Crossup
09-15-2017, 12:41
A good example of how non aggressive bears can be even when cubs are involved.
https://video.fphl2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t42.1790-2/1122898_566269123411458_21356_n.mp4?efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2 RlX3RhZyI6ImxlZ2FjeV9zZCJ9&oh=cbcedf5ff650d53d91f4a717f8dc4c76&oe=59BC2605
I've run into bears in VA,WVA and Whistler BC on several occasions and have always come away feeling they were at least as scared of me as I was of them.
At Canaan Valley one got hold of a cooler left outside of an in use popup camper, which woke me wondering who the hell was drunk enough to dig around in a cooler at 2am for 15 minutes...my wife says maybe its a bear.(No mention of being in bear country at the park service building). I say "its no f***n bear", go outside our tent to give the offender some 'friendly' advice only to find 250lbs of bear checking out our cooler at our picnic table 10' from our tent.
Being half asleep and realizing there were no good options I remembered reading one should make noise so I gave it my best animal schoo-ing noises, some arm waving and a stern admonishment to "get out of here" which it did immediately. Confronting the park people the next morning we were informed the bear was a regular visiter of the campsite but liberal use of rubber bullets had run it off for some time. They assured us they would find it and 'encourage' it to relocate...people continued to see it hanging around the edges of the camping area until evening after which there was no more sightings.
That is now our favorite story when camping comes up(even funnier, my wife insisted we get bear spray before the trip as we stayed at 3 campsites, 2 of which we're posted and had bear boxes- I poopoo'd the idea saying I'm not going to get close enough to spray a bear, then hope the pissed off bear ignores me)
One Whistler encounter had me 5' from running into one on my mountain bike, I can't imagine being much more threatening to a bear than rushing up on one at 30mph but it just trucked away without looking back while I tried to put my heart back in my chest.
https://video.fphl2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t42.1790-2/1122898_566269123411458_21356_n.mp4?efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2 RlX3RhZyI6ImxlZ2FjeV9zZCJ9&oh=cbcedf5ff650d53d91f4a717f8dc4c76&oe=59BC2605
I've run into bears in VA,WVA and Whistler BC on several occasions and have always come away feeling they were at least as scared of me as I was of them.
At Canaan Valley one got hold of a cooler left outside of an in use popup camper, which woke me wondering who the hell was drunk enough to dig around in a cooler at 2am for 15 minutes...my wife says maybe its a bear.(No mention of being in bear country at the park service building). I say "its no f***n bear", go outside our tent to give the offender some 'friendly' advice only to find 250lbs of bear checking out our cooler at our picnic table 10' from our tent.
Being half asleep and realizing there were no good options I remembered reading one should make noise so I gave it my best animal schoo-ing noises, some arm waving and a stern admonishment to "get out of here" which it did immediately. Confronting the park people the next morning we were informed the bear was a regular visiter of the campsite but liberal use of rubber bullets had run it off for some time. They assured us they would find it and 'encourage' it to relocate...people continued to see it hanging around the edges of the camping area until evening after which there was no more sightings.
That is now our favorite story when camping comes up(even funnier, my wife insisted we get bear spray before the trip as we stayed at 3 campsites, 2 of which we're posted and had bear boxes- I poopoo'd the idea saying I'm not going to get close enough to spray a bear, then hope the pissed off bear ignores me)
One Whistler encounter had me 5' from running into one on my mountain bike, I can't imagine being much more threatening to a bear than rushing up on one at 30mph but it just trucked away without looking back while I tried to put my heart back in my chest.