ConcordeBoy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 2, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 7 hours ago) and read 3318 times:
Volunteered at the zoo when I was 14, got to cut ice-blocks and present them to the Polar bears so that they wouldnt fall over and die during the summer.
Some were just solid blocks of ice. Some were beef cuts or chicken fat/liver, frozen in a 2x2x2 chunk of ice.
Lono From United States of America, joined Apr 2004, 1321 posts, RR: 1 Reply 3, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 6 hours ago) and read 3298 times:
HKG82
Brown (grizzly) bears in the wild are very smelly!!! Especially this time of year when they are eating as much as possible (spawning salmon) getting ready for the winter... they are very dangerous if you happen to surprise a mom and cub...
Polar bears are also very dangerous and as an interesting note... the polar bear is the only bear that has a history of hunting man... other bears try to go away from humans... but polar bears are the only documented species of bear that will hunt humans in the wild...
Both species are easily seen here in Alaska.... usually at a garbage dump!
VonRichtofen From Canada, joined Nov 2000, 4621 posts, RR: 40 Reply 5, posted (8 years 9 months 2 weeks 5 hours ago) and read 3273 times:
I've encountered a few black bears in the Canadian Rockies, and one dead Grizzly that was poached for its fur
As Lono said Black bears and Grizzly bears will usually avoid humans unless they feel threatened or it's a mother who feels her cubs are threatened. Still animals that need to be respected though, I always shake my head when I see a story of a tourist getting attacked trying to hand feed a black bear.
To a Polar Bear however humans are nothing but breakfast/lunch/ or dinner. They are also the largest of all bear species. It's a good thing their habitat is pretty much inaccessible to tourists without a guide or I'm sure we'd see a few cases a year of tourist being eaten trying to feed the "cute and cuddly" 2000lb Polar Bear.
L-188 From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 29350 posts, RR: 62 Reply 6, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 3255 times:
Grew up in brown bear country.
Nothing smells better then the belly of a 727 that has about 4 untanned, salted bear hides in it, in the fall.
Ones in the spring generallly don't smell as bad.....the bears haven't eaten a lot of fish yet I guess.
OBAMA-WORST PRESIDENT EVER....Even SKOORB would be better.
Hkg82 From Hong Kong, joined Apr 2002, 1219 posts, RR: 1 Reply 7, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 20 hours ago) and read 3262 times:
VonRichtofen: Yeah. Much the case with many other wild animals the population of bears in North America has dropped dramatically. But it can't be helped...
AvObserver From United States of America, joined Apr 2002, 2430 posts, RR: 10 Reply 9, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 20 hours ago) and read 3239 times:
Thankfully, in NJ, we've only blacks. I've seen grizzlies and one humongous Kodiak bear (the famous, now deceased, 'Goliath') at the Space Farms Zoo in Sussex, NJ. http://www.spacefarms.com/ That was the biggest damned bear I (or anyone else, I guess) ever saw! "Largest bear in the World -Goliath - 2000 pounds, 12 ft. tall (Guiness World Records) lived at Space Farms 1967-1991." I asked his keeper once, since Goliath seemed quite amiable, if he'd go into the cage with him. He replied with a stern glare, "NO!" A movie from the 70's called "Grizzly" tried to do a 'Jaws in the Woods' story with a FIFTEEN foot monster bear tearing up campers and hunters, It used a 10 foot tall, 1600 lb. trained Grizzly to portray the giant, which was supposed to be a Pleistocene Era throwback. Not a great movie but it had its moments. And yes, those polar bears can REALLY be bad news. Forget those cuddly, CGI Coca-cola commercials!
KDTWFlyer From United States of America, joined Jun 2004, 807 posts, RR: 1 Reply 10, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 20 hours ago) and read 3238 times:
Nothing like a pissed off defensive sow polar bear with you between her and her cubs... I saw a black bear crossing US-41 in the Keweenaw peninsula in Michigan a few years ago.
Nonrevman From United States of America, joined Nov 2001, 1289 posts, RR: 1 Reply 11, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 3234 times:
I have seen grizzlies in Denali National Park in Alaska. Some were from a vehicle while a couple of sightings were from a comfortable distance while on foot. The ones in this park are much smaller than the coastal bears since they do not eat as much meat.
I did see one polar bear on a visit to Point Barrow. It took off as soon as the tour vehicle approached the Point where some whale remains were deposited. There was not enough time to get a photo, but we did see one in the wild. Our guide told us that we are "the other white meat" for the polar bears.
MD11Engineer From Germany, joined Oct 2003, 13337 posts, RR: 64 Reply 13, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 3226 times:
I watched a documentary about some German college geology students once who got sent to Spitzbergen for some field assignment.
First thing they had to do on the island was an arctic survival course going for two weeks.
During this time they also learned that nobody leaves the settlement without a rifle due to polar bears.
They had to practice shooting on the range.
Acc. to this documentary, if you are a visitor in Spitzbergen, you can rent a rifle at local grocery stores.
Polar bears are protected species there, but you can shoot in selfdefense.
ConcordeBoy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 14, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 6 hours ago) and read 3209 times:
Grizzlies are much more likely to attack then Black Bears.
You have it backwards.
Though Browns/Grizzlies/Kodiaks are larger and can do more damage... Blacks are MUCH more likely (and also, much more documented) to attack humans.
Another interesting factoid is, while there's never been an officially documented case of a Grizzlie consuming a human; Black bears have been known to eat human flesh (dead or freshly-killed) quite often.
Iflyatldl From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 1936 posts, RR: 4 Reply 15, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 6 hours ago) and read 3204 times:
Do neighbors count?
Ah, Summer, Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox and Beer.....
Dash8King From Canada, joined Nov 2001, 2742 posts, RR: 12 Reply 16, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 4 hours ago) and read 3193 times:
Though Browns/Grizzlies/Kodiaks are larger and can do more damage... Blacks are MUCH more likely (and also, much more documented) to attack humans.
Another interesting factoid is, while there's never been an officially documented case of a Grizzlie consuming a human; Black bears have been known to eat human flesh (dead or freshly-killed) quite often.
You have it exactly the wrong way. I just finished a wildlife program this semester. There have been very few deaths cuased by Black Bears where there are many more by Grizzlies. I have encountered many Black Bears and for the most part if you make loud sounds and stand your ground they will run the other.
MTChemNerd757 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 230 posts, RR: 2 Reply 18, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 2 hours ago) and read 3184 times:
I live in Montana. Right outside my back door (I live about an hour from Yellowstone), I have both Grizzly bears and Black bears. Grizzly bears=scary. Black bears=not scary. In fact, I'm more afraid of running into a moose in the backcountry than a black bear. Dash8King is correct, black bears will usually just lumber off if you make some noise and don't piss them off. Grizzly bears, you want to kinda move away unnoticed if you can, haha. Both are VERY neat animals, but a grizzly bear definitely poses MUCH more of a threat to a full grown human than a black bear.
L-188 From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 29350 posts, RR: 62 Reply 20, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 21 hours ago) and read 3165 times:
Another interesting factoid is, while there's never been an officially documented case of a Grizzlie consuming a human
WRONG!!!!
There was a photographer in about 75 out where I lived who made the dumb ass mistake of pitching his tent in the middle of a bear trail. He was identified from stomach contents of the offending brown bear.
And just last year, Tim Treadwell a self proclaimed bear expert (Who I think was an idiot) who claimed that bears where friendly and would come up withing feet of them in the wild, got both him and himself eated by a bear at Katmai National Park. Again most of the bodies where found in "Food piles" which are made when bears bury a fresh kill for later consumption. And some of the two bodies where found in stomach contents.
OBAMA-WORST PRESIDENT EVER....Even SKOORB would be better.
L-188 From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 29350 posts, RR: 62 Reply 23, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 15 hours ago) and read 3147 times:
Well I didn't grow up in the right part of the state for Polar Bears.
I have heard that Black Bears are more easy to provoke an attack then Browns/Grizzleys (They are actually the same species).
But I think that rather then commenting on which species is more dangerous, it is more important to avoid situation where you might provoke an attack. Getting between mama and her cubs very bad as is stumbling on a "food pile" like I discussed earlier.
Out in the tundra in summer I tried and avoid bear trails, which are actually pretty easy to spot, as well as alder brambles where you can't see more then 5 feet away, both are pretty dangerous too. And I alway yeilded my fishing whole when one of them wanted.
In any case I would recommend giving them a wide berth,
OBAMA-WORST PRESIDENT EVER....Even SKOORB would be better.
Dash8King From Canada, joined Nov 2001, 2742 posts, RR: 12 Reply 24, posted (8 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 3132 times:
Oh yes, if you come between a mother and her cubs or a bear and their food then you will be attacked. But unless they are already pissed off Black Bears can be scared away much more easily.
25 ConcordeBOy: Yeah but ConcordeBoy lives in LA where he comes across all types of bears every day ...not everyday; but I'd say hitting a Cinnamon Black in '02 and h
26 Dash8King: I encountered my first bear when I was about 6 or 7 and have encountered many more since then.
27 ConcordeBOy: Bully for you, want a gold sticker?
28 Dash8King: Nope but you were implying or at least I perceived you were implying that I haven't encountered bears myself.
29 Arrow: I spend time every summer backpacking in the Rockies (just got back from a 5-day jaunt on the Tamarack Trail in Waterton), and I've run into both blac
30 L-188: Terrific Arrow....I do remember a story of a guy that was transiting Canada enroute to Alaska, and had his can of bear repelant seized by Canadian Cus
31 Klaus: What kind of spray do you use against an animal that rolls in decaying carcasses to "perfume" itself...?
32 L-188: it's a form of mace/pepper spray. Again, like I said, the way that it was marketed led some to think that it was to be used like bug dope.
33 Klaus: L-188: Again, like I said, the way that it was marketed led some to think that it was to be used like bug dope. Some people just can´t be helped...
34 L-188: Hey, I have always belive the best protection against a bear is a slower friend
35 KiwiNanday: To a Polar Bear however humans are nothing but breakfast/lunch/ or dinner. They are also the largest of all bear species. It's a good thing their habi
36 L-188: Negative, as a species Polar Bears are bigger. Kodiaks are only that big in the late fall when they fatten up for hibernation. A polarbear doesn't car
37 Lono: L-188 is correct... the polar bear is the largest bear on the planet >http://www.bearbiology.com/pbdesc.html
38 Arrow: Bear spray is basically powdered pepper -- spray it in the bear's face and she'll be very uncomfortable, blinded, having trouble breathing, etc. and p
39 L-188: I'll stick with a .45-70 Marlin guide gun firing handloads, souped up to the pressures that modern firearms can tolorate... .12 guage shotguns are ok,
40 CanadianNorth: I've seen bears, but luckily only in controlled areas or through the window of a truck or something. One time though I was taking the shortcut through
41 L-188: Yeah, officially I have had my truck bumper about 3 meters off the rump of a brown bear. Out in the open, I am going to call it about 50 feet. I don't
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