Bears and other Scary animals

Just love all you guys sending me info on travel, safety and funny videos.
Poppy it would be great to meet up and thanks for your kind invitation. We will be 3 days based in Banff and the same in Calgary and both seem a fair bit away from Waterton. I will definitely email if we are down that way though you would have to assure me that you are neither an axe murderer nor CIA. Can't be too careful you know. By the way what is a 'gf'?
Kodiak, I am sure your experiment with mini cannon and bear bones will go down in history as ....erm..... different! RIP to your fellow technicians. I bet you were broken hearted and had a few beers to toast their demise. I will be ordering your book from Amazon Uk though I hope it doesn't scare the s..t outta me! I hope you can buy a crumb from the 5c royalties.

Here is a plug for my brother's book which is a laugh a minute. 'The Miracle Man' by James Skivington'.

 

I've read or heard that some consider Polar bears to be a different color morph of brown bears as well. Of course the simple explanation I got in school of what constitued a species has been reinterpreted distictly in the years since then.

 

I know almost nothing of bears, Polar or otherwise, but this is a cracking thread.
5*, & cheers to the brave original poster.

Having wandered off on a Youtube & wider stroll through 'bear stuff', I suggest at least a minigun, hand grenades, and maybe a few Claymores around each tent at night.
That 'They can take your face off with a swipe' thing seems an alarmingly common statement.
I may even have to get Kodiak's book now...

 

The advances in DNA sequencing have changed everything in the last 20 or 30 years. Essentially, with bears, all the brown bears across the northern hemisphere are considered the same animal species (ursus arctos), though with different subspecies. Polar bears and black bears branched off from that line long enough ago, that they are considered a different species (ursus maritimus and ursus americanus).

 

I prefer the term "pioneering." I'd have used a live bear, but you can't get the damned things to stand still long enough.

Your brothers Irish book looks very funny! My daughter lives in Galway, where she attends the university studying how to be a hippy. I could have taught her that, but don't remember that period of my life very well.

 

"Excuse me Mr Bear, what kind of bear are you, and can I please see some ID? So I can ascertain whether or not climbing up a tree would be a sensible thing to do, in the event you get irritated at my questions"



Of course, if you start climbing trees in Alaska, the bears are the least of your problems:



You know when you start seeing the giraffs, you have a real problem.

 

Here you go Poppy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45379817%40N08/sets/72157627546808289/

KTK

 

Wow Ken - what a fabulous collection of old photos. I loved the travel brochures especially the beautifully dressed women in the 50's with perfectly coiffured hair, petticoats, high heels and no doubt stockings. I will be positively scruffy in comparison with my walking trousers/ shorts and hiking boots. (I may pack a ballgown and tiara in case of emergencies). The scenery, I know, will blow me away especially as here in Scotland the highest mountain - Ben Nevis - is only 4406ft!

 

Super set of old pics.
Enjoyed my trip so much in '91 went back in '96 for 1st wedding anniversary.
Photos although earlier bring back some good memories.
I might have to go up in loft later & look at my old photo albums.

 

If you want an interesting canoue trip with plenty of good fishing (or at least there was when I took it several decades ago). I recomend Bowron Provincial Park.
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/bowron_lk/
The lakes for a sort of warped rectangle with only a few relativly short portages requred. We took two weeks to do the loop but it can be done a lot faster. Some of my friends who were on the trip repeated it on a regular basis for some time. Not sure if they still do so or not.

 

Canoes are a touchy subject with me at the minute. My husband and I went down a river in New Zealand 2 years ago and hit rapids (we had been assured there were none!)
I ended up under the canoe and my husband badly bruised his leg on a rock underwater. We managed to cling on to the upturned canoe with our feet well up as there were trees in the water. We were in a canyon with sheer sides at that point so just had to get carried along and even when we saw the tiniest beach the current was too strong and we could no reach it. I suspected that the rock face may have ledges at some point so we found one and we righted the Canadian canoe while standing up to our waists in water and started to bale out with a cup from a flask, hands and a tin can. We go most of the water out and to his day I do not know how I got back in the canoe. I can only describe it as walking backwards up a rockface in an effort to get one leg in then sort of leapt. I then clung on to the rockface to allow my husband to get in. The canoe overturned again so bale out no 2. We were in the middle of nowhere and had not seen a soul since we started out half an hour previously. We eventually paddled to the designated place where we were getting picked up and stripped off and put on dry clothes which we had in watertight bags. The only things we lost were a camera and spectacles. We thought my husbands Tilley hat was gone but found it floating further downstream. Hurrah for Canadians! My husband had two very large bruises. I however had not even broken a fingernail ( I would have been really annoyed). My cigs however were soaking and fell apart - fleetingly thought of chewing the tobacco due to the trauma. We were in Lord of the Rings country though and were fearful of Orcs. Where was Gandalf when we needed him? Have not been in a canoe since - maybe try a calm Canadian Lake.

 

You should come up to Alaska instead. Canada has some mountains (well, they call those little things mountains...), but up here in the Great Land we have real mountains and glaciers, and cheaper cigarettes.

 

Oh, where to start:

1. Store your food safely. Storing food safely will prevent most bear attacks. Many backpacking stores provide bear safe food containers. They usually tend to be more foolproof than preserving food by hanging.

2. Carry a thing of bear spray or mace at all times. Ammonia or wasp killer works as well.

3. Women in your group who happen to be on that time of the month may feel more comfortable sleeping in the truck or camper.

4. Keep a comfortable distance from all bears. Most bears just want to be left alone. If one does get too close you can try yelling, and making loud noises.

5. If you the bear gets too close start scanning the area for any rocks and other objects that may be used as weapons. If the bear gets within fifteen feet he is looking to kill you. In a fight, most experts will say it is wise to go for the eyes and the face, disabling the bear long enough for you to get away.

6. NEVER EVER feed a bear or purposefully leave scraps of human food out for bears to find. This only increases the bear's reliance on humans, making it more dangerous for you and the bear. Bears need a natural fear of humans as it helps them stay safe.

7. This just goes for any camping experience: take only pictures, leave only footprints. Leave no trace.

Lastly, you may want to plan a trip to Bamfield. Tofino and Ucluelet are nice. I definitely recommend visiting vancouver island. If you get a chance hop on out to Barclay sound. Excellent kayaking there, and very interesting local characters. If you go kayaking, make sure to stop by this little inlet called Julia Passage. The residents there are very interesting.

Barclay sound is also an excellent fishing spot but just make sure that you follow all the regulations when it comes to catching salmon, getting a license, etc. The canadian coast guard does not suffer fools and the fines are steep. But the fish is very yummy! I went up to that portion of Canada to visit my uncle. I fondly remember the satisfaction of being able to eat what I caught. And the yummy dinners. We had steak, prawns, ling cod, rockfish, and (of course) lots of salmon! There was also a lot of crab to be had as well! We came back from that trip pretty fat!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL0-pGVkJKU

My uncle lives in one of these houses during part of the year. However, I won't say which one as he values his privacy

 

It looks idyllic in Barclay Sound and the residents are so lucky to have a place there. I have finally resolved the bear dilemma. I will bring some bagpipes - between that, my claymore and a Highland charge it should do the trick. Certainly scared the s..t outta the English!

 

No they will only attract cougars in heat.

KTK

 

So I have the Sasquatches to worry about now? Jeez what is it with you lot? You can come to Scotland with no scary animals, buy genuine reproduced tartan stuff and a genuine piece of William Wallace's sword - hear pipers in Princes St while looking up at Edinburgh Castle which has lots of history and stuff. Sit for hours at Loch Ness looking for the monster. Pretend to like haggis and Burns poetry and go looking for the cave in the remote Highlands where your ancestors lived and no doubt ate their neighbours. Watch a re-enactment of the Battle of Bannockburn with men in skirts and hairy faces. I could go on......so what is not to like? Go to BC with bears, cougars and Sasquatches - not to mention wolves. We shot and killed all our wild and dangerous animals centuries ago. I hate to say it but you guys really need to modernise and make the country safe for tourists like what we have done. In the meantime, what can I do to scare Sasquatches away? Spam?

 

What's really ludicrous, is, I saw a brochure when I was there, marketing Scotland as "Europe's last wilderness". I laughed the entire drive back to Scandinavia.

 

Some folk here are prone to slight exaggeration in the interests of commerce. Do not believe everything you read. My motto. Actually do not believe anything you read. Good premise for starters.