Black bear question

MTLabrador said:
I’ve always been a bear enthusiast. My biggest regret from this year is that I didn’t snap a photo of the griz I bumped into up close.
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Likeswise... I kinda get bored watching elk, but I could spend all day watching bears ramble around.

Would have been a ballsy move to pull out the phone in that moment lol
 
It's been well said above! I can't imagine having to lose one of my kiddos. But if I do, let it be to something besides drugs or alcohol. I think the danger of doing nothing is much greater than getting out. I've watched my girls grow up on a farm with ATVs, Horses, Cows and can honestly say I would rather have my 2 teenage daughters in the corral with me than most of the men I've worked with. There is an accepted risk to participate in life.
 
Many years ago I was in the same trouble for taking a 2 year old in a backpack and walking 4 year old wild pig hunting in California. They are 32 & 34 now.

I learned that with toddlers onboard, you're really only hiking with a weapon. The youngest squalled the whole time.
 
Akcabin said:
Moose in our yard all winter can be kinda dangerous. But we try to keep a look out. And let the kids, now grandkids play outside. It's just part of our lives.
The picture of the grizzly bear reminded me of the 500 pound 5 year old grizzly that I had to shoot or get mauled. On our back porch from 3-4 feet. I can still remember that. It almost made it into our house. But thats another story.
So one morning our kids come in from sleeping outside in a tent. 5-6 years old with neighbors little girl. Tell us they heard a bear outside their tent. We give them the oh boy that's scary jive. I go down to the lumber store n visiting with my neighbor. He tells me he went to feed his dog n one was missing. Only thing left was a collar n his other dog hurt. He lives a hundred yards away. Guess they did hear a bear.
My beautiful wife bought me a 45 for when I'm in the bush but I don't care for the extra weight. I do carry it sometimes. For me , I'm more concerned about the wolves, they think
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I built house's in Alaska for a couple years and most were out by themselves. Moose came into visit a lot and seemed like big old dairy cows. But I was cautioned not to fool with moose during the rut. Seem's a pi**ed off bull can beat you up pretty good. I chose to keep my distance all the time and it works too. I never got beat up by one even one time!

Something a lot of people just don't seem to get is that wild animals are wild and there fore unpredictable! As a kid 4 maybe 5 yrs old we'd go to the coast and along the way see deer along side the road. if they were across a fence, the parents let us go over and feed them animal cracker's and pet them. Was really cool back then but what if one got upset because it didn't feel it wanted us there? Even a deer can hurt you real bad, probably kill you. This was about black bears and are they really dangerous? Bottom line is they are wild animals and there fore unpredictable. They haven't killed as many people as grizzly's have but a dead person is a dead person weather it's a grizzly or a black. People really should consder this I think. Learn about how to act around them, what to probably avoid and the give a wild animal a wide berth, even if it hasn't killed many people! Don't give them benifit of doubt! Problem in this thread is I read what seem to be to many people that just don't worry at all about what could happen exposing them selves and maybe even their kids for no other reason than it's only a black bear. I have never had a problem with black bears and have been around a good number of them in Montana. Oregon supposed to have a lot in Oregon, but over 60yrs in Oregon I have seen very few and in Montana saw them all the time. Sometimes they would come right into town up there. Aunt lived in Trinity Center, California, forrest service camo in N. Cal. They had bears around all the time, they were a fact of life. But people still let their kids out but they also schooled them well on what to do around a bear also! A problem, especially with kids is all the picture's we see of people treating wild animals like pet's and getting away with it. Remember the Grizzly Adams show? Wonder how many kids related to that thinking they could make a pet out of a wild bear? Family in Alaska had a pet wolf, not quite 100% but close. They claimed it was the most loving dog they ever had. Lady left her infant kid at home with the wolf and ran to the store for a few minutes and when she got home found the wolf had killed and was eating the infant child! Wild animal Behavior! I've found bears easy to get along with but have never seen a grizzly in the wild though I'm sure they have seen me! But the fact that black bears haven't killed a lot of people doesn't mean they can't be very dangerous. I always have given them a wide birth. I have one son and he learned early onit was fine to look at wild animals but to also give them a wide birth. The fact that blacks have only killed 20 some people in the past 20 yrs does not make them less dangerous. It is appalling some have the attitude the danger is not so bad that they have the attitude they do have, especially with their kids. My boy played outside in bear country but I spent a good amount of time teaching him how to act around wild animals. Even though the fact that he could be hurt or killed by one was well understood.
 
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Don Fischer said:
I built house's in Alaska for a couple years and most were out by themselves. Moose came into visit a lot and seemed like big old dairy cows. But I was cautioned not to fool with moose during the rut. Seem's a pi**ed off bull can beat you up pretty good. I chose to keep my distance all the time and it works too. I never got beat up by one even one time!

Something a lot of people just don't seem to get is that wild animals are wild and there fore unpredictable! As a kid 4 maybe 5 yrs old we'd go to the coast and along the way see deer along side the road. if they were across a fence, the parents let us go over and feed them animal cracker's and pet them. Was really cool back then but what if one got upset because it didn't feel it wanted us there? Even a deer can hurt you real bad, probably kill you. This was about black bears and are they really dangerous? Bottom line is they are wild animals and there fore unpredictable. They haven't killed as many people as grizzly's have but a dead person is a dead person weather it's a grizzly or a black. People really should consder this I think. Learn about how to act around them, what to probably avoid and the give a wild animal a wide berth, even if it hasn't killed many people! Don't give them benifit of doubt! Problem in this thread is I read what seem to be to many people that just don't worry at all about what could happen exposing them selves and maybe even their kids for no other reason than it's only a black bear. I have never had a problem with black bears and have been around a good number of them in Montana. Oregon supposed to have a lot in Oregon, but over 60yrs in Oregon I have seen very few and in Montana saw them all the time. Sometimes they would come right into town up there. Aunt lived in Trinity Center, California, forrest service camo in N. Cal. They had bears around all the time, they were a fact of life. But people still let their kids out but they also schooled them well on what to do around a bear also! A problem, especially with kids is all the picture's we see of people treating wild animals like pet's and getting away with it. Remember the Grizzly Adams show? Wonder how many kids related to that thinking they could make a pet out of a wild bear? Family in Alaska had a pet wolf, not quite 100% but close. They claimed it was the most loving dog they ever had. Lady left her infant kid at home with the wolf and ran to the store for a few minutes and when she got home found the wolf had killed and was eating the infant child! Wild animal Behavior! I've found bears easy to get along with but have never seen a grizzly in the wild though I'm sure they have seen me! But the fact that black bears haven't killed a lot of people doesn't mean they can't be very dangerous. I always have given them a wide birth. I have one son and he learned early onit was fine to look at wild animals but to also give them a wide birth. The fact that blacks have only killed 20 some people in the past 20 yrs does not make them less dangerous. It is appalling some have the attitude the danger is not so bad that they have the attitude they do have, especially with their kids. My boy played outside in bear country but I spent a good amount of time teaching him how to act around wild animals. Even though the fact that he could be hurt or killed by one was well understood.
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The OP responded appropriately to the situation, nobody is saying bears aren't dangerous, we're saying that it's a low enough risk that we wouldn't deprive our children of valuable life experiences based on the extremely low probability of a bear attack. There can be bears almost everywhere, even in suburban and sometimes urban areas. In Washington, I would essentially never allow my kids outside based on your mentality. I'm far more concerned about the neighbor's dogs, but I still let my kids play in the yard.
 
kwyeewyk said:
The OP responded appropriately to the situation, nobody is saying bears aren't dangerous, we're saying that it's a low enough risk that we wouldn't deprive our children of valuable life experiences based on the extremely low probability of a bear attack. There can be bears almost everywhere, even in suburban and sometimes urban areas. In Washington, I would essentially never allow my kids outside based on your mentality. I'm far more concerned about the neighbor's dogs, but I still let my kids play in the yard.
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I hear what your saying but turn the OP's situation around a bit. he's got his young daughter in a pack on his back and is bow hunting for elk. Runs into the bear, I think he said about 20yds? Yells hey bear at it and turns out it's a sow with new cubs! Hey bear may and may not work! Could provoke an attack. You won't know till you try it. That happens you have to defend yourself and your kid on your back with a bow! I like getting kids out but I think at worst what he was doing and where he was at he should have had along a capabile gun to stop a possible attack. And you can take a kid needing carryed to lot's of places outdoors where the possibility of running into a situation like that is very unlikely at best.

That he did it and got away with it great but he was asking how dangerous it really was! The answer's on here seem to me to say no sweat, black bears aren't dangerous. The hell they aren't, they are wild animals. Great to get your kids out and around animals but the kids need to be old enough to be taught how to act around them and a kid you have to carry on your back isn't. When my son was that age the only hunting he did with me was bird hunting and in no area's where animals that could be dangerous might be, plenty of time for that down the road! We let my son out back to play when he was that age, lived in Lakeside, Montana but he never went big game hunting with me at that age, did go bird hunting. And when we let him play outside, we kept an eye on him didn't just turn him loose to explore. Problem for me is the age of the kid and needing carried around and protection in that rype of country by only a bow!

25, I think it was 25 deaths in the last 20 years really isn't that bad but death is death and once your dead there's no do over's.
 
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Don Fischer said:
I hear what your saying but turn the OP's situation around a bit. he's got his young daughter in a pack on his back and is bow hunting for elk. Runs into the bear, I think he said about 20yds? Yells hey bear at it and turns out it's a sow with new cubs! Hey bear may and may not work! Could provoke an attack. You won't know till you try it. That happens you have to defend yourself and your kid on your back with a bow! I like getting kids out but I think at worst what he was doing and where he was at he should have had along a capabile gun to stop a possible attack. And you can take a kid needing carryed to lot's of places outdoors where the possibility of running into a situation like that is very unlikely at best.

That he did it and got away with it great but he was asking how dangerous it really was! The answer's on here seem to me to say no sweat, black bears aren't dangerous. The hell they aren't, they are wild animals. Great to get your kids out and around animals but the kids need to be old enough to be taught how to act around them and a kid you have to carry on your back isn't. When my son was that age the only hunting he did with me was bird hunting and in no area's where animals that could be dangerous might be, plenty of time for that down the road! We let my son out back to play when he was that age, lived in Lakeside, Montana but he never went big game hunting with me at that age, did go bird hunting. And when we let him play outside, we kept an eye on him didn't just turn him loose to explore. Problem for me is the age of the kid and needing carried around and protection in that rype of country by only a bow!

25, I think it was 25 deaths in the last 20 years really isn't that bad but death is death and once your dead there's no do over's.
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Don I think you're incredible negligent and a terrible parent for owning a gun. Don't you know that the second leading cause of childhood death in the US is firearms.

Over 3,000 children a year are killed by firearms.

That you owned one and got away with it, great, but you did you think about how dangerous it really ways. Seems to me your saying no sweat, guns aren't dangerous. The hell they aren't, they are guns. Great to get your kids out and around guns, but the kid needs to be old enoug...

Ok, tongue firmly in cheek. ^ Do you get the point?

My first bear encounter was something like the OPs daughter... my mom had me in a backpack bear popped out. She yelled at it... I learned how to deal with bears. I've had numerous run-ins since.

Millions of American's live within close proximity to black bears... actually the only child death I could find by a black bear occurred about 2hrs outside of Manhattan about 20 years ago, point is you don't have to go deep into the woods to find them and you need to teach kids how to have safe encounters. The OP did exactly that
 
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As a young parent I too was fearful of the absurdly rare risks. But bears weren't them.

I did fear I'd have some brain aneurism and tip over dead and them the little one on my back would be dead. It is more reassuring now that they're old enough that they could probably get back to the car, or maybe build a fire to stay warm.

Quick story time, the first time I backpacked into the ONP for work, I elected to take a kippered herring for dinner (this was after line 1.5 months of nothing but MH). We get to where we're going, it's right a tree line (slightly above), no good place to hang food. From my tent I could see 9 black bears feeding on berries, the nearest maybe 200 yards out. I debated eating those herring until almost dark, then finally succumbed to hunger. Stashed the can 100 yards from the tent, and tried to sleep all night while holding my breath. When I woke up, there was still 6 bears, still contently feeding on berries. On another trip into the ONP I went to bed early while it was still light (early July), it was hot so I left the tent fly open. 30 min later, I had a bear come over, and while I stared at the roof of the small single man tent, watched him press his nose against the mesh 1' above my head and inhale a deep breath then wander away. The only two bears I've had charge were a sow with small cubs while bear hunting, she did not run at my warning shot near her feet, but allowed me to back away without issue. The other was again on the OP (not in the park), we were climbing through slide alder, suspended ~6' off the ground and heard one charge clacking it's teeth and huffing, there was no where to go and nothing to do about it, but thankfully never saw it.
 
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