On the news: bear attack

[Spleenstomper]

Please excuse if this has been posted before:

Bear attacks travel trailer with family inside

[wintersun]

In 2012 there were 38 fatal attacks by dogs. In that same year there was only one fatal bear attack. Contrast that with more than 500 people shoot to death each year by police officers.

Bears are the least of my worries. Mosquitoes and ticks represent a far greater threat to health.

[mosseater]

No comment.

Just remember, you have to survive the attack in order for any debate to have worhwhile merit. It's pointless to try and figure out ways to do less harm to an animal that's trying to kill you so you can be legally in the right. Don't be too sporting in facilitating your own death. They don't prosecute and imprison dead people, neither from bears or humans. Your goal isn't merely to survive, it's to prevail.

[am1958]

You have to admit you performed an illegal act, then justify why you had to. The bear defense will be no different. Unless it's bear season. There is no human season. Ever.

Bit of a shame really, eh?

[westend]

I want to see the critters but not too close up.

There is nothing like awakening in your sleeping bag and feeling the press of a cold, wet nose on your cheek, lol. :B

[down_home]

To keep the subject about bears. I have a clipping around here of a cub up a tree, about i mile behind us. My Son saw a large one at the RxR crossing fall before last, and several others have been infrequently sighted withing a mile of here. While hunting in a cove about fifteen miles from here in the seventies and again in the the eighties, perhaps I had a cougar or Whistling Jack or Catamount, trail me out of the cove. I could very clearly hear the beast. I banged my flashlight against my rifle barrel and put it out of commission. Hair stood up all over my body and I was scaredd spitless. A jeek came along that had been somewhere up above me and gave me a ride out. Second time it happened, dogs came out from the fellow that took over the farm when his Father In Law died.They crossed right in front of me and it sounded like war. i haven't been back in years as big money leases the area. i wouldn't go back in there without a gun. there was no posting of the wildlife's history or predeliction, to violence, against humans posted anywhere. I won't let my wife work in the cove here because Coyotes and sometimes have been concerned when they came down within spitting distance of the back porch. I use to be pretty good at guessing Folks intention and the animal or two but danged if I'm going to take a chance on ole Smokey having a good day or not. I want to see the critters but not too close up.

[mosseater]

If you are genuinely being attacked by a bear, discussing the legalities of useful defense is ridiculous.

Do you know it's illegal to shoot people? True! There are no circumstances where it magically become legal to shoot anyone. Self defense is an "affirmative defense". You can only ever be found not guilty, never innocent. What you are effectively saying is you were "justified" in using deadly force. That's as good as it ever gets. You have to admit you performed an illegal act, then justify why you had to. The bear defense will be no different. Unless it's bear season. There is no human season. Ever. That's where the similarities end. The two situations are not perfectly analogus.

[loulou57]

ksg5000 wrote:

loulou57 wrote:

Do not carry or use bear spray for protection against humans in Canada. You can be charged with carrying a prohibited weapon. Carrying bear spray while hiking, camping in bear area is legal but don't have any just in case someone tries to break into your RV.

Sometimes common sense prevails over bureaucratic nonsense - when your life/property is put in harms way you do what you have to do and deal with the bureaucrats later.

I know that it would make sense to protect yourself but people have been charged using bear spray also anything with the wording pepper spray or mace is illegal.

[ksg5000]

loulou57 wrote:

Do not carry or use bear spray for protection against humans in Canada. You can be charged with carrying a prohibited weapon. Carrying bear spray while hiking, camping in bear area is legal but don't have any just in case someone tries to break into your RV.

Sometimes common sense prevails over bureaucratic nonsense - when your life/property is put in harms way you do what you have to do and deal with the bureaucrats later.

[loulou57]

crazybill wrote:
Absolutely do not use wasp spray as a bear defense. (except as a means of last resort)
It is deadly stuff and can easily injure an animal. Blindness and nasal injury are serious issues for a wild animal. You might very well create a serious danger for people coming in contact with that half blind bear after you are long gone.
Go the extra mile and get a can or two of bear spray. It shoots farther and won't create more problems behind you. It is readily available in most areas and doubles as a human repellant if needed.
-Bill-

Do not carry or use bear spray for protection against humans in Canada. You can be charged with carrying a prohibited weapon. Carrying bear spray while hiking, camping in bear area is legal but don't have any just in case someone tries to break into your RV.

[crazybill]

Absolutely do not use wasp spray as a bear defense. (except as a means of last resort)
It is deadly stuff and can easily injure an animal. Blindness and nasal injury are serious issues for a wild animal. You might very well create a serious danger for people coming in contact with that half blind bear after you are long gone.
Go the extra mile and get a can or two of bear spray. It shoots farther and won't create more problems behind you. It is readily available in most areas and doubles as a human repellant if needed.
-Bill-

[Pangaea_Ron]

RoyB wrote:
Having a couple of HD WASP SPRAY cans just inside the trailer door would have been a great defense in this case if you was brave enough to open the doors or windows.

That would be a very scary ordeal for most of us...

Roy Ken

You're right, that would be a terrifying situation.

I used to advocate the use of wasp spray, but now prefer to carry bear spray. Wasp spray can cause permanent damage, and there could be legal consequences, much like using a gun. Of course there are situations where the legalities of the situation are not important.

[OldRadios]

I was camping down the road from a hybrid TT a couple weeks ago in upstate NY. A black bear found the hybrid easy to open from the nylon bed end while the couple and their two kids were in it. Probably smelled food. They packed up and left.

Next night he ripped apart a screen house near me and then came over and rubbed his back on my awning support. He had nudged my door a couple of times. That's what woke me up. As I was leaving a couple days later DEC was there discussing plans to relocate him with the park staff. Been going there every year for 20 years and this was the first bear I've seen one in the campground.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I carry Bear Spray - mostly for the "human" aspect of being broken-into.... but they say bears have an acute sense of smell, and maybe this one knew where the food was stashed?

[beemerphile1]

I don't believe a bear will stalk and kill for no reason. Bears are motivated by three things, food, self preservation, and protection of their young. Because of stupid human behavior, bears learn to associate humans with food.

I have been around bears many times in campgrounds and in the wild and have never felt in danger. For the most part bears want to avoid humans unless they have learned the food/human association.

On the other hand I have had many close calls with family pets that "Fido would never harm anyone". While on the trail earlier this year in PA I came very close to shooting a dog that was off leash and approaching me very aggressively. When the owner finally caught up to and restrained the dog there wasn't even an apology. The girl had no idea how close her dog came to getting shot.

In another instance on a trail near home an off leash dog charged me three times but the owner did nothing but call the dog back. The owner never did leash the dog. I considered confronting the owner but thought better of it, you can't change stupid.

Family pets attack, maim, and kill more people every year than wild animals.

1. Do yourself and your pet a favor, please keep them on a leash and under your control.
2. Don't teach wild animals to associate humans with food. Keep your campsite clean, carry out all waste, and minimize odors.