This is copied from www.CanadianGunNutz.com, where I originally posted this.
The events in this story took place June 10th 2008.


I will be the first person to admit that I don't take black bears too serious. A couple weeks ago we had that run-in with Yellow Face, when he was bluff charging and threat displaying. That bear never concerned me.


But I had an experience tonight that did.

I'll post the sequence of pictures that I took, the story can sorta be seen, just from them.



I was on my ATV mooching along slowly, just north of my moose hunting camp. On the loggin trail I spotted some smoking fresh bear tracks. I knew the bear had just travelled through and there could be a chance of running into him.
Well I maybe went 100 yards and there he was. I stopped and glassed him. The bear moved away. At first I thought he had spooked and run, but I peeked around the corner and there he was.
So I stopped the quad, grabbed my camera and then I thought, "What the heck, take the .338WM just in case..."


The bear moving casually along.








I'm including every pic, even though these 4 look pretty much identical. The thing is the bear was already throwing up warning signals here. He was aware of me, but just stood and looked, while I took these 4 pics.


Then he goes back to feeding like I am not even there...




It's actually not black but a dark, dark chocolate brown with a tan muzzle. Nice looking bear; he's 6' and maybe just a bit over. A very solid bear.


I whistled at him here.


He is again aware and looking at me but is not afraid. Hmmm...


Now he stands up to look at me.


As soon as he dropped down to all-fours I could see something about his body language that was not right. Plus he hopped stiff-legged and did a bluff charge after this pic...


And now he starts to come.




When he hit this log and hit that pose I knew things were not good.


And he keeps coming...


And coming...



After that last picture, which was like 35 yards, the bear was not stopping and was advancing steadily. All his body language said that he was going to f**k me up!
At that point I put the camera away and I yelled at the bear. It did not pause.

I knew things were at the point where I would shoot him or he was going to come big-time, right away. So I took the only option left, right after he came off that log, I fired into the mud about 6" in front of and dead-center of the f**kers feet, with my .338WM. That stopped him and made him dance backwards 10'.
But you know, that goddamn bear did not run. He just walked away.

As I walked back to my ATV I kept glancing back because "he was not your average bear". He definitely had my attention.

After I got on the quad and drove up around the corner, goddamn if that son-of-a-bitch was not still right there on the logging trail. And then he went into the display s**t, where he started biting every tree he came to!
Then he started jaw popping! And finally he made an exaggerated display of aggressively feeding right in front of me; really ripping out big clots of grass.

So at that point I just wanted to be rid of the prick and I suddenly hammered the throttle of the quad and accelerated right at him. That finally made him break and run, and I was some glad to see him run off.


I have one major problem though, we might have trouble with him come fall hunting season. The fact that a .338WM right at his feet, did not make him run is bad, very bad. I probably should have shot the bastard.


So he has earned the nick-name Bad News, and altered my opinion of black bears.

Spring time...he's hungry and your ATV looked like a meal. It's a friggin' Black Bear man not a Tyrannosaurus Rex....

Next time take something in between a Camera and a .338 (take them both too). I'd have some fun with him if it were me. I'd take a big ol Jethro sized can of high pressure Bear Spray, a monster Taser, and the first round in my rifle loaded with a rubber FN. An airhorn and a big rubber mallet too!!

Maybe he just wants to wrestle for your lunch??

Macifej my ATV was 250 yards behind me, as I had followed the bear down the trail.

FWIW I've seen and stalked lots of bears and lots bigger bears then this guy. This bear was different then any I have ever encountered.

He was a smart bear who wasn't afraid and you were stalking him... he probably didn't like that you were messing with him. What did he say??

Hey I gaurantee if you don't show up there again he won't give you any more dirty looks or talk any more trash!

FWIW anyone can take the easy road and shoot him...it takes more brains than a bear to outsmart one. Anyway...if he bothers you let me know and I'll have a word with him.

BTB - nice photos........

maybe if you just introduce your local PETA whinners to him

Bears always have been, and always will be unpredictable. I've had some interesting experiences with black bears. In Maine and New Brunswick, if a bear realizes you are there, they are gone.

In Alberta, they want to climb your tree to check you out, even though you many scream at them, shoot at them, etc. My guide recalls several incidents where bears would take beaver carcasses right off the atv while they were baiting, or working on a treestand. Also, have had episodes of being charged while at bait sites, or even on logging roads that lead to bait sites.

This year was my first experience in BC. These bears acted like NB bears, and would take off when they realized you were there.

I guess Alberta bears have balls and the rest are pansies?

I had a similar expierence with a grounghog this spring. I made the mistake of staring at him too long and he started to throw gang signs at me. Good thing I had thr 22lr with me or things could have gotten out of hand!

Just kidding.....I'm happy that you're safe, we tend to play down the danger that bears are.

P.S. I would have shot him fast!

Personally I think that downplaying the danger here to you and to the next person that might encounter this guy is completely assinine.
If that were my neck of the woods and I had family, friends, or just myself that could become a victim of his attitude I would blow his black ass away and not say a word about it to anyone.
This is kind of like living in rattlesnake country in my opinion.
It does not make a frick where I am at, I am a by god human and yes I do own the road.
If I see one near where people go I kill the bastard.
If I see one off the beaten path I may or may not kill the bastard depending on how I feel at the moment.

This bear would F'n die if he pulled that shit again with me.

Or listen to the bleeding heart and let him walk with that attitude until he eats some kid or unfortunate hiker without a clue..

quote:

Originally posted by bucko:
Personally I think that downplaying the danger here to you and to the next person that might encounter this guy is completely assinine.
If that were my neck of the woods and I had family, friends, or just myself that could become a victim of his attitude I would blow his black ass away and not say a word about it to anyone.
This is kind of like living in rattlesnake country in my opinion.
It does not make a frick where I am at, I am a by god human and yes I do own the road.
If I see one near where people go I kill the bastard.
If I see one off the beaten path I may or may not kill the bastard depending on how I feel at the moment.

This bear would F'n die if he pulled that shit again with me.

Or listen to the bleeding heart and let him walk with that attitude until he eats some kid or unfortunate hiker without a clue..

English as a second language??

Snakes & Bears & God & Kids y'all!!!

Have you always been a dink?

Yes!! But in a friendly way Bucko!!

Well I at least respect you for your honesty.

Actually I was thinking right after I wrote what I did about your suggestion.
And I have to agree on one point at least.
My immediate reaction to a spoiled and aggressive animal such as this is to shoot him.
Allowing this kind of thing to grow is what is getting people killed in California by lions and people all over by bears.

However you are right, to kill him would be to only fix the immediate problem, but if someone were to simply educate him so that he can educate others then we have really gained some ground in the respect dept.
A taser is a good idea except too damn close for comfort, pepper spray has the same problem.

I think a twelve gauge with rubber bullets would be a real good answer, or a compound bow with a rubber blunt.
Either one would knock him on his ass and leave an impression that would not wear off for a while.
Then he becomes another ambassador for the better watch your ass around humans club..

Gee mate what a great read ,loved the pic's some next year time I will be over in BC there would be a good chance I'll be able to get a good crack at one with a fellow mate over there.

Good stuff.

Bucko where ever you go on this forum you're advocating shooting this or that damned animal because they might attack you. Have you ever been out of the city??? Honestly you seem so damned scared of every animal I don't see how you could ever set foot outside the truck.

Demonical you did the right thing. Gave the bear a chance and in a couple years he'll be a great big dude that will look nice on the wall.

cheers

quote:

Originally posted by calgarychef1:
Bucko where ever you go on this forum you're advocating shooting this or that damned animal because they might attack you. Have you ever been out of the city??? Honestly you seem so damned scared of every animal I don't see how you could ever set foot outside the truck.

Demonical you did the right thing. Gave the bear a chance and in a couple years he'll be a great big dude that will look nice on the wall.

cheers

chef thanks for your response.

I have thought about this quite a bit since it happened and one thing I remain certain of is that the bear meant to do me harm.

I also am certain that I did the right thing by stopping the bear the way I did.
I've had some people make light of the situation, but they were not there and they do not have the privelege of seeing that bear's behaviour. I believe any of the people laughing about it would have done what I did. Many of those same jokers would have shot the bear.

Also, imagine that someone had made the mistake of assuming that, that bear was "harmless". I know that the bear had to only travel a few more yards and then the distance between us would have been too short for anything but death to one or both of us.

I know that because I was there and they were not.

I had no backup rifle behind or beside me, my ATV was some distance behind me down the trail, I could not retreat to it. I had already learned that shouting did not work, there were no rocks to bounce off it as people have suggested (www.CanadianGunNutz.com).
My right ear is still sore from the damn muzzle blast of my .338WM...

Also, yes, at the time, I was angry with that bear, but the reality is that I caused the situation by not treating it with enough respect. I caused it's anger and reactions. So the whole situation was my fault really.

Hopefully in time the bear will not cause troubles for me or anyone else and will some day become a big mature boar, 7'+ and then we will meet again.

I am glad that I did not (have to) kill the bear.


Later, Demonical.

good on ya for not killing the bear. Many people would have felt fully justified in doing so (unfortunate in my mind). As stated earlier, it takes a bigger brain to get out of the situation without any casualties.

Hopefully he isn't a problem in fall. Maybe he'll remember you and leave you alone (his ears might still be ringing).

Just think, he has the pressure of trying to get enough food in him to survive the year. Maybe he was being protective of his sedge patch or something. Might have better food sources by fall.

There is a reason they're called "wild" animals. I take some comfort that we still live in a world were there is such a thing as wild animals. Make no mistake, I go armed in the woods, and would defend myself with deadly force if necessary, but it would be a last resort situation, and I would take no pleasure in it.

I like the way you handled the situation, Demonical

Demonical-

It appears you realize how close you *very well could have been* to getting quartered by that bear.

It's amazing how quickly they can move, how much force they can put into something with little more that what would appear to be a little flinch from their end.
I've seen much smaller black bears reach out and launch walker and plott hounds 20-30 feet where I couldn't even see the bear having moved one of their limbs.
Spooky fast, super powerful.

Good thing you're around to share the story.
Think about -not- approaching one like that in the future unless you're planning on shooting it.
And if you do, drop me a line once you get the backstraps home! I have a super simple and ultra delicious recipe I'll share with you when the time comes.


Thanks for sharing the story and photos.


--Tinker

Chef all that I can say is that if you had the nuts to follow me where I go you would know better than to run your idiot mouth.

But to get to the guts of the matter it is stupid bleeding hearts like yourself that help innocent people get killed on a regular basis.
This bear is NOT a wild animal, he is a spoiled and arrogant killing machine.
He has watched people, been exposed to people, and been desensitized to the dangers of people to the point where he has lost his natural fear of man.
This simply bodes no good for him, or for the unfortunate hiker or fisherman that gets killed and eaten and damn sure gives the rest of the species a black eye as well.

You are opening your mouth about a subject that you obviously have no idea about.
Are you from California by any chance? there are a bunch of dipshits like yourself there that said the same thing about the mountain lion.
Now look at what is on their menu,, California hiker, the other white meat.

Or perhaps we should all just stay out of the woods since they were there first??

quote:

lost his natural fear of man

Ok Mister Evolutionary Biologist...please explain to the home audience how predators such as Bears, Wolves, Big Cats are supposed to be afraid of humans??

quote:

Originally posted by bucko:
Chef all that I can say is that if you had the nuts to follow me where I go you would know better than to run your idiot mouth.

But to get to the guts of the matter it is stupid bleeding hearts like yourself that help innocent people get killed on a regular basis.
This bear is NOT a wild animal, he is a spoiled and arrogant killing machine.
He has watched people, been exposed to people, and been desensitized to the dangers of people to the point where he has lost his natural fear of man.
This simply bodes no good for him, or for the unfortunate hiker or fisherman that gets killed and eaten and damn sure gives the rest of the species a black eye as well.

You are opening your mouth about a subject that you obviously have no idea about.
Are you from California by any chance? there are a bunch of dipshits like yourself there that said the same thing about the mountain lion.
Now look at what is on their menu,, California hiker, the other white meat.

Or perhaps we should all just stay out of the woods since they were there first??

Bucko, where I ran into this bear it is very remote wilderness.
I guarantee this bear has not had any previous human encounters. Except for a handful of people that hunt moose in that bush, there is almost noone that goes there.

To say he has been conditioned to humans is extremely unlikely. Like I would say zero chance.

Macijef you truly are a little jerk.

Demonical that is strange behavior, but then perhaps it could be that he is just that arrogant and unafraid.
Yet it is so suspicious that he was not afraid of you, the 4 wheeler nor even the gunshot.

Something does not add up here in his behavior.

quote:

Originally posted by bucko:
Chef all that I can say is that if you had the nuts to follow me where I go you would know better than to run your idiot mouth.

But to get to the guts of the matter it is stupid bleeding hearts like yourself that help innocent people get killed on a regular basis.
This bear is NOT a wild animal, he is a spoiled and arrogant killing machine.
He has watched people, been exposed to people, and been desensitized to the dangers of people to the point where he has lost his natural fear of man.
This simply bodes no good for him, or for the unfortunate hiker or fisherman that gets killed and eaten and damn sure gives the rest of the species a black eye as well.

You are opening your mouth about a subject that you obviously have no idea about.
Are you from California by any chance? there are a bunch of dipshits like yourself there that said the same thing about the mountain lion.
Now look at what is on their menu,, California hiker, the other white meat.

Or perhaps we should all just stay out of the woods since they were there first??

My turn to jump in here. I think you're totally out to lunch . This bear is no more conditioned to people, than any other bear you're likely to run into in our woods. You must have got your bear experience in Banff. If you spend a little time in the woods, you learn to read bear behaviour and don't just needlessly snuff the bear. My favorite Yankee tourist story is about the American who was visiting a campground, just south of Jasper, where a small black bear climbed on this idiots picnic table. The tourist whipped out his .38 and gunned down the bear. He won't be coming back to Canada, for a looong time.

Grizz

quote:

Macijef you truly are a little jerk.

Try not to be such a violent little retard Bucko you might get yourself into a difficult spot...

Would not be my first,and you are the one with the smartass attitude so frankly go bugger yourself..

It is people like you and Grizz that give bears a bad name.
No this is not normal behavior, but tolerance of it is what is causing so many problems.
Ar one time real outdoorsmen would put the fear of God into animals like this.
But now there are so many like yourself around that condone it that there are real problems.

And Grizz in case you were not paying attention let me clue you in, the behavior that this bear was exhibiting towards demonical, and the example of the bear on the picnic table were two entirely different attitudes.
But regardless,, yes the little bastard that jumped on the table deserved to get shot as well.
So how would you deal with it Grizz?? in a few years he will be breaking into cars, raiding camps, and yes very likely attacking people.
So lets talk about your fukking bleeding heart then why don't we.
Sacrifice your child or spouse and see if you feel the same.
Or if we are lucky it will just be your dumbass that gets chewed up.

If people like yourselves were not so dangerous you would be funny.

quote:

the little bastard that jumped on the table deserved to get shot as well

Poster child for gun control.....

I am tired of argueing with idiots, have a nice day.

quote:

Originally posted by bucko:
Would not be my first,and you are the one with the smartass attitude so frankly go bugger yourself..

It is people like you and Grizz that give bears a bad name.
No this is not normal behavior, but tolerance of it is what is causing so many problems.
Ar one time real outdoorsmen would put the fear of God into animals like this.
But now there are so many like yourself around that condone it that there are real problems.

And Grizz in case you were not paying attention let me clue you in, the behavior that this bear was exhibiting towards demonical, and the example of the bear on the picnic table were two entirely different attitudes.
But regardless,, yes the little bastard that jumped on the table deserved to get shot as well.
So how would you deal with it Grizz?? in a few years he will be breaking into cars, raiding camps, and yes very likely attacking people.
So lets talk about your fukking bleeding heart then why don't we.
Sacrifice your child or spouse and see if you feel the same.
Or if we are lucky it will just be your dumbass that gets chewed up.

If people like yourselves were not so dangerous you would be funny.

I'm trying to keep a light hearted attitude about this. So, by your reasoning, any bear that doesn't turn tail and run, should be shot? You'd better not come to Alberta, in that case, because with an attitude like that, you'd be spending some time in jail. We also have Grizzlies here and the price tag for taking a poke at one of those, without adequate justification, could cost you a half million bucks, by the time they finished with you. The bear on the picnic table, by the way, was in a national park
Grizz

Wow!
This deteriorated from a great story and a situation handled well by Demonical to a bunch of whipped up shit!
Okay enough posturing bucko and company, back to the story.
Demonical I must say your asessment of the bear and his posturing appear to be right on the money and the way you handled it was beyond reproach. Great pictures, nice story and pat yourself on the back for handling it well. Shooting your way out of it would have been an option but you are obviously looking for a bigger bear and he will grow up to be that bear in a year or two (three?).
Keep the pictures and stories coming.

Well said Snellstrom.

By the way Bucko you need to look at the atlas, Calgary aint in California. I suppose it's just another example of your "superior" education.

Now go and play like a nice little boy.



the chef--yea the one from Calgary Alberta Canada

Demonical,
Great way to handle the situation. I agree with your assessment regarding you may have provoked the attitude the bear exhibited. it is spring, it was hungry & feeding and you were following it, it just wanted you to piss off. You didn't with it's posturing so it was going to give you a reason to leave or possibly give you hell. Great job and great nerves for doing everything in your power to not have to shoot this bear. I do not believe it has been de-sensitized, I know the country you live in I live in the same type of terrain. Once again nerves of steel, good on ya.
Just my 2 cents

Oh chef, you are so insecure and it shows.
Ladies I am so sorry that I interrrupted your club.
And after some reflection Macijef I do resent your threats and if you ever want a chance to back it up in person let me know I am sure that we can work something out.
Grizz, your attitude surprised me a little, but then I can see that you have to stick up for the home team.
Or if you are just being a smartass well then get in line and pucker up since I don't give a flip about what kind of sense of humour you are trying to keep.

The bottom line is that these kinds of agressive displays really should not be tolerated.
As I have said perhaps we do not need to shoot them, but something damn sure needs to be done to make an impression that we are not to be chewed on or threatened.
This is exactly the kind of attitude that got the lady eaten, but then from what I gather he most likely got away to do so again.
What ever did happen to that bear by the way?
He needed a 12 gauge slug through his head, ideally while he was "posturing"towards that poor unfortunate woman.

This bear was no different, he is just an accident waiting for a place to happen.

But keep your tough guy mountain man self image where the wild is still the wild and we need to just let it be.
This is like leaving a rattlesnake in your garden.
But hey it is your garden,, and if it eats a few of ya well there is one born every minute, eh?

Well girls I wish that I could say that it has been fun, but actually it has been nothing more than pathetic.
Macijef, personally I think that you are a punk and the offer still stands.
So until then don't get any on ya.

Still can't help yourself Jethro? You might start by re-reading the entire thread goat herder! - at which point you'll notice you're the only one who agrees with you and the only one who doesn't think you're a Super-Sized Drive-Thru Window moron.



More Proof?? Dumb-ass - you have no idea whether I'm a 90 Y.O. toothless transient or the FBI - idiot!!!

If you think you wanna find out Mister 88 posts Animal Behavioralist Genius - I'm not hard to find!! Jump in your Pacer Bitch!!

In the mean time I registered you for the forums over at Poachers.com, WildlifeFreeAmerica.com, and Victoria's Secret.........

"When I was a kid my father used to tell me that God hated a coward, I finally realized he has even less use for a fool."
Too bad you haven't figured out yet, that he was referring to you.
Grizz