Bear Chases Jogger: CNN Video (Could happen to hikers)

[Ricky&Jack]

I just wanted to post a link to a video that a jogger recorded while a (Black?) bear was following/chasing him all the way to his car. The bear is within arm reach of him.

This could easily happen to hikers.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/vi...ggers.ctv.html

(I spent 1 night on the A.T. and in the morning there was a black bear 3minutes after I broke camp, so I do know that although not too common, bear interactions do happen. Be prepared)

[Coffee]

It appears that the mistake was retreating. It is best to stand your ground and make noise when encountering a black bear that doesn't run away. By retreating, one would trigger the bear's curiosity and instinct to pursue. Incidentally, if that bear wanted to catch the jogger, it would have. No one can outrun a black bear. It appears that the bear was simply curious. The few bear encounters I've had to date were very brief and the bears all ran away within seconds of detecting my presence.

[Pedaling Fool]

You should never run from a bear, because it has the potential to kick-in a response to chase. It is not a foregone conclusion that they will chase you when you run, but it does up the odds, especially if the bear is in predator mode, but this bear was probably just, as the rangers said, curious.

What's bad about it is that as bears see us up close more and more like in that video they learn that we are not to be feared, which is a new paradigm for the bears since they've learned to fear humans ever since man made our first appearance on this continent some 20,000 years ago (or however long ago it was).

Actively feeding bears is a really bad thing, but it must be recognized that just presenting ourselves to the bear in a non-threatening manner is also a bad thing, just takes longer for the effects to show up.

It's a sad fact of life, but hunting these animals is actually a good thing; it forces them to have manners around humans.

[rafe]

What's bad about it is that as bears see us up close more and more like in that video they learn that we are not to be feared, which is a new paradigm for the bears since they've learned to fear humans ever since man made our first appearance on this continent some 20,000 years ago (or however long ago it was).

Do bears have paradigms? Lotta humans I know don't even have 'em.

[Ricky&Jack]

yeayh, with the fact that he was running away, instead of standing up to the bear means that it may be more likely to follow another person again, til it learns its lesson.

[RockDoc]

I met a man (geologist) who had an 8-hr pitched battle with a black bear in eastern Canada. Finally he killed it with his rock hammer. Yes, they do attack people, although on the AT you are more likely to have worse issues with tripping on roots.

[Pedaling Fool]

Do bears have paradigms? Lotta humans I know don't even have 'em.

Paradigm as I used it is simply a thought pattern, which affect behavior. However, I'll use another word, Behavior.

Bears just seeing us as a non-threat changes their behavior with respect to us.

[flemdawg1]

I had a paradigm, but I traded it for 4 nickles.

[Ricky&Jack]

although on the AT you are more likely to have worse issues with tripping on roots.

Ah, the root of all trail evils.

[rafe]

What I don't know about bear encounters could fill volumes. I've had exactly one close encounter with a bear, in SNP. I didn't run, didn't back away, didn't make a sound. Bear was very aware of my presence, looked at me a few times, but was more interested in foraging. He eventually turned tail and took a few bounds into the woods.

OTOH I have read journals of folks who seemed to be magnets for bears and other critters. "300 Zeros" is one such. The scariest wildlife encounter I ever had on the AT was a wild turkey.

[Ricky&Jack]

For the record, here is a 1minute video I made when I came across a bear on the A.T. (Okay, the approach trail).

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...type=3&theater

I think I handled it the way most people would.

[Lone Wolf]

oh for heavens sake. the little guy was not aggressive. he was just bein' curious. much ado over nothing

[Ricky&Jack]

oh for heavens sake. the little guy was not aggressive. he was just bein' curious. much ado over nothing

Yeah, but that would be the perfect reason to stand your ground..... he was curious. So what is stopping him from being curious around someone else (maybe kids, or someone with a gun)?

He is going to remain curious and think its okay to be close to humans, Unless he learns his lesson or becomes scared of them.

(Im guessing if the bear would have made contact, he would have just sniffed and left.... But what about when he's bigger and angry?)

[ChinMusic]

oh for heavens sake. the little guy was not aggressive. he was just bein' curious. much ado over nothing

He did come across as a puppy dog sans the wagging tail. He has learned to follow people. Makes me wonder if he has successfully gotten food before with such a tactic.

The two guys def didn't deter him from making future advances. This will be repeated by this bear.

[bamboo bob]

I have encountered 47 black bears on a lot of different trails. They all ran away although slowly in SNP. I've had more aggression from dogs on road walks than bears. Never met a grizzly yet. Hopefully from afar sometime soon.

[Coffee]

Can't believe the authorities said that these guys did everything right and that it would have been a good case for the use of pepper spray.

Bear adolescents seem to be like human adolescents in terms of curiosity, taking risks and exploring their limits. The best thing to do is to make them fear humans, and that's not achieved by retreating.

The bear odd kind of act like a puppy dog...

[HooKooDooKu]

I've had exactly one close encounter with a bear, in SNP. I didn't run, didn't back away, didn't make a sound. Bear was very aware of my presence, looked at me a few times, but was more interested in foraging.

Sounds like about half of my bear encounters in GSMNP where the bear basically ignored my presence and went about his business as I went about mine.

The other half of the time, the bear runs off into the woods the moment he became aware of my presence.

Only once has a bear approached me, and he ran off the moment I started yelling at him when he started getting too close (say 30').

[juma]

why I carry a few cherrybomb size firecrackers.

[ChinMusic]

why I carry a few cherrybomb size firecrackers.

I've been mocked before for saying some small firecrackers are not a bad idea. I have just never done it. As a note, don't even consider such in high fire risk times.

[ChinMusic]

this is one of my biggest fears about hiking

If it is that big fear, bear spray may be in order. One blast of that stuff and puppy bear would have run off.