intrepid_camper wrote on Nov 9^th, 2011 at 2:26pm:


I've had three different dogs over the years that I would take on canoe trips. I've had bears in camp with one of them and as I chased the bear she would be there right with me... but never got ahead of me. The other two which includes my current dog, have never had to deal with camp bears and all three of them were with when I saw Moose and other wildlife. I've seen them all chase bears off at home too. I know there is always the risk of losing a dog out there, but the risk is there at home too... and not just to a wild animal. And btw, my dogs all never chased animals just to chase them... just away from our yard or space.

Jeez, after reading all this, I'm as bug-eyed as Bill Bryson reading his Bear Attacks book before going for a Walk in the Woods...  I think my closest calls were having throwsack rocks zing past my head, when I got em snagged in the limbs.

When you talk about bear attacks you need to consider that the greatest percentage of them are just after your food, not you.
Same with Grizzly/Brown bear charges. Some are just bluffs. From what I understand in Alaska, you can't just kill a bear unless its within a certain distance and attack seems certain.
Bluff charges and bears looking for a easy meal can the majority of the time be discouraged by rocks/sticks/spray/loud noises etc.
However a small percentage of bears, usually young males are what they call " Rogue" bears.
Their very territorial and see YOU as the meal, not your food pack. They'll stalk and attack looking for a easy meal (you)
If that's what's after you, you need to have the means to kill it or disorientate it enough you can make your escape. It becomes a case of you or them. I prefer it be them.

What does a " Rogue Bear" call a bald 270lb fat guy on a girls bike pedaling like the dickens?

A MEAL ON WHEELS

I've heard that bears don't come near horses.  Not sure how much I believe that.

Dogs are an iffy situation.  Depends on the bear.  Depends on the dog.  I've heard anecdotes of dogs chasing bears away and dogs leading bears back to camp.

My favourite bear/dog story can be found on myccr, if it's still there.  Going back near a decade.  Samsman is the poster.  Sam is the dog.  Here's a quick synopsis, but the full read is much better.  Bear comes charging down the trail.  Sam (a bull terrier type dog less than 1 foot tall at the shoulder) charges the bear.  Bear attacks Sam.  Samsman attacks bear with a knife. 

Highlight to the yellow to see the outcome.  Better yet, track down the myccr thread and read the full account.  Bear dies.  Sam & man are ok.

I haven't heard any comments from campers who take their dog along on trips.  Do the bears come into camp when a dog is there?

RE: Bear mortality/mentality after the Pagami fire...I have no idea, but agree that they do frequent the burns the next summer to forage.
When the bear population dropped off, 10-15 years ago, some researchers said it was due to a couple extra long winters which kept the bears in the dens so long that they starved to death.

Interesting..........what I took out of that was in 18% of the cases the bears had to be sprayed multiple times to discourage behavior. Might not want to "shoot the works" on that first blast.

I seen a vid on TV some time ago where a guy shot a blackie 3 times and it just krpt on coming after pausing to rub its eyes a few times. He was yelling and being aggressive just before each blast. That bear was determined to get him. (wrong color hat maybe ) The camera guy was either armed, brave or stupid.

Thanks, Solus. Appreciate the original reference - I hate having to rely on second-hand media reports of studies' supposed conclusions when half the time the statistics gets totally misrepresented.

Make sure you know which way the wind blows.

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A handgun has one hell of a percussive effect as well.
If you pull it, empty that baby
I've seen several youtubes now where the grizz diverts it's charge after the muzzleblast.

In judging how much a bear could do after it was shot the only experience I have had is shooting deer.  I have shot several deer where on dressing them out I inspected the heart to find a 12 gauge slug went through the heart.  Every time I got a clean heart shot not hitting any bones other than ribs the deer does not die for a while.  I have had them run over 100 yds. before collapsing. I have had them walk over to a grassy area and lay down as if nothing was wrong.  The maximum time they live is maybe 5 minutes.  If they are running they will last less than 2 minutes. A bear could do a lot of damage in 2 minutes.