I guess it's not just the bears that become habituated.
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I was hoping to see a photo of hikers flocking to a trail side feed.Originally Posted by Odd Man Out
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Yes, another good example of why you should not feed the wildlife.
Ha Ha!!!They look wild and smell wild, sometimes!
The original story reported in the local press in October of 2012 was that a bear seized a food bag and damaged a tent occupied by campers in the Shining Rock. The implication was that the bear damaged a tent occupied by the campers and took their food bag out of their tent. The correct story given later by a ranger was that overnight campers had put their food in one tent and slept in another. According to the ranger, the bear damaged the tent containing the food and “brushed” against the tent they were occupying. Once again, it is a disservice to both hikers and the black bears in the Southern Appalachians to say a bear took food at “tooth point”. There remains no evidence that a bear has ever entered into a tent occupied by a sleeping hiker and attacked the hiker for his/her food in Shining Rock. The myths that keep on being circulating lead to unnecessary and potentially harmful results.
Here are the bear incident reports in the Smokey Mountain News in October 2012. The source of the reports was not given. The “camps” are the overused, poorly-cleaned, campgrounds, primarily in the Graveyard Fields. A North Carolina biologist was quoted a saying that it was likely a single bear. The camping areas were (quietly) reopened in early 2013.
Oct 15, nighttime; Graveyard Fields — Camper had a bear-proof food bag in tree. Bear climbed the tree and tore open the bag and ate the food. The bear came back five times during the night and in one instance made contact with tent.
Oct. 6, nighttime; Shining Rock Wilderness — Bear entered camp, while campers were in their tent, and climbed the tree and took their food. The bear later left but returned and disturbed a camper’s pack. The campers tried to scare bear away, but it would not leave. The bear was not frightened of humans. Later, the couple returned to their campsite and found pack torn and tent shredded. They were uneasy with the boldness of the bear.
Oct. 6, evening; Shining Rock Wilderness — Bear came and chewed up cans and camping equipment. The bear was after the food. The campers were not there at the time. Afterward, the campers came back to camp and settled down, and the bear returned. The campers had to make significant noise to get bear to go away.
Oct. 6, evening; Shining Rock Wilderness — The bear entered the campsite at suppertime and grabbed the campers’ food bag. The bear came back two more times.
Incident reported on Oct. 2, Graveyard Fields — Bear took the food bag down and dragged it into the woods.
Incident reported on Sept. 29; Black Balsam — Bear managed to climb a tree and broke the rope the food bag was hanging on.
Sept. 22, evening; Shining Rock Wilderness – Bear approached the campsite. Campers made noise with pots and pans, but the bear did not seem intimidated. Campers were getting their food out and getting ready for dinner when the bear had approached.
Sept. 1; Black Balsam — Campers’ hung food bag was snatched away.
The tooth-point thing was an attempt to lighten the mood. The facts are a bear entered a tent and obtained food. This is aggressive behavior on the part of the bear and contributes to learned behavior. The bear now equates tents with food, whether they are occupied or not.
I'm not willing to make that conclusion. I think the fact that the tent was unoccupied is significant. The bear now equates UNOCCUPIED tents with food. That's no more aggressive than taking a food bag from a tree. In Ace's post above, not a single incident involved the bear going after food that was in the possession of a human. It certainly should be labeled a nuisance bear, but aggressive?
So I guess that means bears that have gotten food from backpacks now equate backpacks with food, whether they are occupied or not. Sounds like we really will need drones now so we don't carry food in our packs
You are sure that, if the food had been in the next door tent with the hikers, the bear would not have tried to get it? I'm not willing to take that chance, with this particular bear, miles from help.
That would be pretty awesome wouldn't it? Just signal the drone to drop some goodies. Unless it crashed, then you would be grylis-ing it on the way out.So I guess that means bears that have gotten food from backpacks now equate backpacks with food, whether they are occupied or not. Sounds like we really will need drones now so we don't carry food in our packs
Not willing to to take that chance is reasonable conclusion. I consulted with a bear researcher on this very issue about a year ago (as this question comes up often on WB). He came to the same conclusion as you - not wanting to that chance. But he also admitted that protecting your food, yourself, and the bear by maintaining possession of your food is ALSO a reasonable conclusion, based on lots of evidence that habituated bears are less dangerous than "wild" bears and that bears would rather avoid humans than get your food. I was just observing that the evidence reported in previous posts seem consistent with the research and that public perception of bear behavior and the way it is reported in media often seems not to be consistent with the research.
To the original post:
Where on the Art Loeb specifically was the problem at? Was it Ivesters Gap?
Yes, there have been many times that Graveyard fields and other places near that area have been closed because of food and bears. It has bummed me out many times in planning
In response to the original post: Keep walking and find somewhere to hang it.
What to do if you run into a black bear hiking (on foot)? 1) make a bunch of noise and throw rocks. 2) make yourself look bigger, make noise. 3) Bushwhack around it, especially if it is a mother and it's cubs. 4) I have a bear bell that I put on a trekking pole, it has helped. I hike alone, and it has allowed me to see the backsides of two from springer to Fontana Hilton.
I have been in the area you have described, and in the surrounding areas. I never leave food out, I always hang it, either from Bears or other creatures. I agree Bears in shinning rock are getting more aggressive because of trash either in Graveyard fields, Ivesters Gap, or the heavily used "sites" north of Flower Gap. When I do the Art Loeb, I try to stay away from over nighting in those sites because of the reasons stated.
Floyd
As I write this I am trying to reunite a sow and two cubs who were seperated from her two other cubs. There is also a yearling male in the area, and another who was killed on Rt 39 a month ago. These bears are here because people feed them--people with corn feeders, bird feeders, deer feeders, turkey feeders, hummingbird feeders, stray cat feeders, etc. I don't have bear problems, I have people problems.
Don't have food in your tent. Use a bear bag or a canister. Clean up your campsite. Not for your sake, but for the bears.
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