The Bears are AWAKE! Need strategy advice.

[Highland Ranger]

Tree Hugger Alert and TIME OUT!

If you shoot a bear, in my mind, it needs to be the same reason if you shot a human. Make sure, that any reasonable person in the same case, felt that their life and or property was in immediate danger.

Bears are not humans. They aren't warm cute cuddly or fuzzy. And a human life is far more valuable than an animal life. The same rules do not apply. Period.

Bears are very dangerous wild animals and are, in many areas, acceptable to hunt.

I agree, no need to go popping them off every ten feet for no reason. That's wasteful and bad karma.

But if one is coming around looking for food, it will find it whether its in the kennel or otherwise.

And if they start moving toward you, an agressive action, I'm ok with defending myself i.e. killing said bear.

From my black bear experience I can tell you they are FAST. 200 yards isn't as far for them as it is for us.

They were here first, and unless they are possessing a risk to us, leave them be IMO.

I agree with latter half of the thought except the they were here first part.

That doesn't matter. They don't get a vote until they learn how to build firearms . . . and without the opposable thumbs, slim chance of that.

Regarding "human encroachment" (a dirty terrible thing) how far back do you want to go? Maybe we should abandon the world and head back to the "Fertile Crescent" because technically the whole country has been encroached if you go far back enough.

How about we do it another way: Since we are at the top of the food chain, we'll let all the other species know where they are allowed to be, and develop what we please.

If we kill every bear and tear down every forrest we are fools, but the opposite end of the spectrum, "all encroachment is bad" and "bears are people too" is just as wrong and constitutes feel good knee jerk liberalism often spoon fed to the sheeple.

 

[djf]

Always remember the 3 S solution to wildlife management

1. Shoot
2. Shovel
3. Shut Up.

 

[Cosmoline]

cosmo, I happen to disagree with you somewhat.

Well I don't think you would if you saw the setup. A bear that I can see is by definition WAAAY too close to the kennel. And there's miles of wilderness it can use to just pass on by all around.

Anyway things are going fine so far. At this point there are at least three brownies and a bunch of black bear in the area. I have yet to see a single one set foot in the compound. There are some black bear prints 200 yards distant, and by the look of it he came in, took a scent and ran away, which is exactly what I'm hoping they all ado. We keep no food there except at feeding time (I won't even risk storing it in the so-called "bear proof" containers), and there's absolutely no good reason for a bear to come in unless it's decided several humans and a pack of big dogs isn't something to fear. A bear that isn't afraid of alk that is a bear I'm deeply concerned about. We burn or otherwise dispose of all the garbage and not to get to graphic but both me and the male dogs have pretty much staked out a 200 yard scent radius. Any bear coming into that zone will know the whole story with its awesome nose, and should know better than to keep coming.

 

[Cosmoline]

OK nightspell. I'll make a deal with you. I won't shoot any brown bears. Instead I'll trap them and ship them down to the Cascades and the extensive parkland around Seattle and Portland. That's natural brown bear habitat, and they will adapt like a fish to water.

For the record I love the bear, and I have no interest in shooting them all or poaching. I trust Alaska F&G and will certainly report any shooting and get the OK before using my tag. There is no need to "shovel and shut up." But I also know full well bear don't stick their nose in cabins or tents because they are "curious" or because they want to play. They have noses so advanced it's beyond human comprehension. They can smell far better than we can see, and a bear sticking said nose into a campsite or living area is a bear that a) knows exactly what's there and what's been there for the past year and b) doesn't give a damn or has decided it might taste good. If that bear high tails it, no problem. But if it stands there in that fifty yard clearing long enough for me to get a shot, I'm not waiting around to see if it will charge. A bear can close that gap faster than I can cycle even a levergun. They are FAST.

 

[Ktulu]

My dad always said, "If a bear charges, throw sh$% at it." Where do you get the sh$%? "Just reach back it will be there."

 

[0007]

I remember working a couple of long summers in the Canadian Northwest Territories. We always had a small crew of local natives(Inuit or indian). They always kept a dog around the living area and they said that most bears will move away from a "determined", i.e. barking dog. They kept a rifle around for the odd one that didn't. "Bear" in mind that these were polar bears that had been known to rip off the covers of sealed 55 gallon drums to get at the axle grease inside to snack on...

 

[TCD]

Well I'll consider a tree hugger comment a compliment then.


I happen to like wildlife. It's a shame that the fall season was closed down where I live because too many people shot bears that they thought were threats, when only a few IMO actually constitued a threat.

I like to go salmon fishing, and I realize that bears also like to go salmon fishing. I'm just content with allowing bears to be in the same area as myself especially when we are both harvesting our food. If said bear starts taking an intrest in me, and not the salmon, I'll have a shotgun handy.

Same reason why I'll carry a shotgun this summer when I go hiking. I'll take all the precautionary measures, but just because I happen to see a grizzly doesn't mean I'll shoot it. First, it needs to be somewhat close to justify a shooting IMO. Rather or not F&G will agree with me is also an issue.

I'm happy the way Alaska is right now, and I know many friends who are building away from our city and run into roaming grizzlys which usually just pass through their yards. If I'm in the same situation, I'll just try and get indoors, much like how I let the moose move through our yard before I start mowing the lawn. Both my mom and myself have been charged by moose before, but we'll just run inside, and let the moose do its thing, then we'll go do ours. Thankfully we've been close enough to our house to just runside. I see no reason to shoot the moose for trying to defend its territory if I can retreat. If I cant retreat, well then we'll have an issue. At the same time, I can remember countless days of walking home from school with moose just standing next to the road eating. Neither of us had much of a choice in the matter, and I was able to pass through without it taking much intrest in myself.


I just value the way Alaska is, and I like that we have the ability to have good hunting seasons. It makes me pretty darn mad when people shoot wildlife in supposed self defence when the only thing they were just passing through the yard.

How about we do it another way: Since we are at the top of the food chain, we'll let all the other species know where they are allowed to be, and develop what we please.

right because I can go sitdown with Mr. Grizzly, show him my property line and inform him I don't want him within XX feet of my house. Sure that will work. I'm not saying grizzly's are human. It's just that in many parts of the lower 48 we over harvested and screwed up many of the ecosystems. I would much rather conserve what we have, so my kids can see a moose giving birth in my back yard like I did, or go out to a friends house outside a city and see grizzlys roaming around. At the same time, I also want them to be allowed the chance to go hunting if they so choose, and not have to fly out to the bush to go hunt.

But that's just me

 

[Cosmoline]

Both my mom and myself have been charged by moose before, but we'll just run inside, and let the moose do its thing, then we'll go do ours.

Yes of course. We've all been charged by moose. And you can almost always get out of the way. But moose are not the same as hungry brown bear. The greatest threat they pose is to your garden.

The bear may not understand property lines, but they do understand territory. And if they are wandering around your back yard it's not because they don't know any better it's because they don't CARE. Your scent and that of your dogs doesn't scare them, and that is cause for great concern.