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reddirt
climber
Elevation 285 ft
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that is clearly a Nutella Bear. a really fat one.
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jstan
climber
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These bears seem to have fairly poor eyesight. It was not looking at you. It was getting your drift.
While on the subject two recommendations:
"Bear Attacks - The Deadly Truth by James Gary Shelton
Written by an author who teaches courses on how to deal with bear attacks. Hails from Bella Coola BC
It seems a different world up where Anders lives.
And for an incredible story you will not put down:
Polar Dream by Helen Thayer
About her solo trip to the magnetic North pole through the thick of polar bear country. Apparently starving now due to melting of the Arctic ice, all we know about polar bear behavior is probably no longer true.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there tami... say, i had heard many bad stories of folks that had a run-in with black bears.... they were said to be very cunning, if they chose to track someone down...
very sorry to hear of the loss of life, to the those in your bear-and-tree-planting story... sure hope that the man was able to heal after being part of that awful incident... :(
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Reilly
Mountain climber
Monrovia, CA
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"Seen a good 40 Polar Bears up close and personal and they didn't scare me - to much."
Boy, that isn't my experience nor would my Inuit friends agree.
Grizz will almost always avoid you if they know you're there.
The white bears can't afford to be so picky and will almost always come by to check you out. Not sayin' they're gonna charge you but I'd take my chances with a grizz before I would with a whitey. My feeling is that grizz don't like being surprised.
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paul roehl
Boulder climber
california
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Bears and the accompanying fear we feel are/is really fascinating. There are some who speculate the first worshiped deities were, in fact "cave" bears and pigs. Caves with what are thought to be Neanderthal shrines of "cave" bear skulls indicate some form of "worship."
Fear fascinates us and seems to lead us to faith and we are never so faithful as when we are afraid!
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blacksun
Trad climber
South Lake Tahoe, California
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I was tr soloing this big boulder alone in the woods. The boulder was about 25 feet high and as wide, on a slope so you could walk around the side and up to the top. I was at the bottom when I looked directly up and peeking over the top was a black bear head. I thought, "damn what a big dog!", until I realized what he was. I didn't make any noise and actually was pretty content to just watch him, as I felt safe at the bottom of the boulder. Bears don't do flying jump attacks right? Anyway, he started moseying to the top edge of the boulder, meeting the hillside, which then led 25 feet or so right down to me. I wasn't scared at all until he turned and made a step towards me down the hill. If he charged, he would have been on me in just a second, so I took that opportunity to freak out and start yelling and shouting. He said "alright... fine", and un-hurriedly turned back uphill and went on his way. Anyway, that's my not very exciting bear story.
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RMLeahy
Trad climber
Yosemite
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A bear this large along the High Sierra trail in SEKI without a tag or collar is most likely a large male in the peak years of its life that is very successful and has its foraging pattern down. It is unlikely that this bear is obtaining human food regularly if it did not approach you, and has not yet been captured by the park which means it probably has not been a threat in developed or backcountry areas....and I think the last California grizzly was killed in the Big Meadow area outside of SEKI in the Forest Service and the last grizzly sighting in Cali was reported by a trail crew on Moro Rock in Sequoia in 1924. We also have no chance of reintroducing Griz for many reasons but most importantly the absence of the required natural state of the Central Valley where they were most prominent during the old days of natural flooding, Thule Elk and Oak Savannahs.
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno
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"the last Grizz in the GreatStateOfOverKill took the chop in Agnew Meadows - on the way down to The DevilsPostpile. "
Actually, the last California Grizzly was shot in Tulare County, as stated above, by a Fresno rancher. He (The Grizzly)used to stand in a small store in the town of Friant, just north of Fresno. Not sure where he is now, as the store has been closed for years. Also, the year was 1922. While it would be impossible to prove whether or not a bear was actually the last, this bear is recognized as the last Grizzly in Cali.
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scooter
climber
fist clamp
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In Africa somewhere there is section of jungle known as the Emerald Forest, maybe near Congo. Anyways, primate researchers discoverd a new population of Gorrillas. 125,000 of them. Doubleing the known number to 250,000. There are most likely more primate-ologist than bear-ologist. I find it hard to say there are absolutely no brown bears in CA.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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It seems jstan and I have both read the same bear books!
One thing I remember about the woman who trekked to the North Pole alone was the training she received from the Inuit. They emphasized the cunning of the Polar Bears and that the first time she would know one was there, was when it pounced on her from behind. She also had the experience of having one circle around behind her and try to sneak up.
Fortunately, she was given a dog trained by the Inuit to protect against bears and it saved her life when she was in imminent danger of being attacked. When polar bears stand on their hind legs and hiss, you have only a few seconds. At that point she unleashed her large dog and he grabbed hold of the bear's behind and they tore off over the ice pack. Eventually the dog returned unharmed. Other than that, she successfully fired flares at them to keep them at bay, a defense only possible on ice.
For a really good read that will make your own adventures look very humble, I recommend the book, Polar Dream by Helen Thayer.
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Timmc
climber
BC
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jstan,
The Shelton books you recommended are sensationalist at best. He is basically a killer of bears and has little respect amongst the scientific community. A much more balanced read on the topic of bear behavior is Bear Attacks by Dr. Steve Herrero at the University of Calgary.
Black bears are less likely to attack humans than grizzlies, though maybe 1 in a 1000 may become predatory and they are the ones to watch out for. Grizzlies on the other hand defend their food and offspring and attacks occur when humans get close to or between either one.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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True Bear Story from Summer of 1999
This account comes from British Columbia where my sister lives. She also owns a small oranic farm in eastern B.C. where she stays in the summer. When she flew in to see me in Vancouver, she left a young German exchange student in charge of the farm and more North American adventure than she had bargained for, when she had to call us at 2 am to report that a bear had broken into the chicken house.
This set off a series of telephone calls between the student, my sister and brother-in-law and the 24 hour-a-day animal control dispatcher in Vancouver . Following the format of a 911 program, the ongoing calls brought vivid real time descriptions while my sister repeatedly called the Vancouver dispatcher to find out whether the eastern B.C. game warden had been notified and when he would arrive at the farm. Since Canada has very strict gun control laws, most people rely on professionals to take care of animal problems and for sure a German bookseller’s daughter wasn’t going to take on a bear!
Alas, each time the game warden finally arrived at the farm, it was just after the bear had left. Traps and snares were also to no avail, though the bear did signify his disdain for them by repeatedly leaving a big smelly pile planted just at the entrance to the cage. Score – humans zero, bear ten! Not very experienced in the beginning, this young black bear's first kill of three birds occurred when he sat on two of them. Gradually though his technique improved and his final method for breaking into the chicken house was to rip the wooden siding off board by board, an extremely dangerous behavior which could have resulted in a bear in the house some day!
Finally, my sister resorted to a 6,000 volt fence which was guaranteed to flip a grizzly on its back according to the Yukon logger who sold it to her. The bear however, seemed to know about electric fences as well as traps since he didn’t come near it, confining himself to apples from her orchard. Once in a while she was still awakened by the chickens squacking at 2 am, as the bear slowly circled the fence. The next summer was a wetter one with more berries and he did not reappear. And hopefully he lived happily ever after, far far away in the forest.
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dmalloy
Trad climber
eastside
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let me recommend a book - "The Lost Grizzlies" by Rick Bass. A sort of memoir, it recounts his part in a team that was trying to gather evidence of living grizzlies in the San Juans in CO in (I think) the '80s. It had been thought that there were no grizzlies in CO since the '50s. It is a good yarn, with a lot of bear stuff, some interesting personal stories from Bass, and also involves Doug Peacock, who is best known as the inspiration for Hayduke in "The Monkey Wrench Gang".
And yes, that appears to be one really big black bear.
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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It is pretty hard to generalize when talking about bears, but I have a few insights from experience and advice from the locals.
Polar Bears rarely come very far inland from the coast. This may not be true regarding the Hudson Bay bears, but it is a good bet along the Arctic Ocean. Their main meal of choice is the ringed seal. It is super spooky to be on the coast when the ice hasn't gone out yet. A big male leaves tracks like Godzilla. Short claws, though, compared to a grizzly. Very easy to tell them apart, and I have seen grizzly tracks out on the barrier islands in the Beaufort Sea. I assume that they walk out there when the lagoons are frozen.
It is true that Polar Bears split from Grizzly bears in the recent (by geologic standards) past. They can interbreed as mentioned, but I think that it is fairly rare.
I have never met anyone not packing a gun when on the coast. When the eskimos get a whale, the bears seem to know it and will swim downwind to have a long feast on the carcass. I have always heard that a Polar Bear might smell you ten miles away and come to check you out. I think that the few problems have to do with the fact that they are really a maritime animal and their range doesn't overlap with humans too much.
I have been charged by a grizzly. True, they will bluff charge you, but who can tell at the moment? This one was lying on a fresh caribou kill. So it was the real deal. Near the headwaters of the East Fork of the Chandalar in ANWR. The natives think that you are insane to walk in there without a gun. Particularly when you are alone. Which I usually was.
All of the other grizzlies that I have run across run like hell. This is up in arctic Alaska, where they don't run across many humans. It is still pretty spooky when one comes through camp and wakes you up. Grizzlies are rarely predatory towards humans, but they are super aggresive when on a kill or when they have some cubs. This probably doesn't fly in Yellowstone, Glacier, or the other places that they are habituated to humans.
I don't know much about Black Bears, but I have always read that they can be predatory.
And that bear in the picture is a black bear. I have always heard that they are hard to tell apart from just looking at them. The best way is just their range. Tracks look very different from what I have seen.
And I didn't think too much of Rick Bass's book.
For some really freaky stuff, go google jaguars coming back into Arizona. Just look at the pictures taken by the automatic cameras.
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jstan
climber
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Many thanks for the reference Timmc. Shelton states very clearly upfront that
bear management has become political. Whether or not his positions are
sensational I think there is information in the following excerpts.
Here I will steal some intellectual property by quoting from “Bear Attacks.” The
material is excerpted by the author from an earlier book titled “Bear Encounter
Survival Guide.” I can not quote it all but here is a sample:
Quote
“Bear aggressive behavior is very complex and difficult to understand. However
what is known about both black bear and grizzly behavior sheds considerable
light on what occurs during a bear encounter. There are, though, considerable
differences in behavior between the two species, and it is impossible to
understand these differences without an evolutionary perspective of how they
arrived at their present state.
Grizzly bears evolved over a long period of time in open habitat conditions
during the Pleistocene Epoch with many extremely dangerous large predators.
Grizzlies developed a defensive-aggressive behavioral mode of challenging
intruders by ferocious bluffing and, if necessary, making contact with and
immobilizing the threat, then quickly retreating. Sow grizzlies usually defend
their young by having them run in the opposite direction of the threat (if it can
be clearly located). She then exhibits bluffing displays toward the threat and
either makes contact with the intruder or runs after the cubs. Whether or not a
grizzly makes contact in this situation depends upon several factors: the
aggressiveness of the particular bear; what events have just preceded the
encounter; the distance to the threat; and in the case of a sow with cubs;
whether or not the distance between the threat and the cubs is being increased
…
Grizzlies do not have the ability to determine whether or not you you do
actually pose a theat to them. Their defensive aggressive behaviour does not
work that way; if it did they would have probably suffered extinction a long
time ago……
Predacious black bear behaviour is different; usually, a predacious bear does
not show any anger or bluffing; it follows the prey in a stalking mode – maybe
circling and moving closer. If the bear decides the prey is “takeable”, the bear
charges takes down its prey, then kills and eats it. Black bears are more difficult
to read during encounters; they are not as ‘upfront’ as grizzlies are in letting
humans know their intentions. They can be very unpredictable, so be alert for
behaviour indicating predacious behaviour.”
End Quote
The excerpt goes into five different modes of bear aggressive behavior one of
them being “ Home Range Aggression Towards People”. An excerpt from that
section:
Quote
“ If you were travelling along a highway in the springtime and stopped to
photograph a black bear that was eating grass along the side of the road, you
would probably see home range aggression. If you were to approach to within
75 yards or so of the bear, you would probably see one or maybe all of the first
signals of threat display; dropping the head, turning sideways, or turning and
facing you with a direct stare. The bear may then stomp its front feet, blow,
growl, pop its teeth, or swat the ground. You would be close enough that the
bear will feel your presence as a threat. The bear would be in a flight or fight
state of mind, but the grass it is eating may be the only high-value food
presently in its home range that is not dominated by a more powerful bear. It
prefers to stay right where it is.
If you were foolish and moved closer for a better camera shot, you would
probably see the bear’s ears go flat and its spinal hair stand on end. It may
then turn to a 45 degree angle to you, go stiff legged, and bounce several
times towards you, giving blowing or growling sounds at each bounce. It would
then come to a facing halt and watch your reaction. At this point even foolish
people back off……..
Grizzly bear home range aggression is a different ball game. They are much
more aggressive than black bears in defending high-value space. Their
aggressive displays when defending an area of high value, are almost identical
to black bear threat signals, but they are usually much more determined to
hold ground, and the chance of contact is much greater…….
End Quote
While hiking in the sierra Cathy did not take care always to appear large and a
black bear studied her at length. I suspect it was deciding whether or not she
was “takeable.” It did not feel at all right.
The simplest and most effective defense against wild animal encounter may
well be that of always travelling in pairs. Something to keep in mind while
working Route 120, especially after the destruction caused by the fire.
Whatever its other dramatic merits the film “Grizzly Man” produced by Werner
Herzog (naturally) has more video footage on grizzly behaviour than I have
seen anywhere else. One mating battle between two males featured use of a
classic wrestling takedown. It looked planned. No accident.
PS: Someone is certain to post a large photo so I have taken care to preformat
this so it will remain readable.
Edit:
Jeff:
I have found people who are able to post pictures are not generally afraid of fire.
I on the other hand.........
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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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Interesting thread, I was planning on a little o/t tr of a hike I took last Friday up the Indian pass trail, used to be part of the original Iditarod trail.
Shortly after leaving the trailhead, I came across the fresh prints of a Grizzly. I took a few pictures of the print, and based on my finger spread figured they were 7" across. There is no guranteed way to translate foot size to body size, but that would make it approximately an 8' bear, or 500# body weight.
Further up the trail I cut numerous black bear prints, much smaller, though there were likely 1/2 dozen different bears plying that trail. And the trail was heavily covered with grasses and bushes chest to head high for the first 5 miles. Lots of fun heading back down the trail, though it was mid-day so not a big deal.
As far as which bears are more dangerous or agressive, there are much greater differences between bear to bear than between species or subspecies. I've come across grizzlies on trails and was more inclined to grab a camera than a gun. I've also been rattled by a large black bear that was feeding on berries a couple hundred yards from our tent.
To the op, deffinately ursus americana, though I wouldn't be suprised if some day Ursus arctos horribilis didn't extend it's range back into California.
I don't know where someone came across grizzlies averaging weights of 1100-2200 lbs, they don't even average that weight in kilos. It is the rare Brown bear that will exceed 1000 pounds, and I'd say the average grizzly at least in AK is in the 500-700# range.
In addition to mama bears protecting their cubs, any bear protecting it's food is dangerous. Also the hungry bear having trouble finding food might consider you an option, the old bear with worn teath that has trouble eating, and the 2-3 y/o (teenager) that doesn't know how to act like a bear and between curiosity and just being a trouble maker can be a threat.
But in general the vast majority of bear encounters are not threatening, and are a pretty neat experience.
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jstan
climber
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A bear story that was funny, I guess.
A couple of friends were camped in an isolated lean-to on the Range Trail in midwinter near Haystack. That's as isolated as it gets in the Adirondacks. Betsy shook John awake in the middle of the night asking, "What's that noise!"
John raised his head, observed "That's just a bear.", and went back to sleep.
If it was a bear, a bear oot'n aboot in midwinter
it was a bear desperately looking for calories..........
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Although there were quotes taken from the site, I'm surprised that no one has posted the link to the excellent North American Bear Center. Outstanding information, with a bear cam!
http://www.bear.org
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seamus mcshane
climber
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Bear tastes like a cross between desert tortoise and spotted owl.
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