Problems with bears and cougars....

[WandaLust2]

Has anyone had any run ins with cougars and/or bears when boondocking? Have you even seen any come near your RV or campsite?

[RenoAl]

Here is my contribution. Somewhere near Lake Louise.
Mama Griz

[Parrothead_Mike]

Back in the 70's my wife & I were backpacking in Rocky Mt. Nat'l Park. We had hiked up a fairly steep grade and were in & out of snow cover. After finding a nice dry spot to set up camp and cook something to eat I heard what I thought was a cougar growl. My wife asked me if I heard a growl and of course I said "no"! I proceeded to make a lot of noise and hoped for the best. Nothing happened after that thank goodness.

We were tent camping back in the 70's in Michigan's U.P., specifically at Porcupine Mountains State Park. In those days they used to chain metal garbage cans to a post at each campsite. Every night we were there bears would come into the campground and bang the garbage cans around and fetch out some yummies to eat. I don't know why the DNR did that with the garbage cans, but I don't think that experiment lasted long.

[Roads_Less_Trav]

No problems. We saw moose a few hundred yards from us in the river and frequently get deer wandering by and heard elk bugling as they past us in the wee hours of the night once. All great thrills!!

[Opie431]

Bears, yes, cougars no but we have seen their footprints within a mile of our campsite.
Sorry, were not boondocking, we were in a NP campground when we saw the cougar tracks.

[fly-boy]

Never worry about bears or cougars- quite the opposite. Always hope to get a sighting and when we do it is awesome!

We give all wild animal a wide berth- the forest/desert etc. is their home and we are just guests.

With the above in mind, I don't go anywhere with out sufficient protection for the just in case. That said, I feel infinitely safer in the boonies than I do in a major metropolis. 🙂

[profdant139]

Add this to your list of things not to do:

Man feeds meat to bear, ends up as dessert

[Mello_Mike]

johnwalkerpa1 wrote:
I witnessed a black bear incident that was very funny although it could have been serious had things been a little different.

On the Cades Cove loop in the Smokies, a large Mama-bear and two cubs crossed the road and caused a bear jam. A bunch of cars stopped and were taking pictures thru the windows.

Of course, in every crowd there always has to be at least one or more idiots! This van pulls up and 4 people jump out and run toward the cubs to get a picture. Mama-bear sends the cubs up a tree and the photographers keep coming closer to the cubs. At this point Mama-bear does a bluff charge toward them that happens so fast it is over in the blink of an eye. If she had not stopped she would have bull-dozed all 4 of them before they could even think of moving.

As the 4 dove back toward the van and peeled away (probably toward the closest laundry!) we were laughing so hard we couldn't breath.

When you hear people tell you that 500 pound bears can run at 35 mph for short bursts, believe them 🙂

That is pretty funny. However, if that was a Grizzly with her cubs it would've ended up quite different. Mama Grizzlies don't mess around.

[atreis]

profdant139 wrote:
Ideally, take it with you each day as you roam around and then throw it in a trash can. Some items (like paper plates) can be burned in a campfire -- I have never done that. Or, as a last resort, hang the stuff from a tree branch, far from the ground and from the trunk:

Just FYI: That is not nearly high enough for a bear bag. Here's a entertaining read of bear bag hanging techniques.

[cmseabee]

Lots of bears by twin lakes campgrounds near Bridgeport, ca. My wife made apple crisp in her Dutch oven one evening and set it on the picnic bench about 15 feet from our campfire. We had about ten people at the fire when we heard something near the picnic bench. Shined the flashlight over there and a bear was eating her apple crisp. We hear them thru out the night trying to get in the trash dumpsters also.

[profdant139]

Ideally, take it with you each day as you roam around and then throw it in a trash can. Some items (like paper plates) can be burned in a campfire -- I have never done that. Or, as a last resort, hang the stuff from a tree branch, far from the ground and from the trunk:

[chilihead]

So...what is the best thing to do with your food-scented trash while boondocking?

[JiminDenver]

We seen or tracked bear, cougar and bobcat within a quarter mile of camp but have never had a issue. The coyotes will come to the edge of the clearing at night because they can smell the dogs. Close enough that if you shine a light their way they will stop yipping.

A few years back they did have to close a campground around Aspen because of a bear attack on a tent.

[KampingKris]

Bears, racoons, skunk and coyotes... yes. Mostly coyotes when boondocking in AZ. They discover our dog and spend their time trying to lure her into a wash. Very clever animals.
Bears used to visit us in Lake Tahoe area. Racoons at the beach and skunk there also.
Last year, the dog grabbed a wandering skunk from under the 5er. It was not a pleasant end to the evening.

[dadwolf2]

Never while boondocking. We had a HUGE black bear visit the campsite next to us. Campground (think it was Lake Mary near Mammoth,CA) didn't have very good garbage control. We moved to another campground just a few miles away that was cleaner and didn't any problems. That was many years ago so maybe they've cleaned up since then.