Canada next year - how to keep bears away

[BossCat]

I once saw a documentry with a woman park ranger. She said that the chances of bear encounters were quite slim. The funny thing was after she said that she went on to tell how she was once set upon by a bear. It swiped at her a couple of times knocking her to the ground where she stayed and played dead. The bear sniffed around her for a few moments then wandered off.

Her tip if you do encounter a bear was to lay down and play dead.

The full joke for anyone not knowing it....

The Alaska Dept of Fish & Game advises tourists, hikers and fisherman to take precautions and stay alert for bears. They advise people to wear noisy little bell so you don’t startle a bear and to carry pepper spray in case you encounter one. It is also a good idea to stay on the watch for signs of bears. You should be able to recognize the difference between Black Bear scat and Grizzly Bear dung. Black bear dung is relatively small and contains lots to berries and rodent remains; Grizzly Bear dung is quite substantial and has little bells in it and smells like pepper

Tom

 

[traderran]

The best defence is a good offence. A short 20in b shotgun in 12 Ga
with slugs works wonders. And are quite legal over there.

 

[Bogman10]

last hunting season, up around Swan Hills,Ab. A Hunter who was scouting for the up coming Bow season, was attacked by a bear ( got between her and her cubs ) He ended up killing her with his belt knife ( I would walk down a dark alley with this guy!! ) .
This year, around Rocky Mountain House ( Mors teaches Bushcraft around there), a Bow hunter was attacked by a Griz and Killed for food by her and her cubs.
This is why I am a Rifle hunter....( although, they have taken to come running when they here a shot, knowing that it means a fresh kill and a gut pile .)
Anyways , I've done lots of hiking in and around Banff , Jasper , and Radium ( the worst, every day hike trail we went on, we had to turn around because of bears!! ) and you do see a few. May/June is the time I usually see the most, that followed by Sept/ Oct. I saw 3 bears this year in the bush while I was hunting Whitetail deer, They all took off when they saw me ( I am VERY ugly ).
I have seen just as many bears in the serviced camp grounds as in the wild, but take the precautions mentioned above, and you'll be safer in the woods then the Drive up !
Enjoy are wonderful Mountains and Province.

 

[rivermom]

The best defence is a good offence. A short 20in b shotgun in 12 Ga
with slugs works wonders. And are quite legal over there.

Hey, is it any wonder the bears are attacking more frequently. They belong in the forest, it is their home. We are visiting. So a good offence, as you put it, is a very good justification for bears to eat humans.

 

[gloomhound]

Hey, is it any wonder the bears are attacking more frequently. They belong in the forest, it is their home.

This saying has always made me wonder. Why do bears (or any animal) have any more rights to be in the woods than I do? My kind evolved in the same types of environments. Bears sometimes attack people because thats what bears do, it's in the nature to behave in that manner. Not because they have any granted rights to attack people that enter their domain. We are all part of nature, not something that is apart from it.

Well thats just my take on it.

 

[HillBill]

Bears don't have more right, They just have more reason.

They don't have the right to mooch about in towns and cities....because we say so, we get rid

What gives us the right to deny rights??

Its a big circle. One no-one can come out on top of.
Maybe not so much now, but not too long ago if a bear/wolf or other predator attacked either a human or livestock they would be hunted down and killed. Along with any other likely culprit.

How many accounts do we have of bears/wolves slaughtering whole villages because we shot one of their family or natural prey species??

NONE

People sometimes slaughter whole species, because thats what people do.The problem is with us not animals. Truth be told we're the animals The world would be better off if we were hunted to near extinction.

 

[gloomhound]

The world would be better off if we were hunted to near extinction.

Ok..you go first.

 

[HillBill]

Ok..you go first.

:AR15firin :AR15firin

 

[njc110381]

This may seem a little harsh, but here's a picture of me in Canada recently with my "comfort blanket".

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of these people who goes out to slaughter all the wildlife,
but if it comes to it I know I'm not the one who's getting dragged out in a bag! I was stalked
by a Bear when I was in Grande Cache this year, a big Grizzly too. He got within 25 yards
of us! Me, my friend and the Bear all escaped without injury, but it was one of the most
frightening (memorable too) experiences I've ever had in my life. From what I've been told
by my friend though the Bears aren't too bad, but a grumpy Moose will certainly bust you
up if he takes a disliking to you. There are also some little guys called wolverines which are
nasty little ****ers, and keep an eye on the native indians too.

 

[traderran]

Hey, is it any wonder the bears are attacking more frequently. They belong in the forest, it is their home. We are visiting. So a good offence, as you put it, is a very good justification for bears to eat humans.

If that is the way you feel come on over I will supply the salt an pepper.

 

[santaman2000]

If all else fails a 5.56 minigun!

It'll only p*** him off.

 

[Graham_S]

Take Bear Grylls with you. He'll wrestle any bears that come along for you.

Seriously, lots of good advise here, have a great trip.

I'm very envious.

How many bears could Bear Grylls grill if Bear Grylss could grill bears?

 

[santaman2000]

Take a squirt bottle of honey. If you encounter a bear, spray your slowest companion with the honey and run. No, you cain't outrun a bear but you only have to outrun the slow guy wearing the honey.

 

[unorthadox]

Hopefully we`re getting over to Canada again next summer and I want to try and get a few sneaky nights out during our stay. I`ll probably be looking around the Banff area as it`s one of our favourite spots and we`ll probably spend more time there than anywhere else.

So my question is how do I camp safely and reduce the risk of a big hairy monster walking into our camp in the middle of the night and biting my face off. I know about suspending food up a tree far away from camp, and prepping and cooking food away too, but how can you be sure that you`ve not pitched up half a mile away from a couple of cubs and a very protective mother.
I`m curious myself but the wife needs concrete reassurance before she`ll even think about it.

Not that I can gaurentee this, but take a radio or music player with you to camp, play it at a volume high enough to warn wildlife whom are in the vicinity. A mother is likely to avoid the area

 

[bojit]

We went camping in Jasper , bannf and kananaskis in Alberta about 10 years ago , i never once felt worried about bears .
I can easily out run my wife !

Craig.............

 

[torc]

I once read an article about a wealthy angler from the city hiring a guide and going fishing on a remote river by helicopter.
Upon alighting from the helicopter the guide loaded his shotgun with 00 buck and the client proceeded to spray himself from head to foot with OC bear repellent.
Happy trails...torc.

 

[WeThePeoplexfbm]

abit late but ^^ dont listen to bears gyrlls.. his tips will get you kiled XD

 

[Wayland]

I was rather hoping the Bears would deal with Mr Grylls.

 

[John Dixon]

Hi Shewie,
I have recently spent 3 months riding my motorbike through Canada, Yukon and Alaska we did a fair bit of wild camping and some Established site camping, I never saw a single bear in those camps. I saw hundreds of bears on the road side, Black and Brown bears. All fantastic to watch. I did purchase a bear spray which of course we never used it, Its a great self defense tool, although I would be wary spraying humans as its nasty stuff, life at risk choice!

Moose now those buggers are bad news!

Common sense = you will be fine.