Set aside half an hour. I wouldn't want to rely on my "understanding" of bears (see also the guy a few years ago who got et) but this is still pretty cool. Bears are neat.
I'm not crying.... YOU'RE crying..... this is SO COOL.... Thank you.
Would guess that in your area Scott, people are sloppy with food and garbage. Some probably think it is cute to feed the bears. And yes, 'habituated bears' can be dangerous.
Black bears will predate on humans (once in a blue moon), Grizzly bears rarely eat people. Emphasis on rare.
Poor SFW - he comes from the wrong side of the tracks. One of these days his boat will come in and they'll be movin' on up! Hang in there, Scott - we don't judge!
Would guess that in your area Scott, people are sloppy with food and garbage. Some probably think it is cute to feed the bears. And yes, 'habituated bears' can be dangerous.
Black bears will predate on humans (once in a blue moon), Grizzly bears rarely eat people. Emphasis on rare.
Poor SFW - he comes from the wrong side of the tracks. One of these days his boat will come in and they'll be movin' on up! Hang in there, Scott - we don't judge!
I have never had a one-on-one conversation with a Griz. But have had several conversations with Black Bears. Bears are like lots of other animals such as crows, ravens and Magpies, coyotes, wolves, deer, geese, etc., etc. They readily distinguish individual humans, and become much more relaxed around you once they get to know you. The fact that the Tlingit talk to Griz should surprise nobody who has worked with animals or spent lots of time living in the backcountry. Tone of voice and pitch are critical.
This approach to gently respecting 'others' territory' and maintaining 'own territory' could/should work on other salmon rivers flowing into the Pacific Ocean but I would strongly urge folks to avoid close contact in high elevation areas, in particular the Rocky mountains. Bringing an untrained dog into the high country of the Rockies is just asking for problems.
Our problem in my area is âI was going to say mismanagement but it's more a confluence of interventionsâ bears are overpopulated and several avenues for food are currently at a low point. They feed on a particular moth larva and thanks to a beetle infestation there are fewer of the trees that those moths like. They feed on carrion but thanks to some disease, some weather anomalies, some wolves, there's less meat on the ground when they emerge in the spring. Etc etc. So they're more likely to be outside their comfort zone and in your campsite or eating the animal you hunted. Long story short, if you get off the highway in the forest here, there's probably a bear around and they are not as carefree as the bears in this video.
I have never had a one-on-one conversation with a Griz. But have had several conversations with Black Bears. Bears are like lots of other animals such as crows, ravens and Magpies, coyotes, wolves, deer, geese, etc., etc. They readily distinguish individual humans, and become much more relaxed around you once they get to know you. The fact that the Tlingit talk to Griz should surprise nobody who has worked with animals or spent lots of time living in the backcountry. Tone of voice and pitch are critical.
This approach to gently respecting 'others' territory' and maintaining 'own territory' could/should work on other salmon rivers flowing into the Pacific Ocean but I would strongly urge folks to avoid close contact in high elevation areas, in particular the Rocky mountains. Bringing an untrained dog into the high country of the Rockies is just asking for problems.
Set aside half an hour. I wouldn't want to rely on my "understanding" of bears (see also the guy a few years ago who got et) but this is still pretty cool. Bears are neat.
Set aside half an hour. I wouldn't want to rely on my "understanding" of bears (see also the guy a few years ago who got et) but this is still pretty cool. Bears are neat.
Which is good, but at the same time, have you ever been talking in a crowd when all of a sudden everyone stops at the same time and you're there shouting? That sort of happened here. Everyone was watching bears, then they left and she was the only one there when the bear bluffed. I haven't seen any footage from 10 seconds before, but I kind of think she got thrown under the bus.
She was behind the little retaining wall which means nothing except she wasn't really intending to get close to the bear, she was just out of her car and didn't back away quickly.
If the sow and the 3 cubs slowly ambled towards her, she had plenty of time to beat a retreat. "Caught in the headlights" strikes me as a lame excuse. Rules seem rather clear. That she provoked a bluff charge is unacceptable.
Must admit I am surprised at how seriously this is taken. Jail - 4 days, probation, a big fine, a one-year park ban, ..... wow.
Which is good, but at the same time, have you ever been talking in a crowd when all of a sudden everyone stops at the same time and you're there shouting? That sort of happened here. Everyone was watching bears, then they left and she was the only one there when the bear bluffed. I haven't seen any footage from 10 seconds before, but I kind of think she got thrown under the bus.
She was behind the little retaining wall which means nothing except she wasn't really intending to get close to the bear, she was just out of her car and didn't back away quickly.
She got punked. The bear set the whole thing up and laughed his ass off for the rest of the day.
Don't try to make friends with a bear.
"Yah go fork yourself, Karen!"
Which is good, but at the same time, have you ever been talking in a crowd when all of a sudden everyone stops at the same time and you're there shouting? That sort of happened here. Everyone was watching bears, then they left and she was the only one there when the bear bluffed. I haven't seen any footage from 10 seconds before, but I kind of think she got thrown under the bus.
She was behind the little retaining wall which means nothing except she wasn't really intending to get close to the bear, she was just out of her car and didn't back away quickly.
To be clear, even before San Diego though I hadn't seen a bear or bears shit in the woods, I had seen bear shit in the woods and being a reasonably competent logician was able to make that inference. But as you said there's nothing like actual observation.
As a scientist, I'm happy to draw conclusions from carefully researched indirect data, although there is nothing like actual observation. Worked for a guy who's Samoyed liked to roll in bear shit in blueberry season.
To be clear, even before San Diego though I hadn't seen a bear or bears shit in the woods, I had seen bear shit in the woods and being a reasonably competent logician was able to make that inference. But as you said there's nothing like actual observation.
Yes, this post eventually gets to the Bear! subject.
My wife and I took my 94-year old father on a road trip recently. It went through Lytton which had been 90% burned. We also hiked the bar on the Fraser River where Cayoosh Creek flows in just below the town of Lillooet. Very pictureseque.
Note that this is 7th time since inception that Lytton has burned. Overall including this year, Lytton has "burned to the ground" three times in its history.
The bar below Lillooet was once truck accessible but that access has now been blocked — a good thing IMO. So we had to walk down this trail to get to the bar where the blue, mostly clear Cayoosh flows into the glacial muddy Fraser. Man, the bear scat piles were HUGE! No human body parts, just 8 to 15 cm high piles of partially digested dark fruit. (Blackberries? Plums?)
They were so big, I was thinkin' Griz. Griz scat normally has 'bells' in it. Or it could be a very large Black Bear.
Now some of you are asking: "Are you experienced?" Yes. Have probably poked my nose into 100s if not 1000s of bear scat. Sorry to disappoint but have not kept count or a detailed log.
Here is my concern: Gorging on fruit has to be really hard on the digestive tracts of these poor bears. Must burn like crazy! Perhaps we should all petition for policy that seeks to provide diet supplements and other forms of relief for these poor suffering bears?
