Bears, wolves, mountain lions, oh my! Have you ever gotten close to one or had one cross your path while hunting, hiking, etc? I unfortunately, have not. I'd actually look forward to seeing my first big predator that isn't in a zoo though I doubt I'm prepared if it decided to attack.
Any Confrontations with Predators?
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le Metis
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Backpacking across Kenya following the equator, the big preditors were always a concern, more so when entering the Tsavo. Knowing that you were on the menu too, made you pay attention to early warning signs of other animals...making it to a village before nightfall, or finding a well built boma was essential for personal safety....
When I was 13 I went on a canoe trip to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota with class mates. One of the girls in my tent smuggled a candy bar in and put it under her pillow "for later". A bear caught a whiff of it in the middle of the night and kept brushing against the side of the tent sniffing around. Did she ever catch hell!
I just posted a couple of incidents in the "animals" thread. I have also met a black bear nose to nose (20 feet) and had a griz cross my path about 75 yards ahead of me. Also several other bear encounters of a less adrenalin rush nature. The bears all wanted to avoided me as much as I wanted to avoid them. I have also had wolves follow us and have run accross bobcats aplenty. But in all my years in the out of doors and that includes full time farming and ranching, I have yet to see a cougar in the wild. We have plenty of them around here. I have run accross their kills, seen their tracks within a 1/4 mile of my house, had neighbors see them and have seen them hit on the highway near here. My son-in-law saw 5 together one day shortly after he moved near here. But for me, the scariest critter is still the moose. He has to be the most notional animal ever created. I have only had one charge me once and luckily it was a fake charge or I may not have been able to dodge behind trees fast enough. The carnivores seem to be mostly concerned with food and they don't want to mess with humans but the moose just doesn't like to be bothered and is not afraid of us.
I had just came home from a few day trek in the Jed Smith, let the dogs out for a run and went in the house to unpack. I heard the dogs bark (unusual) and looked out. My two labs were standing on the edge of my back lawn barking at two yearling moose that had just stepped out of the orchard about 200 feet across a grain field. The dogs would advance a couple of steps and bark and the moose would back up a couple of steps. Then the moose would advance toward the dogs a few steps and the dogs would back up. Funny but the moose were getting closer so I called the dogs into the house. The moose came into the yard pawing and blowing snot and walked around for a few minutes. Satisfied they had chased the dogs off, they then headed down to the creek and crossed through a hay field to go bother someone else for a while.
I had just came home from a few day trek in the Jed Smith, let the dogs out for a run and went in the house to unpack. I heard the dogs bark (unusual) and looked out. My two labs were standing on the edge of my back lawn barking at two yearling moose that had just stepped out of the orchard about 200 feet across a grain field. The dogs would advance a couple of steps and bark and the moose would back up a couple of steps. Then the moose would advance toward the dogs a few steps and the dogs would back up. Funny but the moose were getting closer so I called the dogs into the house. The moose came into the yard pawing and blowing snot and walked around for a few minutes. Satisfied they had chased the dogs off, they then headed down to the creek and crossed through a hay field to go bother someone else for a while.
BigBackyard
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Cows, sheep, horses, horse flies. That's about as close as I have come really. It's not just a case of luck but of where we live, and of choosing to avoid the scary places!
ChadTower
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I grew up in heavy blueberry country in the backwoods. Bears were common in July/August. Also common during herring migration in April. Generally they were not interested in us given the abundance of food that doesn't run away. Every now and then we'd be harvesting and they'd be harvesting 75 yards away. No problems. Just be aware of any cubs, stay away from them, and if the cubs wander around your backside leave. Don't let the mom discover the path between her and her cub goes through you or it just might.
I've run into moose in the white mountains, too. If you know the signs of moose activity you can often tell you are in their yard. Bark chewed off young trees, game trails, the edges of open areas. The poster above is right in that moose are a little crazy. You aren't on the menu - you're just very unwelcome and on the wrong day can be charged for no obvious reason.
I've run into moose in the white mountains, too. If you know the signs of moose activity you can often tell you are in their yard. Bark chewed off young trees, game trails, the edges of open areas. The poster above is right in that moose are a little crazy. You aren't on the menu - you're just very unwelcome and on the wrong day can be charged for no obvious reason.
We were getting ready for work one morning and all of the sudden we heard something getting in the trash out by the road up our hollow. I went out to scare away the coon and a big old black bear raised it's head out of my trash can. Needless to say, I let Mr. Bear continue with his breakfast without my interference. That's as close as I ever want to come to a predator.
hunter44mag
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I came face to face with a Louisiana black bear while wild pig hunting in the swamp, about 5-8 yards. Louisiana bears are small but still a bear. I stood as tall as I could, kept my slug gun aimed until he turned away. They may seem small or harmless, but they are still wild. Wild animal reactions are governed by their response to food source, young, and perceived threat. You are a guess, univiteded by them, in their home.
yosemitefan
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I was camping as part of a larger group and all our tents were in close proximity to one another. I was wrapped in nothing but a towel and just climbed out of my tent to go wash up when I was face to face with a huge black bear--actually she was a blonde color. She stared at me for a moment, then nonchalantly went sniffing through the other tents. Apparently, someone had left food around. She didn't seem too concerned about me but my heart leapt into my throat.
Going to try again to post the picture of the fierce creature waiting to pounce on us
Sorry folks, can't get the knack of this. It is a picture of a tiny fawn trying to hide his face with his hiney still sticking in the air. Precious
Sorry folks, can't get the knack of this. It is a picture of a tiny fawn trying to hide his face with his hiney still sticking in the air. Precious
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ChadTower
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There aren't many animals in North America I would fear all that much. Now, if I were a day's hike into the forest, and ran into a clown, I might wet myself.