Cruising Northern BC,bears & guns

[Larry M]

I grew up in BC and had plenty of encounters with bears. It was never a big concern...

You Canadians were always good about coexisting with the wildlife. :lol:

 

[OldDan1943]

You Canadians were always good about coexisting with the wildlife. :lol:

But does he close the cover when he is finished?

 

[hollywood8118]

But does he close the cover when he is finished?

Probably peed in it too... or worse!
HOLLYWOOD

 

[MurrayM]

A great, short article regarding risk and bears: https://www.thealaskalife.com/outdoors/bear-attacks-statistic/

 

[MurrayM]

I've got two questions about the following video;

1) Why didn't he yield the trail to the mom & cubs and,

2) how big and how close was the bear behind her that she seemed so concerned about?

 

[MurrayM]

Video above taken here: https://www.nps.gov/katm/planyourvisit/plyovicamp.htm where bears are very used to humans being present. Outcome probably would have been different anywhere else!

Katmai bear encounter tips: https://www.nps.gov/katm/planyourvisit/bear-encounters-in-katmai.htm

 

[Mrwesson]

I carry a gun everyday but wouldn't bother with one for bear defense.

Shooting is hard and under pressure its even more difficult. A charging bear isn't going to stop when shot.

Bear mace, noise and situational awareness. Bear mace also makes an excellent home defense weapon for those who dislike firearms.

Post 4 is all you need to read.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Mrwesson,
Bear mace/spray I’ve heard could likely kill a person. Not hard to believe considering it’s formulated to immobilize a 1200lb bear almost entirely covered w thick hair.

 

[psneeld]

If anyone thinks one post or poster has all the answers, for all situations and for all people, no matter WHAT subject,....


well, I can't even imagine thinking that.

 

[ssobol]

I've got two questions about the following video;

1) Why didn't he yield the trail to the mom & cubs and,

2) how big and how close was the bear behind her that she seemed so concerned about?

So first the guy is getting freaked out by the bears coming down the path towards him and not going somewhere else, then later he is filming them from just as close (or closer), but that's ok.

 

[ssobol]

Mrwesson,
Bear mace/spray I’ve heard could likely kill a person. Not hard to believe considering it’s formulated to immobilize a 1200lb bear almost entirely covered w thick hair.

It probably won't kill you, but just make you wish you were dead.

 

[BruceK]

So first the guy is getting freaked out by the bears coming down the path towards him and not going somewhere else, then later he is filming them from just as close (or closer), but that's ok.

Maybe they were friends by then. Mum and the kids seem hurrying from what was behind them rather than chasing the film maker.
Spike Milligan had a song "I`m Walking Backwards for Christmas", but there were no bears involved.

 

[MurrayM]

Brooks Falls in Alaska is probably the best managed site where bears and people mix. I'd love to go there some day. The numbers of people allowed on site is managed by a lottery system and everybody goes through an orientation class. Cooking is done in specific locations and all food and smelly items are inside buildings.

People are about as relevant to the bears as seagulls, but these are also well fed bears socialized to accept very close proximity to each other. Hard to imagine 15 Rocky Mountain Grizzlies feeding in a meadow 1/2 the size of a soccer field.

This is how it usually plays out:

This idiot got charged for violating the parks rules:

I predict somebody here in Kitimat is going to be killed by a grizzly in the next couple of years. There's a big industrial development being built just in from the estuary sedge grass meadows, so a whole swath of mature forest where the bears used to go to relax has been clear cut.

One of the industries has also gifted to the District of Kitimat a parcel of land on Minette Bay for a boat launch and park. I and others have suggested the area get raised walkways with viewing platforms, but I think they're going with lower cost trails cut through the remaining forest behind the sedge grass meadows.

We've also been getting a fraction of our usual snowpack in the mountains resulting in low water in the creeks and rivers with low salmon numbers stressing the bears further. I think 6 grizzlies were shot here last year because they were forced into town to scavenge for food in garbage cans.

The above video proves that even in the best managed sites idiots can push into the bears personal space. Wish us luck.

 

[Rusty]

There were nine of us and a pile of camera equipment in the 19 foot inflatable. We were watching a mother and two cubs along the shore. The tide was coming in so we allowed the inflatable to nudge against a tree trunk that had fallen into the water. We had been watching and photographing the bears for a few minutes when the cubs decided we were interesting. They wandered over and climbed up on our log.

For the next thirty minutes, they played with each other, looked at us, and napped on the log. All within arms reach of all of us. We held our breath, moved slowly and quietly, and took many photographs. All while mom munched on sedge grass about 30 yards away. Eventually, the cubs got bored and swan over to mom. She led them up another tree and into the woods.

Later in the afternoon, we spotted a male and female on one of the alluvial fans and motored over near the shore. The bears had recently emerged from hibernation and the males were a bit “randy.” Seeing us near the shore, the male retreated toward the tree line. The female came over to us, laid down in the grass about 20 feet away and proceeded to roll around and nap. The male kept standing and looking at us from a distance. The female used us to keep the male away and seemed to enjoy being left alone for a little while.

Murray, go the Khutzeymateen. Near Prince Rupert. Less than 200 people are allowed to see the bears there each year and no one is allowed to go ashore. No civilization nearby. Bears everywhere. Photography opportunities are spectacular.

Ocean Light II Adventures: Our Trips: Grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

A lot of good info here about bears on the PNW.

I don't take a fire arm as I don't want to deal with the BS at the Canadian Boarder and I don't like taking the time having to go to a reporting station (I have a NEXUS).

Now for you all on the U.S. EAST Coast. Carry a shootgun/pistol or bear spray when going ashore as the local bears will try to rob you, kill you and their living environment is just nasty!!

 

[soin2la]

I don't want to deal with the BS at the Canadian Boarder

Very nice, thank you for letting us know it's working.

 

[MurrayM]

There were nine of us and a pile of camera equipment in the 19 foot inflatable. We were watching a mother and two cubs along the shore. The tide was coming in so we allowed the inflatable to nudge against a tree trunk that had fallen into the water. We had been watching and photographing the bears for a few minutes when the cubs decided we were interesting. They wandered over and climbed up on our log.

For the next thirty minutes, they played with each other, looked at us, and napped on the log. All within arms reach of all of us. We held our breath, moved slowly and quietly, and took many photographs. All while mom munched on sedge grass about 30 yards away. Eventually, the cubs got bored and swan over to mom. She led them up another tree and into the woods.

Later in the afternoon, we spotted a male and female on one of the alluvial fans and motored over near the shore. The bears had recently emerged from hibernation and the males were a bit “randy.” Seeing us near the shore, the male retreated toward the tree line. The female came over to us, laid down in the grass about 20 feet away and proceeded to roll around and nap. The male kept standing and looking at us from a distance. The female used us to keep the male away and seemed to enjoy being left alone for a little while.

Murray, go the Khutzeymateen. Near Prince Rupert. Less than 200 people are allowed to see the bears there each year and no one is allowed to go ashore. No civilization nearby. Bears everywhere. Photography opportunities are spectacular.

Ocean Light II Adventures: Our Trips: Grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen

Awesome experience! Don’t think I would have the nerves to stay that close to the cubs without an experienced bear guide being there though...

The bear biologist talk we went to said the Dala and Kildala Rivers have more bears than the Kutzemateen, and it’s just two hours by our boat from the marina. We went there a couple weeks ago but the grass hadn’t started sprouting yet. Will give it a go this weekend. Bad spot for anchoring though, and has been logged and there’s a transmission line going through, so not quite as idyllic as your spot.

 

[Rusty]

I would have the nerves to stay that close to the cubs without an experienced bear guide being there though...

We went with the Oceanlight folks. The guide had been doing this over 20 years there. And once we had drifted up to the log, and the cubs came to visit, we were pretty much committed to staying there until they left.

 

[MurrayM]

We went with the Oceanlight folks. The guide had been doing this over 20 years there. And once we had drifted up to the log, and the cubs came to visit, we were pretty much committed to staying there until they left.

Forgot to say...top notch photos

Was the outboard running for a quick getaway if need be?

 

[Rusty]

No. The outboard was off. The only sounds were the clicking of cameras and the pounding of my heart.

 

[GFC]

I grew up in BC and had plenty of encounters with bears. It was never a big concern.

Living in a high rise in downtown Vancouver doesn't count. Sorry!

 

[Gmarr]

So- what does this bear spray smell like or do? The OP still around? ;-)

 

[JDCAVE]

Cruising Northern BC,bears & guns

A former school mate from my elementary and secondary school days, was the former grizzly bear biologist for the province (BC). Tony recommended that anyone in bear country should carry bear spray. Anyone can use it and it doesn’t require accuracy to use. The scientific literature supports its use in over firearms.

Jim

 

[JDCAVE]

Further to this...
US Fish and Wildlife service fact sheet:
https://above.nasa.gov/safety/documents/Bear/bearspray_vs_bullets.pdf
And...
https://bearwise.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/efficacy-of-bear-spray-smith-et-al.-2010.pdf
And....
https://www.academia.edu/23585908/Efficacy_of_firearms_for_bear_deterrence_in_Alaska

Jim

 

[Stabi]

Further to this...
US Fish and Wildlife service fact sheet:
https://above.nasa.gov/safety/documents/Bear/bearspray_vs_bullets.pdf
And...
https://bearwise.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/efficacy-of-bear-spray-smith-et-al.-2010.pdf
And....
https://www.academia.edu/23585908/Efficacy_of_firearms_for_bear_deterrence_in_Alaska

Jim

There You Go, screwing up a good misconception with Facts!

 

[BruceK]

Living in a high rise in downtown Vancouver doesn't count...

Probably bears of a different kind roam there.

 

[MurrayM]

Further to this...
US Fish and Wildlife service fact sheet:
https://above.nasa.gov/safety/documents/Bear/bearspray_vs_bullets.pdf

Thanks for digging those up. This bit was interesting:

The question is not one of marksmanship or clear thinking in the face of a growling bear, for even a skilled marksman with steady nerves may have a slim chance of deterring a bear attack with a gun. Law enforcement agents for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have experience that supports this reality -- based on their investigations of human-bear encounters since 1992, persons encountering grizzlies and defending themselves with firearms suffer injury about 50% of the time. During the same period, persons defending themselves with pepper spray escaped injury most of the time, and those that were injured experienced shorter duration attacks and less severe injuries. Canadian bear biologist Dr. Stephen Herrero reached similar conclusions based on his own research -- a person’s chance of incurring serious injury from a charging grizzly doubles when bullets are fired versus when bear spray is used.

No need for this to go on as long as anchor thread now, right?

 

[HopCar]

Murray, this is a gun thread. They are as bad as an anchor thread. No matter what gun you have, it’s too small, the wrong kind and you don’t have enough ammunition.

 

[MurrayM]

Maybe, but I bet my pepper spray can is bigger than yours and can spray further

 

[psneeld]

My closing statement will be that while all the different discussions have merit, there is still one concern often left out.


Good self defense should be a plan to the ultimate conclusion. One has to remember that an attack can in multiple stages. Bears mauybe smart enough not to reengage after the first encounter, but without,lethal force you can't be sure.


I am not saying guns are your best bet, but probably only a gun, and the right one will ensure that bear does no (further) harm.


That has been proven in self defense situations from individuals to countries at war.