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Posted by Bill S on September 19, 2007 at 11:34:01 am EDT
In reply to Bears, Bears, Bears posted by Timeportalmatrix on August 5, 2007 at 12:57:20 pm EDT

A couple major reasons for the apparent increase in bear encounters, and particularly the violent ones have to do directly with the increased encroachment of the 2-legged apes into bear territory (and other formerly wilderness areas. One of these is the spread of dwellings (permanent, as in increase in settlement size, and temporary, as in "summer" cabins). This reduces the size of bear habitat and their food-gathering area. The other is the increased invasion of the 2-legged ones, most of whom are hopelessly ignorant of the wilderness and the rules that govern it (rules that preceded humans and their related accoutrements by thousands of years, sometimes called "Nature's Rules"). When you look at the "accident" reports, you will note that virtually all the humans involved in the attacks are very inexperienced in the outdoors, and virtually all have not even read the signs and handouts that are available all over the areas giving the precautions.

Many of the bears, both black and grizzly (brown bears), have become habituated to humans and human-frequented areas as sources of food. To take Tioga, where Barb and I were a couple weeks ago - while we had no problem, the food taken, cars broken into, and confrontations involved dumpsters (supposedly bearproof, but torn open by force), fish on stringers left in the streams, pop-up camper trailers with food inside, cars with ice chests visible, and so on.

The other major scenes involved sow and cubs, humans approaching recent grizzly kills, and humans lingering in feeding areas (berry patches, diggings - where the bears dig up ground and logs for grubs and such).

The basic thing is to learn the signs and the bear habits. Barb and I have been in the outdoors and in bear country all our lives. Neither of us separately nor together has ever lost anything to a bear or had a confrontation. We have seen plenty of bears close-up (including our trek in Katmai, where we were photographing the large coastal Alaskan brownies from less than 100 meters), and we have seen bears invading camps within 50 feet of our campsite. It isn't just luck. It has to do with education and mentoring from an early age. No, don't mistake my statement for hubris - if I don't take precautions constantly, I won't avoid all confrontations. And there is always the chance of encountering a very hungry, human-accustomed bear (there are ways of mitigating such encounters, as well).

There have been lots of comments here and elsewhere about carrying bells, pepper spray, and heavy artillery. If you are not "bear-aware" and do not behave according to Nature's Rules, none of those will do you any good. Pepper spray, for example, may work temporarily if you get the bear in the eyes, but experiments in Canada have shown that the pepper spray around a tree where a food bag is hung actually attracts the bears, and some bears have been observed to return after the stinging wears off in a few minutes. You still have to leave the area (not fleeing - that says you are prey).

Before you venture into bear country, learn from an experienced guide or ranger in the area. First, though, learn what "bear country" is - it's closer than you think (we have bears right here on the SF Peninsula in San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Monterey Counties, as well as on the Marin Peninsula to the north).

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• Re: Bears, Bears, Bears - Hechoendetroit 17:25:39 11/10/2007

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