Camping and Backpacking GEAR thread

I can think of a least a dozen of just friends and friends of friends that have had encounters with black bears and Grizzlies. Not only will a black bear kill you, they'll eat you too.

You should read "Beyond on the Bear" haha

 

x2, maybe the black bears in the lower 48 are a little friendlier

 

You go be afraid, stay home and worry about the rest of us then.

 

This.

I wonder if true wildness bears are a bit different?

 

When did we say we were afraid? lmao is this a pissing contest now? It's called being bear aware. God forbid someone corrects somebody else on a false statement. I live in a totally different place than you and the threat of bears is probably much more common than where you are. There are an estimated 300 black bears living in Anchorage alone, and 36 grizzlys. Its not a surprise to hear about attacks on the news. We have 98% of the US Brown bear population. and 70% of the total north american bear population. Trust me, I get outside a ton, how can you not when you live in Alaska? But when going into the woods I go prepared.

 

LOL... I agree, we don't even have a population here, an occasional transient. I'm WAY more concerned with rednecks than anything while camping.

 

From U of Calgary, it turns out that mebe those AK bears are more aggro, lol

Examining 110 years of data also allowed the researchers to identify historical and geographic trends of black bear attacks. They found that 86% of fatal attacks occurred since 1960; that fatalities are more common in Canada and Alaska despite lower human populations and less contact between humans and bears than in the lower 48 states; and that human population growth is accompanied by rising fatal bear attacks.

 

Rednecks, now there a reason to pack while glamping, that and tweakers haha

 

X1000

 

Good info. Yeah a few years ago Denali National Park up here could say that there hadn't been any attacks in the park but that changed recently, and a week or so ago they euthanized a bear there because they believed it to be the same involved in a recent attack.

 

All joking aside, I feel as though there is no reason to carry a firearm in the lower 48 when backpacking and for protection from black bears. Even with these instances of black bear attacks it is incredibly unlikely and not worth the extra 1.5 lbs in your pack.

 

Almost the same in my book. I'm in Alabama so I'm familiar with both. Not sure if a meth head or a Natty light drunk scares me more...

 

I carry bear spray up here in AK when backpacking, a lot lighter than a gun, and although I love, own, and carry firearms, from a few studies I read, I guess statistically it's a bit more effective, to each his own though.

 

Better off carrying 1.5 lbs of whiskey, much more fun at the end of a long hike.

 

That was my question. Up north, the bears (no pun intended) are in way less human contact than the lower 48. And "possibly" see humans as a threat, vs more "conditioned" bears? Just my thoughts, feel free to enlighten me.

 

The Internetz sez there is 600,000 black bears in North America. 63 total fatalities over 110 years. So each bear lives average of 10 years, my math sucks but that means there has been a gazillion bears around over the last century and that you odds are reel gud not to be et by one

 

Lbs. or Ltrs?

 

How many attacks or maulings?

 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110511074807.htm dunno about maulings, although I assume there has been some that were not fatal and thus not listed in this study

In an article published in the Journal of Wildlife Management, University of Calgary professor emeritus Dr. Stephen Herrero, University of Calgary graduate Andrew Higgins, and colleagues from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and Brigham Young University analyzed the circumstances of all recorded deaths inflicted by non-captive black bears in North America between 1900 and 2009. The study found that 63 people were killed in 59 incidents in Canada, Alaska and the lower 48 states.

 

Forget it.

I'm just going to carry around a giant metal pan and humongous spoon.

Take that, bears!