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Northern NJ Bear Sightings 2007


Team Rampant Lion

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There is a report coming out of Wayne that a bear has killed a dog in the area of Lauwwe Avenue, and Preakness Ave, which would have to mean that it probably came out of the High Mountain area, where the CITO is to be held next month. The report came over a reverse police call system, and indicators are that a Border Collie has been killed and that two Labradors are missing. Police are urging residents to keep pets and children inside. I have a Border Collie and I feel for the owner.

 

We have hit the traditional date on which the Bears start doing the Bear thing.

 

 

http://www.northjersey.com/news/passaic_mo...sday_night.html

Edited by Packanack
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I was in Mount Hope Historical Park on Saturday (hiding caches, of course...) Around Old Teabo #2. I got to meet Amparo Oso. She did not seem to be happy to see me. She followed me for a few hundred feet, until I got back on the trail. Then she went her own way. No. I did not stop to take pictures with her following me! She seemed to be keeping me away from an area. I don't know if she had cubs. I didn't see any. And this is only about a mile from Rockaway Mall! Though on the other side of Route 80.

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Oh. Last time I was in Mount Hope Historical Park, I met up with Amparo Oso. She followed me for a few hundred feet. That's two miles out of Dover, and about one mile from the Rockaway Mall.

The bear you mentioned is Andrew Bear. Andy Bear's nephew and named after his favorite uncle.

 

yeah dude. i had an encounter there on Friday just after finding your "Richard Mine #6". i was buswhacking from the cache to the orange trail when we both surprised each other. the bear took off in the direction i wanted to go. i soon saw it further up the trail sitting against a scratching it's back.

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URGENT ATTENTION

 

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/a...or_bear_th.html

 

I have a nephew who works in Wawayanda for the summer and they are reporting more bear activity in the vicinity. My bil's dog mixed it up with one not too long ago.

 

I think we ought to have a bear hunt event hike like we had a couple of years ago, very successful, 4 bear sightings, no loss of any cachers that we know of---either hike or a bacon cook off.

Edited by Packanack
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URGENT ATTENTION

 

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/a...or_bear_th.html

 

I have a nephew who works in Wawayanda for the summer and they are reporting more bear activity in the vicinity. My bil's dog mixed it up with one not too long ago.

 

I think we ought to have a bear hunt event hike like we had a couple of years ago, very successful, 4 bear sightings, no loss of any cachers that we know of---either hike or a bacon cook off.

Speaking of which, there hasn't been any new Wjgrun caches in Ramapo in almost a week, hope Bill didn't get eaten by the bears. B)

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http://www.northjersey.com/news/97071304_B..._into_home.html

 

There was another bear incident yesterday. They are seriously out of control and they need a stern talking too. Sounds like a job for ...............

 

I actually read some of the forum comments that follow that article. And I note that I do not necessarily agree with the opinions stated therein. But for a few smiles I recommend you do the same.

Edited by Packanack
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Speaking of which, there hasn't been any new Wjgrun caches in Ramapo in almost a week, hope Bill didn't get eaten by the bears. B)

I may be able to correct that tomorrow. I am planning to hike from the main Ramapo Route 202 lot to the three new JSB caches in Ringwood/Ramapo Mountain State Forest.. have a few spots in mind along the way. If anyone wants to join me, let me know asap - I plan to leave early.

 

Bill

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Speaking of which, there hasn't been any new Wjgrun caches in Ramapo in almost a week, hope Bill didn't get eaten by the bears. B)

I may be able to correct that tomorrow. I am planning to hike from the main Ramapo Route 202 lot to the three new JSB caches in Ringwood/Ramapo Mountain State Forest.. have a few spots in mind along the way. If anyone wants to join me, let me know asap - I plan to leave early.

 

Bill

I'll be getting to the lot by around 7:30-8 but the JSB caches are in the middle of my planned loop of your caches.

-sorry to have left the topic temporarily-

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I'll be getting to the lot by around 7:30-8 but the JSB caches are in the middle of my planned loop of your caches.

Were you really planning to go for the JSB caches as part of your hike tomorrow? (They're way out there, not sure how much you have planned). I wouldn't mind extending my hike a little if you want company. If not, I may see you out there anyhow.

 

Bill

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MR. DOLPHIN

 

And, the thundering horde of geocachers scares away the poor bears!

 

Is that the same thundering hoard of geocachers seen running away from your latest unfound Central Park puzzle cache, the ones screaming in frustration ?

 

I think the bear hunting hike will be after July 4--watch for details on location.

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MR. DOLPHIN

 

And, the thundering horde of geocachers scares away the poor bears!

 

Is that the same thundering hoard of geocachers seen running away from your latest unfound Central Park puzzle cache, the ones screaming in frustration ?

 

I think the bear hunting hike will be after July 4--watch for details on location.

 

Tis I doing the running. They start throwing rocks when they see me! (Just trying to see if I can break my 'three-months-for-FTF' record...)

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We've never seen them when out caching, but had one on our deck last week, raiding the bird feeder and hummingbird feeder. The week before there was one at camp, standing, drinking from the hummingbird feeder. It was at least 6 and a half feet tall standing up like that.

 

Needless to say, all feeders come down at night now.

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You guys might get a kick out of the bear encounter I had while attempting the "Quagmire at Rock and Rill" cache this morning.

 

This cache gave me more adventure than I bargained for. This is a long post so I added some Cliff Notes at the bottom. B)

 

The "Quagmire at Rock and Rill" cache has been on my list for quite a while. I had initially planned on attempting it after the winter freeze, but since I had just used my waders yesterday to grab a few caches on Lake Hopatcong, I figured I’d continue the fun and give this swampy cache a try today.

 

I carried my waders on my shoulder as I walked along the east side of the pond until I was about even with GZ. From there I went through some dense brush to get to the water’s edge. I donned my waders and seriously considered leaving my shoes and backpack on the mainland. I opted to stick my shoes in the backpack and take everything with me. This proved a wise decision.

 

The wade across to the island wasn’t bad. There was one spot where I nearly got stuck in the muck and I thought of the “quagmire” in the name of this cache. Before long I was on the island and basking in the glory of having made it across without incident. :anibad:

 

I searched around for a minute for the cache container without luck. No worries. I knew I’d come up with it soon. Then out of the corner of my eye I spotted a bear. He was standing in the dense brush exactly where I entered the water. I could see him sniffing the air. I don’t know enough to accurately estimate the weight of bears but I know the difference between a large adult, an average size and a cub. This was a large adult black bear and he on the edge of the swamp was about 100 feet away.

 

Let me interject here to say I’ve had my share of bear encounters over the years in all types of situations from the deep woods to the back yard of my house. Each encounter has followed the same playbook: I spot bear. He spots me. Bear either lumbers off or hightails it away from me. This encounter would prove different.

 

I’m about 6’4” and I starting flailing my arms and yelling “hey bear”. He looked at me but he didn’t leave. He continued sniffing the air. It was at this point that I regretted bringing a pack of gum and a granola bar in my pack.

 

I dug out the emergency whistle from my pack and started blowing away. It was shrill and loud and he started lumbering back into the brush. As mentioned earlier, the brush is very thick and I therefore quickly lost sight of him.

 

I breathed a sigh of relief and went about my business. I quickly found the cache and opened the logbook. As I was signing the log, I heard branches breaking on the mainland. I looked over to see the bear had only moved about 50 feet from his last location and was now without a doubt crossing the swamp towards me. Thankfully, he was taking his time about it. I quickly put the log back into the cache, replaced the cover, and returned the container to where I found it.

 

At this point, I ran across the tiny island and into the swamp in the opposite direction from where I approached. By the time I made it to the mainland I could see the bear sniffing about on the high ground of the island. I didn’t waste any time and hightailed it down the west side (Weldon Rd side) of the pond back to the parking area.

 

As I crossed the woods road at the far end of the pond, I could see the bear crossing over to the Weldon Road side of the mainland in the direction of my retreat. That was the last I saw of him.

 

Cliff Notes: Spotted a big bear in the brush across the marsh while I stood at GZ. Bear didn’t respond to my scare tactics. Bear followed me across the swamp onto the island. Bear continued following me across the other side of the marsh onto the mainland.

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Naw. These are New Jersey black bear. Give them proper respect, and they'll generally leave you alone. (I'm not sure if there are any reports of bear attacking people in New Jersey. Dogs, cows, garbage cans, bird feeders, alpaca...) I've had stare down matches with a few. (See post above concerning Cindy Bear.)

I almost stepped on Stumpy once. Scared him almost as much as he scared me. He took off through the mountain laurel. (I actually felt sorry for him. That must have hurt!) About 15 minutes before I could move... Amparo Oso followed me for a few hundred feet once. I was happy when she turned away. Saw Gregg Bear last Friday, on Green Pond Road. A bit north of the pull out for the Four Birds Trail, and the plastic cow. But I was in the car, and he went a running. (I think he gave me the paw first...)

Treat them with respect, don't leave your garbage out, and there shouldn't be a problem. Okay. Outside of a near heart attack...

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Seeing, or coming in contact with, bears is one of my worst fear. Don't they just attack if they're startled or feel threatened? Which is always...ugh.

The Jersey ones are usually pretty mellow... See post #15 in this thread for my Dog rescue...

Not that I want to repeat that adventure but in retrospect it is a great story to tell to my grandkids (wait... need to have kids first to do that... B) )

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They might be more frequent but rarely aggressive. I'm up to about ten bear encounters and all but once the bear wanted to be anywhere but where I was. The one time it took the bear longer to leave the area was because her cub was still hiding in a tree near where I was standing. I didn't know that until I walked far enough away for it to drop out of the tree and run the other way. They seem to act like any other animal in the woods, smart enough to stay away from people. ...so far from my experiences anyway.

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There is a reason why they brought back the hunt. The encounters are greater in number and have been more problematic. The bears are not running as quickly as they once did. Two sheep killed last week in Boonton. Two dogs killed in Wayne.

 

I think it about time for another Bear Hunt Hike, to go and spot the varmits in their own environment

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