Problems with bears and cougars....
Has anyone had any run ins with cougars and/or bears when boondocking? Have you even seen any come near your RV or campsite?
Forum Discussion
In many years of camping, we have never seen a mountain lion -- we did see a bobcat crossing a road once.
We see bears all the time on hiking trails. And we see bears in campgrounds pretty often. But even though we boondock a lot, we have never seen a bear at our remote campsites.
There is a good reason that you are more likely to see bears in campgrounds -- when Willy Sutton (the bank robber) was asked why he robbed banks, he answered, "Because that's where the money is." Bears are smart -- they have to be, in order to find enough calories to maintain those big bodies. They are not going to prowl around a boondocking site, where the pickings are very slim. They go to the campgrounds, where there is lots of trash and the cars are full of coolers and "pick-a-nick baskets," to quote Yogi.
BUT if you really want to see a bear when you are boondocking, just leave food-scented trash around your campsite and in your vehicle. You might just get a little visit! (Humor alert -- don't do that.)
We see bears all the time on hiking trails. And we see bears in campgrounds pretty often. But even though we boondock a lot, we have never seen a bear at our remote campsites.
There is a good reason that you are more likely to see bears in campgrounds -- when Willy Sutton (the bank robber) was asked why he robbed banks, he answered, "Because that's where the money is." Bears are smart -- they have to be, in order to find enough calories to maintain those big bodies. They are not going to prowl around a boondocking site, where the pickings are very slim. They go to the campgrounds, where there is lots of trash and the cars are full of coolers and "pick-a-nick baskets," to quote Yogi.
BUT if you really want to see a bear when you are boondocking, just leave food-scented trash around your campsite and in your vehicle. You might just get a little visit! (Humor alert -- don't do that.)
