Man living close to bears

[woodsman]

Wild animals are not called wild for a reason, even the domesticated ones misbehave on occasion. The guys who get killed are people who do not have any kind of training, you rarely see a naturalist or a zoologist get killed by a wild animal. Why? Because they don't treat them as their pets, they keep their distance until the animal let's them know he is in a social mood, most important of all they can read it's body language and know when it's time to back off.

 

[Newanderthal]

What people must realize is that bears are predators and they, like any other wild animal, are wary of humans. A bear might tolerate a man fifteen times in a row, and then on the sixteenth visit decide that he's more hungry than tolerant.

They are predators and people are soft and meaty. When you walk into the woods, you put yourself back on the menu. You cannot control the animal, but you can control the risks you take.

I photograph predators... with a very expensive zoom lens that lets me take photos from a safe distance. I do NOT move close enough to anything that has bigger teeth than mine for that animal to feel I am in his personal space.

 

[ppine]

Grizzly bears often attack because they are very territorial. Black bears attack infrequently because they are predatory. Polar bears frequently attack because they are the biggest predator in the Western Hemisphere and they are territorial.

 

[ChadTower]

Why would anyone want to be friends with anything that could EAT THEM???

Dunno, I suppose we should ask our pets.

 

[Joe S.]

A little bear bell attached to your knap sack does wonders to warn whatever wild creatures may be near that you are in the vicinity. A little fair warning goes a long way for avoiding confrontation.

 

[Marshmallow]

I've never heard of a bear bell, but it's a great idea and so simple. We have never had bears in our vicinity that I knew of when we were growing up. Now we hear stories of sightings in some of the areas just outside the city. They are small black bears that get into garbage, but to me, a bear is a bear.