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  1. #141
    Registered User scope's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sarcasm the elf View Post
    Before becoming too concerned, keep in mind that we are discussing something so rare that the mere fact that it happened twice made national headlines. To put that in perspective, if I went to my doctor worried about a medical condition I saw in the news that killed two people nationally, she would likely kick me out of her office for wasting her time.
    Yes, but increasingly less rare. Some of that can be attributed to "media", but if you think about the ever increasing encroachment of humans on wild areas, AND our preservation efforts with regard to wildlife, something's gotta give at some point. If nothing changes, then expectations can remain the same in terms of what we might expect to see and deal with on the trail. Alas, everything changes. I just bought my first can of bear spray recently.

    Quote Originally Posted by Malto View Post
    Should I ask the bear to lift up its leg to see if it's a male?
    Yeah, not like horses, right?

    Quote Originally Posted by Traffic Jam View Post
    Thank you. Y'all make some excellent points. I've been complacent recently when encountering black bears...assuming they will always behave as I expect. Thanks for the reminder to always expect the unexpected.
    Me, too.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDPlkAWI1jI

    I won't be so assuming in the future.

    Quote Originally Posted by Another Kevin View Post
    I'm still not terribly afraid of black bears. Mainly because I do NOT leave food unattended unless it's properly stored (hung, bear-boxed, in a canister, whatever suits the circumstances)...
    All fine and good, but I think the main point of Shutterbug's post was that the attacks we're hearing about aren't the standard "food mistakes" that were common with almost every bear "issue" in the eastern US for the longest time. That is my concern, too.
    "I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
    - Kate Chopin

  2. #142
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    Any chance that the human population has grown/is growing tot he extent that construction to house and accommodate us has run most all wildlife out of their yard space and they are attacking or being found in the middle of an intersection in a major city simply because they have out grown their home because their home is steadily shrinking? Could any of the attacks be a form of territorial possession, with the bonus of food? These are actually real questions here, and I know I could just google it but whats the fun in that when this thread is here and I can stoke the fire a bit?
    " Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. "

  3. #143

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lnj View Post
    Any chance that the human population has grown/is growing tot he extent that construction to house and accommodate us has run most all wildlife out of their yard space and they are attacking or being found in the middle of an intersection in a major city simply because they have out grown their home because their home is steadily shrinking? Could any of the attacks be a form of territorial possession, with the bonus of food? These are actually real questions here, and I know I could just google it but whats the fun in that when this thread is here and I can stoke the fire a bit?
    Depending on which statistics you read, the "developed" land in the U.S. is between 3% and 6% of the land. People who live on the east coast often have a skewed view of how much wildlife habitat is being developed. Come on out west!! There is still plenty of undeveloped land available for the black bears.

    https://www.westernwatersheds.org/wa...r/article6.htm
    Shutterbug

  4. #144

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shutterbug View Post
    Depending on which statistics you read, the "developed" land in the U.S. is between 3% and 6% of the land. People who live on the east coast often have a skewed view of how much wildlife habitat is being developed. Come on out west!! There is still plenty of undeveloped land available for the black bears.

    https://www.westernwatersheds.org/wa...r/article6.htm
    couldn't agree more...kinda the same holds true for the AT, it's not real crowded in the winter months.

  5. #145
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    just stay away. I almost met my doom when i heard a rustle in the bushes. i went to see what it was and it was a cute little cub. i ran in the other direction as fast as possible but later heard there was an incident in the same section i saw her. someone didn't realize mommy will always be nearby.

  6. #146
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    As a Pennsylvania conservation officer, I deal with black bears often. As I write this, I have a trap set and filled with doughnuts. Black bears are only dangerous when they lose their natural fear of humans. This happens when they are protected from hunting, such as in national parks, or some state parks, OR are tamed by regular feeding from ignorant humans. A narrow third category is when a bear smells something yummy in your tent, and wants to investigate. I wouldn't call this an attack; merely an surprise encounter between two creatures at close quarters. I think the human is more culpable than the bear.

    I have seen many bears in the woods, including sows with cubs, and the part of their anatomy I see most often is their backsides, because they have usually seen me first and are fleeing. Likewise, when I investigate so-called "self-defense" bear shootings the bullet wounds are usually in the ass.

    I know some hikers like to present the frisson of horror to listeners with tales of vicious bears---but it's usually malarkey.

    Pennsylvania bears are not going to hurt you, unless you crawl into your bag with s'mores smeared around you face and a bag of Snickers in your tent. And it will be your fault, not the bear's.

  7. #147
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    Black bears are dangerous when they lose their fear of humans, by being fed, tamed, protected from hunting, etc. I have encountered and trapped plenty of bears in Pennsylvania, including sows with cubs, and they were always more afraid of me that I of them. I know nothing about Alaska black bears, but this is my experience in Pennsylvania, which probably has more bears than any state on the AT.

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