AGGRESSIVE BEAR ENCOUNTER!

[Grizzly Adam]

Yesterday I came up on a big boar crossing our dead-end road, in the section of it that runs through woods. He gave the truck a glance and very nonchalantly crossed the ditch and went into the woods. I noted where he went in, and as I drew near I watched for him. Sure enough, he was about five yards in ... I came to a stop, rolled the window down, blew the horn and shouted "HEY!" ... and he stood his ground.

Even that is unusual behavior; I've seen bears stay put when feeding, at night, but for a mature boar to hold tight five yards from a running truck with a blaring horn and a shouting man in it is highly irregular.

I backed up a little, came forward again, blew the horn again, and shouted again ... and that boar began to pound the ground (maybe you're familiar with that behavior) and pop his teeth! He then stood erect and began to thrash a tree!

As some of you may know, this is extremely abnormal behavior for a mature boar black bear. He wasn't scared; I know what a scared bear acts like. HE WAS MAD, AND HE WAS CHALLENGING ME!

Sadly, I didn't have a firearm with me, or you can bet that I would have moved him on down the pike. As it was, all I could do was go on.

I have no doubt this bear is a habituated dumpster-raider from the farm at the end of the road. His contempt for a man in a truck at what would normally be an intolerably close proximity proves that to me. His behavior also tells me that he is used to observing men up close and has lost his fear of us.

It is my hope that I'll encounter him again when I'll be able to transform him from an aggressive bear into a respectfully scared bear (I can't say more than that!). I do not tolerate bears that don't obviously fear humans ... they're too dangerous, and we live too close to them.

Our farm is adjacent to the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, which is a 110,000 + acre bear sanctuary ... no hunting of bears allowed. I honestly believe, from close observation, that the population of bears on PLNWR is losing fear of man because they aren't hunted. Of course, these bears pour out of the refuge onto bordering farms, like mine.

It's quite an experience to be fifteen feet from a riled-up 500 lb. bear, even if you are securely seated in the cab of your Dodge Ram! Not to worry; my underwear remained clean. I wasn't scared, but I was disturbed and aggravated. THAT'S JUST NOT NORMAL ... and THAT'S TROUBLING!

My wife is a runner ... and she's been annoyed that I won't let her run on our road ... but you see why! This ain't no park around here!

I have a two-part "zero-tolerance" policy toward our many bears, developed from our years of experience in living with them:

I will not tolerate a bear within the confines of our two-acre yard, ever.

I will not tolerate a bear that shows no fear of an encounter with humans.

For the most part, I let them be ... but bears like that boar have to go. He's not the first; there was a young one last year that wouldn't let April get by for a long time. She was in a Toyota Corolla ... I'd like one to try and block the road when I'm in a truck!

[Pydpiper]

Long before my hunting career began my wife and I were on the east coast of Canada celebrating our marriage.. We seen a bear on the side of the road, we slowed to a stop and I yelled at it. Didn't budge. Armed with only a pair of shorts and my running shoes I jumped out of the car and ran at it, it took off in to the woods with me behind it.
Obviously I never did catch up, in retrospect I think that may not have been the wisest thing to do.

I would love to live in a place inhabited with bears, in my days living down south in the Carolina's and Florida I truly enjoyed the variety of wildlife there. My wife and I still toss around the idea of opening my business there too to go deal with in my off seasons, typically the winter. I would much rather pull alligators from pools than coons from walls.

Glad to hear everything worked out for you Adam!

[SPITFIRE]

Close encounter of a troubling kind. I am sure you will take care of the problem durning hunting season.

[Mike P]

I am afraid of bears. They are bigger then me, run faster and have big teeth. And now they are here.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2009 ... g+for+love


We have pictures of a male bear at one of our feeders at the farm. They are swimming the Ohio river and coming over from WV.

I may start carrying a side arm when I put out my garbage can.

[VixChix]

I'm with Mike. I have bear nightmares.

[saxman]

Sounds like he needs to be put down.
What a shame.
I'll bet that popping and stomping got your attention,It would me.

[raydaughety]

Hey Grizz, wouldn't he qualify as a "nuisance bear"? I would think that the refuge would have the ability to trap him and relocate him but if not, a load of "rubber buckshot" may be in order and if that doesn't work, I'd love to have a rug . Ellis and I were hunting the Pungo unit and few years back and wound up on the east side of the refuge. We were watching 4 bears in a corn field when a Federal Warden pulled up, checked our licenses and we began chatting about the bear's behavior on the refuge. He asked if I had a dove load for my shotgun and when I found one, he told me to fire it in the air. It wasn't long before there were several bears in the road checking us out. He explained that there were so many bears on the refuge that they have put together the sound of a firearm equals a whitetail carcass to feed on. I've also heard of many stories of hunters loosing their harvest to bears. We actually came across and young man that was visibly upset because a bear took a deer that he had just shot with his bow. It was his first bow kill, an 8 pointer and the bear actually wouldn't leave the area for several hours. They really need to open a bear season on the refuge, don't you agree Grizz?

[mikej]

wow what a bold bear, i think a bear that has no fear of humans needs to be gotten rid of fast, before it is in someones house looking for food

[mdines]

I like bears, but not up close and personal. I have a healthy respect for their size and strength and would prefer to steer clear. Is it fair to say the existing hunts may not be enough to keep the population in check?

The guy that taught my hunter's ed course jokingly told the class:

"If you ever run into a situation where a bear charges you, back up against a big tree, and when the bear is close enough, reach down and grab some sh*t and throw it in the bear's face as you step aside. He'll hit the tree and daze himself, giving you time to escape."

"What if there's no sh*t?" one of us asked.

"Don't worry, it'll be there."

[catcher]

Hey Grizz
Do not try this. It might not turn out so good. I will not show you the other pics after this one was taken.

[sumner4991]

As long as the bear doesn’t get aggressive, wildlife officials won’t intervene

I guess the bear above got agressive??

Grizz . . .I got a big ole softball bat my daughter isn't using anymore . . .want me to send it your way?

Still no bears on the farm in Virginia . . .at least I haven't seen one yet.[/quote]

[pdislow]

it is a shame that that bear as been tolerated in close proximity to humans until this type of behavior takes place.

[Tenn. Equinox]

Anytime you are hunting in bear country, just make sure you can
outrun your hunting buddy.

[mikej]

grizz could this be the same bear that invaded that house a while back?

[one shot scott]

I know what I would do with a bear such as that.