Sea Lion attacks

GRG55 said:
Among other potentially dangerous critters, we have both black bears and grizzlies in the national parks near where I live. I am constantly amazed at the utterly idiot things summer tourists will do stopping on the highway and getting out of their cars with their kids and their cameras when they spot a bear. I get the feeling some people actually think these animals really are just like Yogi & Boo Boo.

One of the dumbest was a nitwit who had his kid tossing bits of a peanut butter sandwich in an attempt to lure the bear closer to get a picture.
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Yes, people who feed bears and stop traffic to take pictures of them really get my dander up. I've had more than my fill of bears in the wild and the idea that someone would want to get closer to a wild bear just strikes me as stupid in the extreme. I certainly don't want to have to deal with a "tame" (not!) bear outside my house or on a local trail because idiots decided he was too cute to leave be. Around here bears are fairly common, and at least one bear is seen rummaging through a garbage bin in town every spring. I've yet to see one since moving here but I'm sure it will happen sooner or later -- and believe me, I'm not looking forward to the experience.
 
Anthony said:
I had two friends that were eaten by a Grizzly bear in Glacier National Park as they slept in their tent. A man, and a woman. To this day, I will not be a soft target in Griz country.
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My condolences, that's tragic. :( It's also one of the reasons that back country camping in places like Glacier and Yellowstone is not on my bucket list.
 
azure said:
My condolences, that's tragic. :( It's also one of the reasons that back country camping in places like Glacier and Yellowstone is not on my bucket list.
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Thank you. A very nice, young couple that had just graduated from college. Sometimes, you are not at the top of the food chain.
 
Anthony said:
Thank you. A very nice, young couple that had just graduated from college. Sometimes, you are not at the top of the food chain.
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In bear country, no you are not.

Bears are cool, I love being in bear country but they are not wanting to be your friend.
 
azure said:
Yes, people who feed bears and stop traffic to take pictures of them really get my dander up. I've had more than my fill of bears in the wild and the idea that someone would want to get closer to a wild bear just strikes me as stupid in the extreme. I certainly don't want to have to deal with a "tame" (not!) bear outside my house or on a local trail because idiots decided he was too cute to leave be. Around here bears are fairly common, and at least one bear is seen rummaging through a garbage bin in town every spring. I've yet to see one since moving here but I'm sure it will happen sooner or later -- and believe me, I'm not looking forward to the experience.
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Around here they are still kind of a novelty, so some zipperheads leave their bird feeders out hoping to get a picture of a "cute" black bear pillaging. They think they are harmless, and they are for the most part, until they are not.
 
PaulS said:
Around here they are still kind of a novelty, so some zipperheads leave their bird feeders out hoping to get a picture of a "cute" black bear pillaging. They think they are harmless, and they are for the most part, until they are not.
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Where is "around here"? I didn't know there was anywhere that bears have moved newly into so that fools would think of them as a "novelty". Most places they are becoming less common, not more, as humans encroach upon their habitat and drive them out or kill them when they become (inevitably) a nuisance.

Black bears are still fairly common throughout northern New England though. No one around here that I know of thinks of them as a "novelty". People generally treat them as the wild animals they are. At least, people who live here. Tourists from the big city? All bets are off.
 
azure said:
Where is "around here"? I didn't know there was anywhere that bears have moved newly into so that fools would think of them as a "novelty". Most places they are becoming less common, not more, as humans encroach upon their habitat and drive them out or kill them when they become (inevitably) a nuisance.

Black bears are still fairly common throughout northern New England though. No one around here that I know of thinks of them as a "novelty". People generally treat them as the wild animals they are. At least, people who live here. Tourists from the big city? All bets are off.
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North Central Massachusetts. I actually had a selectman make fun of me for warning people to avoid them and scare them away. That one is locked away in the memory bank for when the inevitable happens. You can't imagine the stupidity. I also have a place in central NH, it's like night and day with respect to bears, people up there are shamed if they are stupid enough to leave bird feeders out after it warms up or feed bears.
 
Yes, that sounds like the height of stupidity. I thought bears had always lived throughout New England, but were just becoming less common in the south. Live and learn!
 
azure said:
Where is "around here"? I didn't know there was anywhere that bears have moved newly into so that fools would think of them as a "novelty". Most places they are becoming less common, not more, as humans encroach upon their habitat and drive them out or kill them when they become (inevitably) a nuisance.

Black bears are still fairly common throughout northern New England though. No one around here that I know of thinks of them as a "novelty". People generally treat them as the wild animals they are. At least, people who live here. Tourists from the big city? All bets are off.
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Bear populations are growing in Arkansas and Missouri.
 
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