray since there are no Brown Bear in NH that I know of, and I do not carry firearms. Beyond knowing how to handle yourself around each animal (calmly back away with moose, holler at/stare down a mt. lion, etc.), what else would be prudent? Bear canister?
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IMHO, your best defense is simple situational awareness. When in bear habitat, practicing bear protocol with a canister is a good idea. In some areas they still hang food bags, but some bears can defeat that. Don't cook in or near your tent. If a bear knows you are there and still comes snooping, there is a good chance the bear associates people with picnic baskets, i.e. easy meals. In other words, unless you keep food in your tent, the food is generally in more danger than you are. You can generally check with the district rangers where you intend to camp to get their recommendations. Sometimes a particular campsite may be temporarily closed if there is a problem bear hanging around.
 
Codger_64 said:
IMHO, your best defense is simple situational awareness. When in bear habitat, practicing bear protocol with a canister is a good idea. In some areas they still hang food bags, but some bears can defeat that. Don't cook in or near your tent. If a bear knows you are there and still comes snooping, there is a good chance the bear associates people with picnic baskets, i.e. easy meals. In other words, unless you keep food in your tent, the food is generally in more danger than you are. You can generally check with the district rangers where you intend to camp to get their recommendations. Sometimes a particular campsite may be temporarily closed if there is a problem bear hanging around.
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Yeah I think the thing I heard that made the most sense was keep the food downwind of where you sleep, but keep the water at the tent so it doesn't get split open by bears rummaging through the food. Where I will be though is private property, so no rangers to ask. Thanks for the advice guys. I figure, as with most things, a little common sense goes a long way.
 
This thread reminds me of a tragic story from here in Utah. The short version is an 11 year old boy was taken from a tent and killed by a black bear. For more information see the link below.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/675192471/Bear-attack-Why-no-warning-at-campground.html
To my knowledge this was the first reported bear fatality in Utah, and the campground wasn't that far off the beaten path.
The real tragedy is that the bear had torn up a nearby campground the night before, but it was thought that the situation was under control. The animal was being tracked, and state-maintained campsites had bear warnings posted. Well, people around here learned a few hard truths.
1, Just because something hasn't happened doesn't mean that it cant happen
2, Wild animals can find their way into semi-civilized locations
3, Take nothing for granted when a dangerous animal is concerned

Four years ago someone with bear spray would have been laughed off the trail around here. Now it serves as a sad reminder.
 
There was an editorial on this subject in yesterdays Daily Courier. There have been sightings quite frequently in our area. (Prescott and Prescott Valley)

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Codger, I read your post earlier today and chuckled a bit but didn't have time to respond. Agreed on all parts. I grew up in San Diego and spent quite a bit of time in our east county up around Julian and Kitchen Creek.

With the ban on hunting mountain lions, their population quickly grew. They need a lot of range, and the older males threw out the juveniles not accustomed to dodging people - so, within just a few years of the ban we had attacks on humans, including two deadly attacks within only a few miles (<10) of where I regularly hiked and hunted.

I reported my sightings twice, only to have some numbnuts tell me that I'd probably just seen a large house cat. Believe me, it's an attention getter when you're all alone, out glassing hares at sun-up, and have a mountain lion step into your field of view, turn to look at you, and lick its lips before striding off.

Then again, if ya listen to those in power that never get out, it was just Fluffy out for a morning stroll... ;)
 
I was just talking to a friend today who lives out in an undeveloped area of Signal Mountain. She was telling me about seeing a cougar in her back yard on a few different nights. Now I'm wanting to go look for signs and try to get some pictures. First I'm going to another area to look for bear sign today though....
 
mistwalker said:
I was just talking to a friend today who lives out in an undeveloped area of Signal Mountain. She was telling me about seeing a cougar in her back yard on a few different nights. Now I'm wanting to go look for signs and try to get some pictures. First I'm going to another area to look for bear sign today though....
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you packin'? lol :D..... good luck on the cougar. lots of folks due to distance and low light mistake large bobcats for cougars.. yeah yeah i know big difference but you would be surprised what folks think they see esp in the dark or low light.

we have bears around my area. never used to hear about them but the past 5 yrs their population has gone up. saw a large dead black bear on the side of the highway near a populated area on my way to work. the state patrol was poking at it with his foot lol.. i even had a lady ask me what was that.. i had to laugh. i hope i dont see a bear hunting.
 
if you leave a bear alone it will leave you alone, they have to be pretty hungry to come after you, just dont mess with their young that really pisses them off
 
TWBryan said:
I do believe the heirs of the woman that was killed by a mountain lion have an excellent chance of winning a lawsuit. At least I hope they sue the (expletive deleted). I'm in Florida,I have no idea what will be setting up residence in this state next. We have bull sharks that will swim in fresh or salt water. The burmese pythons,anacondas,one case of a green mamba, iguanas everywhere. Have heard one report of someone finding cast off cobra snakeskin in the wild.

Probably still have monkeys running loose from the Johnny Weismuller films.

It's a zoo out there!
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Is that true? I've heard the rumors when I lived in Orlando for 10 years. Where are they supposed to be?

Thanks,

Al
 
AKboy said:
if you leave a bear alone it will leave you alone, they have to be pretty hungry to come after you, just dont mess with their young that really pisses them off
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Sometimes this is true. Sometimes not. There is a lot of difference between species of bears. Grizzly and blacks are different in their habits. Bears with little or no contact with man are different from bears that are habituated and different from bears that are hunted. And then there are differences between individual bears with the same experiences, and the same bear can behave differently at different times of the year. So "leave them alone and they will leave you alone" does not always work. There are just too many variables in bear behavior to trust in generalities.

Over time, biologists, researchers and outdoor enthusiasts have developed a bear country protocol which increases human safety and decreases the chances of bad experiences with bears.

Bears, however are fairly intelligent creatures and are capable of learning, then teaching their offspring what they have learned. So bear protocol is an ever evolving strategy.

Even if there is no Ranger in charge of the exact place you will hike/camp, they can give you the current approved protocol for that area. Wildlife officers are good informaton resources too. They are generally up on reports of bear (or other wildlife) problems in a given area.
 
Thanks Codger.:thumbup:

Some of are issues in Florida are the result of lax laws on the ownership of exotic animals. I know that a couple hurricanes damaged the Miami zoo resulting in the inadvertent release of some creatures. Hard to tell what you'll find running loose in this state.
 
Codger_64 said:
Bears, however are fairly intelligent creatures and are capable of learning, then teaching their offspring what they have learned. So bear protocol is an ever evolving strategy.
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I think the general consensus is that bears are roughly as intelligent as a 12-year old. And we know what kind of havoc they can wreak.

Funniest bear story I ever read was of a polar bear that had taken up residence in a city dump in northern Alaska.

One day it wandered about and found a man's cabin. He had an outdoor freezer that he kept full of meat and padlocked. One day he comes home, and the freezer is out in the yard, all beat up with big, huge dents in it, but unopened.

Next day he comes home, and the freezer is back out in the yard, opened. There was a steel pipe next to it that had apparently been used to pry open the lock. He owned no such piece of steel. There was found around the area bear poop with styrofoam and plastic in it. Apparently, the bear figured out how to get the lock off, and procured for itself from the dump the prybar of proper length and diameter to get the job done.

They called in a ranger to trap and relocate it. The ranger was given some pictures taken and shown around the dump where the bear had been living. The pictures showed a big black stain on the front of the bear, and the ranger was shown several 55 gal drums of waste motor oil the bear had apparently been drinking (I guess it was close enough to seal blubber for the bear). The ranger tracked it around, the bear leading him in circles. He finally gave up for the night and went to his cabin to sleep.

In the morning, he came out to see bear tracks all around, and two of the tires torn off his SUV and partially devoured.

That's one bear you just let have its way. As of the writing of the article, the bear had not been caught.
 
I live right outside of Tampa Florida and have seen a panther on the golf course near my house. There is a big preserve and river basin that runs behind the golf course and I think it is part of the panthers hunting grounds. Anyway, several others have seen it and heard it but local officials still claim thatthere are no panthers in the area.

Went hiking with the misses in Colorado for our five year anniversary. (We go on a long 6-10 week camping trip every five years to celebrate). This time we were way up in the San Juans,, close to the timberline. A herd of elk came down from the mountain tops and some wolves were following at their heels. It was amazing to see and watch as the wolves would try to get at a young elk and chase it down. (They never did while we were watching). Back in town a guy at a tourist shop told us we didn't know what we were talking about because there were no wolves in Colorado. He wanted us to believe they were coyotes. I have seen and helped kill both wolves (legally) and coyotes. I know the difference. These were NOT coyotes. (Unless Balco is distrubting steroids to coyotes now.)
 
I'm about 30 miles North of the TwinCities Metro in MN. This was in my woods last year in the late Fall. We all have acreage and there is a wildlife preserve adjacent. There was definite struggle in the area. What do you think did this?

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Goldtanker said:
I'm about 30 miles North of the TwinCities Metro in MN. This was in my woods last year in the late Fall. We all have acreage and there is a wildlife preserve adjacent. There was definite struggle in the area. What do you think did this?

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not panthers.. panthers more often than not take their prey to a higher ground (rock or tree) to eat and store their food.. my guess is yote, wolf or wild dogs. did you see any tracks? small signs are a big indicator
 
Tasselhoff said:
I live right outside of Tampa Florida and have seen a panther on the golf course near my house. There is a big preserve and river basin that runs behind the golf course and I think it is part of the panthers hunting grounds. Anyway, several others have seen it and heard it but local officials still claim thatthere are no panthers in the area.

Went hiking with the misses in Colorado for our five year anniversary. (We go on a long 6-10 week camping trip every five years to celebrate). This time we were way up in the San Juans,, close to the timberline. A herd of elk came down from the mountain tops and some wolves were following at their heels. It was amazing to see and watch as the wolves would try to get at a young elk and chase it down. (They never did while we were watching). Back in town a guy at a tourist shop told us we didn't know what we were talking about because there were no wolves in Colorado. He wanted us to believe they were coyotes. I have seen and helped kill both wolves (legally) and coyotes. I know the difference. These were NOT coyotes. (Unless Balco is distrubting steroids to coyotes now.)
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i have heard some rumors floating around that the panthers were in Fla and in fact gaining ground on their numbers... another rumor was that they are moving north into southern ga and on up through the east of SC. google panthers in fla and see what you find.. seems like a good amount of evidense to support this rumor.. just curious on where they came from.
 
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