Troubles with bears

[Scout]

Has anyone ever had trouble with bears trying to get into their van for food? If so what do you do to stop them?

 

[cyndi]

There are a few threads related to bear safety
https://vanlivingforum.com/search/?...dbd9f2a24930bc89e4&sortby=lastpost&order=desc

 

[Blanch]

Nope. Been camped in near country for the past five months. No problems at all. I keep a clean camp. That helps.


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[TrainChaser]

The only time I had a bear in camp he was after the contents of the garbage can.  He passed me at ten feet (picnic table between us) while I headed for the car with the dog (only 17 lbs, luckily).  

The dog didn't see it until he was in the car.  If any of you read Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, he was like that -- screaming and threatening a 300 lb bear, trying to dig his way through the glass.

 

[everett ruess]

Depends where you are, bears are more aggressive in some areas. Worst places are around National Parks that start with a Y- Yellowstone and Yosemite. They had a car on display in Yosemite that had it's window frame pried open by a bear. Top half of the door just bent down. A lot of times those kind of places have bear boxes to store food outside the vehicle. A hassle but worth it.

 I use an airtight dog food storage bin to store my garbage to keep odors down. More for rats and mice than bears. I've had rats and porcupines in my motor, but no bear problems. Porcupines are really bad in the Aspen/Crested Butte area of Colorado. Some campgrounds supply chicken wire to put around your wheels to keep them out.

 

[AlasKen]

I will agree keeping a clean camp is foremost.  That means outside the vehicle as well as inside.  I was at Eagle River Campground in AK.  I was up early and watched a black bear come through camp.  I was with 3 other campers.  The bear went to first vehicle looked in the window then moved on to second vehicle, sniffed around the fire pit which had not been used and moved on, stopped by third camper sniffed and left.  S/he then walked across the way to another set of campers that obviously did not keep a clean camp and went to the back of the RV and munched down on garbage, went to another RV and knocked the ice chest off the picnic table and spent 5 minutes eating.  About then the camp host showed in a PU truck honking her horn trying to drive the bear off.  He didn't get to concerned but slowly meandered off.  About a week later I heard that they put down a black bear in that campground that acted aggressive toward some young boys fishing, I assume it was the same bear but no proof.  It was obvious that this bear knew what he was doing and had a circuit in which he had been successful in the past.  It is not to hard to keep the outside clean.  I prefer to cook outside as far as practicable from the vehicle.  My experience has been clean up outside, ice chest or airtight container inside, take trash to dumpster or store it inside in covered container and bears look for easier pickings.  Usually at a typical public campground they don't have far to look. 

Interestingly the people I camped with had no idea they were visited until I showed photos.  I was about 50 yds away starting the morning fire and preparing to cook breakfast on a propane stove/griddle combo.  Luckily I was just starting and not cooking bacon yet.  Bear ignored me but I was watching close and was prepared. We also had a moose visit the camp the previous afternoon while having a birthday party.  That was interesting but uneventful.  As they say "no photos, it did not happen". 

 

[bigsallysmom]

And absolutely, positively don't pour the grease on the ground. Carry a grease can or pour it into a can so it will harden and you can dispose of it.

 

[mert6706]

Interestingly the people I camped with had no idea they were visited until I showed photos.  I was about 50 yds away starting the morning fire and preparing to cook breakfast on a propane stove/griddle combo.  Luckily I was just starting and not cooking bacon yet.  Bear ignored me but I was watching close and was prepared. We also had a moose visit the camp the previous afternoon while having a birthday party.  That was interesting but uneventful.  As they say "no photos, it did not happen". 

Now don't laugh at this lower forty-eight question(s) , but need to know--do moose also scavenge in campgrounds? What attracts them? Will they attack people?

 

[BinDerSmokDat]

+1 on a clean camp.
That includes watching where you dump dishwater and how you store food.
Bears have a sense of smell in line with bloodhounds, perhaps even better because they can get up on hind legs and sniff the wind and detect smells form a long distance away.
i have observed Black bears sniffing around patches of ground where trash cans had been sitting days before or sniffing areas where dishwater had been tossed the night before.

Black bears will generally not be food aggressive and are easily chased off.
I have never personally seen a black bear damaging a vehicle or shelter to get at food, though some do.
Brown bears (grizzlies) are a different story. I have seen pics of vehicles positively shredded.

In most vehicle instances, the cars were unlocked.
Bears can figure out how to open handles, they generally can't pick locks .
I also suspect that some people have left their car open or hatches up, but to not look like complete idiots claim the car was closed.
There were some pics of bears that pulled the window frame on the upper part of the door away form the body and got in that way.

Just burn trash thoroughly or dispose of in bear-proof receptacles at a site, dispose of grey water wisely, wash hands after handling food and before handling your vehicle and items around camp.

I think in the grand scheme of things I think bears rate accordingly in the list of things to worry about while RV living...

1.Personal Health...
5. Van/RV Mechanical Status...
10. Two Legged Human Vermin...
32. Bears!

 

[AlasKen]

Now don't laugh at this lower forty-eight question(s) , but need to know--do moose also scavenge in campgrounds? What attracts them? Will they attack people?

Moose don’t scavenge per se but they do like to eat fresh growth so campgrounds are typically groomed and good graze.  Moose will attack if they feel threatened or are protecting their young.  They will stomp you until they feel the threat is over.  If you get stomped don’t move until the moose is gone or it will come back.  There have been several cases of moose death locally over the last 10 years but most were by a moose previously harassed.

In this case the moose was calm and just eating.  We kept kids away and just watched until it was gone.  Calm respect is the key.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Your comment on hatches...does that mean the fantastic vent fan on top? I hadn't thought of the open ceilling vent as a problem. How high will a bear go? My vent is 10' off the ground, would I be able to leave that open with the fan exhausting? I don't think a bear sound be able to climb a ladder.
Ted (who is irrationally afraid of bears)

 

[Almost There]

Nope Ted, the hatches being mentioned were the rear lift hatches on cars.

Absolutely no need to worry about your roof vent - it's too high and too small for a bear to even think about getting in. And you are going to have a vent cover on it aren't you - highly recommended for keeping the rain out!

 

[Blanch]

Looks like a big bear was in camp last night. No problems. There was a light rain, found the prints in mud about a quarter mile from my trailer. With all the fires here lately the wildlife is pushing towards town. I'm about 5 miles from the nearest town.

Anyhow, a bear was in the woods and I had no problems.


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[Dream True]

A clean camp is a happy camp.  I've camped a lot and haven't seen a bear in over 30 years but I have always kept the area clean and I'm careful with food storage. When I camped in the Tetons this year I went so far as to use the green scent proof bags from Amazon that were well reviewed by backpackers. Not sure how effective they actually are but they weren't terribly expensive so I figured they couldn't hurt. I also used oven roasting bags to store snacks in after I read they were scent proof. Anyone else hear that?

I'm more nervous about bears when I hike. I have carried an air horn in the past but recently upgraded to bear spray. Going on the theory that if I have I won't need it.

Blanch, scary photos. Not a sight I would want to wake up to (though I wouldn't need coffee after seeing those tracks)

 

[Blanch]

A clean camp is a happy camp.  I've camped a lot and haven't seen a bear in over 30 years but I have always kept the area clean and I'm careful with food storage. When I camped in the Tetons this year I went so far as to use the green scent proof bags from Amazon that were well reviewed by backpackers. Not sure how effective they actually are but they weren't terribly expensive so I figured they couldn't hurt. I also used oven roasting bags to store snacks in after I read they were scent proof. Anyone else hear that?

I'm more nervous about bears when I hike. I have carried an air horn in the past but recently upgraded to bear spray. Going on the theory that if I have I won't need it.

Blanch, scary photos. Not a sight I would want to wake up to (though I wouldn't need coffee after seeing those tracks)

Yeah..... I'm moving camp tomorrow. I can take a hint.


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[Dennis]

Look like nice sized tracks. Owner of those could probably eat a lot. if they could get to it......

 

[UptownSport]

Summer I saw two in the middle of the woods.


Good thing I wasn't hungry.

Lots of bear in Northern Wisconsin, one broke into the house and stole dog's food- He was pissed.
Usually they stay away, you'd only see them from a distance- this summer one swam across river behind boat:




Moose hang out by humans because their predators won't. They'll even lay down on your tent.

 

[Scout]

A clean camp is a happy camp.  I've camped a lot and haven't seen a bear in over 30 years but I have always kept the area clean and I'm careful with food storage. When I camped in the Tetons this year I went so far as to use the green scent proof bags from Amazon that were well reviewed by backpackers. Not sure how effective they actually are but they weren't terribly expensive so I figured they couldn't hurt. I also used oven roasting bags to store snacks in after I read they were scent proof. Anyone else hear that?

I'm more nervous about bears when I hike. I have carried an air horn in the past but recently upgraded to bear spray. Going on the theory that if I have I won't need it.

Blanch, scary photos. Not a sight I would want to wake up to (though I wouldn't need coffee after seeing those tracks)

Hiking and backpacking is what made me think to ask about this. I didnt know if anyone went to the extremes of hanging a bear bag or carrying a bear proof canister. Of course if you have a fridge in your van a bear bag wont help. Maybe for your trash might be a good idea.

 

[highdesertranger]

LOL Uptown those look like all the pictures of Bigfoot. highdesertranger

 

[rm.w/aview]

I've heard that the blurry & out of focus pictures of Bigfoot are not the camera's or photographer's fault, and that's really scary in that there's a blurry monster in the woods right now.