Its been a while . . .

[Bobbleton]

. . . since I posted and since I've had an encounter like this.

So my friend Jay and I are calmly walking through the woods when we spot a small bear near the trail. Now normally the bear would be scared off just by the motion of human feet, but this one didn't pay us any mind. He walked around . . . crossed the path in front of us (only about 10 or 20 feet in front, btw) and went about his business.

What was really neat about this experience is that I got to see it doing what they normally do when people aren't around . . . flipping logs and rocks for bugs to eat, munching on blueberries, and stoping for a few mintues to lay down in a stream and cool off.

We've had plenty of bear encounters and knew this guy (i know he was a guy from one of the less flattering photographs) wasn't much of a threat, so we didn't try to scare him off. He did after a while seem mildly curious about us, but no more than a few sniffs in the air and glances in our direction could satisfy.

Just thought I'd share . . its always amazing to have a close-quarters encounter with these animals.


-Bob

 

[Boyd]

Great pix! Was this in the pines or somewhere up north?

 

[BEHR655]

Great shots Bob. I wish I could have an encounter like that.

Steve

 

[Teegate]

Nice shots!

The only bear I ever saw took off so fast I could not even reach for my camera

Guy

 

[snakehunter7]

does anyone know what kind of bear that is? those are really cool pictures, i love wildlife but i dont know if id take a picture of a bear that close, LOL, the closes thing ive seen to a bear is a coyote

 

[woodjin]

does anyone know what kind of bear that is? those are really cool pictures, i love wildlife but i dont know if id take a picture of a bear that close, LOL, the closes thing ive seen to a bear is a coyote

It is a black bear

 

[woodjin]

Very cool! where is that Bob?

 

[Bobbleton]

its actually on mt. tammany. more than a stonesthrow away from the pines, but (in my opinion) relevant nonetheless. this was a wonderful positive experience for us because we're fairly accustomed to coming across bears and aren't too squeamish about wildlife. But for a person (even an outdoors person) for whom bears are an alien sight--this could have lead to a very bad situation.

Basically what i'm getting to is that at some point in the near future encounters like this will be as common in wharton as they are in worthington. People need to know how to react.

Don't curl up into a ball.
DON'T RUN! (or when you do, don't be surprised that the predator decides to chase you . . . )
Don't feed the bear for better pictures.
and don't try to wrastle the bear. (not too many worries about that one . . )

There's been quite alot of debate and difficulty surrounding black bears in NJ . . . and it seems their future is entirely dependent on how stupid (or smart) we are about interacting with them. The severity of the "bear problem" is directly related to how we address it.

 

[dragoncjo]

Well said, Bob, couldn't agree with you more. Also do not make eye contact and stand your ground, also make alot of noise. Bears as a rule are very skittish and will bolt once they hear you. I can tell you from personal experience that if you run they are going to chase you. Your def right a situation like that could be very dangerous especially if it is a mother with its cub(s).

Bob, how big was that bear? It is very odd to see a bear that comfortable around people. It is a little scary actually I guess they are getting use to being around people. I feel bad for the bears up in north jersey around all "those" people.

 

[BEHR655]

I feel bad for the bears up in north jersey around all "those" people.

That's why they are coming south. They're getting away from "those" people.

Steve