View Full Version : Assertive Bear, GSMNP, Cosby Knob Shelter
Stayed at Cosby Knob last night. An adult bear came into the shelter about 10:00 and despite all the noise made by the hikers, the bear came and went for a couple of hours. It hauled off several items, including removing an entire backpack from a ceiling hook and taking it. None of the items taken contained food.
The bear did not seem shy.
I sent an email to the Park office to let them know.
Just a heads up if you are planning to stay there some time soon.
Did the hiker find their pack?
Did the bear physically take any item away from a hiker who was in possession of (i.e. holding) that item?
HikerMom58
08-02-2013, 22:24
My daughter and I walked by that shelter exactly a year ago. The shelter was plastered with warnings about problem bear in the area- around that shelter. They kept closing that shelter b/c of the bear problem right before our hike last year.
This report doesn't surprise me at all.....
Is that the shelter that used to have the cage in front of it, and people kept feeding the bears through the cage?
Same about this time the last two years.
JustaTouron
08-02-2013, 23:09
Assertive? LOL. It is no longer PC to call bears aggressive, we now call their behavior assertive.
Speaking of assertive bears...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KusRen6B_20
Speaking of assertive bears...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KusRen6B_20
Slick would be the better word. Notice how he/she averted it's face from the camera view until after the dumpster was out of sight.
Slick would be the better word. Notice how he/she averted it's face from the camera view until after the dumpster was out of sight.
It came back the following night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6WWyxK_OaU
JustaTouron
08-02-2013, 23:36
Slick would be the better word. Notice how he/she averted it's face from the camera view until after the dumpster was out of sight.
He/she showed his/her face in the second video.
I like how this bear stole not one but two entire dumpsters.
He/she showed his/her face in the second video.
I like how this bear stole not one but two entire dumpsters.
Unrepentant criminal. I don't think you could pick him out in a lineup though.
JustaTouron
08-02-2013, 23:46
I don't think you could pick him out in a lineup though.
It would be easy, big brown fury thing with 2 dumpsters.
I don't think you could pick him out in a lineup though.
It would be easy, big brown fury thing with 2 dumpsters.
Without looking what color was the first Dumpster?
Sarcasm the elf
08-02-2013, 23:56
Assertive? LOL. It is no longer PC to call bears aggressive, we now call their behavior assertive.
There's a huge difference between being assertive and being aggressive.
If you don't believe me, simply find two police officers, act assertive around one of them and act aggressive around the other, then circle back and report on how the two encounters differed. [Do I need to add a disclaimer that I'm only joking or would that be too PC? :D]
On a side note, I think that Assertive Bear would make a great trail name.
MuddyWaters
08-03-2013, 01:21
Why werent the packs hanging on the bear cable? Its not just for food, keeps rodents out of your pack as well. Pretty standard protocol for GSMNP. Park bears, are different from non-park bears. Often less afraid of people, and more aggressive at taking something they want.
Two bears took a hikers pack last yr from Cosby in daylight, while they were setting up their tent, with about a dozen hikers around. They hung around the shelter all night as well. The shelter was closed for several months after that.
Pedaling Fool
08-03-2013, 08:52
What does anyone expect with all the "respect" we treat the bear with, by respect I mean really fear and when an animal senses fear (they don't understand respect as we do) they take the assertive role and assertion WILL lead to aggression.
All this crap talk about "it's their home, they were here first", blah blah... that mindset leads to bears losing their respect for us. (And if you haven't caught on yet, "...their respect for us" is more accurately stated as: "...their fear for us".
So much for coexistence with the bear, maybe someone can go talk to them and let them know how we feel:rolleyes:
T.S.Kobzol
08-03-2013, 09:00
Sadly, bears are better off if they are afraid of us. That means hunting or associating termination with human.
sent from samsonite using tapioca 2
there was an aggressive bear at Cosby Knob shelter when I stayed there in May 2010, same M.O., came into the shelter at night. Maybe the same bear or his cousin.
HikerMom58
08-03-2013, 09:47
there was an aggressive bear at Cosby Knob shelter when I stayed there in May 2010, same M.O., came into the shelter at night. Maybe the same bear or his cousin.
That would just "do it" for me....I wouldn't be able to handle a bear coming into a shelter at night. That's my worse fear about sleeping outside on a mountain. Hikermom would be in a corner of the shelter, in a fetal position, sobbing until daybreak. Don't judge. ;)
Sadly, bears are better off if they are afraid of us. That means hunting or associating termination with human.
sent from samsonite using tapioca 2
A dose of bear spray would be educational, but not fatal.
Hill Ape
08-03-2013, 14:39
i've seen a bear get sprayed, bear got really pissed off, thats about it. that stuff is dangerously overrated IMO. and bears don't learn anything from being hunted. bears learn where they get food, if they've ever got a meal there before they will always return there in the future. and bear bells are like dinner bells.
i live in a black bear area. my neighbor, a NOT ELDERLY ;-) woman in 70s. she feeds bears. pisses me off to no end. i've got an electric fence around my bee hives, i watched a bear getting shocked and shaking it off, he wanted that honey.
bears are smart, and have an incredible sense of smell.
and the politically correct distinction between an assertive bear and an aggresive bear. a black bear will take your food assertively. a grizzly bear might eat you aggressively.
HikerMom58
08-03-2013, 16:11
i've seen a bear get sprayed, bear got really pissed off, thats about it. that stuff is dangerously overrated IMO. and bears don't learn anything from being hunted. bears learn where they get food, if they've ever got a meal there before they will always return there in the future. and bear bells are like dinner bells.
i live in a black bear area. my neighbor, a NOT ELDERLY ;-) woman in 70s. she feeds bears. pisses me off to no end. i've got an electric fence around my bee hives, i watched a bear getting shocked and shaking it off, he wanted that honey.
bears are smart, and have an incredible sense of smell.
and the politically correct distinction between an assertive bear and an aggresive bear. a black bear will take your food assertively. a grizzly bear might eat you aggressively.
It's interesting to read your opinion on bears, Hill Ape.... Got the NOT ELDERLY piece! ;)
peakbagger
08-03-2013, 20:19
The recommended solution to bears and electric fences per N H fish and game is to bait the fence after making sure that the fence is high voltage. I use a 21 mile rated fence (I think 65 KV) for my raspberry patch which is about 40 feet of fence. Secondly prior to the season put pieces of tin foil on the wires and smear with peanut butter. The bear and the deer will stick their wet tongue out and lick the peanut butter once and then realize that the fence is something not to mess with.
Sarcasm the elf
08-03-2013, 22:02
The recommended solution to bears and electric fences per N H fish and game is to bait the fence after making sure that the fence is high voltage. I use a 21 mile rated fence (I think 65 KV) for my raspberry patch which is about 40 feet of fence. Secondly prior to the season put pieces of tin foil on the wires and smear with peanut butter. The bear and the deer will stick their wet tongue out and lick the peanut butter once and then realize that the fence is something not to mess with.
Excellent! My Aunt and Uncle life in New Hampshire as well and just resorted to putting a serious electric fence around their chicken coop after losing most of their flock to a bear this spring. They say it works like a charm.
Now if they could just make a UL model to setup around my tent and food bag at night. :rolleyes:
HikerMom58
08-03-2013, 22:08
Excellent! My Aunt and Uncle life in New Hampshire as well and just resorted to putting a serious electric fence around their chicken coop after losing most of their flock to a bear this spring. They say it works like a charm.
Now if they could just make a UL model to setup around my tent and food bag at night. :rolleyes:
Quick... Elf. Think. If you can come up with something you'll be set for life!:cool:
Sarcasm the elf
08-03-2013, 22:13
Quick... Elf. Think. If you can come up with something you'll be set for life!:cool:
I know of portable electric fences, but they run off of car batteries. The only people I know of that would be willing to carry that much weight are Tipi Walter and Coach Lou, and I doubt either of them would have any interest in it. :D
HikerMom58
08-03-2013, 22:20
I know of portable electric fences, but they run off of car batteries. The only people I know of that would be willing to carry that much weight are Tipi Walter and Coach Lou, and I doubt either of them would have any interest in it. :D
Ha ha!! SO TRUE... too funny! :) Keep thinkin tho... you might come up with something else. You know I'd pay you big bucks to keep the bear away from meeee and my food. ;)
MuddyWaters
08-04-2013, 21:43
Bears are like people, so much that the native americans believe(d) they are a link between the human and animal worlds.
The overwhelming majority of people are not bad, and would not harm you, most of the time. (Unless conditioned to)
Same goes for black bears.
When one behaves "abnormally" you will know it. Normal does not mean it has to run at the first detection of you. Had a nice conversation with this one for several minutes. As long as we were about 40 ft apart, things were cool for both of us.
23141
Hill Ape
08-04-2013, 22:10
re: baiting a fence. unless you keep it baited all the time, you've only taught the one bear that had the experience. it's not like they get together and trade war stories of being lit up. they don't have collective consciousness
as far as a hiker application. i would suggest a pacsafe (european backpack lock) wired to a rechargable battery pack, and a solar cell on your backpack. initiate a program of clear cutting along the trail corridor to reduce the green tunnel effect so that people can charge on trail. and build some more cell phone towers so that people can call and report "nuisance" bears
i've seen a bear get sprayed, bear got really pissed off, thats about it. that stuff is dangerously overrated IMO. and bears don't learn anything from being hunted. bears learn where they get food, if they've ever got a meal there before they will always return there in the future. and bear bells are like dinner bells.
Interesting. The bears I've seen sprayed react quite strongly, and run off. In fact, you can tell if they've been sprayed before because as soon as the can comes out, they appear to recognize it and think better of sticking around.
That's not to say that a shot of bear spray will turn a bad bear good. Once they've learned to go for the easy food, there doesn't seem to be anything to stop them from trying it again and again and again. (The Montana Fish and Game folks put down all problem bears who've started eating human food.) But a shot of spray will usually (96% of the time, according to research) end the bear's problematic behavior for that particular instance.
Just Bill
08-04-2013, 22:35
A good rule of thumb in multiple situations; If a fight seems imminent provide the offending party with a shot. Worse case you both have a shot before you have to fight it out, best case- you order another, then a beer, then spend the rest of night laughing, bitching about your job, and drinking.
Sarcasm the elf
08-05-2013, 00:47
A good rule of thumb in multiple situations; If a fight seems imminent provide the offending party with a shot. Worse case you both have a shot before you have to fight it out, best case- you order another, then a beer, then spend the rest of night laughing, bitching about your job, and drinking.
An excellent philosophy!
remind me to pick a fight with you sometime, I could use a drink.
QuabbinHiker
08-05-2013, 04:21
Humans fault for conditioning the bear. Now the humans have to kill the bear.
QuabbinHiker
08-05-2013, 10:51
We do not fear bears as my better half has the ability to carry hef firearm in every state of the union and in national parks and believe you me she takes every advantage if it. I fear no bear when she is with me. Lol
Omaha_Ace
08-05-2013, 11:00
That would just "do it" for me....I wouldn't be able to handle a bear coming into a shelter at night. That's my worse fear about sleeping outside on a mountain. Hikermom would be in a corner of the shelter, in a fetal position, sobbing until daybreak. Don't judge. ;)
I'm trying to wrap my head around this one as well. My prior trips in bear county (RMNP, Yellowstone, Arkansas...) are places where the backcounty bears seem to have a healthy skiddishness around humans and stay clear. I'll be in GSMNP in a few weeks and it seems like the bears there go where they please and do what they want, including coming right up to shelters that are occupied.
My instinct and prior training/thought processes would conclude that getting big and getting loud = bear runs off, but this doesn't sound like it will be effective with a black bear who is 1) Clearly unafraid of hanging out around people, 2) hungry and snuffing around for food, and 3) AT POINT BLANK RANGE IN MY SHELTER!!!!
So what is the advice here - 1) Boogie Man Approach: Stay still and quiet in my sleeping bag at 2am hoping the bear will mosey off 2) Quietly talk to the bear in an attempt to reason with it AND wake up my shelter-mates? 3) Yell at the bear / throw something at it to try and scare it off (which may only result in a slight trampling, best-case...) or 4) Plan to be the fastest runner in my group?
I'll have a first-time backcounty packer with me as well, and it's my aunt so I bear (pun intended) some responsibility to deliver her intact at the end of the trip.
HikerMom58
08-05-2013, 12:13
I'm trying to wrap my head around this one as well. My prior trips in bear county (RMNP, Yellowstone, Arkansas...) are places where the backcounty bears seem to have a healthy skiddishness around humans and stay clear. I'll be in GSMNP in a few weeks and it seems like the bears there go where they please and do what they want, including coming right up to shelters that are occupied.
My instinct and prior training/thought processes would conclude that getting big and getting loud = bear runs off, but this doesn't sound like it will be effective with a black bear who is 1) Clearly unafraid of hanging out around people, 2) hungry and snuffing around for food, and 3) AT POINT BLANK RANGE IN MY SHELTER!!!!
So what is the advice here - 1) Boogie Man Approach: Stay still and quiet in my sleeping bag at 2am hoping the bear will mosey off 2) Quietly talk to the bear in an attempt to reason with it AND wake up my shelter-mates? 3) Yell at the bear / throw something at it to try and scare it off (which may only result in a slight trampling, best-case...) or 4) Plan to be the fastest runner in my group?
I'll have a first-time backcounty packer with me as well, and it's my aunt so I bear (pun intended) some responsibility to deliver her intact at the end of the trip.
I understand ur feelings completely.
Unfortunately, I don't know what to do around a bear that has lost it's fear of humans, myself.
When my daughter and I hiked through the Smokies last year. We did bigger miles just to get through there so we wouldn't have to stay overnight. We did stay one night at Tri Corner Knob Shelter, that's it. (we started our section at Newfound Gap) Well, let me restate that... daughter agreed to do bigger miles so "mom" wouldn't have to spend more than 1 night in the Smokies with the bear. ;) Don't judge.
My friend Astro just finished up a section hike from Hot Springs to Pearisburg. He told Deer Hunter and I about an encounter that someone sleeping, in their tent, had with a "friendly bear".
Astro said it was at the Jenny Knob Shelter here in VA, I believe. This shelter had warning flyers in the shelter warning hiker about nuisance bear coming around the shelter. The ones sleeping in their tents around the shelter did not see the warning flyers at all.
All of of sudden Astro hears in a loud firm voice, in the middle of the night, this guy in the tent saying something like, " "Hey bear, I'm really tired of you hanging around my tent." "I'm done, go away!!"
The next morning they got the full story... This bear had his head up under the fly of this guys tent. He reported that speaking like that to the bear worked. :) The bear went away and never came back. He didn't have food in his tent.
Apparently tho, from what I heard and read,the bear experts are not wanting to find out if the bear can maintain this, up close & personal relationship with humans. They usually end up hauling them off and try to put the fear of humans back in them. IDK what else to say other than I understand your feelings on this problem. Love your post, btw... :D
Omaha_Ace
08-05-2013, 12:42
Love your post, btw... :D
Validation from one of the "cool kids" - I feel special now.
The bear thing is honestly my biggest concern for the upcoming trip - too much of a variable. I KNOW that it won't be a big deal even if I do see one (which I understand I'm likely to), but it's that little murmur of doubt in the back of my head...I hate that murmur...
HikerMom58
08-05-2013, 13:16
Validation from one of the "cool kids" - I feel special now.
The bear thing is honestly my biggest concern for the upcoming trip - too much of a variable. I KNOW that it won't be a big deal even if I do see one (which I understand I'm likely to), but it's that little murmur of doubt in the back of my head...I hate that murmur...
Like I said, I know the feeling. It won't be a big deal if you see one...they don't want to eat us. :D It just messes with my head when they come around at night. Maybe you won't even see one.. I didn't. Have a great time!!
Shoot.. OA , I'm not a "cool kid" at all. I like to "talk", I like people, that's about it. I know from experience- one minute some people will love ya, the next minute they won't. Or sometimes the reverse. It's fun! ;) It's nice to be your friend! :)
Traffic Jam
08-05-2013, 13:58
I'm trying to wrap my head around this one as well. My prior trips in bear county (RMNP, Yellowstone, Arkansas...) are places where the backcounty bears seem to have a healthy skiddishness around humans and stay clear. I'll be in GSMNP in a few weeks and it seems like the bears there go where they please and do what they want, including coming right up to shelters that are occupied.
My instinct and prior training/thought processes would conclude that getting big and getting loud = bear runs off, but this doesn't sound like it will be effective with a black bear who is 1) Clearly unafraid of hanging out around people, 2) hungry and snuffing around for food, and 3) AT POINT BLANK RANGE IN MY SHELTER!!!!
So what is the advice here - 1) Boogie Man Approach: Stay still and quiet in my sleeping bag at 2am hoping the bear will mosey off 2) Quietly talk to the bear in an attempt to reason with it AND wake up my shelter-mates? 3) Yell at the bear / throw something at it to try and scare it off (which may only result in a slight trampling, best-case...) or 4) Plan to be the fastest runner in my group?
I'll have a first-time backcounty packer with me as well, and it's my aunt so I bear (pun intended) some responsibility to deliver her intact at the end of the trip.
I'm not afraid of bears but that stupid, over-active imagination at 2am has me doing two things when staying at shelters. First, I sleep on the top bunk, putting my head out of the perfect height for getting bit. Second, I lay my hiking pole next to me and extend it a foot or two as an early warning system. Ridiculous, but it lets me sleep.
MuddyWaters
08-05-2013, 22:14
My prior trips in bear county (RMNP, Yellowstone, Arkansas...) are places where the backcounty bears seem to have a healthy skiddishness around humans and stay clear.
Arkansas isnt quite in the same class as the others. You can spend your whole life in the mountains there and never see a bear.
However , it is in the Ouachitas where a female hiker woke up with a bear licking her face. She had eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before she took a nap.
So what is the advice here - 1) Boogie Man Approach: Stay still and quiet in my sleeping bag at 2am hoping the bear will mosey off 2) Quietly talk to the bear in an attempt to reason with it AND wake up my shelter-mates? 3) Yell at the bear / throw something at it to try and scare it off (which may only result in a slight trampling, best-case...) or 4) Plan to be the fastest runner in my group?
Earplugs. Seriously. If a bear wants to check you out, no harm no foul. Nothing to get too excited about. You are in its house.
QuabbinHiker
08-05-2013, 22:21
Do not fear bears prepare for them. Don't feed them. And shoot the damn bear if need be. :-) ( but exaust every other option )
MuddyWaters
08-05-2013, 22:29
Do not fear bears prepare for them. Don't feed them. And shoot the damn bear if need be. :-) ( but exaust every other option )
That would be not adviseable.
Unless you are in an area with a valid season and valid hunting license with an acceptable means of taking one, and were legally in possession of said means at the time, you will end up in jail, and paying thousands in fines and thousands more in legal fees.
You will have to spend legal fees and prove your life was in imminent danger, which is virtually unheard of statistically with a black bear. It would be a very hard sell without highly credible witnesses. Basically, you would have to have already been attacked and mauled by the bear.
I dont think you understand game laws. You are guilty of poaching, unless you can prove yourself innocent. Its not the other way around.
Do not fear bears prepare for them. Don't feed them. And shoot the damn bear if need be. :-) ( but exaust every other option )
Good grief.
HikerMom58
08-05-2013, 22:41
Good grief.
Now might be a good time to post the pic you did for me... seems like we all have our moments. No smiley faces.
Now might be a good time to post the pic you did for me... seems like we all have our moments. No smiley faces.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23176
Hill Ape
08-05-2013, 22:49
hello ignore function, this is our first meeting, but i hope we have a good relationship. i won't use you too much, but i promise, when i push your button, it'll feel good
HooKooDooKu
08-05-2013, 22:49
The recommended solution to bears and electric fences per N H fish and game is to bait the fence after making sure that the fence is high voltage. I use a 21 mile rated fence (I think 65 KV) for my raspberry patch which is about 40 feet of fence. Secondly prior to the season put pieces of tin foil on the wires and smear with peanut butter. The bear and the deer will stick their wet tongue out and lick the peanut butter once and then realize that the fence is something not to mess with.
Perhaps the park service can surround the shelter with an electric fence. Why not? They do it for their back country equipment.
23177
Came across this about 2 or 3 miles up Big Creek Trail this past Friday.
Hill Ape
08-05-2013, 22:52
seriously?! what the world is a bear gonna do with a tractor? has the whole world gone insane?
HikerMom58
08-05-2013, 22:55
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23176
Yup that one!! :D
I understand ur feelings completely.
Unfortunately, I don't know what to do around a bear that has lost it's fear of humans, myself.
When my daughter and I hiked through the Smokies last year. We did bigger miles just to get through there so we wouldn't have to stay overnight. We did stay one night at Tri Corner Knob Shelter, that's it. (we started our section at Newfound Gap) Well, let me restate that... daughter agreed to do bigger miles so "mom" wouldn't have to spend more than 1 night in the Smokies with the bear. ;) Don't judge.
My friend Astro just finished up a section hike from Hot Springs to Pearisburg. He told Deer Hunter and I about an encounter that someone sleeping, in their tent, had with a "friendly bear".
Astro said it was at the Jenny Knob Shelter here in VA, I believe. This shelter had warning flyers in the shelter warning hiker about nuisance bear coming around the shelter. The ones sleeping in their tents around the shelter did not see the warning flyers at all.
All of of sudden Astro hears in a loud firm voice, in the middle of the night, this guy in the tent saying something like, " "Hey bear, I'm really tired of you hanging around my tent." "I'm done, go away!!"
The next morning they got the full story... This bear had his head up under the fly of this guys tent. He reported that speaking like that to the bear worked. :) The bear went away and never came back. He didn't have food in his tent.
Apparently tho, from what I heard and read,the bear experts are not wanting to find out if the bear can maintain this, up close & personal relationship with humans. They usually end up hauling them off and try to put the fear of humans back in them. IDK what else to say other than I understand your feelings on this problem. Love your post, btw... :D
Very interesting experience. Actually was at Jenkins Shelter. Scariest part was that we had all hung our food, except two later comers to the shelter who had it hanging in their packs in the shelter. Next morning they were quite shocked when they saw read the signs about the aggressive bears.
MuddyWaters
08-05-2013, 23:29
seriously?! what the world is a bear gonna do with a tractor? has the whole world gone insane?
Id be scared a #$%^ if I came across a bear driving a tractor.
I was pretty scared when I came across a naked man driving one in Arkansas.
Hill Ape
08-05-2013, 23:57
my advice with a bear, first don't startle it, just start talking to it, to let the bear know you're there. if it wont go away, knowing a human is there, its a bear thats used to people. then yell, and look big, bang pots, throw things. but if your food is already where the bear can get to it, its probably too late. and if its eating, leave it alone, the food belongs to the bear now.
if all else fails, i guess go ahead and use the bear spray if you carry it, good luck with that
still doesn't work, calmly walk away, (maybe the wiser choice from the start) and write off your gear as a loss. call a warden, and let them take it from there
question for anyone here. has anyone actually had a dangerous encounter with a black bear along the appalachian trail corridor? first hand, not i heard from a cousin who knew a dude. not where someone failed to hang or vault their food and attracted the bear. i'm talking about a full on confrontation? anyone? bueller? my bet is the answer is a resounding NO.
QuabbinHiker
08-06-2013, 03:39
That would be not adviseable.
Unless you are in an area with a valid season and valid hunting license with an acceptable means of taking one, and were legally in possession of said means at the time, you will end up in jail, and paying thousands in fines and thousands more in legal fees.
You will have to spend legal fees and prove your life was in imminent danger, which is virtually unheard of statistically with a black bear. It would be a very hard sell without highly credible witnesses. Basically, you would have to have already been attacked and mauled by the bear.
I dont think you understand game laws. You are guilty of poaching, unless you can prove yourself innocent. Its not the other way around.
If my life is in imminent danger do you really think I am thinking about "game laws" at that point? I would rather pay any "fees" once I am out of danger than get mauled. I think anyone would. Don't worry thought it would not be me shooting the bruin it would be my better half who is allowed to carry in every state of the union and in national parks. I am sure with her long history of service to the government and her connections and friends he word would be taken as the truth without question - as she does not lie. She cannot in her career.
Besides, she tried going without her sidearm in 2012 our thru hike - under the advice of people here at the time - and we ran into 3 wack jobs that she felt nervous around and she vowed never again to feel that vulnerable on the trail. People do not make her nervous in general but she trusts her instincts and is used to being able to protect herself at all times. We were both naive back in 2011 when we were planning and drank the kool-aid that the trail is a "safe" place. We found the most dangerous aspect of the trail were other lone male hikers. Never again!
I know that we were probably in a "bubble" of hikers and each hiker "bubble" gets a different experience but man, we must have "lucked out" in getting all the dangerous wack jobs in 2012. lol
Drybones
08-06-2013, 08:41
Perhaps the park service can surround the shelter with an electric fence. Why not? They do it for their back country equipment.
23177
Came across this about 2 or 3 miles up Big Creek Trail this past Friday.
Bears have gotten really smart, even I dont know how to drive heavy equipment.
Drybones
08-06-2013, 08:43
[QUOTE=MuddyWaters;1512257]owever , it is in the Ouachitas where a female hiker woke up with a bear licking her face. She had eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before she took a nap.
QUOTE]
Now that belongs in the outdoor experience thread....pretty neat.
Drybones
08-06-2013, 08:46
Perhaps the park service can surround the shelter with an electric fence. Why not? They do it for their back country equipment.
23177
Came across this about 2 or 3 miles up Big Creek Trail this past Friday.
Lazy bears........let'em walk like the rest of us.
Omaha_Ace
08-06-2013, 09:00
Do not fear bears prepare for them. Don't feed them. And shoot the damn bear if need be. :-) ( but exaust every other option )
Um....no. No guns. I own them, but for hunting (legally, thanks) and home defense.
The point of my post wasn't to suggest that I know nothing about being around bears and am terrified. I have been, and I am not. Just never been in an open shelter around ones that act like Yogi, so I'm trying to gather advice from locals about how to react around the local bears.
Omaha_Ace
08-06-2013, 09:02
seriously?! what the world is a bear gonna do with a tractor? has the whole world gone insane?
I would pay money to see a bear riding a tractor. That would be better than a squirrel on water skis.
JustaTouron
08-06-2013, 09:12
seriously?! what the world is a bear gonna do with a tractor? has the whole world gone insane?
I think the fence is to keep people from the tractor, not bears.
Omaha_Ace
08-06-2013, 09:17
I think the fence is to keep people from the tractor, not bears.
Why did you have to go bein' all smart and wrecking our "tractor drivin' bear" fantasies...golly...:p
Drybones
08-06-2013, 09:27
I would pay money to see a bear riding a tractor. That would be better than a squirrel on water skis.
Hey, hey, hey....he's smarrrrrrrrrrrrrter than the average bear!
HooKooDooKu
08-06-2013, 12:45
I think the fence is to keep people from the tractor, not bears.
While there might be some truth in that, I'm thinking it's also to keep woodland critters away from it as well.
At most, the fence is only a minor deterrent for humans (but then, sometimes that all you need). It would be easy enough to jump the fence and disconnect the battery (after all, obviously the guys who put up the fence have to get into it themselves).
But I can also see the fence as a means of keeping both large and small critters from doing damage such as chewing or ripping the seat or other "soft" components of the tracker.
Hill Ape
08-06-2013, 13:04
nah, bears take joyrides, i saw one, really
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Web Master
08-08-2013, 11:41
Black bears are one thing. I have watched them for hours in the woods and have been entertained by their antics. They generally run off after seeing a human, but "human-habituated" black bears can be rather difficult.
Grizzly bears are a completely different thing altogether. I only like them when there is at least a 1/2 mile between me and them.
There is this primer about the difference between them:
In light of the rising frequency of human/grizzly bear confrontations, the Montana Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and be alert for bears while in the field. ...We advise that outdoorsmen wear small bells on their clothing so as not to startle bears that aren't expecting them, and to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter....
It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear droppings. Black bear droppings are smaller and contain lots of berries and fur. Grizzly bear droppings have little bells in it and smell like pepper.
I have seen this posted in many outdoor shop-type places out west. It is meant as a joke but it has always bothered me that there may be a grain or two of truth to it.;)
Web
I think the fence is to keep people from the tractor, not bears.
While there might be some truth in that, I'm thinking it's also to keep woodland critters away from it as well.
At most, the fence is only a minor deterrent for humans (but then, sometimes that all you need). It would be easy enough to jump the fence and disconnect the battery (after all, obviously the guys who put up the fence have to get into it themselves).
But I can also see the fence as a means of keeping both large and small critters from doing damage such as chewing or ripping the seat or other "soft" components of the tracker.
Probably there to keep deer and bear from eating the seats which contain salt from ranger butt sweet.