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Bear Attack?

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Warren, Manitoba
Ok, since we all love bear threads and to get the bear out of my solo thread, lets hypothesize what to do in the event of a bear attack under the following circumstances...

You are alone in the bush, camped on an Island, you have spray, bangers and your axe. Nothing more. You are 1-50km away from safety, nobody else is close by.

You are confronted by a rogue bear intent on making you his latest meal.

A) You are attacked at night while you sleep, pulled from your tent...

B) You are attacked while portaging...

C) You are attacked while bushwhacking/exploring/hiking...

What do you do to survive the situation?
 
In most of those situations, I would probably get eaten. I would fight back like heck, but a bear is pretty strong. When I sleep at night, my big knife is close by, so is my chainsaw, and frequently a rifle, but if a bear chomps on me while I'm sleeping, I'm probably going to die or be badly mauled. If I hear him first, then I would get out of my tent and confront him immediately with what ever I had on hand. I have done this before, and Mr. Bear has left.

Attacked while portaging….hmmmmm…well, I always have my six inch buck knife on me. Some of you might recall a thread on Myccr where samsam killed a bear with the same knife. On a port I often have a chainsaw or a gun or axe too.

Bushwacking would be the same as portaging, I would have my knife, sometimes a gun.

The thing is, you can never be 100 percent prepared, so I mostly don't worry about it. Best defence is the ear plugs, no jokes intended.

http://www.myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17386&start=0&hilit=samsam
 
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Would it be unreasonable to have brought my mother-in-law along on this camping trip?

Are these Eastern or Western Bears? Do I need a compass to tell?

Can I request Gavia to come and reason with these bears? They clearly haven't read the Polite Bear Handbook.

Given that you haven't said anything about a dog or shotgun then it must be somebody else being eaten, not me.

Not bear poop yet!
Rob
 
Pretty simple.. Fight back as best you can.. Be it a gun, bear spray a taser or a sacrificial mother in law. All the nice bear talk doesn't work with rogues.

However nice scared bears are the norm.. like the one that walked in front of my husband under the canoe yet ...looked at him from three feet and fled.

The cub behind mama was more curious and stopped and stared.. At that point the old maxim of say it do it happened. Canoe throwing at the bear didn't seem a good idea.

And when same hubby hit the bear in my car and the bear was draped over the hood but still alive.. he had the good sense to stay in the car. On second thought bring my hubby..he is a bear attractant.

The old saying that the bears garden stepstones are islands is probably true.
 
Thankfully the risk of such an attack is very low. I tell my wife that I am in more danger driving to work and back every day on the interstate highway. Not sure I'm right about that. But that's my story and I am sticking to it. Safe habits are your best defense. Eat and then move to camp in another location. Spray, 12 gauge slugs, air horns and bangers can help sometimes. Not always. I'll admit I don't sleep well when the bear sign are everywhere.
 
Sorry, Mihun09, I would rather talk about my first canoe trip of the year, which I haven't yet taken. All this talk of bears has now scared me so much I probably won't go.

Well, at least not to places where I would have to fight bears and definitely lose. Where are the bear-free states in the USA?

Up in Alaska last summer I saw some sort of guides with giant hand guns strapped to their chests in quick-release holsters plus short 12 gauge shotguns in sheaths on their backpacks. I don't think that equipment was to defend against the magpies. The friend I was visiting always carried a .357 magnum revolver in the back pocket of his jeans or in his car wherever he went, just as a general dressing habit. Like I would carry my EDC knife.
 
What kind of bear?

We don't have brown bears, so I wouldn't have spray. If I was in brown bear country, I might have a side arm. I've never been, so I'm not sure. I don't know if I'd rely on the spray... you have to get too close!

If it was a black bear I'd fight him/her good...

In the tent try to poke it's eyes out, or grab a rock and bash it's nose in... maybe grab a stake or a pole and try to stab it.

On the trail with the boat I'd wallop it with the boat and use it as a shield; maybe whack it or keep it at bay with a paddle and then grab rocks or sticks and start pelting it.

Just hiking, same thing. I'd wing whatever I had at it and try to quickly get some projectiles.

In any case, I'd rather not go toe to toe with the bear, but I feel like if got me laying down I'd have to. Any other case I'd try to keep it from getting in paw swiping or biting distance.

Reading what I wrote sounds pretty brutal - but if it was him/her or me, I'd fight.
 
First thing I'd do is grab my flask and have a final sip of scotch. Incidentally this would be the last thing I did as well.

But seriously, I would settle for good rye whiskey too.
 
Ok, since we all love bear threads and to get the bear out of my solo thread, lets hypothesize what to do in the event of a bear attack under the following circumstances...
You are alone in the bush, camped on an Island, you have spray, bangers and your axe. Nothing more. You are 1-50km away from safety, nobody else is close by.
You are confronted by a rogue bear intent on making you his latest meal.
A) You are attacked at night while you sleep, pulled from your tent...
B) You are attacked while portaging...
C) You are attacked while bushwhacking/exploring/hiking...
What do you do to survive the situation?

A- I set up my camp on a nice rocky outcropping that has not been ravaged by local campers that leave food out or fishermen who clean their fish at camp. The bear is over at the nice smelling camp spot down stream from me where it has been conditioned to look for food.

B- While portaging I make enough mechanical noise with loose gear hitting the canoe or food box etc that the bear hears me with enough time to move off trail and observe from a distance. No surprise/ no panic ambush

C- While bushwhacking and exploring I keep a eye open for nice little furry creatures to take pictures of etc. If I notice that the locals are bigger than me I give them the distance they deserve. This goes for the nice Moose too.

I have been within distance of the nice black bears over a 150 times and only personally had trouble 4 times. We have evolved to be the smarter species and have developed tools to assist with that. But before all of that we can plan and act in a way that will draw less attention to ourselves and make us less likely to get in trouble. I have had a cougar follow us down the exit route of an ice climb in Banff, AB and had bears follow me for several km while within 40ft at all times. I have yet to shoot a bear in defense and hope never to need to do that. A large caliber firearm would be a nice tool to have if I ever was to go toe to toe with Mr. Black Bear. Plan for the worst and live for the best.

You had an excellent selection of bear deterrents with and if you keep a clean site in a well managed area you will be fine. If the bear gets frisky hit it on the nose or eyes with that axe and don't stop till it runs away. The spray and bear bangers are good at a distance and the axe is for your personal space. Lol A nice 12ga would make for a great security blanket only if you can identify your target properly (strong light etc.) and be able to hit your target when stressed. Still makes for a nice noise maker if you have time and distance. Personally I have a air tight food box more for the mice than for the bears :eek:
 
This is just for Glenn to aid in his canoe trip planning

http://www.blackbearsociety.org/bearPopulationbyState.html

Glenn can have a great paddle in a number of states: South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Delaware; all prime paddling locations. Or Hawaii. Not so convenient.

Thank you so much for that gratis research. Such ideal paddling locations with no black bears. Some don't have coral snakes or gators either. Or water. I think I'll go to Delaware. I've seen some nice paddling spots there.

Is Michigan in the Midwest? If so, there was a Midwest bear attack on a girl jogger last year. Here's a video interview of her encounter and fight, plus a story about the increasing brown bear attacks in the western USA.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/bear-attacks-raise-safety-concerns/story?id=19993374

I actually bought a 12 gauge shotgun three years ago, the first gun of my long life, in part because of all the bear threads on the defunct SoloTripping site got me interested in manly (or boyish) gun stuff. I've yet to fire it.
 
Hey Ice, I know what you mean about anglers cleaning their fish on the site. Within 5 minutes of beaching the canoe on the site on Rabbit Lake at the very far end, a snapper showed up. Same thing last year on McGregor Lake on the Bird River. Within minutes a snapper was poking around which also explained the rock fish keeper on the backside of the Island. Clean the fish, toss it into the lake, feed the turtles... best to clean the fish on another part of the lake away from campsites.

The sites "appear" clean but simple things like the turtle really tell the tale of previous actions on the sites.
 
Since this is a bear thread, perhaps I won't be declared offsides if I make some points about shotguns. Do you remember when you learned to drive? It took a little application and effort, not a whole lot but some. I think it reasonable to expect to put out some effort to become effective with a shotgun.

There seems to be a popular present day mind set where the person says something like "Oooh, I wouldn't dare to touch one of those things (guns) I'd probably just shoot myself or somebody else." Or the ever famous "I wouldn't have one (again guns) in the house, it might go off!"
Now substitute "cars" in those two sentences and see how pathetically helpless and foolish the person sounds. There are folks who have adopted a victim mindset, they remind me of a turtle who's upside down, waving his arms and legs in the air and crying "Help, Help!! but don't ask me to do anything effective or put forth some effort to help myself." The goal it seems is sympathy and attention. Well, it's their life and they can live it however they like. But I wouldn't depend on the bears being very sympathetic.

If someone has decided they don't want to carry the weight or maybe guns aren't legal where they camp, then the subject is closed. Or maybe their religion forbids the taking of life; I don't much understand it but that's their right and I respect it.

Glenn, thanks for the link to the abcnews above! What a great, brave little girl! Her parents must be very proud of her.

Best Wishes, Rob
 
Here's a decent article on the subject, though I'm not sure on the play dead part.
http://www.bearsmart.com/becoming-bear-smart/play/bear-encounters

I have heard you have to treat grizzlys and black bears differently in this aspect. If you are sure the bear wants to make contact with you, I have heard the following.
Black bears you have to look as big as possible, shout, etc.
I've heard to play dead in the case of grizzly bears.
 
The only problem with shotguns is that you have to be sure you are actually in the bush.. There was a bear fatality a few years ago not far from New York City. Even if the mom had a shotgun the collateral damage could have landed her in the court system.
 
This is just for Glenn to aid in his canoe trip planning

http://www.blackbearsociety.org/bearPopulationbyState.html

Glenn can have a great paddle in a number of states: South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Delaware; all prime paddling locations. Or Hawaii. Not so convenient.

Sorry, Glenn. I live in Iowa and a couple times per year those pesky bears wander in from Missouri and Minnesota looking for fresh unsuspecting victims. Same goes for Illinois. I also question South Dakota being bear free, there must be some in the Black Hills. So I guess you'll have to scratch 3 more states off your list.

Alan
 
I think the Census was a few years ago...And there may have been a few bruin who failed to return the official government paperwork..
 
Lets move to moose.. I have been threatened by one near my house.. That experience made me more wary of the pleasures of moose watching.. Thanks..I will use a telephoto lens instead.

So far I have heard of a couple of attacks here this year and found this on CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/20/us/colorado-moose-attack/

And baby is not without weapons

http://bangordailynews.com/2014/02/2...rker-in-maine/

er wolves anyone?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wolf_attacks_in_North_America

Fisher? I have had one encounter with same and a second encounter with UST (unidentified screeching thing) at nite just before getting in the tent.. Both in Algonquin.
 
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YC's census find says there are 350 bears in Connecticut. As of last week, there are 349. One got killed by a car a block away from my house. The most likely route to that place would have been through my 11 acres. My neighbors have seen bears on my property. Now I have to be afraid to go in my own back yard. Yikes! I used to have two dogs, but they're gone now.

My black bear-free paddling choices are shrinking.

No one is generalizing, but the bear attack in Michigan renders dubious the alleged aggressiveness distinction between eastern and western black bears. As far as I can tell, there is one species of black bear in the USA, but several sub-species. It would make sense to me that bears develop different behaviors in different parts of the country because of differing environmental conditions -- including the density of food sources and the density of human populations.

Actually, I've only seen a bear once or twice while canoeing in my whole life. Then again, I don't consider myself a deep wilderness tripper, so maybe that's part of the reason. I'll just continue to ignore them.

I really have to practice with my shotgun, however, as OM preaches, even if it's just for fun. My friend in Alaska has a veritable armory of all sorts of guns and makes his own ammunition. I enjoyed shooting his many guns at the range, but couldn't hit any of the Democrats he kept suggesting as targets. Actually, even though he is a lifetime hunter and shootist, I was at least as accurate as he was with shotgun and rifle at the target range. That didn't surprise me. I was better than he with Red Rider water rifles when we were eight years old shooting up New York City.
 
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