Bear Stare

[Laurence]

Here's a snapshot from last Spring.

Shortly after the shot, the bear decided to make a "false charge" towards me.

I decided to back off.

Be aware that this is just a quick shot. I didn't bother to enhance the image, as I won't keep this one in my hard drive or backup drive.

Anyway, Here's Looking at You!

[Attila]

Wow! Are you were in danger ? Or just your food ?

[sichko]

I'm sure that you knew what you were doing but it looks dangerously close - for me certainly.

[Laurence]

Attila and John: Luckily, I've been around bears for many years. I expected the false charge. In almost ALL cases, the "false charge" is the bear's way to say "I'm not comfortable with this setup".

Now, if I had NOT backed off, then the bear would determine whether to make a "full charge" or not. The thing to do here, is to continue to face the bear and back of slowly and steadily, with no sudden/weird movements.

Even so...of COURSE my adrenalin kicks in.

It's a matter of respect. People get in trouble when they don't follow through with letting the bear know that they aren't a threat.

I wouldn't normally get this close - I like to have about 100 yards between myself and the bear. In this case, he almost "materialized", coming out of the trees. My back was to him, as I was shooting upvalley.

Interestingly, I've come upon a mother and cubs THREE times in my "hiking lifetime". In every case, the mother took off in one direction, and the cubs took off in another direction, and climbed a tree. The mother will stop and see what I'm doing after her initial run. Again, this is where the respect kicks in. I back off slowly, as above, to avoid a false charge warning. I really don't want to stress the bears either.

Speaking of respect - about ten years ago, a couple of guys were "surprised" by a bear, similar to the situation above. One of them was mauled pretty badly by the charging bear. However, after investigation, it was determined that the two guys were THROWING ROCKS at the bear.

[patrickh]

Sounds like genetic selection at work for those two guys. Amazing how people will go into situations without at least minimal preparation.


patrickh

[nemesis101]

Blimey!

nuff said...

[Orio]

Gosh! I am happy that I was not there.

[walter23]

As someone I was talking to recently put it: at least you can negotiate with a bear!

Cougars on the other hand freak me out. I was fortunate enough to run into one at very close range a couple of months ago on a beach, after dark. Fortunate because it circled past me and kept going on its way. It was a little bit disconcerting how close the cougar was comfortable getting (it may have been interested in my small dog, which I picked up as soon as I saw it coming)... but it was somehow reassuring to realize I could be that close to a cougar but just back away and get away without anything worse than a shot of adrenaline.

It was 20 or 30 feet away at most.

Now I'm much less afraid of cougars while out in the woods. Somehow having finally actually encountered one has made me feel better about them.

On the subject of bears its amazing how hard it is to find good information. I read about bears in numerous sources before coming across the advice that black bears often "false charge" and that the strategy in this case is to back off slowly (but not lay down and cover your neck until they make a real charge!). I hope I never experience it but I think in the moment it would be a good thing to know. I hear they bob their head and bounce and huff a lot if its a bluff, but come straight at you with a fury if its for real - is that true?

[LucisPictor]

Larry! You should keep the pic, at least as a memory.

When I see this, I need to consider again if I will ever come and go on a hike with you.
I guess I would have wet my pants.

[Orio]

[Jesito]

Larry,

I belong to the urbanites tribe, I've never seen a wild animal like that one running free in the field... The most wildest free creature I've had the pleasure to watch free are the (now rare) squirrels that run on top of the trees at my small house in Olivella...

The picture is fine, I don't see why you shouldn't keep it.

Jes.

[visualopsins]

stepped outside to leak, zipping up heard a noise behind me, a bear less than 30 feet away! i crunched a rock, the bear turned around, and let me tell you there is no experience like being sized up by a bear; fortunately i was not a threat, and bear relaxed immediately; later she got a little nervous and false charged, whoa! that's scary, big huff-puff and stomp the ground hard; she looked sheepish having scared me. subsequent encounters she'd "false charge" in a very playful manner, like she was only kidding, only wants to play...

one thing i've learned is bears don't see very well; without movement they have a difficult time seeing contrast; stand very still and bear quickly loses interest.

once while in deep woods a cougar walks out of the brush right past me just like i'm not there; it was marking territory; i even called it and was totally ignored! some business is more important i guess.

this is a black bear, wearing a strangely bleached coat, looking like a grizzly!

[walter23]

[visualopsins]