black bear now in area

[meopilite]

It seems black bear are making home to southern minnesota. Many bear sightings have been reported over the past couple months. Some of these bear have been looking for food right in towns. Since sightings have been reported where I canoe, I'm a little concerned. Since these bear are new to the area, will they be more aggressive than normal? Do I need to pack food in special containers when canoeing?

I suppose I should see if WalMart has bear spray.......

 

[yellowcanoe]

Bear spray works IF.. The bear is downwind of you. Do NOT use it pointed upwind.. And it only works at close range. Bangers are effective and require practice so that it lands between you and bear and not in back of bear which will make bear flee to you.

Yes you have to take care in packing food. But bears are not your main issue. Rodents are. Pack in a soft pack and mr mouse will find it. I use a blue barrel with a ring and latch and lock and that has deterred rodents. I don't think a bear has tried ever to get into it ( it could if it were really determined).

You can use bear canisters but they are small and tend not to pack much food unless you are practiced and creative and never bring what you won't eat. Some here use them Others use Ursacks for peace of mind. I am not that familiar with them but I think there is something you can put in them so Bruin doesn't mash everything to crumbs.
We have sightings at home . Canoeing to me is not much different. We clean the grill outdoors after use.

Bear dangers are overmagnified. Yes they are there. Do not pick a dirty campsite with fish guts. And keep a clean site.

I often see bear on portages. Not in camp. Mostly I see the back end. I feel privileged when I see mama and cubs. I saw mama with three cubs in Algonquin once.

 

[coldfeet]

I'm going to the BWCA for my first time in August, as of now, solo.

Well silly me keeps reading cool and interesting posts on that website and now there are many bear reports out there on being a bit aggressive and not scared.. Hope no one gets hurt and some of those bears get caught and released somewhere far away so they can survive off of nature. But I'm sure there is no such place anymore.

I have an ursack for my food but now thinking about renting a bear barrel. If I have to use bear spray oh boy, I'd rather get back into the boat and wait, until when, I have no idea.

 

[Boreal Birch]

More humans are killed and/or maimed by other humans each year than by bears. No one thinks twice about driving in cars, but bears scare them half to death. Every one loves to tell their scary bear stories, most are like big fish stories, stretched to the maximum of believable. My first fifteen years in Alaska I walked hundreds of miles doing spawning salmon stream surveys, I also floated many streams looking for tagged salmon. I saw lots of bears Grizzly and Black, they all ran away when they saw or scented me. I am much more afraid of other cars coming down the highway at sixty + miles an hour with only a few feet of white dotted line separating us from a head on collision, but I do it most every day, without a fearful thought. I will not get into the the other human caused by human deaths using guns, knives, baseball bats, hatchets and axes.

 

[GearFreak]

I hike more than I canoe - and many use the Ursack. The only problem with the Ursack is that if they get to chewing on it they may get a food reward and hang around. This happened on the SHT on memorial day weekend to one guy who posts on facebook and You tube. Freaked him out good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vIeh6xi0I4

I saw a bear walk past our campsite couple weeks ago in Northern Minnesota but he kept on walking. We bear bag our food when hiking - bit lazier when canoeing - follow the stash away from camp off trails that most do mainly as it is too heavy to bearbag.

I carry Bear Spray - never used it. But when they expire I practice. a buddy tells me it stings (he got some on his hand and wiped his face)
I have bangers and they can be fun! it does take practice and again its fun to shoot off the old ones.

Kinda like life insurance - have it and don't plan on using it.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Love these bear threads
in the BWCA there is natural food. In New Jersey humans have destroyed a lot of natural food
Guess where the bigger problem is?

 

[Steve in Idaho]

We have a lot of black bears in Idaho mountains. In all my years, I have never hear of a black bear invading a wilderness camp (that I can remember ). There have been various reports of black bears rummaging coolers and breaking into RV's in developed campgrounds and popular dispersed camping areas. Bears remember where they've found food before, and make the rounds....

We have had years when the berry crops failed or got burned, and bears came into the towns to raid the garbage and outdoor pet food. Seems like black bears tend to be more destructive than threatening when food is in short supply. I remember a fire lookout above Yosemite that was repeatedly broken into by black bears. They just tore the storm covers right off the door and windows. Don't get between momma and cubs tough.

My son carries bear spray often, since he spends so much time around the rivers fringing the Greater Yellowstone area.......not so much for bears though - for moose.

 

[lowangle al]

I would at least carry bear spray. The odds of ever having to use it are very slim, but every time you have an encounter you will be happy you have it.

 

[BWCA66]

Been to the BWCA 100+ times, never hang my food and only had 1 bear encounter dealing with food. Have seen 5 bears in the last 50 years. The key is keeping a clean camp, rodents are a much worse problem.

 

[lowangle al]

Keeping a clean camp, making noise on the trail, and doing everything right are important but not 100% reliable. I think having an encounter is more a matter of bad luck in crossing paths with a bear. I've had four close encounters, 2 black and 2 brown bears. My first encounter was with a griz and I had no spray or gun, the others I had both and it feels a lot better to have a plan of action as opposed to feeling helpless. One time as we were approaching a portage, there was a griz walking the shoreline. When he caught wind of us he turned and ran right up the portage trail we needed to take. We made a lot of noise and waited about ten minutes before heading up the trail. I'm not sure I would have headed up that trail if I didn't have protection. Another time I came across a small black bear on a portage. It did not run when I yelled at it, it turned to face me and just looked, it was less than 50 feet away. It was the only time that I thought I might have to defend myself and I had to decide if I should spray it or shoot it. It soon left but I was glad I had options.

Bears aren't the only thing you might need to defend yourself from. Unbelievably I was charged three times by my neighbors German sheperd in Pa.. Once the owner called him off, once he bit me before the owner got there and once I had a showdown with him with a knife for protection until the owner caught up to us. I really wish I had a gun and killed the dog to eliminate the possibility of it biting one of my grandkids but bear spray would have worked too.

In todays world where there are plenty of documented cases of predatory black bear attacks it would be foolish to go out without some kind of protection, even if the likely of ever using it is very slim.

 

[coldfeet]

Bears removed...don't have the link but a poster on WCHA mentioned seeing 2 rangers that had a lot of fire power on them. Asked if they ever used it and one of the rangers responded that the problem bear was no longer. i'm guessing it was destroyed, sad. I wonder if they are allowed to relocate a bear like that?

 

[yellowcanoe]

Bears removed...don't have the link but a poster on WCHA mentioned seeing 2 rangers that had a lot of fire power on them. Asked if they ever used it and one of the rangers responded that the problem bear was no longer. i'm guessing it was destroyed, sad. I wonder if they are allowed to relocate a bear like that?

a little context please. I don't find anything on the WCHA forum nor on the ADK forum

 

[coldfeet]

oops, to many letters floating around in my head, my apology. It was on the BWCA website in one of the forum sections.

 

[coldfeet]

http://bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=forum.thread&threadId=1094575&forumID=16&confID=1

lets see if that worked

 

[Paddlinhal]

Saw 7 black bears in New Brunswick last week. Most were cuddly and little but that giant one that crossed the river in front of me was the biggest I ever saw... I don't worry about them unless I'm in an area that associates campers with food. But of course there aren't any grizzleys around here.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

....And another black bear sighting while camping and fishing a week ago. This one, a curious yearling. Well - curious, until it realized we were watching it. Then it bounded down the hill and into the undergrowth.

Speaking of fishing, I am reminded of a story my elderly (now deceased) neighbor told me years ago. Having packed into a high mountain lake with a friend, they had collected a pretty full stringer of trout, which they left tied to a tree root in the water while angling for more. My neighbor came back to the stringer with another fish, only to see a blackie sitting upright there with each end of the stringer in its claws and eating its way from one end to the other. Neighbor chose not to argue ownership with the bear. I often wonder if that bear was just lucky - or if it had developed a system.

 

[Guest]

I read in the local community paper that two black bear had been hit in June trying to cross I-83 a few miles from my home. We have yet to see a bear in the yard, or on the deck at the seed feeders, but it is only a matter of time.

Curiously this spring saw more varied wildlife in the yard than usual, not just deer eating the tops off all the Hosta and the fox who likes to walk nonchalantly up the driveway, but lately wild turkey. I take that as a sign of some healthy woods around us.

Speaking of fishing, I am reminded of a story

Ah, fish stories.

Two friends who fancied themselves fishermen, despite no trip companion ever once seeing them catch a single fish, hiked off to try their luck at the pool below a small drop. They were gone for hours, and when they returned one was soaking wet and they told the following tale.

They had caught fish. Lots of fish. An entire stringer full. Proof of their angling prowess at last.

As they were getting ready to head proudly back to camp Friend A unhooked the stringer from the bank, whereupon a large snapping turtle pulled the entire thing from his hand.

Whereupon Friend B helpfully yelled Get the stringer, get the stringer, and Friend A valiantly but fruitlessly dove into the pool to try to wrest their prize away.

Despite selling this tale quite convincingly, and the sodden saturation of Friend A, doubts remained and were repeatedly expressed. Uh huh, sure. So you fell in the water and then what happened?

 

[clemency]

I read in the local community paper that two black bear had been hit in June trying to cross I-83 a few miles from my home. We have yet to see a bear in the yard, or on the deck at the seed feeders, but it is only a matter of time

To discourage the resident bear family we have to take feeders down April 1. She was caught and transported north last week though, and the four cubs have been moved as well. Which means I won't see them anymore walking the dog around the block. That's kind of a bummer but also a good thing.

http://www.vnews.com/Hanover-Bears-Captured-Transported-Out-of-Town-18527420

not just deer eating the tops off all the Hosta and the fox who likes to walk nonchalantly up the driveway, but lately wild turkey. I take that as a sign of some healthy woods around us.

Likewise on the deer and fox, but no turkeys. I suppose they're coming though.