[catwoman]

I would like to start a discussion on encountering wild animals in the wilderness. Many people have no clue on what to do, some may know lots and have lots of experience, and others may just know theory or bits and pieces. I would like to invite people to share their experience and/or knowledge while encountering the various wild animals. I'll start by saying I've honestly never exactly encountered wild animals (the big ones, anyway) in the woods. I've heard them, I've seen evidence of them, and once even saw the shadow of a bear on my tent while I was inside my tent. From what I've read and understand...... if it's a black bear, you do not run, but back away slowly (if you're on the same path and they may appear threatened, that is). Cats are to be stared at directly in the eyes (not to turn your back on them and/or run) as that is what is supposed to make them back down. Also, cats like to chase running things, so don't run. Dogs/wolves are NOT to be stared at in the eyes because they take that as a threat, so you're NOT to look directly at them but back off slowly. Would love to hear others' experiences and/or knowledge on the subject.

[MCaver]

I've also heard with bears that you make a lot of noise. I tried this when I ran into a bear on the Spray Park Trail in Mount Rainier a few months ago. She was blocking the trail back to the parking lot and it was getting dark, and she had cubs scattered around her. She saw me and knew I was there but was not threatened by my presence, probably from the number of people she's probably seen on that trail. I tried whacking my walking stick on a nearby rock to at least frighten her and her cubs off the trail so I could get by. It worked on the cubs, but the mother hardly noticed. After about 15 minutes she lumbered off toward the creek and I slipped by.

[catwoman]

Oh, and also for the cougars, as I'm sure most of you have also read.... that you should make yourself look big, like put your arms in your coat above your head or something (like when you try to scare little kids ) and yell at the cat. That this will scare it away. You know, if cougs are anything like other cats, I would imagine doing all that and then charging at it would scare the hell out of it and it would run off, too.

[Sore Feet]

When I was returning from hiking out to Twin Falls in Yoho last July, I was attempting to see the scenery on the opposite side of the valley through the dense trees, not paying much attention at all to the trail. Suddenly I heard something snap and looked where I was headed, which was straight into a Deer's butt. Fortunately (for my nose among other things) I stopped about 15 feet away. It just looked me for a minute or two as I made noises to try to scare it off the trail, to no avail, and s-l-o-w-l-y lumbered off the trail, but staying close enough that I pretty much had to wait around for another 5 minutes. Other than that, the only wildlife I saw while hiking and sightseeing in the Canadian Rockies was birds and squirrels. I think the biggest non domestic animal I've seen around here was probably a Rabbit.

[polarbear]

I met a guy in the Sierras that had hiked some of the John Muir trail. He said he woke up one night to find a black bear stealing his food out of his pack. He said he chased the bear off and threw rocks at it and got back his stuff. On the other hand, I believe there were some deaths due to black bears up in Canada this year.

[McPilchuck]

Just smile and say Hi...here is a latest read: http://www.alpinequest.com/wolf.htm

[Backpacker Joe]

Black bears account for more deaths per year than any other predator. Do NOT mess with black bears. They kill you and they EAT you. For people interested in bears, read "Alaskan Bear Tales" vol one and two. The book covers ALL bears in the northern territories. TB

[catwoman]

McPilchuck - I didn't get either one.

[Tom]

Hi McPilchuck, the software automatically hyperlinks your links for you . However, if you put 2 spaces in front of your URL (such as after a period or colon) the automatic hyperlinking doesn't work due to a bug. I corrected this in your post above by inserting a carriage return before the link.

[Stefan]

Don't mess with Hippopotamus! They kill more people than black bears. Catwoman knows how to deal with big cats! Roar!!! I once ran away from a grizzly and its cub. I now know I should have thrown my Snickers bar behind me to stop them.

[Backpacker Joe]

Not in North America they don't! Oh, and Stephan you wouldnt have outrun him if he didnt want you to. While in the Army I spent some time with a Coast Gaurd pilot who was once stationed on Kodiak Island. He told me that they would get down onthe deck with their helicopters and chase Kodiak browns, at 50+ MPH! TB

[reststep]

An excellent book about grizzly bears is "Grizzly Years" by Doug Peacock.

[reststep]

We had a run in with a black bear at Anderson Pass in Olympic National Park. We hung our food a little too close to a tree and the bear was able to climb the tree, hang on with one arm and reach out and bat the food bags with the other arm. We tried to scare it off but the bear managed to get a bag of trail mix out of one of the sacks. Later on we told the ranger at Honeymoon Meadows about it and he said that we were not aggressive enough. I don't know about that but I was close enough to see the claws on the bear and they were long and about the size of my fingers. It makes you think. This fall we tried the kevlar ursack. They work good for mice but haven't tested them yet to see if they are bear proof. I have read though that in the Sierras they have been tested and the bears lose interest after not being able to get iniside to the tasty morsels.

[McPilchuck]

Thanks Tom, I wondered what happened? At any rate, the wolf.htm is a good read of what I experienced the other day.

[Damian]

I don't know how many people are actually killed by black bear in any year. My guess is the number is very small considering the number of hiking experiences. I have encountered many black bear over the years. Some at very close range. I have startled bears by coming around a corner when they didn't expect it. They were never interested and always ran away first. I opened the front door to our cabin at Lk. Wenatchee one night to see what the dog was barking about. I opened the door, walked out, and switched on the light (in that order) to find a very big bear 2 feet in front of me eating our dogs food! I yelled at him and he ran like hell (so did I!). In the Enchanted Valley several bears hung around all day very close to our camp and showed no interest in us at all. It was fun. Follow common sense storing food. If you enconter a bear, hang loose and enjoy the experience. In all likely hood, he will probably leave or let you pass. Keep you distance and snap a picture or two if you feel like it. It goes without saying, don't mess with them, feed them, etc, etc. Listen to the common advice if one runs towards you. That has never happened to me and I have no fear that it ever will.