Bears, Bears, and Bears - Oh My!

“It looks as though grizzly bears are gonna make it back into the Bitterroots after all. That would complete the corridor from The Wind River Range, WY, to Alaska. Awesome.

The article mentions that the FWS made the current plan back in June. That plan was based on the negative response of the locals, who were against re-introduction. The responding locals were appearantly a vocal minority.

If the bears continue their habitat growth, they'll soon (our lifetimes) be in UT, CO, OR, CA, etc. Coolio!

I saw a griz while hiking in ID in 1996. Exhillerating!
It was one of the greatest moments of my backcountry life...

The Challis (ID) Messenger has an article about the local bears and/or wolves in almost every issue. Good readin'.

Article”

“Don't miss the next issue of the Challis (ID) Messenger, in which I.B. Grizz writes of his adventures upon being re-introduced into the Wind River Range:

"And there I was, having just been sprung from my cage after a horrific flight from Alaska and trying to shake off a hangover from those damned tranqualizers, when this weird animal appears some 100 yards away babbling 'look Belle thar's a cute grizzly.'"

"Well I tell ya there's nothing better to shake off a dart-gun hangover and get out of a pissed off mood than a good hot meal so I ..." (continued in the December issue).”

“Great.....just what we need. I'd just as soon they keep em up North.”

“There are griz in Colo. now. In the South San Juan Wilderness.”

“How come, Griz?”

“stix -
There is some speculation that they exist in The Weminuche, too, but it is yet to be confirmed.”

“Editor's Note: "Wind River Range" should be "Bitterroots" in the above teaser.”

“Good news, gojo. God Bless the grizzly!”

“gojo, I spend a lot of time in the Wiminuche and I havn't heard of any yet. The S.S.J. don't get near the traffic the Wiminuche do.”

“As much as I enjoyed seeing grizzly sign and even a few distant bears when hiking in Montana, I understand why many locals would oppose reintroduction of wolves and griz. In Wyoming I heard the stories of wolves going into people's barns and up on their porches to kill tied up dogs and young horses. There was a lot of anger and fear as a result about the reintroduction effort. It doesn't seem quite right that people who will never have to actually live with the results should determine whether or not reintroduction happens. When hiking through the cow country of the Bitterroots, I wondered how griz could possibly coexist with the prevalent local economy, but an article in Backpacker about the recent killing of one of the largest and most cattle hungry grizzlies said that in 15 years it had killed about 3 dozen cows. That really doesn't seem like that much. There are funds to reimburse ranchers when wolves and bear kill their livestock, so maybe it can work. And besides, if they do spread, a lot of hikers will be afraid to hike in those places, so there will be more 'wilderness' for those of us who are willing/eager to risk a little in the hopes of seeing predators at home where they belong, and not just behind wire fences.”

“Gojo...It's just nice not to have to worry about hangin food etc. We also have a cabin in the Uinta foothills and there are problems with Brown's and Cinnamons. A lady opened up her backdoor and a Cinnamon was starin her through the screen. They had to trap several this year.

If I want to see em, I'll go to Glacier.”

“I remember seeing that Backpacker article ginny and thought that the 3 dozen +- cows seemed pretty low for the 'worst' bear.”

“Well put ginny. They reintroduced the Mexican Wolf in N.M and Ariz. and they have been killing cattle. I guess I can see the ranchers point of view, however, there ain't an inch of the western land including wilderness that cows havn't been grazed on. First it was the bears and wolves country then the ranchers, now the wildlife is moving back in. Times do change.”

“I read the BP mag article, too, gin. I was surprised that the 22 y/o griz weighed only 800 lbs. The southern ones tend to be quite smaller than the AK, Kodiac, etc, ones tho.

Those poor ranchers. It's too bad that they would have to relinquish all that prime sagebrush/Alpine grazeland to make room for the griz.

Frankly, I have little sympathy for ranchers. There's plenty of room. The predation is very minimal - they lose many more head of livestock to disease, etc, than to predators.

I read something about griz when I was in the Weminuche last summer. All the hair grabbers that were put out got nothing but black hairs - nothing grizzled...”

“I hit a deer with my car once.

I'd hate to hit a bear!”

“Griz -
we hang food here, too, but it has little or nothing to with bears.

The gap in the grizzly corridor needs to plugged so's the bears can migrate freely up and down the Rox - this will help insure that inbreeding (which can lead to the demise of a species - the cheeta, for example) does not occur. We NEED a healthy, vibrant, and happy bear population here in the Great 48.

Besides, if you think bears are a problem, just wait until the armadillo gets up there! LOL!”

“null”

“I'd rather not have grizzlies introduced into the Olympics in WA. I'm not sure if the gov't wanted to do that, but they did mention wolves.

It wouldn't be fair to introduce these types of animals without letting people carry guns. For me, if I had to carry a gun, I wouldn't go hiking in those areas.”

“I hit an Armadillo once. Wern't purdy.”

“Well put, gojo. (Umm...I mean the post that actually has words. The other one is well put too, though. ;-)”

“So, lippy -
are you skeerd of a little 'ol bar?

Chicken!
bok bok bok!”

“they would never introduce new species to the Olympics. They are talking about RE-introducting bears to a place where they once roamed.

Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.”

“Farmer Jones has got no sheep
Isn't life a drag?
They've all been eaten by a bear
He's got nothing left to shag.”

“In Arkansas during the early 1800's they used to hunt bears with dogs. This may seem unfair to the bear, but they only treed the bear with the dogs. They killed them with a knife.”

“Who's talking about introducing grizzlies into the Olympics? Now that's way out in left field.

I don't get what people are so afraid of, a hungry black bear, hungry cougar, or pissed off wolverine is more scary to me. Now LH with a gun, that's truly a frightening thought!”

“Gojo, yer damn right I would be scared by being around grizzly territory! Maybe I'm a chicken, but I'll be a live chicken.

switchback, I did hear about reintroducing wolves some time ago. I haven't heard about bringing in brown bears.”

“Probably why all her "wilderness" pictures are taken from curbside.”

“Burst OLOL

Oops, I ain't got no pics.

hehehe”

“"Grizzly Bear encounters and attacks are extremely rare. A person visiting Yellowstone or Glacier National Park is much more likely to be injured in an automobile accident or a fall than by a grizzly bear. The overwhelming odds against being injured by a grizzly bear are widely reported--I will not recite them here."
- The American Grizzly Bear

Here's a fun link:

Bear ID Test

I nailed the test, even guessed right on the hunting regs.

Note that although they are known to attack people, it is not a large number of attacks. From 1900 through 1985, an average of less than 1 in 2.2 million visitors to North American national parks sustained injuries from grizzly bear attacks."
- US Scouting News

Most bears tend to avoid people. In most cases, if you give a bear the opportunity to do the right thing, it will. Many bears live in Alaska and many people enjoy the outdoors, but surprisingly few people even see bears. Only a tiny percentage of those few are ever threatened by a bear. A study by the state epidemiologist showed that during the first 85 years of this century, only 20 people died in bear attacks in Alaska. In the 10 years 1975-85, 19 people in Alaska were killed by dogs.
- Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game

The list goes on. A fear of getting mauled or killed by a Grizzly is simply unfounded. You have a better chance of getting hit by lightening.”

“12 out of 15...%80 exactly!”

“Here you go Lipstick Hiker, LOL!


”

“Ooops, back to html school for me.”

“Ooops, back to html school for me.”

“give up skluk”

“Last try.

”

“There's a better chance of that happening then even seeing a Grizzly. LOL”

“Darn 80% on the entrance exam but only 70% on the final! ...back to studying the regulations.”

“Did poorly on the first exam but 100% on the final! Recon I'm ready to go huntin some bares?”

“Note to self: Never shine light at sklukaz tent. Or grrr.”

“LOL steve hiker, I never said I was armed.”

“Just got this from a friend from our trip in July.

the bear”

“Bold Nymphy bold. Still it's proof MOST bars don't look at humans or nymphs as a food sourse.”

“My filter won't let me see!

How about a verbal description?”

“We don't want to scare you.”

“Surfing TV last night, I hit a National Geo. show on bears that was on a segment where a bear that was being filmed caught the scent of the soundperson's citronella bug repellent and came at her in a swoon. While the cameraman or bear expert is heard whispering, "easy, you're all right," the bear proceeded to rub its muzzle all over the poor woman as she crouched with her boom mike.

Well, so much for the "green" bug repellents -- the two brands I have use citronella as the main ingredient. I really don't want to be bear candy as an alternative to a mosquito buffet.”

“Kewl, nymph!

Is that you in the pic?
Cuuuuute!”