Bear deterrents

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Ya I could do that. But again, Don't worry about the bears, and don't worry about the people either. Canada is one place you'll never ever get mugged. We're all just "nice". Canada is way too sanitized.

I think if I was exploring canada, what I'd do is fly into the area that I was gonna go to. Canada is as big as Europe so you kinda wanna choose someplace. Don't go to: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Or manitoba. There's nothing there but farm feilds.

I'd go to: BC if you like hiking and wilderness. Or to Ontario if you just want to see a range of things. Or maybe atlantic canada, but I haven't been there so I don't really know what's there, other than I heard it's nice.

But BC is a nice place. Endless forests and mountains. And Vancouver island is very nice too. Sad to say though, again, bears, wolves etc. You won't see. You might see Elk, Deer, Caraboo, Moose, Mountain goats or Big Horn sheep. Everything else is hard to find.

Brown and black bears are like your biggest German Shepherd dogs, only not tame.

Given an even deal, they'll move back in the weeds and watch you go by, unless they're either very hungry or there's kids involved. You can tame black bears if you get them early. They are very loyal pets, if you don't mind having a pet that might eat your neighbor. Drug dealers in Canada like taming black and brown bears and having them guard weed patches.

Grizzlies are something else entirely.

Grizzlies *might* be as smart as you are, in a different way. Expect that unless you are a mad man at tracking and evasion, every grizz you run across is tailing you trying to size you up. They will not only hide to let you by, but then they'll pursue you to see what you're up to. You will not see them first, unless they just don't care. That's not a good thing either.

a reply to: bigpatato
Thanks again for the reply, when I get a chance I'll send you a message as to what our plan might be. The trip we are planning might not happen until 2017 or even 2018. Banff was going to be our base camp so to speak, fly into Calgary. Me and my friend are happy to do low land forest walks and maybe some large hills or small mountain hiking. We also wanted to look up hiring a kayak for a few days but as of yet we are just brain storming and coming up with a plan before we actually make any permanent decisions. Thanks again for the reply I'll try and message you over the weekend or next week as I'm off work for a week next week so will have more time to chat with my friend and come up with ideas

a reply to: Bedlam
I love German Shepards!! Although trying to tame a black bear I think I'll pass on that one and o definitely will be leaving any weed crops alone lol
We are trying to avoid spring time so we don't stumble upon any female bears with Cubs and also trying to avoid feeding time season for the Bears.

Being English me and my friend, this trip is all new to us hence the reason why I'm trying to research well in advance.

Thanks for the reply Bedlam

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Watch out for chiggers, mosquitoes,snakes and sex starved sheep herders in Calvary.

Also remember grizzly scat has little bells in and smells of pepper.

a reply to: Bedlam
Are there any sex starved female sheep herders ?

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Hopefully this is not too late to get your attention. It's all of one minute.

For those who can't watch: It's a quick video of a guy who got mauled by a bear ... twice ... before getting into his vehicle and driving himself to the hospital where he was stitched up for 8 hours.

It's a little bit gory.



If you're planning on going into bear country unarmed ... you are planning something very foolish.

Make a walking stick/spear with bells on it. Buy a large knife, multi use. and mace.

In my experiences with Northern Ontario, blackflies are really the joy killers not something like black bears. bring bug repellent.

I was a volunteer firefighter in a small mining town and the fire department took care of bear problems in town.

12 gauge with flash bangs.
12 gauge reloaded with duck seal (oil based clay.)
bear spray.
Fire truck with a 2 inch hose charged to 200 to 250 psi with a tight stream of high pressure water
Bears don't Like getting washed down the road rolling all the way out of town.
The state game warden watched us one day run out a bear and liked the way we did it and trained a couple of the other towns in his patrol area on how to do it
It does not really hurt the bears but they learn quick not to come back.

a reply to: Snarl
lol I watched this it popped up on my phone yesterday. That would be like watching shark attack videos before going surfing ha. Least he survived!!

The only problem is not being from Canada and being a tourist I can not get my hands on any firearms if that's what you meant by being unarmed

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Just be careful, brother.

People probably get hit by lightening more often. Of course, you won't see me golfing when the sky's sparking either. LOL

a reply to: Snarl
And you won't see me fishing in a lightning storm. I'm a safe person me and my friend have cancelled more trips due to safety issues (mainly the weather that's stopped us doing things) than we have actually trekked. We've always said especially mountain climbs, that the mountain or wherever you are going is always going to be there we can always come back if it rather than risk our lives

I've just never understood what the deal is with white people and wild animals.
I remember as small boy watching a black bear chase a white man, I was setting at the top of a large oak tree.
I had climbed when I heard the first growl at 75 yards away or so.
I yelled for him to climb, but panic mode had set in and all he could do was run.
Luckily the bear wasn't much more than a yearling and gave up after a while.

Even in Africa, more white people are killed by wild animals than any other race.
Considering the population difference, that is remarkable.

I've often wondered if white people have special gene that makes them want to run up and hug and love on dangerous wild creatures. Or is it the damned cellphone camera thingy. " Look mom, in this pic I'm being ate by a lion, isn't that ever so cool."

I'll save the white people being ate by sharks for another post.

Buck

a reply to: flatbush71im not going to Canada for the wild animals I'm going to Canada to see Canada. I wouldn't want to go to Africa to kill animals nor do I want to do that in Canada in fact it's one thing I want to avoid.

Not really getting what your reply is about

Obligatory humor post:

Grizzly Bear Notice:

In light of the rising frequency of human/grizzly bear
conflicts, the Montana Department of Fish and Game
is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra
precautions and keep alert for bears while in the field.
We advise that outdoorsmen wear noisy little bells on
their clothing so as not to startle the bears that aren't
expecting them. We also advise outdoorsmen to carry
pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a
bear.

It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear
activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference
between black bear and grizzly bear poop. Black bear poop
is smaller and contains a lot of berry seeds and squirrel fur.
Grizzly bear poop has little bells in it and smells like pepper
spray.

Grizzlies are something else entirely.

This is quite true.

Grizzlies are bigger, and have a distinctive hump on the shoulder. Their nose also looks more smashed in than a common black bear....and they behave differently.

Bear spray is very important to have.

Normal bears, will likely ignore you, but you can usually make them go away (if too close), by waving your arms around, making a lot of noise.

A Grizzly though, you're best bet is to retreat slowly (keeping an eye on it), and just getting out of its territory.

If a normal bear attacks you, fighting it off can usually scare it off. If a Grizzly attacks you though (in the daytime), the playing dead idea will generally lead to less injuries (curl up in a fetal position). But it's a last resort to getting out (just don't think you will outrun the bear, you can only outmaneuver it). I typically looked for steep little cliffs or slopes, where they wouldn't follow.

I grew up on Kodiak island for a few years as a kid. Saw my share of them. (Kodiaks are basically like Grizzlies in temperament).