Bear in CNY

We wandered into something I have some experience with. I spent two summers taking people on horseback rides in Alaska in the 90s. I wouldn't present myself as a bear expert but I educated myself and talked to the park service bear guys as well as a bunch of hunting guides and locals. Of course I spent plenty of time contemplating what to do if I encountered a bear on the job and had to answer questions from customers about it almost every day. All the advice about looking big, making noise etc is good but you don't want to do anything that a bear might find threatening. The way you tell if it's a predatory attack unfortunately is that when you play dead, it starts to feed on you. I remember the park service guidelines on what to do if a bear started feeding on you was to "fight back vigorously". That phrase always cracked me up. A lot of the park service people did a lot of preaching about how bad bear-human interactions were always the human's fault. The point the Alaskan locals made, and I tend to agree, is that any animal as intelligent as a bear has a personality, just like a person. You never know if the bear in front of you is smart enough to act in its own best interest or if you bumped into the neighborhood dickhead. The truest thing you can say about bears is that they're unpredictable. That being said, I never saw the front end of a bear. The ones I saw always ran away.

Brownski wrote

... All the advice about looking big, making noise etc is good but you don't want to do anything that a bear might find threatening. The way you tell if it's a predatory attack unfortunately is that when you play dead, it starts to feed on you. I remember the park service guidelines on what to do if a bear started feeding on you was to "fight back vigorously". That phrase always cracked me up. A lot of the park service people did a lot of preaching about how bad bear-human interactions were always the human's fault. The point the Alaskan locals made, and I tend to agree, is that any animal as intelligent as a bear has a personality, just like a person. You never know if the bear in front of you is smart enough to act in its own best interest or if you bumped into the neighborhood dickhead. The truest thing you can say about bears is that they're unpredictable. That being said, I never saw the front end of a bear. The ones I saw always ran away.

Sorry to keep plugging it, but Brownski, you should really read Herrero's book. Black bears and brown bears (like you saw in Alaska) are quite different. Play dead, the brown will eat you, but the black will ignore you. Fighting back seems to work with both.

I believe you. It looks like a good book. There are lots of black bears up there too though. But back then, the conventional wisdom was the opposite of what you said; people thought that Grizzlies and Browns were more likely to give you a good shake and leave you alone once they decided you weren't a threat but that a black bear, even though they were less likely to attack in the first place, was more likely to make you lunch once they got you down. Since then, there have been some high profile cases of browns eating people and the conventional wisdom has evolved. Bottom line is, even if you follow all the "rules", you never know what a bear is going to do, brown or black, any more then you can predict what a person will do.

I should reiterate I'm not claiming to be an expert, just sharing my experience from a million years ago

Brownski wrote

... Bottom line is, even if you follow all the "rules", you never know what a bear is going to do, brown or black, any more then you can predict what a person will do.

Very true. You would not want to meet a bear that had gotten up on the wrong side of the den, or was simply an asshole by nature.

Another one headed into town today

Did you take that pic? Looks like a decent sized bear

Did you take that pic? Looks like a decent sized bear

No i didn't take it. Oddly enough I'm having some work done at my house, one of the guys was running into town and he took it -- ran right in front of him.

Crazy thing is FB is blowing up. Schools canceling all outdoor activities, etc etc.....that seems a bit over the top to me.

On our local police dept put up a post stating another bear cub has been spotted --- that certainly doesn't look like a cub to me.

Probably an over reaction but that's the world we live in. Definitely not a cub in that picture.

So campy - you da big hunta & suds drinka, can you tell me the difference between Beer Nuts and Deer Nuts?








Beer nuts are usually about $2 where as Deer nuts are under a buck - badumba.

PeeTex wrote

So campy - you da big hunta & suds drinka, can you tell me the difference between Beer Nuts and Deer Nuts?








Beer nuts are usually about $2 where as Deer nuts are under a buck - badumba.

 Years ago my buddy and I had a running joke at the beginning of each deer season --- the first guy to shoot a buck would take out his "twig and berries" and put it in the other guys mailbox.

It's that time of year I guess. Another sighting in Orangetown; the school district actually was alarmed enough to send around an email with this link
http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/livingwithbears.pdf

campgottagopee wrote

 Years ago my buddy and I had a running joke at the beginning of each deer season --- the first guy to shoot a buck would take out his "twig and berries" and put it in the other guys mailbox.

Maybe a new delicacy - like Rocky Mtn Oysters. Nothing should be wasted...

PeeTex wrote

campgottagopee wrote

 Years ago my buddy and I had a running joke at the beginning of each deer season --- the first guy to shoot a buck would take out his "twig and berries" and put it in the other guys mailbox.

Maybe a new delicacy - like Rocky Mtn Oysters. Nothing should be wasted...

HA! I can't really stomach the idea but it's probably not that bad. We white Americans are spoiled, in third world countries they eat everything. I used to work in the asian food restaurant and we served a whole deep fried tilapia. I'll never forget seeing these two fresh to America asian girls get so excited to eat the eye balls off of those things.

Ever have cow tongue or langue? I only had it once but I didn't know what it was, the mexican guys in the kitchen where having fun with me and you know what? It was amazing! Once I found out what it was though I didn't want it any more, I guess I'm way to American.

PeeTex wrote

campgottagopee wrote

 Years ago my buddy and I had a running joke at the beginning of each deer season --- the first guy to shoot a buck would take out his "twig and berries" and put it in the other guys mailbox.

Maybe a new delicacy - like Rocky Mtn Oysters. Nothing should be wasted...

PM me your address and I'll ship you out some in just a few short months. Let me know how you like them