Black bear---sometimes the unexpected happens

[Dennis]

OR don't sleep outside in bear country?  

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bear-bites-sleeping-colorado-teen-in-the-head/

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Wow... that's pretty scary since there was no food around!

 

[WalkaboutTed]

I'm petrified of bears. But that hasn't stop me from camping in bear territory all over the West, both tenting and in vans. I figured that when my number is up, it's up. But we do practice exquisite bear (and other wild animal) campsite hygeine.
Ted

 

[Ballenxj]

I can only imagine how scary it would be having a Bear trying to drag you off for supper.

 

[slynne]

Bears dont break into people's vehicles I hope!

 

[jimindenver]

There was a incident like this in Aspen a while back. It's rare but does happen.

 

[RVTravel]

Bears can tear apart a vehicle in minutes, rip doors off, open roofs like a can of tuna. Amazing power. In Griz country some advocate not even sleeping in the clothes you cooked in. I'd imagine the bear smelled something, even toiletries have a scent.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

This is what, the 3rd (4th? 5th?) thread on bear attacks in the last two months?  This gets extensive (and sensationalized) news coverage because it is so scary and rare.  In the last ten years the US has averaged about 2 deaths due to bear attacks per year and an average of 10 injuries requiring hospitalization.

To put that in perspective:
 - 30 people are killed by lightning every year, 270 hospitalized.
 - 34 people die from dog bites every year, 20,000+ injured.
 - 5000 people die from food poisoning, 325,000 require medical attention every year.
 - 35,000 people die from auto accidents each year.

Don't let it ruin your enjoyment of nature; the chances of you being injured in a bear attack are vanishingly small.  Worry more about safe food handling and practice defensive driving.

 -- Spiff

 

[Weight]

Bears like the perfumed soaps used to wash your hair and face. They also like the jelly donuts you had before settling down for the night.

 

[Blanch]

When I lived in Yosemite a bear pealed a friends car open for the box of Tide detergent she left in the front seat. It was obvious he ate some or all. For years we made "does a bear shit in the woods" jokes about it. I am sure he payed dearly for that food choice!
Bear issues are well known. Follow a few rules and they will never bother you. It really is that simple.


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[XFILE36]

Bears dont break into people's vehicles I hope!

sure do!  

 

[TrainChaser]

You'll have noticed that in that video, the vehicle owner left the windows rolled down a bit. DUMB. All the bear has to do is insert his claws in the gap and pull. Of course, that's all people have to do to break into your car, too. There were also people outside their cars, which was also stupid.

Also, you'll notice that of all the people taking videos, it didn't occur to anyone to scare the bear away.

Dogs have a sense of smell that is said to be 70,000 times that of humans.

Bears have a sense of smell that is FIVE TIMES as good as a dog's.

Plan ahead. If there are other vehicles around, try not to have the one that smells the best and is the easiest to get into. And don't spray your van with bear spray -- it attracts them. It only repels them when you hit them in the eyes and nose.

Thinking is not against the law. Yet.

 

[highdesertranger]

little stupid story. if this doesn't get me an "you ain't right badge" nothing will.

so when I was young and dumb I was camping in the Red's Meadow, Devils Post Pile area of the Sierras. there were bear warning signs everywhere. your typical signs, do this don't do that, there is a bear problem in the area. I said cool I want some bear pictures. so what did I do. first off I cooked a bunch of bacon for dinner for the aroma. then I threw raw and cooked bacon around camp just to give the bear something to eat while I snapped some pics. now for the topper, I slept outside on the picnic bench with camera ready to go. well I am still here and none of my many scars came from a bear. no bear showed up, at the time I was disappointed. looking back I am damn lucky. ah to be young and indestructible. as a side note beside the camera I was well armed. highdesertranger

 

[Cammalu]

HDR you crazy nut!!!!


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[bullfrog]

I guess driving an open rail buggy, eating potato chips, in stopped bumper to bumper traffic that was backed up in the Smoky Mountains watching the bears walk by might qualify me for a "that ain't right stinking badge" but after watching my 97 pound grandmother chase them off by beating on a pan with a wooden spoon most my life I must be "special". She did tell me not to get between a mom and her cubs when I was around four years old playing outside.

 

[XFILE36]

little stupid story.  if this doesn't get me an "you ain't right badge"  nothing will.

so when I was young and dumb I was camping in the Red's Meadow,  Devils Post Pile area of the Sierras.  there were bear warning signs everywhere.  your typical signs, do this don't do that,  there is a bear problem in the area.  I said cool I want some bear pictures.  so what did I do.  first off I cooked a bunch of bacon for dinner for the aroma.  then I threw raw and cooked bacon around camp just to give the bear something to eat while I snapped some pics.  now for the topper,  I slept outside on the picnic bench with camera ready to go.  well I am still here and none of my many scares came from a bear.  no bear showed up,  at the time I was disappointed.  looking back I am damn lucky.  ah to be young and indestructible.  as a side note beside the camera I was well armed.  highdesertranger

LOL, Yep, I think you deserve a badge, LOL, Bacon...

 

[XFILE36]

I camped in the Smoky Mtns as a teen with my older and younger brothers. We had a bear outside our tent going through the trash in the middle of the night. My brother was sure he left no trash of value to bears outside. Thank God that's all that happened. (My brother was armed.) We saw the huge claw marks on the stuff left behind in the morning and it's tracks.

 

[XFILE36]

I wonder if bears can smell freeze-dried food in mylar bags and buckets. Does anyone know?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I wonder if bears can smell freeze-dried food in mylar bags and buckets.  Does anyone know?

Short answer is YES.

Wether it is from residue from packaging, what you stored it with, the scent coming through the bag itself, or bears learning that stuff with your scent on it might contain food; bears will find and chomp on bags of freeze dried.  Bears will chomp on cans of food.  As to buckets: my beagle can smell his dog food through a sealed bucket (same crevats as above) and a bear has a better sniffer.

https://www.backpacker.com/stories/ask-a-bear-do-i-need-to-bear-bag-unopened-freeze-dried-foods

 -- Spiff

 

[Richard]

...
the chances of you being injured in a bear attack are vanishingly small.
...

I think this point deserves a bit more elaboration.

When we think of risk in terms of 'the odds', one of the implicit assumptions is that all members of the collective are the same. This is a fairly reliable way of assessing things like manufacturing widgets with tolerance limits and defect ratios but when it comes to sentient creatures, the reliability goes way down. Here's why:

If I'm understanding what I'm reading online, bear attacks are more likely to occur in a few specific situations:

• Momma bear protecting her cubs.
• Injured bear.
• Hungry/starving bear.
• Familiarity with humans in general (curiosity).
• Previous predatory encounters with humans in particular (aggression).

A bear that's attacked/killed a human before and not been put-down is many, MANY times more likely to do so again. If you happen to be in the area where that particular bear attack occurred, you're many, MANY times more likely to be a target/victim than a person in a different bear-rich area but where no bears have attacked humans, or where bears aren't as familiar/comfortable with/around humans.

The odds are interesting starting points to evaluate relative risk. But there are additional relevant & significant variables to take into account when considering bear-attack risk.

I'm not suggesting that we be irrationally fearful. I'm suggesting that we be more completely informed beyond 'the odds' so that we may all be as safe as possible.