What to do with bears

Magnussen said:
I still feel that most of the problems are directly caused by careless people and it's a shame that the bears pay the price.

Rick
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Agreed, and it is a crying shame, just like those subhuman Michael Vic types that keep a bulldog chained in the back yard with no socializing or care. And when it bites someone they have to put it down, a dirty rotten shame, the people that do that should be chained in the yard for a while with no contact and forced to fight.

However a "wild" bear that comes to a picnic area with a paved road leading up to it with families trying to eat their meal is a different story, either the families have to go or the bear, I vote the bear. It is a rotten shame just like the dogs, but IMO a bullet is the only cure for the mistreated dogs or the bear. Chris
 
Strobengh, those little black bears in the east include the record PA bear that had an official dressed weight of just over 800 lbs !!! Here's how we do it in the Catskill Mtns of NY. For experts only ! As the bear attacks you put you hand down it's mouth , all the way reaching until you grab his tail , then rapidly pull the tail back , this will turn the bear inside -out and he's then no longer a problem !!
 
"As the bear attacks you put you hand down it's mouth , all the way reaching until you grab his tail , then rapidly pull the tail back , this will turn the bear inside -out and he's then no longer a problem !!"


Genius, Mete!!!!!!! Pure Genius.......... lol:thumbup:
 
mete said:
Strobengh, those little black bears in the east include the record PA bear that had an official dressed weight of just over 800 lbs !!! Here's how we do it in the Catskill Mtns of NY. For experts only ! As the bear attacks you put you hand down it's mouth , all the way reaching until you grab his tail , then rapidly pull the tail back , this will turn the bear inside -out and he's then no longer a problem !!
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I have short arms. Is it ok to use a Leatherman to extend my reach, or is that considered cheating?
 
Magnussen said:
"As the bear attacks you put you hand down it's mouth , all the way reaching until you grab his tail , then rapidly pull the tail back , this will turn the bear inside -out and he's then no longer a problem !!"


Genius, Mete!!!!!!! Pure Genius.......... lol:thumbup:
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ya must have a pretty long arm that alone reaches 5 foot =P

maybe Shaq or Yao? lol
 
There are 2 separate problems here. I live in northern New Jersey. The area is naturally good habitat for bears and we do have quite a few, not far from the densely populated area where I live. But the bear country is disappearing as dense populations move further north, and the displaced bears come into closer contact with people who have no idea how to deal with them. We often get one coming down here in the summer, but this summer has been pretty lush, so I guess they're OK at home! :)

The other problem is at once worse, but simpler to solve. Bears will not become habituated to humans and dependent on handouts unless people deliberate violate good policy. I've lost track of how many people I've failed to convince that feeding the waterbirds at our lake is not .. a .. good .. idea. I am firmly in favor of my buddy the Park Ranger catching them and fining them till their wallets sob for mercy. But people who feed bears aren't just throwing off the animals natural feeding patterns, they are setting them up for an early fatal encounter. We've got to do a better job of teaching people how to interact and how not to interact with the animals they are so thrilled to meet in the wild.
 
E.B., a lot of the problem is what I refer to as the "Bambi Syndrome". The majority of people spend their lives so isolated from the natural world that they expect wildlife to behave like cartoons or pets. "Oh! Look! There's Yogi! Hey Yogi, want a bite of my PB&J sammich?" I don't know how many times I've heard of someone being mauled, if not killed by "sharing" their candy/food with a bear. The last one I heard of was a guy feeding a bear M&M's. Of course the bear couldn't understand they were all gone.

I've been chased by a big black while wilderness canoe camping. I didn't know they had just begun relocating problem blacks there from the Smokies, so my river camp was a typical hunter's camp without bear discipline. Warning shots didn't phaze the bear so I retreated across the river and let him/her have it's way with my beaver and coon kills. I didn't report the necounter to the Rangers because it was my fault really. I found the shredded sign warning of the ongoing bear restoration efforts at my takeout the next day.

But it isn't just bears. Every year we read stories of people gored, sometimes killed by "pet" whitetail deer.

Codger
 
mete said:
Strobengh, those little black bears in the east include the record PA bear that had an official dressed weight of just over 800 lbs !!!
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Well, there is an exception to every rule.

The only bears I saw in the Poconos I mistook for large dogs at first . . .
 
gunknifenut said:
I have had the same account, the bear saw me, after coming kind of close to check me and my fellow hiker out. I stopped about 35' away and turned tail, BUT a black bear can attack, its just not something you need to be overly worried about. If you are attacked, and you don't have a gun, you have no choice but to fight...playing dead on a black bear doesn't work, sooner or later, its bites will kill you, and even if you survive, you would probubly be missing some fingers and your scalp...I wouldn't like to loose either. I'm not hyping any sort of risk, just stating what I understand to be the only way to deal with a charge...stand your ground, and try to look scary..fight like hell.
If you make some noise while hiking, as in talking or slapping your walking stick against a tree evey once in a while, you should have no problem.
Gene
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Hey Gene, im only on page one of this postings on bears, but i just had an idea that has been around longer than most of us older men on this forum, it's bear bell's, you use string and place on your boots or your self, when you are moving it makes sounds and the bears run off most of the time, or will get out of your way. Your ideas are great, but this out dates all of us, no need for talking, slapping your walking stick, or banging pots and pans, or radios playing and so on, all good ideas, but time tests all things, some times its just to easy, like bear bell's, your friend at the post Donald S.
 
http://www.main.nc.us/graham/mcclung/The Michelic Search.html

This happened very close to the time I had my run in with a relocated bear in the same area. Me and my friends, one of which was there when the body was found, speculate on whether the bear had something to do with his mad dash and subsequent fall, maybe, maybe not. After my experiences with bears accustomed to people I find it highly plausible. Chris
 
I didn't want mine to bite me, so I just tore his leg off.
I did have one of his claws bronzed, though.

bearclaw.jpg
 
I never had any problems with frequent backpacking and kayaking in the Smokies area of E.TN and W. NC, other than nuisance bears. Be loud, stand your ground or back away slowly while facing the bear, and keep food/toothpaste/deodorant/etc hung away from the camp. After a couple of decades there, I would have told you black bears don't hurt people in the Smokies, but there has been at least one death and another mauling in the last eight years that would dispute that assumption.

The only time I had a black bear issue was solo sea kayaking in the Apostle Island archipelago. One island, maybe 3 x 8 miles, supported a population of maybe 35 black bears. Waaaaaaay too many, IMHO. I had one who strolled into camp one night and kept returning. I kept standing ground and blowing a 100dB whistle at him, a .357 in the other hand with 200gr hard cast. He eventually went away but I didn't sleep too well - dreaming of being awakened because he had my foot in his mouth and was dragging me out of the tent.

Studies suggest that the bear spray is more effective than a handgun. If the numbers suggest it, I suppose it is true. All the same, I feel better with at least the equivalent of a .357 or a 10mm.

Go to The Firing Line or The High Road and do a search for "bear." Don't start a new thread or expect to get flamed. It is an ultra-common question.

Good luck and sleep well. :)
 
I like my Bear with onions and a little red wine... Ohhhh, and GARLIC!! It's gotta have garlic. Maybe a couple pieces of fresh asparagus. Wrap in foil, and grill for 30 minutes over medium heat.

But first, I use a snubby .44 and empty the cylinder into their ass. Picnic grabbing bears will rarely be deterred for long by Pepper Spray. They are usually back the next day, and usually more agressive, or charge fast! A couple of national parks have had a problem with bears not responding to pepper spray.. The bears are getting used to it!

And them there's always the problem of wind direction... You end up pepper-spraying yourself! Very nice!!!

Of course this is usually only a problem in the bigger parks, around the "Average Joe" camp areas, where people don't clean up, throw lot's of food into plastic trash bags and set the bags into the bed of their pick-up, and lastly, leave coolers in the open. Can you say "Invitation?"
 
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