Questions tagged [bears]
Questions about bears
98
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How can I dissuade bears from visiting my garden at night?
I live in the country with a large yard that goes into the woods a decent way away from my house. I have two indoor-outdoor cats, and also regularly set up bird feeders. Recently, I've been having a ...
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3
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281
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Desolation Wilderness - Store backpack in tent overnight?
We are going backpacking in Desolation Wilderness for the first time. It's black bear country. We will be using bear canisters to store all food and other scented items away from our tent, and make ...
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Claw marks: Bear or cougar?
A friend of mine took the following picture of the tree with claw marks on it, in the pacific northwest Washington while on a hike. Both cougars and black bears are known to be in the area. Is this ...
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Why do predators seem as abundant as prey in trail camera footage?
From basic thermodynamic principles, I would normally expect prey species to be much more abundant than predators. Applying that to North American species like deer, wolves and bears, I would expect ...
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Overnight cooking in active bear area
I have sometimes heard people suggest cooking long meals overnight while camping. For example, the book "Gastronomie en plein air" written by Odile Dumais, talks about cooking pea soup or ...
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Why be passive while attacked by a brown bear?
Recently I walked through Dolomites in Italy, and there was a warning sign that this is bear-encounter area. There were tips on what to do in general. But one of tips was "if bear approaches you ...
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Do predators understand human footprints?
I am guessing that because bears have extremely sensitive smell, even if a bear understood footprints, they would not find this nearly as reliable as following their scent. But could it actually be ...
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Are predators attracted by fire?
While I know that bears and wolves can be scared off by, say, a burning stick, wouldn't they also know that a fire indicates there are humans who either have food or might be eaten themselves?
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How high need a concrete wall to be so bears can't climb it
This question is a bit similar with how high does a fence need to be to prevent European brown bear to climb it? question but not exactly (that one specifies a fence, and needs to provide vision and ...
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Are bears attracted to factory sealed food?
I was recently backpacking in a relatively remote area in Washington where black bears are known to be present. For this trip we've only packed single use dry food bags in their original packaging and ...
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Is a bear canister needed for day hikes?
Is a bear canister or other anti-animal food protection method needed for (long) day hikes in bear country?
For example, is it unsafe to go on a 20-mile hike/trail run in Yosemite with a sandwich in ...
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If you were confronted a by a bear and had no defense would offering it food perhaps work? [duplicate]
It seems like this gesture is well understood by a dog or cat and perhaps the combination of distracting the bear plus the indication that you mean no harm would work? Maybe a bear would even reason ...
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How frequent are encounters with bears/mountain lions/etc?
I'm wondering how common it is to see or encounter large carnivores like bears and mountain lions in the lower 48 when hiking in the United States (okay, bears are tehnically omnivores, but you get ...
- 616
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Do Glacier National Park (USA) backcountry camps have bear poles / bear canisters?
In Glacier National Park (USA), there are 63 backcountry campgrounds. I looked at the backcountry campground website including the map and campsite information. Are there bear poles/boxes at ...
- 27k
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Black Bear Deterrents
Does anyone know of passive, enduring ways to deter Black Bears from entering an area?
Hopefully an ecologically friendly way. The area is a homestead in forest with livestock and an extensive garden ...
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How serious is bear safety in the sub-polar Ural / Komi Republic / Yugyd Va?
In Norway, Sweden, and Finland, there are resident bears, but they rarely go near people, nobody practices the kind of bear safety that is necessary in parts of North America, and this does not lead ...
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What to do if woke up in a tent hearing a bear/boar or something else close by?
What should I do if I am in a tent, have been sleeping, and was woken up by the sounds of some large animal quite close to the tent? Just hearing some branches broken by presumably something large.
...
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Did a bear knock all my bird feeders down?
We live in a suburban town in Massachusetts, Northeast United States.
We keep a lot of bird feeders stocked all year with things birds and animals like, excluding meat and fruit.
Yesterday, ...
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What species of bear are most and least dangerous to humans?
Excluding hybrids it seems like there are eight species of bears.
Which are most and least likely to injure or kill a human?
Related Do black, brown/grizzly or polar bears ever prey on humans?
...
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How to deal with changing clothing which was used while cooking as not to attract a bears?
It is said you not only need to keep food at least 30-100 meters away from the tent, which is easy do to, but you also can't sleep in the same clothing which was worn while eating, which can be very ...
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how high does a fence need to be to prevent European brown bear to climb it?
An entrepreneur is planning a campsite-hotel in Romania, with a full outdoor gourmet restaurant attached, with an outdoor kitchen. There will be no cabins or other living structures, only tents and ...
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Artificial reintroduction of wild animals: how frequently does it happen, and what is the purpose?
One of the most debated issues concerning wilderness, in Italy, is the reintroduction (or bizarrely large increase in the population) of animals almost extinguished till recently.
While in most ...
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Is there any evidence that black bears (or other large predators) are indifferent to, or acutally repulsed by, the scent of humans?
I am hoping for more than anecdotal evidence about the negative effects on black bears of the human scent -- ranging from meh to Yecch.
This question is prompted by two anecdotes I have to offer: (...
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Is it feasible that a black bear could kill a man with a single swat?
A recent post said:
a black bear can kill a man (or a dog) with a single swat of its paw.
I suppose anything is possible. But is it realistic? Has it ever happened?
Googling 'man killed by ...
- 30.2k
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What animal would chew up trees in West Georgia?
I live in the West Georgia area. We now have several trees chewed up beginning 5 feet off the ground and all the way around the tree, some to the very top. I found a birch that had a 4 foot section ...
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Do black, brown/grizzly or polar bears ever prey on humans?
Do bears, as opposed to defending cubs, being startled by humans, or trying to get into food, ever decide to prey on humans?
As in stalk, kill and then eat them?
- 69.1k
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Under what conditions can a guide be highly confident of protecting clients against brown bears without using firearms?
A friend travelled to Alaska last summer, and took several guided trips in areas with large brown bear populations. In each case, according to his report, the guides were armed only with bear spray. ...
- 22.8k
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What happens to the bear after being pepper sprayed?
If a bear kills a human, it is usually euthanized as in the case of a grizzly bear that partially ate a man in Yellowstone
It also seems likely to end sadly for the bears. Park officials have ...
- 69.1k
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Is it likely that decimation of its suburban forest habitat would cause a black bear to wander into a busy city if it wouldn't otherwise go there?
I live in the suburban town of Holden, in Central Massachusetts. Many hundreds of acres of mature woodland areas are being torn down nearby to create new roads and housing developments, and it's ...
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Should I be scared if a black bear is outside of my tent at night? [duplicate]
I know that they say to make as much noise as possible to try and show your dominance, but what happens if I am sleeping? If I wake up with a bear right outside my tent while i'm sleeping, and I have ...
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What precautions should I take when cooking smelly food in an area with bears?
I'm planning an overnight hiking trip and want to try cooking fish. We will be camping at an established backcountry site on the trail, which has a spot for a tent near a fire ring.
However, this is ...
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How do you get bear spray off skin and or gear?
Let's say that you are out backpacking and a bear spray canister accidentally goes off and gets on your skin or in your eyes or onto your clothing?
It can't be a pleasant experience as it is meant to ...
- 69.1k
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How effective or ineffective are tactical flashlights on bears? [duplicate]
I've seen ads touting tactical flashlights, and at least one such flashlight was claimed to be capable of "blind[ing] a bear".
I wanted a reality check, and not specifically whether a sufficiently ...
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At what age do black bear cubs have a good chance of surviving on their own?
A woman in a semi-rural Maryland neighborhood was injured by a black bear sow a day or two ago. See The Washington Post. She heard a dog barking, went out with her dog on a leash to investigate and ...
- 22.8k
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How can I tell which way is "down wind"
I'll be backpacking in areas where a bear canister is required by regulation. All of the tip's I've read say to store it XYZ number of feet "downwind from your camp", presumably so the scent of the ...
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How would I make a bear-proof pannier?
I'm impressed with the idea of the Ursack, but would like to use the same material to construct a pannier. Does anyone have any good considerations about the weaknesses I might encounter in a design ...
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How to keep a llama from being eaten by a bear?
I am pretty sure that from a bear's point of view a llama counts as food, but as its not possible to put a llama into a bear can or suspend it from a tree branch, how would I keep it from being eaten ...
- 69.1k
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What is the minimum caliber of handgun that would stop a grizzly bear? [closed]
I am an animal lover and would only shoot at a bear as an absolute last resort
Assume I have done everything possible to avoid contact with a bear, and after encountering one have followed the best ...
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What might being certified as a polar bear guard involve?
I recently talked with a young geologist, some of whose field work is in the Arctic. We mostly talked about the science, but the geologist mentioned being certified (not sure of this word) to act as a ...
- 22.8k
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Hunting bears with a knife?
Michael Strogoff by Jules Verne (1876) describes how Siberian hunters used to hunt bears with nothing but a knife. This was ideally done with a single lethal blow, to damage the fur as little as ...
user9296
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How to retrieve a bear bag when hung with Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) method
This site has a good explanation for how to hang a bag PCT style. This may seem obvious but, once the bag is suspended with this method, how do you get it down?
Short description of the PCT method
...
- 32.1k
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How can the attitude that one is a guest in black bear country prevent hassles with bears?
A traveller to a country with different customs is well advised to read up on the customs of the people of that country, and to learn how the residents expect polite people to behave. Everywhere, ...
- 22.8k
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Can Grizzlies climb trees?
I continue year of the bear with more trees.
Can grizzly bears climb trees?
- 32.1k
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How to kill a bear with a bow?
I'd like to know which kind of arrow would slow down or kill a bear, which vital spots should I aim at, which kind of bow should do the job, more specifically, against black and grizzly bears?
"What ...
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Will Black Bears actually follow you up a tree
I always see it pointed out, when discussing how to handle/avoid bear encounters, that black bears can climb trees. Granted, but does that matter? Has there ever been a case of a black bear pursuing ...
- 32.1k
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What should I do when in an unintentional contact with a bear? [duplicate]
Let's say I'm camping and I slept close to a river (50ft) and when I woke up a bear was searching through my stuff, what should I do to avoid him? What to do if it notices me? And last but not least, ...
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How effective is wasp spray on bears?
I've been hearing that a lot of people are recommending wasp spray as a bear repellant. Proponents argue it has a longer range, and is more accurate to aim.
How effective is wasp spray as a bear ...
- 53.3k
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Proper food storage against black bears on a LONG (e.g., 14 days) trip, partly in black bear country? (enough bear canisters not practical)
This question is prompted by the replies to Questions about specifics of black bear encounter with mother and yearling cub. That question was about an encounter over 30 years ago, before the era of ...
- 22.8k
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Questions about specifics of black bear encounter with mother and yearling cub
I hope the bear experts on the site can shed light on several aspects of a black bear encounter my husband and I had some years ago in the Sierra.
It was mid-May, about 9500 feet, well above timber ...
- 22.8k
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Encountering a bear in water?
I found myself in a situation the other day that I've never been in before. I was paddling along in my canoe with my wife and kids, when suddenly a young black bear came scrambling down the slope, ...
- 53.3k