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Bear Mauling and other Bear Stories

Eleeski

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@bluesbrother49 posted this on his Facebook wall on June 24th.
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows residents/visitors: Medium sized "blond" Black Bear walked right up to me in my garage, 1pm 6/24. Music blaring, lots of activity in the village etc. Darwin Award: According to the BEAR League, this bear has been getting fed by some Squaw Valley residents (apparently renters). Very tame with no fear of humans. Please be aware if your hiking Shirley Canyon/Granite Chief trail.



@Philpug and I hike Shirley in the summer, but I'm not sure I want to this year. :(

I think that bear was in my garage yesterday. Ripped open my backpack for my chewable vitamins. I tried but only got a fuzzy video (camera was in close up mode) as I chased him away. Not super scared of people but not particularly aggressive. I need to make sure to keep the garage closed even if I'm on the other side of the house. Downside to the handicap approved door handles is that the bear can easily open them. If my front door is locked, I'm not inhospitable. I'm just keeping the bears out.

Eric
 
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Tricia

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Outdoor Retailer had some decent displays and varieties of Bear Spray.
IMG_0049.JPG
IMG_0048.JPG
 

Dave Petersen

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Wow! How did I miss this story? How frightening. I've had a few bear encounters but they always took off running.

My wife and I stumbled upon a couple bear cubs on our honeymoon while hiking in the Tetons (I would say about 6 feet in front of us). That was probably the scariest encounter just knowing Mom was nearby somewhere in the brush.

During summers when my wife was in graduate school she lead hikes in the mountains of New Mexico at the Philmont Scout Ranch. She has shared stories with me of campers who were not careful with food while eating and then later had issues with bears coming into their tents while they were sleeping. Even though they would string up a bear bag between trees the bears could smell spilled food on clothing.

A few summers ago in Whistler the family and I rode the alpine slide. I came around a curve and out of the trees and there was a bear on the track right in front of me -- scared both the bear and me. I just missed hitting it.
 
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oldschoolskier

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While some what un-Canadian we are going to the cottage and the bears seem to be around this year more aggressive than previous s years (i.e. On the deck, we've even had them leave teeth marks in the door handle).

This is related to the "gun owners thread". Yes I am, and yes it is important to have one as we are too far isolated to from the nearest neighbor to not protect oneself from critters with teeth and strength.

I prefer that family and guests don't get sampled by the wildlife ogwink.
 

Sibhusky

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Outdoor Retailer had some decent displays and varieties of Bear Spray.
View attachment 27321 View attachment 27322

Counter Assault is what my husband had. Now we've got the larger can.

The guy who filmed his attack for YouTube had a follow up special on TV recently. http://www.kpax.com/story/35954699/surviving-a-grizzly-attack-twice-montana-man-tells-his-tale

The video at the beginning is a bit hyped with movie add-ins and has some gruesome stuff. The second video is less gruesome, with more info.
 

ScotsSkier

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While some what un-Canadian we are going to the cottage and the bears seem to be around this year more aggressive than previous s years (i.e. On the deck, we've even had them leave teeth marks in the door handle).

This is related to the "gun owners thread". Yes I am, and yes it is important to have one as we are too far isolated to from the nearest neighbor to not protect oneself from critters with teeth and strength.

I prefer that family and guests don't get sampled by the wildlife ogwink.


wise move. Are you allowed to use in self defense/scare them away or do you have to wait till they come into the property first?

shotgun with buckshot/slug combo or rifle?
 

oldschoolskier

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With 200 acres, it doesn't matter too much either way, the driveway is about 450 yards, and the nearest neighbor is about mile through heavy bush.

It just depends on what I want to bring ogsmile.

Ideally, a little hunting pressure tends keeps chance encounters down, however, as of late this hasn't been kept up as much as I'd like and with weather as funny as it is it has also changed the behavior habits (not only of the bears).

What I didn't mention is we now have confirmed cougar (thought to have been on the verge of extinction in southern Ontario) sightings, this are more of a concern as bears (black bear) tend to leave in an encounter, cougar does not and is a risk for people under 5'6" (considered prey). It is only a matter of time till a serious cougar encounter ocures here in Ontario as the general population is very unaware.


I book I would recommend for anyone venturing out in the the wild is called "Don't get Eaten". Bought it as a joke out west (Olympic Park, Washington), very informative about animal behavior (geared towards west coast) however translates well to all animals across North America. If I get a chance I provide more info about the book.
 
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Tricia

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Here's a bear encounter that ended up being pretty peaceful

 
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Tricia

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SBrown

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Bear, 2 cubs euthanized after hikers charged at, on a popular trail.
http://www.9news.com/news/local/bea...-hikers-charged-at-on-popular-trail/469661463

I'm sad about this, mostly because I'm torn between people being in bear country, surprised to see bear, and bear being potentially aggressive in areas where people hike.

That's so not bear country. I mean ... I guess everything is bear country, but this is the Denver suburbs. I'm shocked that they were carrying bear spray.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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That's so not bear country. I mean ... I guess everything is bear country, but this is the Denver suburbs. I'm shocked that they were carrying bear spray.
Thanks for sharing that.
Bear are not scared of us anymore. :(
 

SBrown

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Thanks for sharing that.
Bear are not scared of us anymore. :(

After reading one of the articles, I guess there have been some aggressive bear reports in that park in the past weeks, which I hadn't heard about. Which makes bear spray less unusual, but still. It's just barely (bearly?) into the foothills.
 
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Tricia

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After reading one of the articles, I guess there have been some aggressive bear reports in that park in the past weeks, which I hadn't heard about. Which makes bear spray less unusual, but still. It's just barely (bearly?) into the foothills.
Do you know if there is a history of food/garbage availability in the area?

There is a similar issue at Squaw, but there is also a known issue with vacationers who feed wild animals because they think its cute.
 

Mendieta

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Do you know if there is a history of food/garbage availability in the area?

There is a similar issue at Squaw, but there is also a known issue with vacationers who feed wild animals because they think its cute.

There are also, apparently, people feeding bears and large cats because they feel like the beast will be soothed and become less aggressive or dangerous. Unfortunately, it works the other way around.

They should feed me! I do tricks :roflmao:
 

SBrown

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Do you know if there is a history of food/garbage availability in the area?

There is a similar issue at Squaw, but there is also a known issue with vacationers who feed wild animals because they think its cute.

It's a very well used trail system just outside (well, I guess inside) Golden ... I'm sure there is always garbage there, I don't think it's vacationers necessarily. Bears are just coming lower right now. Carbondale, for instance, is having a bigger problem than in the last 10 years, I heard recently.
 

oldschoolskier

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From some of the info I read (along with personal experience) predator sightings are up all over. Reason behind this :huh: seems to be the consensus.
 

pais alto

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From some of the info I read (along with personal experience) predator sightings are up all over. Reason behind this :huh: seems to be the consensus.

I believe it's because there are more people going where the predators used to have it to themselves.
 

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