Fatal bear attack list...

[Blue Jay]

Purist bears stay near the white blazes.

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (actually we should not laugh, both purists and bears are very very scarey, you should not mix them).

[slow]

NC, Maryland, NY and PA are in a close enough range. I'd say that if black bears that large are being found in the Eastern US then there is a good possibility that they would be in areas that the AT passes through. On the AT? Well, no, the examples cited were not "on the AT".

ED... well no is what i asked.

[slow]

the obvious has already been pointed out: these are all AT states, yes.

are you suggesting that there's a subspecies of Mini-Blackies that confine themselves to the Appalachian Trail?

Show me 1 pic of a 400 lb taken on the AT?

[le loupe]

When you say "taken" do you mean via hunting and weighed in at 400 lbs?

while i'm no expert, these two look like they could be in the 300-400lb range

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...?i=17303&c=548

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...?i=17265&c=548

[Hikerhead]

When you say "taken" do you mean via hunting and weighed in at 400 lbs?

while i'm no expert, these two look like they could be in the 300-400lb range

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...?i=17303&c=548

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...?i=17265&c=548

Ha, those two shots were of the same bear. Cookerhikers picture shows what looks to be a sore on her backend...must have been in a fight.

We had walked maybe 10 feet from the car starting our hike when we saw her and the cubs.

I can't guess the weight of a bear.

[le loupe]

probably lighter than 400, maybe closer to 300.

but i don't understand why the AT wouldn't have 400lb and upward bears.

I guess everything is bigger & better in the west...

[Hikerhead]

I've always thought that SNP would have some 500lbs in there. All they do is eat and watch us hikers walk by. Never hunted. Just eat and eat and live to an old age.

There was a bear shot in either Rappahannak or Culpeper Co next to SNP last year that weighed over 700 lbs if my memory serves me right. I tried searching for it but couldn't come up with anything.

[Ashepabst]

Show me 1 pic of a 400 lb taken on the AT?

i've done some more research... they just don't exist. apparently, once AT bears hit the 400-pound mark, they retire and move out west or to alaska. and when the AT is relocated in sections, all the 400+ bears move elsewhere to accommodate. there's just something about that narrow, 2100-mile corridor through prime bear country (half of which is protected from hunters) ... they wont touch it. i'm being told that biologists are baffled.

[Marta]

A ranger in Glacier said the average grizzly in that park is 300 lbs, which is the same weight as a full-grown mountain goat.

I was surprised. That bit of information leads me to conclude that, while there are occasional huge individuals, most of the bears are not all that big.

[Sly]

A ranger in Glacier said the average grizzly in that park is 300 lbs, which is the same weight as a full-grown mountain goat.

Hard to believe. Sad to say but rangers don't always have up to date info.

Size of average adult

• weight: male = 300 - 860 pounds; female = 205 - 455 pounds

http://www.scz.org/animals/b/grizzly.html

[dessertrat]

Bears do not know if they are on the Appalachian Trail or some other trail.

[Sly]

Bears do not know if they are on the Appalachian Trail or some other trail.

Grizzly probably would.

[Blue Jay]

Bears do not know if they are on the Appalachian Trail or some other trail.

Most have maps and the young ones have GPS. They don't just steal food you know.

[slow]

Please,show me 1 pic from all members ,old or new of a 400lb on the A.T.? SIMPLE.

[Ashepabst]

When you say "taken" do you mean via hunting and weighed in at 400 lbs?

while i'm no expert, these two look like they could be in the 300-400lb range

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...?i=17303&c=548

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...?i=17265&c=548

oooo... check out this big nama jama...
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=17964

..posted by john gault

unfortunately john couldn't get him to pose on the scales for us. but slow's rule of AT Black Bear size limits says it def' can't be over 400lbs. maybe right at 400, but that's it.

[slow]

oooo... check out this big nama jama...
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=17964

..posted by john gault

unfortunately john couldn't get him to pose on the scales for us. but slow's rule of AT Black Bear size limits says it def' can't be over 400lbs. maybe right at 400, but that's it.

Just seeking FACTS.

[slow]

i've done some more research... they just don't exist. apparently, once AT bears hit the 400-pound mark, they retire and move out west or to alaska. and when the AT is relocated in sections, all the 400+ bears move elsewhere to accommodate. there's just something about that narrow, 2100-mile corridor through prime bear country (half of which is protected from hunters) ... they wont touch it. i'm being told that biologists are baffled.

Did the research show,can hog's...off the A.T. HAVE A FEW MORE #'S.

[Ashepabst]

Just seeking FACTS.

sorry for all the sarcasm, but i did offer some facts in the first place. your original comment was that black bears "on the AT" "are KID'S to the west and A.K." there are plenty of examples of large bears found in and around the Appalachian Mountains. while i realize that 400lb+ black bears are rare, there isn't any reason to suggest that appalachian black bears are inherently smaller than their western U.S. counterparts (except perhaps that they get more exercise 'cause there are more people to run away from). as for your insistence that bears within eyeshot of the AT can't also be larger than average ... you need to explain your logic here because it doesn't make sense.

a bear's size depends on its diet, the season, age and sex ... period. it doesn't depend on its east-west orientation (or its proximity to some hiking trail).

ugh! why am i still talking about this!?

[jbone]

indentifying bear scat. Likely not new to all, but funny nonetheless.

[Blue Jay]

a bear's size depends on its diet, the season, age and sex ... period. it doesn't depend on its east-west orientation (or its proximity to some hiking trail).

ugh! why am i still talking about this!?

Why because bear phobia is very popular. Actually proximity to the trail vastly increases the size of bears. A bear cub walks to within sight of the trail expands in minutes to 800 pounds of fury.