And his hair was perfect.Originally Posted by sheepdog
You never turned around to see the frowns
On the jugglers and the clowns
When they all did tricks for you.
I was raised as an amateur hunter, fisherman and logger in Northern Wisconsin. Contrary to what some on this list might argue, hunting/fishing/logging are not activities that are necessarily contrary to sound animal conservation efforts or contrary to intense environmental awareness (and preservation). Most of the hunters, fishers and loggers that I know are actually very devoted conservationalists and environmentalists.
Over the years, my hunting and fishing license fees (and my voluntary donations to groups like Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, Whitetails Unlimited etc.) have contributed a significant amount of money to animal conservation, habitat restoration and animal repopulation efforts. I have personally assisted in physically restoring animal habitat areas. I have also PLANTED far more trees than I have ever cut.
THE SAME LEVEL OF CONTRIBUTION TO CONSERVATION EFFORTS CANNOT BE SAID FOR MANY OF THE SELF-PROCLAIMED ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS AND FOLKS WHO WISH TO PROMOTE A "GREEN" LIFESTYLE!
The FACT is, many animal populations and many forest areas are stronger and healthier when CONTROLLED logging, hunting, and fishing efforts occur. Leaving animal and forest populations totally "undisturbed" by humans often causes MORE harm to animal and plant species than logging, hunting, and fishing could ever do.
If fallen trees and thick underbrush are not thinned and removed--the area becomes more prone to forest fires. Those fires destroy MANY thousands of acres of forest land and kill hundreds of animals. (Strategic logging of SOME trees is far better than losing thousands of acres of forest to fires!). If animal populations become too large, animals starve and become sick (often infecting and threatening the rest of the popluation). Shooting SOME animals is far more humane than letting them die in large numbers due to starvation and illness.
Many areas in the Appalacian Mountains are becoming overpopulated with bears (in terms of the number of bears per square mile of proper habitat). Thus, the bear population needs to be thinned for the overall good of the species in those regions. Killing the current "overly friendly" bear in question is not going to destroy the AT eco-system. In fact, it might even benefit the eco-system. (I would also not be opposed to trapping the bear and relocating it to a very remote area).
(It seems that some people on this list are far more concerned that an aggresive bear might get killed than an innocent hiker or camper might get mauled by that bear! I'll never understand such "logic". Save a hiker--kill or relocate the bear!)
I would agree that humans who are irresponsible with their food and trash contribute to the bear problems--and they ought to be banned from the woods and trails. They are a potential "danger" to themselves, other humans, and to the bears.
FINAL NOTE: I have actually eaten bear sausage--and it was very delicious. (P.E.T.A.--for me that stands for People Eating Tasty Animals!)
"A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world." - Paul Dudley White
like lone wolf said, sleep with your food bag,.. yo yo, cut a bear tryin da git yo herb seasoned tuna pack.
did i miss that it was an april fools joke?
hey hey, my my
Whoa. This turned into a philosophical meeting of the minds quickly....
So I guess the correct answer is: "only when there is not a privey close by!"
Stumpy
You can never go wrong with butter or bacon!!!!
Nice!
One option might be to hang up some sacrificial food bags filled with rice cakes. I suspect the bear would move on after that.
homer_at
I think that would encourage more bad behavior.
I think they should issue hikers some M-80's or cherry bombs from the fireworks places and scare the bejesus out of the bear. Every hiker lobs fireworks at bears (and raccoons) that get too close to campsites. Get them away from "humans=food" to "humans=earsplitting bang" and a lot of this dangerous behavior will stop.
Spice it up with habanero peppers
The trail was here before we arrived, and it will still be here when we are gone...enjoy it now, and preserve it for others that come after us
Hot pepper on some sacrificial food might work. Anything to make the bear want to avoid humans and human stuff.
I saw a ranger take that approach in a car camping area in the Delaware Water Gap years ago. He had something that shot his fireworks at the animal sing-shot style.
So the mama bear is up in a tree next to our campsite and he fires up at it. Gravity being what it is, the cherry bomb dropped back toward earth an exploded next to the ranger's head.
He was startled by this, and drew his revolver quicker than Wyatt Earp ready to do battle.
At that point, I became a bit concerned about my safety. I wasn't worried about the bear, of course.
ROFLMAO!!! Picturing that gave me good laugh! Thanks!
For most thru hikers, bear sightings are one of the highlights of the trip.
Those who would take out an AT bear might be appreciated by Ma and Pa Kettle out for a stroll in the park, but not by me.
Seems like a good stretch of trail to walk slowly with your camera around your neck.
i ran over a tarantulawhile driving around Grand Canyon. it was huge but by the time i had that glimmer of recognition it was too late to swerve out of the way. actually pulled over and walked back to check it out. kids thought it was neato.
cooli ran over a tarantula
I just got back from hiking southern Georgia section and the "closed to camping" section was quite the talk. I just had to laugh. I get excited every time I see a bear on the trail (I've seen six in just over 200 miles of AT hiking). None have ever been aggressive towards me (they usually run away). I figure if I go backpacking and I do it right I'm going to see wildlife. It's a shame when an animal gets used to human food for so many reasons. I just wish somebody would do something about the uncontrolled puppy that ran into the shelter about five minutes ahead of his "master" and jumped all over everyone and tried to eat my son's chicken and rice.
P.S. I sleep with my food (in sealed plastic bags) in the bear capital of the trail...SNP...and have never had a bear mess with me, my tent, or my food at night.
Lemni Skate away
The trail will save my life
Well if you believe in this book called the bible, according to it
"God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
Well, not really a big believer myself, but for anyone who is this should pretty much set you straight.
Anyhow, did anyone remember going to redtop mountain when the had bukus of deer, I mean it was so bad that you had to weave in between them on the road just to get to where you were going. If you remeber this period of time you will also remember seeing how unhealthy they were, clumps of hair falling out all over the place, their bones were sticking out since they were pretty much staving themselves to death due to a huge overpopulation. Well guess what, they had a special deer hunt there to get the population back under control, and whamo, healthy deer again. It really does work people.
By the way, I think the whole firecracker thing is a great idea, scare the living bejeesus out of bears that get to close so that every time they see us they will not think food, but lightning and explosions and run from us. Its better then a problem bear any day.
they make a great top quilt.
Call me an idiot, but after deciding on a 1-night "equipment-check-out-warm-up-loop", I set out with no maps on Friday. So when I saw the notice of no camping between Neels Gap and Tesnatee Gap, I drew a blank on where Tesnatee Gap is....
I hated to take a "to hell with the warning" attitude, but without a delay getting on the the trail find a map, I went ahead. Other hikers near Bird Gap/Woods Hole were talking about "the bear", but I hung my food and didn't worry about it. My dog had a few "anxiety moments" during the night, but that could have been the noisy scout troop within earshot (I'll save that rant for some other post - I was already bedded down for the night at Flatrock Gap when they came in).
A young lady from the Yosemite Park Service gave a very good presentation at the ADZPCTKO. I was wondering why they were making the hikers go with the canisters when the hanging worked for so many years. She explained the bears are learning how to get the hanging food bags. What she said made a lot of sense. It is more for the protection of the bears than for protection of our food. Bears learn very quickly how to "Yogi" a meal and they end up being destroyed. I don't plan to carry a canister on the AT but it does look like at least one bear has figured out how to get the hanging food bags.
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