We had some excitement here at Monck Provincial Park yesterday. A boater ran up to the gatehouse to warn us of a bear that was swimming across the lake and was headed for the beach and day use area. My fellow work camper Doug rushed down in his golf cart to warn everyone. The bear ran from the beach and through the campground with Doug now on foot, hot on it's heels, eventually making it's way out of the park. That poor bear must have been exhausted. I was off duty and missed the whole event.
NWescapee said
04:49 PM Jul 15, 2015
So do you get hazard pay for chasing bears? That sounds like a risky endeavor.
pkhalin said
09:03 PM Jul 15, 2015
So, you had an oops! in Jun and a Yikes! in July. I'm anxious to see what you have planned for August!
Happy trails.
el Rojo and Pam said
05:30 AM Jul 16, 2015
Hey Steve,
Looks like your having all the fun!
Second Chance said
07:10 AM Jul 16, 2015
Risky behavior?... My grandfather chased a small bear off the "breezeway" (covered porch) at their place in New Mexico with a flyswatter. It was the handiest thing he could grab. Twenty years earlier, my grandmother had chased a larger bear away from the outhouse at their previous place with a single-barrel break-action shotgun, beating it on the back with the stock. When she got back to the cabin, my grandfather broke the shotgun and found that it wasn't loaded. The family figured the bear was outmatched, anyway.
PIEERE said
08:29 AM Jul 16, 2015
Y'all have to quit abusing Yogi and Boo-boo! If it happens again I'm calling Ranger Smith....LOL.
Terry and Jo said
09:26 AM Jul 16, 2015
I'd be calling the rangers or animal control. Out here in Colorado, the bears tend to be very shy and take off running at the sight of me with a camera. If they aren't shy, they have become accustomed to people and don't view them as a threat, thus, they are a danger to humans.
In Colorado, if a bear is close to interacting instead of running off, they are trapped and tagged and then taken to wilder country. If they end up getting trapped a second time, they are euthanized because they have become a hazard by searching out humans and their trash.
Terry
dianneandsteve said
08:44 AM Jul 17, 2015
That's a great story Second Chance!
Terry...we have to record in detail every sighting then call the Conservation Officer in our area every time we have a bear sighting in the park. We also close all hiking trails for a few days. They will only come out if the bear appears threatening. The very first sighting we had, a camper was entering the park when she saw a sow and two cubs on the road. The sow stood up then did a short charge towards her truck. This was the only time the Conservation Officer came out.
This last incident the bear appeared to be a young one and was probably exhausted from it's swim across the lake which is quite a distance...maybe a couple of miles at least. It was probably looking for the closest point of land and didn't expect people...or to get chased out of the park.
We've been very lucky that we haven't had any incidents with bears in our park garbage bins in the compound. There is only one garbage company to deal with here and all 5 bins they delivered have no lids. We have to cover them with sheets of plywood and then tarp them which is a real pain in the $&@!.
Cheers!
-- Edited by dianneandsteve on Friday 17th of July 2015 08:46:03 AM
We had some excitement here at Monck Provincial Park yesterday. A boater ran up to the gatehouse to warn us of a bear that was swimming across the lake and was headed for the beach and day use area. My fellow work camper Doug rushed down in his golf cart to warn everyone. The bear ran from the beach and through the campground with Doug now on foot, hot on it's heels, eventually making it's way out of the park. That poor bear must have been exhausted. I was off duty and missed the whole event.
So, you had an oops! in Jun and a Yikes! in July. I'm anxious to see what you have planned for August!
Happy trails.
Looks like your having all the fun!
I'd be calling the rangers or animal control. Out here in Colorado, the bears tend to be very shy and take off running at the sight of me with a camera. If they aren't shy, they have become accustomed to people and don't view them as a threat, thus, they are a danger to humans.
In Colorado, if a bear is close to interacting instead of running off, they are trapped and tagged and then taken to wilder country. If they end up getting trapped a second time, they are euthanized because they have become a hazard by searching out humans and their trash.
Terry
That's a great story Second Chance!
Terry...we have to record in detail every sighting then call the Conservation Officer in our area every time we have a bear sighting in the park. We also close all hiking trails for a few days. They will only come out if the bear appears threatening. The very first sighting we had, a camper was entering the park when she saw a sow and two cubs on the road. The sow stood up then did a short charge towards her truck. This was the only time the Conservation Officer came out.
This last incident the bear appeared to be a young one and was probably exhausted from it's swim across the lake which is quite a distance...maybe a couple of miles at least. It was probably looking for the closest point of land and didn't expect people...or to get chased out of the park.
We've been very lucky that we haven't had any incidents with bears in our park garbage bins in the compound. There is only one garbage company to deal with here and all 5 bins they delivered have no lids. We have to cover them with sheets of plywood and then tarp them which is a real pain in the $&@!.
Cheers!
-- Edited by dianneandsteve on Friday 17th of July 2015 08:46:03 AM