Black Bears

[+zoltig]

 

If it's the non cat kind, just lay down and take it like a man.

 

<slaps forehead>

[knowschad]

I've heard that cougars (the wild cat kind, not the other one) will go after the one who's running, because it triggers their chase reflex. I've no idea if it is true - I don't really have a wish to test this one. But may not be a good idea to run first

 

A UC Davis study suggested that running may be the best alternative. Although none of the alternatives seem that great. I think the main thing is not to look like dinner. I came across one while caching but it was headed across the trail in the other direction so I did not have to test any particular theory.

I found the study to be very interesting, but since the authorities have been telling people for years that they need to stand their ground, I don't find it all that unusual that many attacks took place while people were standing their ground. A bit of a self-fulfilling prophesy, perhaps?

[+doingitoldschool]

Well, I think my favorite bear jokes have been told.

That can't be. No one has linked to any Far Side comics about bears yet.

 

The you haven't heard this one:

 

How can you tell the difference between black bear scat and grizzly bear scat?

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Black bear scat smells like pepper, and grizzly bear scat has bells in it.

 

Bears are pretty common up here, and it's best to treat them like the wild animal they are. Make noise and slowly back away - they will usually run.

[+bittsen]

Black bears, dangerous?

 

http://www.bittsen.com/images/bearfriend2.jpg

 

Okay, I'll bite. What's the full story behind the pic?

 

No bite involved. It was just a pic that I happened across while this thread was open, purely by chance too.

 

BUT, I will tell you this. Bears WILL domesticate themselves. I have been in the company of domesticated "wild" bears. The bears had no aggressive/hunting instincts that were visible. They were foragers.

[+Castle Mischief]

Black bears, dangerous?

 

http://www.bittsen.com/images/bearfriend2.jpg

 

Okay, I'll bite. What's the full story behind the pic?

 

No bite involved. It was just a pic that I happened across while this thread was open, purely by chance too.

 

BUT, I will tell you this. Bears WILL domesticate themselves. I have been in the company of domesticated "wild" bears. The bears had no aggressive/hunting instincts that were visible. They were foragers.

 

I don't know if I'd take the chance. Notice the cattle prod that guy has in the picture you posted. I don't think that even he trusts them completely.

 

The bears that I've seen in the wild (Smoky Mountains) didn't show any visible aggressive/hunting instincts either. They are omnivores, they will forage when they can and hunt when they need to. I don't think the attacks on humans have been because of either hunting or base aggressive instincts- usually caused by hunger, surprise, perceived threat to young. Forgetting that they are wild animals and failing to give them plenty of space is a mistake. (Not accusing you here) encouraging them into "domestication" is careless, cruel, and arrogant.

 

I'd like to comment more on the pic, but not knowing the whole story I'd just be speculating wildly.

[knowschad]

Woman Killed in Bear Attack

A woman who was keeping a bear as a pet was killed after the animal attacker her. The bear attack happened Sunday near Saylorsburg in Monroe County

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Woman treated at hospital after pet bear attack in Pickens County

A 21-year-old Pickens woman was taken to a hospital Thursday night after a pet bear attacked her.

[+bittsen]

Woman Killed in Bear Attack

A woman who was keeping a bear as a pet was killed after the animal attacker her. The bear attack happened Sunday near Saylorsburg in Monroe County

.

 

Woman treated at hospital after pet bear attack in Pickens County

A 21-year-old Pickens woman was taken to a hospital Thursday night after a pet bear attacked her.

 

More humans cause harm to humans than any other animal. It's a well know and proven fact.

 

Bear attacks happen but so do attacks by most any other animal. You aren't really making a point.

[+Chewy_06]

Black Bears are common on the West Coast here, and there are frequent cases of contact with them the lower mainland (Metro Vancouver area) - especially in areas like Coquitlam where one of my colleagues has one in her back yard regularly.

 

Haven't crossed paths with one while caching - but, we did wear bear bells when we were caching in the sea-to-sky corridor & the Whistler area.

 

That said, there's been a funny circulating that supposedly came from the BC Minnistry of the Environment warning outdoors enthusiasts about the hazards of Black and Grizzly Bears in BC. The note went on to advise hikers and those enjoying the back country to wear bear bells and how to behave in an enounter. It also indicated that bear scat was helpful in identifying what bears may be in the area; black bear scat reflected their diet - berries, leaves, fur etc while Grizzly Bear scat could be readily and quickly identified by the presence of bear bells.

 

[+Castle Mischief]

Woman Killed in Bear Attack

A woman who was keeping a bear as a pet was killed after the animal attacker her. The bear attack happened Sunday near Saylorsburg in Monroe County

.

 

Woman treated at hospital after pet bear attack in Pickens County

A 21-year-old Pickens woman was taken to a hospital Thursday night after a pet bear attacked her.

 

More humans cause harm to humans than any other animal. It's a well know and proven fact.

 

Bear attacks happen but so do attacks by most any other animal. You aren't really making a point.

 

Human/human interaction is a little more prevalent than human/bear interaction.

[knowschad]

Woman Killed in Bear Attack

A woman who was keeping a bear as a pet was killed after the animal attacker her. The bear attack happened Sunday near Saylorsburg in Monroe County

.

 

Woman treated at hospital after pet bear attack in Pickens County

A 21-year-old Pickens woman was taken to a hospital Thursday night after a pet bear attacked her.

 

More humans cause harm to humans than any other animal. It's a well know and proven fact.

 

Bear attacks happen but so do attacks by most any other animal. You aren't really making a point.

 

Human/human interaction is a little more prevalent than human/bear interaction.

 

You make a really good point.

[+bittsen]

More humans cause harm to humans than any other animal. It's a well know and proven fact.

 

Bear attacks happen but so do attacks by most any other animal. You aren't really making a point.

 

Human/human interaction is a little more prevalent than human/bear interaction.

 

Exactly. We need less humans.

 

My point is that bears don't go out of their way to harm humans. They are pretty docile creatures, for the most part. Sure, they will "defend" themselves, their young and even their food source but they aren't on the prowl. They are wonderful animals and fearing them isn't the way to go. Respecting them is the way to be safe. Of course, always have an escape plan whether its defending yourself or testing out your Nike's. Just be safe.

[+Renegade Knight]

...Human/human interaction is a little more prevalent than human/bear interaction.

Good point. Now I'll bet that the # ratio of bad interactions between humans and bears is far higher than the number of bad interactions between humans on a per encounter basis. Anyone know how to figure that out?

[+bittsen]

...Human/human interaction is a little more prevalent than human/bear interaction.

Good point. Now I'll bet that the # ratio of bad interactions between humans and bears is far higher than the number of bad interactions between humans on a per encounter basis. Anyone know how to figure that out?

 

The number wouldn't be accurate. You would have to define "bad interaction" and since bears can't flip you the bird, the numbers would be skewed. Having said that, I would guess that the number of bears per capita, averaged out by the number of people, per capita, you might just find more violence committed, per capita, by humans (especially if you factor in war).

 

Edit to add that bears also have a darned good reason to attack humans. Some humans actually enjoy going out in the woods and harming the bears. The fact that there are as few bear attacks as there are is a testament to how they would prefer to not interact with man in a violent way.

Edited October 16, 2009 by bittsen

[+Renegade Knight]

...You would have to define "bad interaction" ...

 

Like this. (Work Safe unless YouTube brings in the IT Police).

 

Or like this for humans.

Edited October 16, 2009 by Renegade Knight

[knowschad]

Edit to add that bears also have a darned good reason to attack humans. Some humans actually enjoy going out in the woods and harming the bears. The fact that there are as few bear attacks as there are is a testament to how they would prefer to not interact with man in a violent way.

I totally agree with you that (I think this is, in a nutshell, what you are saying) humans tend to be much more frequently agressive than other animals. My point by posting those articles was in no way intended to imply otherwise.

[+Castle Mischief]

...Human/human interaction is a little more prevalent than human/bear interaction.

Good point. Now I'll bet that the # ratio of bad interactions between humans and bears is far higher than the number of bad interactions between humans on a per encounter basis. Anyone know how to figure that out?

 

Well I know that I personally have only mauled to death three other employees of this company in the last... week or so. There was that guy that cut me off in traffic, but I only used my three-inch claws to rip his face off- he lived. Oh yeah, last year there was the lady at the fair that got between my wife and our youngest. She was a little hungry and just took her head clean off with the bone-crushing strength of her jaws.

 

Apart from that, considering the hundreds of people that personally encounter daily not very many bad interactions.

[+Castle Mischief]

My point is that bears don't go out of their way to harm humans. They are pretty docile creatures, for the most part. Sure, they will "defend" themselves, their young and even their food source but they aren't on the prowl. They are wonderful animals and fearing them isn't the way to go. Respecting them is the way to be safe. Of course, always have an escape plan whether its defending yourself or testing out your Nike's. Just be safe.

 

We agree on this. People are pretty mean animals. I'd say respect tinged with fear, but to each his own.

[+paleolith]

The photo that bittsen posted is obviously photoshopped. Doesn't take an expert to see the signs.

 

But this one's real ... well, an unaltered scan ...

 

 

Edward

[+skeezicks]

I have only ran into one bear while in the woods...but this guy was on my property one year in the fall ( I have a small fruit orchard...4 apple,2 cherry and 2 plum trees ).He was eating the fruit that had fallen off of some of the apple trees.

 

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

I have only ran into one bear while in the woods...but this guy was on my property one year in the fall ( I have a small fruit orchard...4 apple,2 cherry and 2 plum trees ).He was eating the fruit that had fallen off of some of the apple trees.

 

 

That's just a 2 yr cub!

[tttedzeins]

An iPhone is the only protection you need from bears

[+skeezicks]

That's just a 2 yr cub!

 

Wow...I'm impressed.You have a very strong grasp of the obvious.Just in case you aren't completely sure,here's another picture of the same cub.

 

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Mmmmmmmmm........... squab for din-din.

[+skeezicks]

Just havin' a little fun.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Every year, we get two - three. Young, dumb and lonely 2-year olds. Lord knows how many big ones at night. Can almost always find droppings (some have been dinner plate sized)! I am 6'4", and was dwarfed by one (a BIG black bear), upright about 7 ft away thru the slider about 4:00am. That one was a shocker!

 

This is a 2-yr, this spring.

 

[+Team Cotati]

Are black bears meaner than brown bears?

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Neither are "mean", per se. Browns seem to view humans more as a food item than does a black bear (Polar bears even more so). Too, I think that browns tend to guard their territory more fiercely.

 

Luckily, browns do not occupy as much "human" territory as does the black bear, so chances of encounters are far less common. In either case, it is the surprise encounter that produces the biggest chance of bear v. human conflict (not even going to the "garbage/food" issue here).

[jholly]

Bears even go shopping .... this buds for you.

 

Jim

[GOF and Bacall]

Are black bears meaner than brown bears?

 

Generally speaking no. The opposite is actually more likely but when dealing with wild animals you just never know for sure.

[Clan Riffster]

Are black bears meaner than brown bears?

Here in Florida, all we have are black bears. According to a wildlife officer buddy I know, Florida has never had a documented case of a bear attack on a human. I opined that this could simply be proof that Florida's bears are more efficient killing machines than the bears elsewhere, leaving no trace of their nefarious activities, but he wasn't buying it. Maybe he's part of the great Florida killer bear conspiracy?