Bear Boarding Boats in the North Channel

[Lihuedooley77]

whoa......

Fellow CF'ers,

Think a little bit, and please do not try to fight a bear with your bare hands. That sounds like blarney from someone who has never been any kind of a street fight. Or a single , no honey in his life dude, and boozer, who as to beat on his chest, and let all of us know how big and bad he is. Do not fall for it.

Bears are extremely strong and powerful and determined. With one swipe, they can decapitate a human being, or at least knock you out and eat your human buster badzilla body. Yum, yum. Crunch, crackle, tear, slobber.

I would say, those so called credible stories are bar talk, and we all know that bar talk us generally B.S.

Bears can destroy cars, cabins, tents, boats, trucks, what ever, to get to food.

I agree about super strong bad arsed bear spray or a fire arm. Most places we sail there are no bears, and fire arms will get you tossed into the local bastile.

So that is why we would use a flare gun. But, if I was in bear country, we would pack bear spray. You can even get a holster on your body.

Other , than staying totally clear of problem areas, I agree. If defenses fail, or you have none, Let the bear eat the boat, while we beat a withdrawl in the dink to the local bar . Maybe it will make a State Farm TV commercial . With the bucks from stardom you can buy an new boat.

Hmmmm, I hear the gears of scallwagness grinding and plots being executed.

[picklesandjesse]

After living in Canada on a remote island for 25 years I am glad to be back in Australia where we do not have bears. Give me sharks,crocs,snakes,spiders anytime. There's something about a bear that just scares me, maybe it was a couple of movies like Backcountry and The Edge, should not have seen them.

[kmacdonald]

I knew they were a problem there.

[Rorzech]

The last guy I knew that sprayed a bear, got eaten by it. His buddy that didn't stick around lived. Best thing is a 12 g 00Buck shot. Bears are good eating too. Word of warning ! After it's skinned , it looks identical to a man. Very creepy for a weak stomach. The kind of stuff that makes for PTSD.

[Suijin]

[QUOTE=Jammer;2708298]I have heard credible reports with multiple witnesses of bears being deterred by fisticuffs.


It is something to keep in mind if escape

https://youtu.be/CVS1UfCfxlU

[Rorzech]

My friend Wes Webowie punched a polar bear in the nose while being pinned down in his sleeping bag. The bear ran off. Ha Ha Lucky man !

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by billknny

Geez...

I'll never complain about sealions boarding my boat ever again...

And I'm going to quit complaining about the swallows that perch on my rails and crap on my deck.

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

And I'm going to quit complaining about the swallows that perch on my rails and crap on my deck.

Not swallow season right now so you should be OK.... I hope. Cold enough here to keep insects at bay but it will end. We have a few plastic owls that seem to work available at Bunnings, they flutter in the wind, good luck.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Hmmm... where are all those folks who were telling... was it Scarlet?... a cruiser heading in that direction not to worry about bears? This in a longish thread not long ago...

One of those folks would be me .

Seriously though, this bear’s behaviour is highly unusual. I’ve spent decades canoeing, kayaking and sailing in northern Ontario. Black bears are a constant reality, and the only time you see behaviour like this one is when the bear has been habituated to receiving food from humans. This is usually b/c the humans in question are too dumb to keep food locked up (as in the case with garbage bears), or worse still, actually feed the bear thinking it’s ‘oh so cute.’

This latter reason is what the local Ministry of Natural Resources guy is suggesting happened here. It’s a crime, b/c this bear will now be killed — hopefully before it hurts someone.

[taxwizz]

This bear requires the 12 guage solution.

[mottseng]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

One of those folks would be me .

Seriously though, this bear’s behaviour is highly unusual. I’ve spent decades canoeing, kayaking and sailing in northern Ontario. Black bears are a constant reality, and the only time you see behaviour like this one is when the bear has been habituated to receiving food from humans. This is usually b/c the humans in question are too dumb to keep food locked up (as in the case with garbage bears), or worse still, actually feed the bear thinking it’s ‘oh so cute.’

This latter reason is what the local Ministry of Natural Resources guy is suggesting happened here. It’s a crime, b/c this bear will now be killed — hopefully before it hurts someone.

I totally agree with Mike. This is an unusual situation. This is a single bear that has boarded 4 boats because is was probably fed out of fun. This story came to me from a dock neighbour that was up there at the time and witnessed this. Another dock neighbour followed a swimming bear earlier this season in a very popular anchorage that I frequent in the area of Honey Harbour. I personally haven't seen any bears but would love to see one either swimming or on shore. I plan on doing the North Channel in two years and will be prepared with some bear spray however, I really don't expect to use it.

[taxwizz]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

Poor bear. Give him the stupid fish and he'll go away, or her.

That's exactly the WRONG solution.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by mottseng

I totally agree with Mike. This is an unusual situation. This is a single bear that has boarded 4 boats because is was probably fed out of fun. This story came to me from a dock neighbour that was up there at the time and witnessed this. Another dock neighbour followed a swimming bear earlier this season in a very popular anchorage that I frequent in the area of Honey Harbour. I personally haven't seen any bears but would love to see one either swimming or on shore. I plan on doing the North Channel in two years and will be prepared with some bear spray however, I really don't expect to use it.

Bears are actually pretty good swimmers. I’ve seen them swimming across a few mile gaps up on Lake Superior.

This pic was taken of a bear about a 1/2 mile off shore, heading to the other shore which was about a mile across.

I used to live in a small town on Lake Superior and black bears were ever-present. They often slept in our back yard. If you didn’t feed them, and treated them with great respect, they were never a problem.

[Montanan]

Bear spray, never leave home with out it.

We have Griz that will swim many miles across Flathead Lake in northwest Montana, not something you want to tangle with. And there are also black bear but they are not as aggressive as Griz but will raid any chance they can get. Of course one is much more likely to encounter bears on land.

A good dose of harsh pepper keeps them at bay and also teaches them to avoid humans, and to stay clear of boats, tents, cabins, etc. It is effective to about 20 or 25 feet. Just be cautious to not spray up wind as it will back draft onto you and cause you severe irritation. Kind of like spitting or peeing up wind, but worse.

As to unattended boats, their cabins should be closed and locked as the smell of food is a tremendous enticement. It is illegal to have food and gear left out in an unattended camping site in Montana, it must be locked in a hard sided vehicle or a bear proof locker.

[taxwizz]

What do you call a bear that attacks too many boats?



Dinner.