JB4310
Super Member
At least a Red Hawk! 
Bear
- Thread starter Lloyd_E
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OP
Lloyd_E
Veteran Member
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- South Shore Nova Scotia Canada
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MOM!!! Dad's looking at pictures of poo on the internet, and I'm not talking about Winnie the Pooh either! :laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:
Only on TBN...
Too funny....
Boeing
Platinum Member
Fellas,
I've read the scary articles of people bitten, mauled by bears...etc. So, I intend to bow hunt in the Blue Ridge Mts' of Va and there are many black bears. I NEVER want to wound one, prefer not to KILL one but.......I sometimes DO carry a .40 cal Glock.
So do we carry and rely on pepper spray, hold very still, told not to run, told not to climb trees.......WHAT is the experts suggestion?
WHEN do bears have cubs and how long to they escourt them? IF I see a cub do I take evasive action? AND finally, HOW large is a cub.....the only bears I've ever seen were in ZOO'S....... There have been 3 sightings on my land and I have seen several piles as I look for deer sign; they're THERE.:ashamed:
I've read the scary articles of people bitten, mauled by bears...etc. So, I intend to bow hunt in the Blue Ridge Mts' of Va and there are many black bears. I NEVER want to wound one, prefer not to KILL one but.......I sometimes DO carry a .40 cal Glock.
So do we carry and rely on pepper spray, hold very still, told not to run, told not to climb trees.......WHAT is the experts suggestion?
WHEN do bears have cubs and how long to they escourt them? IF I see a cub do I take evasive action? AND finally, HOW large is a cub.....the only bears I've ever seen were in ZOO'S....... There have been 3 sightings on my land and I have seen several piles as I look for deer sign; they're THERE.:ashamed:
Mousefield
Veteran Member
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We have lots of black bears here. Most times if you yell/shout, wave your arms they just leave. IF they have cubs (about 1 year?) or at/near a food source then they can become very dangerous. I came very close to shooting one early this spring that was acting aggressively and didn't want to leave, lucky for me and it no further sign of it around. Both my wife and I do carry, at times, a large can of bear spray, haven't had to use one yet. Bears can run faster than you and are better tree climbers as well.
British Columbia has the largest Black Bear population in North America and Vancouver Island has the densest population of bears in the entire province.
OPPS that's where I live.
Branchchipper
Silver Member
I know this is an old thread, but we live in a black bear-rich area and have some experience with this topic...
We find identical looking, berry-rich scat occasionally; I was sure they were bear, but they turned out to be mostly from coyotes!
There are usually multiple piles, close together, and found at the base of large conifer trees, often in spots with a view of surrounding terrain.
After finding a big "cache" a few years back, I spoke to a biologist friend, who stated that black bears are not territorial- they seldom "go" in the same spot twice. He suspected coyotes.
Sure enough, we placed our trail camera nearby, and the traffic was 100% coyotes.
We have had no problems with coyotes (I've only lived here 25 years, though!). We and many of our neighbors have cattle, chickens, goats, etc., but our farm dogs, along with an abundance of natural prey (cottontails, etc) keep the coyotes moving along.
Our kids, now grown, played deep in the woods and fields since they were old enough to walk; no tangles with coyotes or bears (at least none they talked about!). Cougars, common in other parts of our county, don't often show up here.
We occasionally see a bear in daylight- the last one tried to harvest some strawberries from our garden, but the electrified deer fence sent him packin'.
The worst bear problems have occurred when new neighbors got lazy and left trash cans accessible and unsecured. The bears exploit these gold mines at night, often hauling the can up a nearby slope, leaving a trail of garbage as they go. Not good!
One such neighbor demanded that the state F&W trap or kill the bear- the responding agent was not impressed when he saw the garbage trail, and instead gave the resident some valuable tips on living in the sticks.
We find identical looking, berry-rich scat occasionally; I was sure they were bear, but they turned out to be mostly from coyotes!
There are usually multiple piles, close together, and found at the base of large conifer trees, often in spots with a view of surrounding terrain.
After finding a big "cache" a few years back, I spoke to a biologist friend, who stated that black bears are not territorial- they seldom "go" in the same spot twice. He suspected coyotes.
Sure enough, we placed our trail camera nearby, and the traffic was 100% coyotes.
We have had no problems with coyotes (I've only lived here 25 years, though!). We and many of our neighbors have cattle, chickens, goats, etc., but our farm dogs, along with an abundance of natural prey (cottontails, etc) keep the coyotes moving along.
Our kids, now grown, played deep in the woods and fields since they were old enough to walk; no tangles with coyotes or bears (at least none they talked about!). Cougars, common in other parts of our county, don't often show up here.
We occasionally see a bear in daylight- the last one tried to harvest some strawberries from our garden, but the electrified deer fence sent him packin'.
The worst bear problems have occurred when new neighbors got lazy and left trash cans accessible and unsecured. The bears exploit these gold mines at night, often hauling the can up a nearby slope, leaving a trail of garbage as they go. Not good!
One such neighbor demanded that the state F&W trap or kill the bear- the responding agent was not impressed when he saw the garbage trail, and instead gave the resident some valuable tips on living in the sticks.
keegs
Veteran Member
Northwest New Jersey has lots of black bear beleive it or not. They're usually seen raiding garbage cans, bird feeders, dumpsters...etc. We're the most densely populated state and I don't recall ever learning of any news reports of an attack by a bear. A 400 pound black bear is an intimidating figure though so I keep my distance when they come around.
In Maine black bear seem much more intimidated by humans. I sometimes see them way off (1/4 mile) into a potato field and if they sense my presence they'll take off.
Lloyd ...not sure but those look like cherry pits. Would cherries be in season in August up by you?
In Maine black bear seem much more intimidated by humans. I sometimes see them way off (1/4 mile) into a potato field and if they sense my presence they'll take off.
Lloyd ...not sure but those look like cherry pits. Would cherries be in season in August up by you?
Branchchipper
Silver Member
Boeing;
I am no expert, just a rural resident and Cascades hiker. But I know that a healthy black bear will not stalk you, and is mostly interested in avoiding you. They are opportunistic omnivores, meaning that they wander around and bump into food. That food is largely on or in the ground. You are not normal food to them.
In the wild, they have a "menu" that changes with the season- more bugs in July, more roots in September, etc, etc.
We have had them dig up and thoroughly clean out ground nests of yellow jackets on our land- they are after the larvae, just like with bee hives.
Black bear cubs look very much like medium size dogs- I have surprised one on a trail, stopped to let him wander off, and continued on with no difficulty.
Never saw or heard mom.
As with all surprise encounters (deer, elk, bear) I was taught as a kid to stand firm, and to talk to the animal in a low, calm, continuous voice. This lets them know you are not stalking them, and I can tell you that it works very well with deer and elk. I have at least one such encounter with deer every month, year around.
With black bears, the reaction varies. They sometimes just run off, but they usually stand up on their hind legs, nose in the air, and do a lot of sniffing. Some might interpret this as threatening or "standing their ground" but I think that, in most cases, because their eyesight is poor, they are just trying to figure the possible threat out via smell.
I have been in that circumstance several times, and, in every case, I stood my ground, made sure they knew I was a human, and they eventually lost interest and trotted off. Granted, there was no cub involved, no dead deer or trash pile between us, etc, etc. But, there are many thousands of such encounters every year for every one that goes bad.
Just like with shark attacks, the media likes to over hype the bear threat. Keeping calm and using common sense seems to me a better solution that assuming a fight to the death is inevitable.
I am no expert, just a rural resident and Cascades hiker. But I know that a healthy black bear will not stalk you, and is mostly interested in avoiding you. They are opportunistic omnivores, meaning that they wander around and bump into food. That food is largely on or in the ground. You are not normal food to them.
In the wild, they have a "menu" that changes with the season- more bugs in July, more roots in September, etc, etc.
We have had them dig up and thoroughly clean out ground nests of yellow jackets on our land- they are after the larvae, just like with bee hives.
Black bear cubs look very much like medium size dogs- I have surprised one on a trail, stopped to let him wander off, and continued on with no difficulty.
Never saw or heard mom.
As with all surprise encounters (deer, elk, bear) I was taught as a kid to stand firm, and to talk to the animal in a low, calm, continuous voice. This lets them know you are not stalking them, and I can tell you that it works very well with deer and elk. I have at least one such encounter with deer every month, year around.
With black bears, the reaction varies. They sometimes just run off, but they usually stand up on their hind legs, nose in the air, and do a lot of sniffing. Some might interpret this as threatening or "standing their ground" but I think that, in most cases, because their eyesight is poor, they are just trying to figure the possible threat out via smell.
I have been in that circumstance several times, and, in every case, I stood my ground, made sure they knew I was a human, and they eventually lost interest and trotted off. Granted, there was no cub involved, no dead deer or trash pile between us, etc, etc. But, there are many thousands of such encounters every year for every one that goes bad.
Just like with shark attacks, the media likes to over hype the bear threat. Keeping calm and using common sense seems to me a better solution that assuming a fight to the death is inevitable.
toppop52
Super Star Member
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In northeastern NC where I grew up, black bears are plentiful. They raid the trash, eat dog food, steal corn from the fields, etc... They are generally non aggressive. But, if they are hungry, old, injured or otherwise weak, they can and do target live food sources including humans. Unlike grizzlies, they are not particularly territorial and one spot's as good as another. A grizzly may attack to claim his territory, black bear attacks are generally for only 2 reasons, protecting cubs and food. In the grand scheme of things black bear are more likely to target a human for food than other North American bears save the Polar Bear. So if you are attacked by a black bear, fight, scream and raise heck, 'cause playing dead is gonna get you there.
bullbreaker
Elite Member
Of course their(bears) are protected by laws but for a state so hot and humid most of the time you would not believe how many black bears we have around here in SW-Fla.
Espeicially bordering Everglades.
Boone
Espeicially bordering Everglades.
Boone
Tony_S
Silver Member
A number of years ago, I came home from a gig around 2-3 am and saw the trash scattered about the yard. I realized in short order that no coon or possum made this mess. When I exited the car, I noticed some rustling in the corn patch at the back of the yard. I figured "he" was in there eating my sweet corn!
I ran in and got the video camera, turned all the lights on, and went back out and stood by the car, and sure enough, here "he" comes. The lights didn't bother him, me talking didn't bother him, he was fixated on his treats.
After he threw a few dirty looks my way, I decided I'd be safer in the house. I shot video from inside the screen door. He would've had to scale the porch rail to get to me, and I felt fairly safe. Bear[ha!] in mind that the porch is about 4 ft off ground level there. After a bit, I decided to go out on the roof above me to get better photo op, but the metal roof noise was too much for him.
The next DAY, momma went to leave out the other porch door, and there he was standing right on the porch. She slammed the door and screamed him away. She weren't to happy.
Needless to say, I had to do some grill cleaning and made sure all garbage was kept inside or removed from the premises promptly.
Not long after, I heard tale of a 473 lb. bear being killed up on the Nat Forest land behind the house. Hmmmm....
We've had bears around all the time, but this one was the first that wasn't in an extreme hurry to get away from us.
Sorry for the shaky quality. I'm sure you understand. :thumbsup:
Enjoy the video! I know many of you are dog lovers, so while you're there be sure to check out my Chatty Jack video after you've viewed the bear video.
T
I ran in and got the video camera, turned all the lights on, and went back out and stood by the car, and sure enough, here "he" comes. The lights didn't bother him, me talking didn't bother him, he was fixated on his treats.
After he threw a few dirty looks my way, I decided I'd be safer in the house. I shot video from inside the screen door. He would've had to scale the porch rail to get to me, and I felt fairly safe. Bear[ha!] in mind that the porch is about 4 ft off ground level there. After a bit, I decided to go out on the roof above me to get better photo op, but the metal roof noise was too much for him.
The next DAY, momma went to leave out the other porch door, and there he was standing right on the porch. She slammed the door and screamed him away. She weren't to happy.
Needless to say, I had to do some grill cleaning and made sure all garbage was kept inside or removed from the premises promptly.
Not long after, I heard tale of a 473 lb. bear being killed up on the Nat Forest land behind the house. Hmmmm....
We've had bears around all the time, but this one was the first that wasn't in an extreme hurry to get away from us.
Sorry for the shaky quality. I'm sure you understand. :thumbsup:
Enjoy the video! I know many of you are dog lovers, so while you're there be sure to check out my Chatty Jack video after you've viewed the bear video.
T