View Full Version : I think I need a bear bell
dickdozer
07-01-2013, 15:28
The last 3 weekends and my last 4 hikes I’ve seen 11 bear on the AT in VA (day hiking).
1. 3 near Jenkins Shelter
2. Mommy bear and her 3 cubs on Peters Mountain.
3. 3 near Helveys Mill Shelter
4. 1 yesterday near Wapiti Shelter
I’ve been day hiking in this area for the last 6-7 years and before the last 3 weeks I'd only seen 1 bear. What the heck is going on?:-?
Deer Hunter
07-01-2013, 15:45
The last 3 weekends and my last 4 hikes I’ve seen 11 bear on the AT in VA (day hiking).
1. 3 near Jenkins Shelter
2. Mommy bear and her 3 cubs on Peters Mountain.
3. 3 near Helveys Mill Shelter
4. 1 yesterday near Wapiti Shelter
I’ve been day hiking in this area for the last 6-7 years and before the last 3 weeks I'd only seen 1 bear. What the heck is going on?:-?
Probably three reasons besides just being lucky. The population is expanding in Va., it's breeding season (males searching far and wide) and many young bears have been driven off (They are out looking for their own territory) because some females are ready to be bred again.
http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/47112202.html (4 years old but doubt if much has changed)
http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/reproduction.html
marti038
07-01-2013, 15:58
A park ranger at Glacier NP told us that she calls them "dinner bells". According to her, bells do little to warn bears that a human is coming.
I'm an east coaster from Alabama, not a grizzly psychologist, but I felt safer by talking loudly and singing a lot.
da fungo
07-01-2013, 16:18
There's an old, old joke that goes something like this:How to identify bear species by bear scat:Black bear: Droppings contain berry seeds, plant matter.Brown bear: Skeletons of small rodents and bones from deer.Drizzly bear: Bear bells and cans of bear repellent spray.
Lone Wolf
07-01-2013, 16:28
why would you need a bell?
flemdawg1
07-01-2013, 16:37
Its blackberry season. Happens every summer. I saw 9 on a July 3-day weekend in Shenadoah 4 years ago.
I'd that same area (as the OP) 2 months ago and didn't see a single one.
I ran into a smallish bear walking ahead of me on a trail at SNP last weekend. He took a few seconds to figure out that I'm human and then ran off into the woods. I wouldn't wear a bear bell - I like to see wildlife and take pictures when I can. I've never felt the least bit threatened by bears. They seem very scared of humans. I'm more scared of the ticks personally.
T.S.Kobzol
07-01-2013, 17:21
As we age we become more attractive to the bear mommas...
The last 3 weekends and my last 4 hikes I’ve seen 11 bear on the AT in VA (day hiking).
1. 3 near Jenkins Shelter
2. Mommy bear and her 3 cubs on Peters Mountain.
3. 3 near Helveys Mill Shelter
4. 1 yesterday near Wapiti Shelter
I’ve been day hiking in this area for the last 6-7 years and before the last 3 weeks I'd only seen 1 bear. What the heck is going on?:-?
da fungo
07-01-2013, 17:29
You're only 45? Maybe the bears KNOW that you're older and slower, and are sizing you up. If you see vultures circling, be very afraid.
Deer Hunter
07-01-2013, 17:44
Its blackberry season. Happens every summer. I saw 9 on a July 3-day weekend in Shenadoah 4 years ago.
I'd that same area (as the OP) 2 months ago and didn't see a single one.
True, having blackberry and huckleberry bushes in the area you are hiking this time of year would help, too. :)
T.S.Kobzol
07-01-2013, 17:45
Most of the encounters of bears entering tents are female bears trying to get a piece of the action.
You're only 45? Maybe the bears KNOW that you're older and slower, and are sizing you up. If you see vultures circling, be very afraid.
sent from samsonite using tapioca 2
MuddyWaters
07-01-2013, 19:14
You should be appreciative of the opportunities to observer bears in the wild.
Why would you want to wear a bell ?
Ive seen 5 this year, including a mother with cub about 30 ft away. I consider myself lucky. The cub was adorable.
dickdozer
07-01-2013, 20:15
why would you need a bell?
Scared of bears. I guess I'm a wimp.
Lone Wolf
07-01-2013, 20:17
Scared of bears. I guess I'm a wimp.
yup........
dickdozer
07-01-2013, 20:49
yup........
It's just the thought of getting caught between Mommy and her Cubs. Last Saturday I was close. Three cubs climbing in one tree with Mom about 50 ft. away. When Mom saw me she stood up on her back legs and the cubs slid down the tree and disappeared along with Mom. It was awesome to see but it shook me up a little.
Lone Wolf
07-01-2013, 21:05
It's just the thought of getting caught between Mommy and her Cubs. Last Saturday I was close. Three cubs climbing in one tree with Mom about 50 ft. away. When Mom saw me she stood up on her back legs and the cubs slid down the tree and disappeared along with Mom. It was awesome to see but it shook me up a little.
i understand. my first time 30 years ago seein' bears made me flinch. but after 1000s of miles walkin' amongst them i have no fear of them. i'm more scared of rabid raccoons
It's just the thought of getting caught between Mommy and her Cubs. Last Saturday I was close. Three cubs climbing in one tree with Mom about 50 ft. away. When Mom saw me she stood up on her back legs and the cubs slid down the tree and disappeared along with Mom. It was awesome to see but it shook me up a little.
Just give the bears space and you'll be fine. She's as afraid of you as you are of her.
Sarcasm the elf
07-01-2013, 21:18
It's just the thought of getting caught between Mommy and her Cubs. Last Saturday I was close. Three cubs climbing in one tree with Mom about 50 ft. away. When Mom saw me she stood up on her back legs and the cubs slid down the tree and disappeared along with Mom. It was awesome to see but it shook me up a little.
You will be relieved to learn that the Mother and cubs danger is a grizzly bear trait, not a black bear trait.
From the North American Bear Center:
http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/bears-a-humans/39-what-if-i-get-between-a-black-bear-mother-and-her-cubs.html
What if I get between a black bear mother and her cubs?
One of the biggest misconceptions about black bears is that mothers are likely to attack people in defense of cubs.
That is a grizzly bear trait. 70% of the killings by grizzly bears are by mothers defending cubs. But there is no record of a black bear killing anyone in defense of cubs.
In fact, mothers with cubs were involved in only 3 of the 60 killings by black bears across America since 1900, and none of those 3 killings appeared to be in defense of cubs.
Non-fatal attacks are also rare. By attacks, we mean mothers coming after someone and hurting them — not minor injuries associated with people hand-feeding them. Maybe a dozen people have had their feet bitten when they tried to escape up trees. Attacks on the ground are very rare.
When humans confront black bear families in the woods, the bears almost always retreat or climb trees. If the cubs climb trees and the mother remains nearby, the mother may show bluster. This makes her appear ferocious, but it simply means she is nervous.
Blustery expressions include:
the mother blowing sharply as she hits the ground or the tree with a paw.
the mother pouncing toward the person, blowing explosively, and slamming both feet on the ground.
the mother moaning in fear, which many people misinterpret as a growl.
huffing, showing anxiety.
This is all harmless bluster.
dickdozer
07-01-2013, 21:19
Thanks for the advice and info!!
Sarcasm the elf
07-01-2013, 21:27
More reading, this time from the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/science/11bears.html.
Study of Black Bears Finds It’s Not the Mamas That Should Be Feared the Most
The whole article is worth a read, but here is the key point:
...He might be surprised, then, by a new study that found that black bears — the most common bears in North America — have killed only 63 people in the United States and Canada over the last 109 years.
The study also found, contrary to popular perception, that the black bears most likely to kill are not mothers protecting cubs. Most attacks, 88 percent, involved a bear on the prowl, likely hunting for food. And most of those predators, 92 percent, were male...
I always see bears in SNP and I never see them in the George Washington National Forest just across the highway. I only had one scary encounter with a bear that was not afraid of me. He wasn't aggressive. He just wasn't getting off the trail. He was huge. He just sat down on the trail, we stared at each other, then I walked backwards until I couldn't see him and I went and found a different trail to hike.
MuddyWaters
07-01-2013, 22:34
In places where used to people, ie National parks, etc, and especially in areas where not hunted, its not uncommon for animals including bear and deer to show no fear of you if there is a minimal distance between you and it. Kind of like squirrels, or birds as well. Do not expect every bear to run off immediately. That doesnt mean its aggressive, it means its used to people and doesnt normally consider them an immediate threat.
My count is 8 for the year so far--four grizzlies and four black.
Lucky you to be up to 11!