have you ever been face to face with an actual bear?

[oberliner]

If so, what was that like?

If not, have you seen Grizzly Man?

[Blue-Jay]

1. Bears?

[Nickster]

18. Godless, heathen, murdering assassins. n/t

[Writer]

2. I actually have been face to face with a bear...

while biking on a bike path in my city. He was about 200 yards ahead scouring through trash. After he crossed the path and entered the wood to the side of the path we biked like hell past him.

He was an American black bear. Gentle and curious, I think.

[struggle4progress]

11. Don't count on black bears being gentle. One killed a woman ..

.. on a trail in the Smoky Mountains Natl Park in 2000, and a child was recently killed in the nearby Cherokee Natl Forest. These are rare events but do occur ...

[sarge43]

16. No, they are not. They're wild animals

90% of the time you'll live through the close encounter. That 10% will ruin the rest of your day. Here in NH we get one or two Bear: 1, Human: Zip incidents per summer.

I've had one moment with a blackie. A young one got into husband's bee hives. While spousal unit tried to get the hives and bees under control, I dealt with the bear, yelling and throwing things.
Fortunately, mama had sent Junior on his way and he wasn't that hungry or antsy else I wouldn't be telling this story.

In a life time of stupid decisions, that was a doozie.

[deucemagnet]

3. A couple of years ago on crossed

right in front of my car. It was just a black bear, so I pulled over and grabbed my digital camera as fast as I could. I lost him in the woods, though. :(

[struggle4progress]

12. Several times. Once awakened by a bear pawing my tent.

Another time, came upon a bear as hiked around a curve in the trail -- backed slowly away -- the bear was disgusted by the intrusion and ambled off ...

[MoseyWalker]

4. Yes. A Black bear

he was pissed that we decided to camp by the river where he apparently liked to sharpen his claws on the trees.

We were all quiet, and didn't do anything to piss him off.

He just sniffed around, and then left. It took a while.

He made a lot of noises, but didn't bother us people at all.

He left, and I kept watching for him all night, but he never came back.

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. Yup

At Yellowstone.

We were eating lunch at a pick-a-nick grounds and here came the bear, so we beat it for the car. The bear came over and put his/her paws up on the car and was licking the windows.

My sister was in the back seat with me, freaking out, and my dad was loving it. He goes, "He could break that window with just one swipe of his paw."

"Nooooooooooo, daaaadyyyyyyy!!!"

:rofl:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

6. Yes, black bears.

I once ended up about 10 feet from one. I see them all the time. Hell, my road even has a bear crossing sign. None of them have ever acted threatening though. Everytime they either just keep doing whatever they were doing or they wander away.

[achtung_circus]

7. I've seen plenty

mostly Balack, although a couple of Grizzlies, usually at very long range or just their heinie as the headed for the hills.

But,

I was driving down a winding mountain road/lane from visiting a friend up the mountain. It was a beautiful August afternoon and the berries were in full fruit. There was a rustling in the bush so I stopped to look and smell.

I whistled and this bear, must have been 40 feet tall and weighed 6 tons, stood up out of the bush on his/her hind legs and looked at me.

From a range of about 10 feet.

WOW.

I left.

[oberliner]

8. Great bear stories!

Thanks to all who posted.

The only Bear I've ever seen up close was Jim McMahon at a memorabilia show.

The animals scare me.

[uppityperson]

9. Many times

Through my bedroom window as it dug through the garbage can.
As I carried my 2 month old baby down a road.
As the terriers chased big bear off I noticed 2 babies in tree next to me (got the heck out of there quickly).
Walking out onto my porch, looked down and was looked back at.
Eyes shining in the night as I walked home.

I loved SE AK, walking along chanting "yogi yogi yogi, I am just going home, yogi yogi yogi, get out from under my stairs"

ps, Tim Treadwell was nuts, wanted to die by bear and managed.

[Blue_In_AK]

31. I couldn't agree with you more about Tim Treadwell

What an idiot.

[reyd reid reed]

10. Yup...

When my dad lived down in Westcliffe, they'd come up at put their paws on the kitchen window and watch you do the dishes or whatever. And they'd smear the glass with their noses. They'd come up on the deck and wipe out the birdfeeders. It was kinda like a reverse Goldilocks. They'd come up on the deck and make themselves comfortable.

And make us uncomfortable.

Then, a few years ago, a family of bears ran across the neighbor's front yard then up and into the cul de sac. Seems they'd been hanging out in the crab apple trees.

[Redstone]

13. One time. But just a black bear. Not GRIZ.

I'd just as soon never go face-to-face with GRIZ, thank you.

Redstone

[Indy_Dem_Defender]

14. I met Jim Harbaugh

a Bear


But he was a colt when I met him


So does a former bear count?

:popcorn:

[ashling]

15. My encounters with bears:

1. Camping in Yellowstone w/ the family back in the mid 60s, we had parked the Dodge stationwagon and all walked down the hill to check out another campsite before setting up. When we got back up the hill there was a brown cub in the back of our stationwagon. Other campers were standing around beatin on pots and pans and the little guy took off.

2. On the same trip, a bear came up to the picnic table as my mom was cleaning up after breakfast. Ate some raw bacon that had been left out as I recall.

3. Same trip. We had gone sightseeing. Took the cooler and all perisibles w/ us so there was no open food left in camp. Ehen we got back, a bear had ripped through the back of the tent and got a box of pizza mix we left in there.

4. Summer of '69 we were camping in Shenadoah NPk. We had a pop up caper, but I put my bedroll out by the campfire so I could sleep under the stars. About 1 AM I heard a bunch of commotion up the hill, so I got up and went up there. There was a black bear who had come out of the brush to check out a trash can and a bunch of campers were beating pan lids and stuff. I was standing maybe 10 or 15 yards fom the bear. The bear started to back up into the brush, at which time I decided that I would go back down the hill and put my bedroll indide the camper. Apparently I turned too quickly and caught the bears attention, because it let out a growl (probably more of a grunt, but to me it was as good as a Roar!) and sort of lunged in my direction. I stopped dead still - froze, actually. :scared: :scared::scared: :scared::scared: :scared::scared: :scared:

Then the bear turned and went back into the brush. After I recovered from the shock somewhat, I went back down the hill and put my bedroll in the camper where I stayed the rest of the night ... after changing my underwear.


5. I once wrotr a children's book about a kid and his dog having an encounter w/ a Grizzly bear.

[BlueIris]

17. I personally have not, but that makes me the only person I know who hasn't

I've heard that the phrase, "Woah, bear," works in those situations. Several people I know have said that when they were face to face with a bear they uttered those words and the bear then moved on.

[Alleycat]

19. Sort of a face to face w/ a Black Bear

Actually it was more of an ass to face. Back in HS at a keg party in the woods, me and a friend went off to find a spot to go to the bathroom. We were about ten feet apart squatted down with our butts facing the woods. All of sudden we heard someone walking up behind us and yelled to them not to come over here "two girls peeing". We never though animal, we were more concerned with people. We were laughing and joking and when I was finished I pulled up my pants and turned around and about 15 feet away was a black bear just starring at our asses. I screamed, and my friend screamed and the look on the bears face was priceless. When we screamed he jumped and almost looked startled. He ran off in one direction and we ran off in the other.

[grannylib]

20. Twice...both black bears. Both in northern Minnesota. One at a dumpster

and one in a berry patch.

The one at the dumpster was at a liquor store in Finland, MN and hubby was inside store, kids and I in car, windows down eating strawberry licorice. Bear apparently liked the smell of the licorice! We rolled up the windows PDQ and hubby waited for bear to go back to dumpster diving so he could get back in car. That one was quite large for a black bear.

Met a smaller one a couple years later while picking berries on a logging road while hubby was in stream, trout fishing. I just backed slowly away and let the bear have that berry patch all to itself!

[havocmom]

21. Sacked out in my little back pack hammock, heard the forest go quiet

Knew THAT wasn't a good thing and slid out to the ground. Standing as tall as I could and walking with my hands over my head, I started to back up S-L-O-W-L-Y from the direction of the huffing and puffing as a black bear lumbered up a sunny slope to the cool shade I was enjoying. (Before settling into the hammock with a book, I made a mental note that if a bear were about, that slope would be where he would come from.)

Held my pack over my head (try to look as tall as possible) and continued to walk backward down the trail until I met up with my companion who had been out scouting for who knows what. We waited the bear out before retrieving the rest of my wee encampment.

There had been several serious bear attacks on Mt. Lemmon that year. I really did not wanna become a news story. Evidently, the big ol guy didn't either. He was just hot and I had the best spot on that particular mountain. I recommend giving them the shade if that is what they are after ;) And NEVER run.

Havocdad has had several close encounters with grizzlies. His advice? Make noise if you are in their territory. DO NOT SURPRISE one! They move faster than you can imagine, so DO NOT run. They will see you as tasty prey and be on you faster than you expect. If you make a bit of noise when you are in griz country, any bear near will likely retreat and just watch. Very likely you will never even see them.

If you surprise one, expect to pay dearly.

[TrogL]

22. I had to rescue a busload of Japanese tourists

A black bear cub had wandered out of the forest and up near a road. A busload of Japanese tourists stopped to take pictures (which was OK) and some of them decided to jump the fence and get shots with them posing with the cub. I could see mother bear coming out of the woods and she was pissed! I chased the tourists back into the bus and gave the driver shit.

[swimboy]

23. No. Saw some from a car in Jellystone Park

but knew better than to approach.

[pitohui]

24. yes i've been pretty close to bear

i even have some nice photos but i don't deliberately seek out bear and like to be in my vehicle when they are very close, on only one occasion did i almost walk into a bear and the bear (black) wasn't much concerned as i backed away to safety

i've seen grizzly man, terrific movie

[MiniMandaRuth]

25. Yeah. Multiple times.

Then we saw a bear being chased by wolves. Gotta love nature.

[HEyHEY]

26. Face to face? No.... but am scared I may all the time

Where I live the fuckers are everywhere.

[patcox2]

27. Yes, twice, while hiking and camping in northern New Jersey.

Once in a campground, I was walking from my friends campsite back to mine in an otherwise empty and very dark campground after midnight. As I walked along, I saw a bear in front of me, about 50 feet maybe, stand up on its hind legs and just look at me. I nearly pooped myself and ran back to my friends camp.

The very next day, we had a group of 20 people and did a big barbecue. As the sun set and it started to get dark, we saw a bear way in the distance across a big meadow. It just slowly walked towards us. We kept thinking it would turn away, but it kept coming until we realized it was after our food. It walked right into our camp, parting us like the red see, and started licking the plates on the picnic tables. Then it walked around and it got to be sorta normal after a while to be standing 10 feet from a bear. Then some of my friends started getting too familiar with it and I realized I would have to scare it away before someone got hurt. I started my truck, and it ran out of there as soon as it heard the engine.

They are really very cute, when shuffling along on all fours or eating off your plates, they look just like teddy bears, I think that makes them even more dangerous. It was hard to believe this adorable furry bear sitting there scratching his butt was capable of severe damage, but I knew it was.

The one I ran into walking down the road in the dark, standing up, was taller than me, it seemed, there was nothing cute about that in the dark.

[HeardOnTheHill]

28. Both black and grizzlies

I've encountered both, but neither were as scary as being in front of a cape buffalo. Those things will run you over in a heartbeat. And don't even get me started on hippos.

[Deep13]

29. Still have all limbs, so no.

The wooded areas that remain in the NE have black bears. The grizzlies of the NW and Canada and Alaska are unstoppable. Usually they are not aggressive, but saints preserve you if you piss one off. I understand that Kodiak scat is identifiable by the partially digested rifle parts in it. Polar bears are probably the worst. They are as powerful as grizzlies, but a lot more aggressive.

While attending a group astronomical event a few years ago in the forest in PA, we had gone to bed early because of clouds. In the morning we found new black bear tracks in camp. I think someone saw it too.

[Blue_In_AK]

30. Yes, I have - face to face with TWO bears

1969 camping in Colorado. A bunch of us had driven up into the mountains for the weekend. My ex and I let our friends take our VW bus back to Denver for the night because they were going to a concert or something and were going to return the next day. We hadn't set up camp yet, but it started to rain so we pulled our stuff in under a ledge to keep dry, and about 10 minutes later two big black bears joined us, about six feet away - so close we could smell their wet fur. They just sat there watching us, and we just stood their shaking in our boots, for about a half hour. When the rain stopped, they just ambled off into the woods.

Once hiking here in Alaska, when we doubled back on the trail we had been on, we found a big pile of bear poop in the middle of the trail that hadn't been a half hour or so before, most likely a griz, so I guess he was probably just following us at a close distance.

[querelle]

32. Many Many Times

They've even attempted to pick me up from time to time. I gotta learn to stay out of those leather bars.

Q

[MadHound]

33. I've wrestled with two black bears

Rusty and Dusty, and they were a blast to play with, and absolutely loved marshmallows. Of course both bears were tame, had been rescued as cubs and raised by humans. Otherwise, I've seen them a couple of times in the wild, and watched them head the other way.

[graywarrior]

34. Yes. On a hiking trail in the White Mountains

His eyes were DEAD, but menacing. I still get chills.

[BreweryYardRat]

35. Nope to both.

Although I did see a show on Animal Planet where they calculated that an Asian brown bear (smaller than grizzlies and kodiaks, I think) could kill a full-grown tiger without much trouble.

[dajoki]

36. Yes...

I was jogging through the woods and I saw what I thought was a big dog's rear end sticking out. I got about ten feet away and it stood up, I knew right then it was not a dog, but a big ole bear. I stopped in my tracks, picked up a rock, the bear turned and ran and I did the same, in the opposite direction.

[tyedyeto]

37. Yes, think Yosemite Nat'l Park

A couple of times I met bears face to face. Typically, you could yell at them and they would leave.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

38. Yeah, in Jellystone.....er

Yellowstone, 1963. On a road south of the lake. First we stopped because there was this little frightened cub up a tree with about 20 people underneath taking pictures and making oooh, oooh noises. Poor baby. Then this (mama?) bear came up to my side of the car. Mom wanted me to roll down the window so she could take a better picture. I don't think so, Mommie Dearest, you need a subtler plan to get my inheritance. KBB is not on my agenda.

Edit: spelling