Bear!

[Deleted User]

I like to go for hikes into a meadow with forest patches near where we live and with the snow gone I was eager to do again. On such a hike this weekend with my dog I took a different route. This was my first mistake in a series. I went into a an area that is very sheltered and quiet, off some quadding trails. I found a beautiful pine tree that had been hit by lightning and I got busy collecting its cones. I didn’t pay much attention to my dog. This was my second mistake. Something had caught her attention by the stump of the fallen tree, but I figured it was a squirrel. I stuffed my pockets with cones and decided to take the narrow trail that started by the stump of the tree so I wouldn’t have to walk around the wooded patch. This was my third mistake. I went on the tiny path and right away my dog was focused in on something again. That’s when I heard a rustling sound near us and looked up expecting deer; the rustle was different though, it was clumsy and loud. It was right in front of my dog. It was a black bear cub. Its head popped out of a bush of dead grass, three feet ahead. It was cute how it toddled towards us. My dog is used to wildlife and didn’t bark, so I tugged at her leash and made a very brisk exit out of this trail and back into the open to head towards the road. I didn’t even carry bear spray. This was another mistake of mine. It was careless of me to go that route, the last thing I want to deal with is a mother black bear thinking I am bothering her cub. I know there are bears in our area, we can see them in June crossing the road there but I never went into that quiet spot before.

[Sarita]

Yikes! I bet he was a cute little booger but yeah, you don’t want to get Mom riled up. The only wildlife I get to see is squirrels, birds, cottontails and the occasional armadillo.

[Deleted User]

What are armadillos like?

[Sarita]

Ugly! They look prehistoric. I’ve only seen them at night while in my car. I’ve never encountered one up close.

[Deleted User]

So, are they a threat?

[Sarita]

Only to your garden. They like to dig.

[Deleted User]

Oh, I see. Like my dogs.

[Sarita]

Yeah, but small, gray and scaly looking :~)

[Deleted User]

Yes, I looked at them on wikipedia and I prefer my dogs, and the bear cub.

[babybunsmum]

bear cubs sure are cute… but ya… would NOT want to get between a mom & her cub. yikes! glad you and your dog backed outta there safely

i was camping at killbear prov park and spotted a bear cub at dusk trying to feast at the garbage area near the turn-off to our group of sites. fortunately we were in my car enroute to the shower facility. it looked very very annoyed at the disturbance. couldn’t see mom anywhere but sure was spooked sleeping in my tent that night knowing they were so close by in the neighborhood!

[mrmac]

That’s scary! I bet that cub was pretty cute though! Glad you and doggie are safe!

[Deleted User]

yes, it’s my dog who would have been in trouble mainly if a bear had approached me. I am mad at myself for putting us in harm’s way. There are plenty of safe hikes I can choose from.

[Elrohwen]

Wow, yikes! I’ve also been very close to a mother and cubs and it’s a very scary feeling. Glad you didn’t run into the momma!

[Deleted User]

I wonder where Momma Bear was at.

[Elrohwen]

The time I saw mother and cubs was at a park in California. There were at least 10-15 other people gathered around taking pictures and we were all about 15-20ft away from the closest cub. I felt a bit safer knowing that I could outrun at least half of the other people there 😛 It still made me extremely nervous!

[Deleted User]

safety in outrunning the other people — that is so primordial of you! LOL!

[Sage Cat]

Think of it this way – you learned a good lesson & you got to see a bear cub!!!
Glad y’all are safe!

Armadillos are hilarious little critters! They are cute in a ugly sort of a way!

[Barbie]

Oh wow. How scary/exciting. I mean, really, bear cubs are adorable. But that was definitely a dangerous situation. Glad you got away safe! Bring bear spray and a camera next time!

Armadillos are.. ahem… interesting… My friend lives on campus in one of the dorms, and they always do fun events for the residents… on Sunday, the Zoo came and brought a bunch of animals to show us and talk about… a polecat, a baby flamingo, a penguin, a porcupine (she was SO cute, but not one I’d want to snuggle up against!), a monitor, a baby alligator, a young serval cat (he was SO pretty), a HUGE python… and a 3 banded armadillo! I took some pictures and videos (which ill post soon!). The way it walked kinda creeped me out… reminded me of a bug. Oh and did you know that armadillos carry leprosy, but aren’t affected by it?! So don’t get too close to an armadillo…. don’t want to get scratched and end up a leper! The 3 banded armadillo is the only breed of armadillo that doesn’t carry leprosy.

 

 

(Video is still processing so it might still be a bit grainy)

 

 

 

 

Sorry for thread jacking

[Kiley Rose]

Aren’t armadillos blind too? I see them often on the highway. I would absolutely love to see a bear! (and hug a polar bear)

[MimzMum]

Eep! 0_o This is why my hub always used to take his friend’s camping with him…he knew he didn’t have to outrun a bear, just outrun the friend. ^_^ j/k
There’s been a lot of bear attacks in Anchorage this last year and it’s shaping up to be a bad year statewide again. Which doesn’t thrill me because I know hub is planning on spending lots of time at the mine this summer.
Lucky you didn’t find momma bear! She’d fix your porridge for you! ((((((safer walking vibes for Petzy and her dogs)))))))))))) Nevermind the spray, get yourself a 357 and learn to use it! It’s standard issue up here when out in the wild…although we did have a big old bear plop in the back area of our YARD when we first moved here…one of the many reasons I loved having all my big dogs, nothing came through after they got here. ‘Cept the moose which are almost as dangerous.

[Elrohwen]

Barbie, it looks like a giant cockroach!

[Barbie]

I know! That’s why it weirded me out so much! It has what looks like one huge toe nail on each front foot and it tip toes around on that. Eep. Not my favorite animal, lol.

[jerseygirl]

I’ve learnt a lot in this thread. Like there is such a thing as Bear Spray. That there is a park called “Killbear” (????). And that armadillos are nothing like I imagined! I had seen drawings and thought they were much bigger.

Petzy, were the pinecones for the buns? They better appreciate what you risked to get them!!

[Deleted User]

Yes, the pinecones were for the buns. They were the cleanest. I only got a few though thinking I would be back. It’s too bad, the best spots I have to avoid. Already a bear has the beach lot nearby that is for sale and it has berry patches. Maybe it’s the same bear, ‘momma bear’.
Mimz, how will it be in your yard now without the big dogs? You will get more wildlife.

[babybunsmum]

wow. i had no idea that armadillos were that small and curly. lol. kinda cute and kinda creepy at the same time.

killbear is a really awesome provincial park! check out the images from google

[Barbie]

The woman from the zoo was telling us that they range in size from a golf ball to 120 lbs. So it depends on which type of armadillo you’re looking at

Petzy, do you bake the pine cones or anything before giving them to the bunnies?

[Deleted User]

Yes, wash the pine cones and bake at 200 for about 1 hour.

[MarkBun]

We have wild turkeys and deer right outside where I work. Last month, they found a ‘kill site’ where a mountain lion came on down and had dinner. So we got one of them walkin’ around these parts too.

[Deleted User]

I think with a mountain lion it’s already too late by the time you notice him.

[babybunsmum]

lol

[Monkeybun]

my mom often tells the story about how in Nelson BC growing up, she was about 12 when a bear found her near the house. My grandpa had been teaching her how to shoot in case of bears, and made her carry a gun with her when she was outside without him. There were lots of bears at the time. So yeah.. she bagged herself a bear at 12 one day. My grandpa made a keychain out of one of its claws.

I’ll just stay at home, I’m good without bear visitors lol.

[MimzMum]

I likeh teh armadilly-os. ^_^ I think they’re cute in an ‘ugly’ way. They remind me of those SharPei dogs…mixed with a pill bug.
I didn’t think moose were cute either, till I lived here and saw so many. They are so magnificent in person. Then you see a baby and omg….SQUEE!

Yes, Petzy, I am terrified of not having a large dog in the yard anymore. The place where we got Jenna had an 11 year old husky that was too old for trail and his eyes and mine locked from behind the gate. I knew his name from the website and called him…he’d been backing away, you could see he was scared…but I knelt down and spoke to him and we couldn’t look away from each other. I think if Jenna hadn’t worked out, we’d have him now…even if it was only for a short while. He was beautiful and I would’ve felt totally safe with him. I would’ve begged to bring him home.

As it is now, we have to worry a raven is going to swoop down and pick off my daughter’s new dog. Although she did yip at some folks jogging down our street tonight, so she does have some protective instincts. She’s been such a mouse since getting here.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Scary situation, Petzy! Is it Brown Bears you guys have out there?

I have a similar bear story. A few years ago a friend and I were riding our horses on a path in the woods. Both horse stopped suddenly and started breathing heavily, nostrils flaring…we thought “What the heck?” Then there was some rustling in the bush along the trail and out stumbles this little black animal onto the path. I thought it was a puppy (didn’t have my glasses on) and when I heard more rustling I was expecting to see the dog’s owner. Out comes this big Mama Black Bear followed by another cub, about 6 feet in front of us…Mama slowed down, looked at us, and then crossed the path and disappeared. Thankfully, both our horses had the common sense to stand still until she was gone. Then we hightailed it outta there!

It was scary but also thrilling and one of my greatest encounters with nature. Although I’m sure seeing a bear on horseback isn’t near as scary as seeing one on foot. Yikes!!! Sorta hoping that one never happens to me but I do hike a lot so who knows. Now when I go riding in deep woods I put bells on my saddle to alert any animals.

[Deleted User]

The bears here are black bears. We get info brochures in the mail about how to use caution not to attract them. It always emphasizes that they are unpredictable. I wear bear bells on my boots but I have to wonder if the animals don’t get used to me ringing along. I’m out there daily and unless I get right up close I notice foxes and deer don’t even take off from my dog and me as long as there is some space between us. The sillier young foxes run along with us with some space between us if it is early in the a.m. So I wonder if the bells matter at all.

I saw a documentary about bear watching for tourists that illustrated how easily wildlife will get used to a pattern: the tourists have to stick to designated look-outs but those spots are right in the bears’ habitat. So bears will be right beside the people, like up close beside them, but they are used to them and never bother them.

Mimz, I for one am scared of Jenna. I do not trust little dogs… LOL

[jerseygirl]

I worked out my confusion with the Armadillo. I had a combo of Armadillo and Aardvark in my minds eye! Sorry, off topic again… back to bears now.

[MimzMum]

Generally bears will take off if they hear you coming. Noise-making is highly encouraged here for spooking the grizzlies. But there’s been some poor berry and fish years of late, so the grizzlies will come out even during winter. They are called ice grizzlies then, as sometimes they fall through frozen lake or river ice in their mad bid for foodstuffs, their coats covered with the frozen waters. Attacks on humans increase in years like this.
We have bear bells up here too…but they’re kind of sold as a joke…so that when you run across a bear bell in some grizzly poo, you know a tourist was here.
I find them about as funny as the coffee mugs with the moose nuggets at the bottoms.
Petzy, I’m sorry Jenna scares you. We just got her one of those enclosed kennels and are setting it up tonight to be sure she doesn’t get to wandering when our backs are turned and (yay!) I might get some sleep tonight! But truly, she is very sweet and lovable. Hopefully, she will be an exception to the ‘mean little dog’ rule.
I worry about her in the yard once the bears start showing up. She’d hardly be a mouthful for them! 0_o

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