33
votes
Accepted
Will Black Bears actually follow you up a tree
The question asks for an instance where a bear climbing a tree attacks a human. I found a news article of a hunter being attacked by a black bear in a tree.
I don't think this is a completely ...
- 882
24
votes
Accepted
Why do predators seem as abundant as prey in trail camera footage?
If the footage has been put on YouTube, it's probably been edited. Reasonable editing would be to show the range of species and/or behaviour in the area - after all, it's entertainment or at most ...
- 26.1k
21
votes
Accepted
How can I tell which way is "down wind"
Use your ears. OK, Let me explain that.
But first things first. The direction of the wind is what we call “downwind”. If I throw a handful of white flour into the wind, the direction that flour ...
- 1,802
18
votes
Accepted
Can Grizzlies climb trees?
Why yes they can climb trees, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
A common misconception is that grizzly bears, unlike black bears, cannot climb trees. While its long claws make climbing ...
- 9,678
17
votes
Will Black Bears actually follow you up a tree
I know that if you cross the Bering Strait to Northern Asia (Siberia, etc.) you'll find that bears hibernate in huge nests in the tops of trees. So climbing trees is not a problem for bears. They must ...
- 179
15
votes
Accepted
How effective is wasp spray on bears?
The suggestion to use wasp spray for defense seems to be common enough that there’s a Snopes page on the topic. This particular urban legend is more often brought up in the context of defense against ...
- 8,428
15
votes
Accepted
How to retrieve a bear bag when hung with Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) method
It seems like you simply need to reverse the procedure you give. Since you initially had to pull the rope up far enough to tie the stick in to it, you can still pull it back up to the same point in ...
- 5,168
13
votes
Will Black Bears actually follow you up a tree
They are faster and can climb better than you, so if they want you they can get you. They rarely see you as real prey so they might not climb a tree to get at you, still... its a risk
In this video ...
- 3,280
13
votes
Accepted
how high does a fence need to be to prevent European brown bear to climb it?
While caging animals is slightly different than keeping animals out, it probably provides the best evidence for specifications. Animal enclosures need to be secure, because animals frequently attempt ...
- 10.7k
12
votes
Accepted
How to kill a bear with a bow?
To answer this I need to split up your question a little bit.
I'd like to know which kind of arrow would slow down or kill a bear
Every arrow with a broad-head (= hunting point) attached. It doesn't ...
- 23.5k
11
votes
Accepted
Will a tent provide some protection from bears?
Your tent may not provide any physical protection, but your sleeping bag will provide some. Sleeping bags cover the vast majority of your body, and the thick material of a sleeping bag will initially ...
- 226
11
votes
Accepted
Hunting bears with a knife?
Unless you sever the spinal column near the top of the body there is no body injury that can be done with a knife that is going to result in instant death/disablement of any animal.
Any injury that ...
- 30.3k
11
votes
Accepted
Are bears attracted to factory sealed food?
Worldly, sophisticated bears in well-travelled parts of Yosemite know what those freeze-dried food packets are. Your bears in a remote part of Washington state may be naive, however intelligent, and ...
- 23.4k
10
votes
Accepted
Why be passive while attacked by a brown bear?
Brown bears mostly just want to assert dominance. By being passive/playing dead it is more likely to "give up" and walk away than keep attacking. Per NPS...
Brown/Grizzly Bears: If you are ...
- 4,043
9
votes
Accepted
At what age do black bear cubs have a good chance of surviving on their own?
There is probably no perfect answer to your question as different studies will indicate some amount of variation. However it seems that black bear cubs which are usually born in January and generally ...
- 9,619
9
votes
Accepted
What precautions should I take when cooking smelly food in an area with bears?
You've got most of it down already. Cooking away from your sleeping area is always a good precaution, and never eat or bring food into your tent.
A PDF from CapitolRiders.org
points out some of the ...
- 1,349
8
votes
Proper food storage against black bears on a LONG (e.g., 14 days) trip, partly in black bear country? (enough bear canisters not practical)
Realistically, if you can manage to carry the food, then you can manage the canisters also. They have been proven to decrease bear encounters and are actually now required in parts of Sierra National ...
- 53.5k
8
votes
Questions about specifics of black bear encounter with mother and yearling cub
I'm from bear country. I've had multiple bear encounters this year and the bears have been really bad this season. We had 4 maulings inside a month this summer.
In answer to your questions:
A1: The ...
- 53.5k
8
votes
Why do predators seem as abundant as prey in trail camera footage?
I think there might be another reason beyond the accepted answer.
Predators have to roam a lot more throughout their territory in order to find food and if they fail an attack on a prey they have to ...
- 721
7
votes
How can the attitude that one is a guest in black bear country prevent hassles with bears?
Learn their behaviors: many encounters become accidents because
they escalate to that level in a way or the other. Learn that not
all the bears are the same, different kind will act differently. ...
- 3,280
7
votes
How to keep a llama from being eaten by a bear?
Why bring only one llama? If one is fun two are twice as nice!
In all seriousness llamas are herd animals so they would probably be better protected as a group since this is their standard ...
- 9,678
7
votes
How can I tell which way is "down wind"
Simply the easiest way is to light a match (or light a stick from your fire), and look at which way the small flame blows. Simpler still (but less.. uhh.. 'classy'?) take some leaves from the ground, ...
- 287
7
votes
How can I tell which way is "down wind"
Wet your finger in your mouth, then hold it straight up. It will feel noticeably cooler on the upwind side.
- 430
7
votes
How do you get bear spray off skin and or gear?
The key ingredients in bear sprays are capsaicins (reference), which are also the key ingredients of classic pepper spray. Cleaning bear spray off of you or your gear is similar to cleaning pepper ...
- 3,939
7
votes
What happens to the bear after being pepper sprayed?
The answer to this question depends a lot on the situation. If the bear runs away after being sprayed, then it gets away with a runny nose and burning eyes/lungs for a while and a reason not to ...
- 53.5k
7
votes
Accepted
Do black, brown/grizzly or polar bears ever prey on humans?
TLDR: While rare, it definitely happens.
In fact the majority of people killed by black bears in North America were killed by aggressive bears not by say surprised bears or mothers defending their ...
- 69.2k
7
votes
Accepted
What to do if woke up in a tent hearing a bear/boar or something else close by?
The majority of bear attacks are the result of surprise encounters, particularly involving a mother with cubs. In a surprise encounter, the bear is acting defensively, and wants to eliminate a ...
- 892
7
votes
Do Glacier National Park (USA) backcountry camps have bear poles / bear canisters?
I was there last summer. All the back country campgrounds that I stayed at had bear "poles". They were usually 2 poles in the ground about 10 feet apart, with another pole connecting the two across ...
- 171
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible