What kind of bear was that?

[spilleddi]

It's not a good berry season so the bear are hungry this fall (up north they are actually hunting people for food). Like most folks who work and play in bear country, I wear little bells on my clothes to warn them of my coming, and carry pepper spray to ward off attacks.

I recently saw a bear safety flyer that explained how to tell the difference between black bear and its more dangerous cousin, the grizzly, when out in the woods. A good way to tell what kind of bear is in your area is to look at a fresh pile of scat (feces).

It said that black bear scat is full of little berries and smells sweet.

And that grizzly bear scat is full of little bells and smells like pepper spray.

Cheers!

[Mousini78]

LOL...think ya been up on the mountain a bit too much...

[PappyDick]

I heard the punch line of one today, have no idea what the setup is, but it has to do with what to do if a bear is chasing us. The tag is, "I don't really need to be able to outrun the bear. I just need to outrun you."

[beeleaf]

LOL, spilleddi!

[Kira_Leigh]

That's scary, I never was a fast runner.;) Beeleaf I can see us running now. For me it would be a fast limp.

[Dreaminghawk]

Spilleddi could outrun us all.... carrying her survey equipment. LOL

[spilleddi]

"I don't really need to be able to outrun the bear. I just need to outrun you."

Thats what my boss tells me, as she can outrun me in a heartbeat. But then she walks ahead and would be the first one to scare the bear. Of course as shes running by with the bear in hot pursuit I can always duck under a bush and allow them to go on their merry way. But I'm a darn quick draw with the bear spray. I've had a lot of practice with that lately.

[Jack Adkins]

I came a hairsbreadth of having my face taken off by a bear taking a swipe at me when I was a teenager in Cherokee NC. Its not an encounter I care to repeat. As a matter of fact, its where my native name "Striking Bear" comes from. Bears are not anything to be taken lightly. My cousin had one run out in front of her van the other day near my sisters house in Dry Fork VA.

[Kira_Leigh]

When I was a teenager we were rambling around on the old Keaton home place and we walked in the front door of the old house and a bear was walking out the back door. We all stood very still and hoped we were down wind of the bear. After it moved on we went the rest of the way in the house and found where it had been sleeping. It was still warm. That's the closet I've been to a bear in the wild and the closest I want to be. Now we won't talk about the Mountain Lion that run me to the trailer on our place right down the road from the Bear's house. That one was too close for comfort. Cindi

[Jack Adkins]

I heard the punch line of one today, have no idea what the setup is, but it has to do with what to do if a bear is chasing us. The tag is, "I don't really need to be able to outrun the bear. I just need to outrun you."

A new Forest Ranger, while being trained by a seasoned veteran Ranger asked, "What do we do if we encounter a bear?" "I don't know about you," replied the senior Ranger, "But I'm going to run like Hell."
"Do you really think you can outrun a bear?", the younger Ranger asked.
THe senior Ranger replied, "I don't really need to be able to outrun the bear. I just need to outrun you."

[dakota54]

Well, I don't have that kind of story to tell, but I wouldn't have to worry about running away from the bear, because I would have had a heart attack and died when I saw that bear. Carolyn

[dakota54]

I'm from SE Kentucky, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, near Whitesburg Kentucky. My Aunt asked me to go with my cousin to get fresh eggs from her mother-in-law. We were walking up the mountain and I realized my cousin Dianne was not saying anything. I turned and she was running for the fence and I yelled at her "Where are you going" she just pointed and I turned around and a large Bull was headed straight for me. I made it to the fence, bu caught the seat of my jeans on the barbwire, which hurt. I heard two men laughing which was my Uncle and his brother I was so mad that I said to them...you would have let that dang Bull get me. Noah said no, but I wasn't going to kill the best Bull I've got unless I had too. Noah had his rife out and my Uncle was a State Trooper and he had his 357 Magum in his hands. Afterwards, I thought it was funny too.

[spilleddi]

No cool bear stories yet this year, although my boss probably has some hair raisers. Safety concerns have us going out to the bear problem areas in pairs, well armed.

Now as for cougar stories, aren't those big kitty's supposed to run when they see you? And I've gotten closer than I care to herds of elk and wild horses. Had a doe run after me after I almost stepped on her fawn. And had a badger walk right up to me as I was sitting in the grass taking notes. Plus I got real good at calling in owls this spring. But no bears. I gotto remember to carry my camera around my neck to get more pictures.

[Mousini78]

Making notes about letting Spilleddi sit on front porch.....seeing as how we have quite a few owls that hang about our house.....

[beeleaf]

Had some success at calling barred owls with recording a coupla years ago. It was mating season. Really did not mean to find that out the way I did, but camera sees better than my eyes...if ya know what I mean. Anyway, they would come almost up to the porch. Very much enjoyed their company, but we agreed that the owlets would look strange, so they let me go. ;~)

[beeleaf]

Should probably learn to be more afraid of bears. Only close encounter was having a mama black bear and cubs come into our camp one morning. Back then, we were the hikers ya see toting multiple cameras and such. Only camera close enough to grab had the wrong kinda film, but crept out of tent, stood behind tree and took a bunch of very underexposed photos from 7-8 yards away.
Gotta respect their strength. She made off with a leftover watermelon in her mouth.

[spilleddi]

Ah sucks, using a recording is cheating, although standard practice amongst the bird nerds that I hang out with. I got good at calling in great gray owls this spring, don't know about the lowland owls. Great grays are the biggest owls around here. Wonder if it was the same bird following me around. Once nesting was done, they ignored me.

[spilleddi]

I'll be darned, I actually came across my first moose the other day, couldn't figure out what it was at first. Those things are about as scarce as hens teeth around here, I fully expected to see a sasquatch first. I've already seen a wild wolf...

Yet no bears. Ain't complaining.

I know what it means when an owl calls your name. What does it mean when you call the owl's name?

[sammarroq]

We did not come across a bear....but, we were tenting and what I believe was a cat (big cat) came by...sounded like a woman screaming, and then it would huff and then the identical scream again...the animal passed by our tent and traveled South, for which we were very happy:)...my hair was standing on end...

I remember my mom telling me a similar story...except she was horeseback on the way back from the sheep camp...and a cougar screamed...she said the hair on the back of her neck stood up...but her horse headed for home...good thing:)

[beeleaf]

Smart horse, Shirley. ;~)

Yeah, I'm a cheatah...hehe...