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slackercruster

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I have had my share of run ins with nasty Racoons camping in east Texas and at state park near Rock Port.  They have stolen my fish at night from a bucket by crossing a busy road and stealing when my back was turned.

A three legged coon stole non food items from my camp table at night and he and partners hissed and showed lots of teeth when I protested.  They would scamper up a near tree and chatter and stare down at you for fun.  At same state park they almost stole a fresh cooked hamburger and fries I was eating when I left table for a beer in the nearby cooler.  I saved a mama coon and her babies trapped in a large steel dumpster in the heat of summer day at same park.  Received no thanks only more hissing. Cheers

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They say a Louisiana Coon Ass will eat anything that does not eat him first and I'll try anything once. But in this case an active duty Captain who lived nearby had shot and cleaned it and cooked it. He had smoked the raccoon and it was delicious. I ate about a cubic inch of it. I was a bit off put by the "idea," as family members had pet raccoons and we had a pet skunk. That just added another survive in the wild food source to my survival list.

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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My cousin said that road kill raccoon was some of the best bait to put in a crab pot.  He didn't do it himself, but saw the results when others used it.  

2004 40' Newmar Dutch Star DP towing an AWD 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid, Fulltimer July 2003 to October 2018, Parttimer now.
Travels through much of 2013 - http://www.sacnoth.com - Bill, Diane and Evita (the cat)
 

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On 3/17/2021 at 12:44 PM, sandsys said:

 

..................BTW, banging a pot with a spoon did not faze that bear....................

Yeah, that doesn't work with a "habituated" bear.  For what it is worth throwing an onion at him at five feet at 2:00 am in the morning didn't work either.

Lots of bear stories on my part. 

The best thing is do not "habituate" a bear.  After that, the only thing that works doesn't bode well for the bear's lifespan.

RV'ers are usually fine.  Just keep all your food and garbage inside the RV.  Bears do learn how to open windows and trunks in cars, but RV's are different enough that the word doesn't get around the bear community as quickly.

Vladimr Steblina

Retired Forester...exploring the public lands.

usbackroads.blogspot.com

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I find it interesting that the one I dealt with seem to know to go for the windows. A lot of the others that I sort of scared out of the picnic areas taught me to use a different means on the same bear as they learned so quick there were no real consequences.  I would switch from a whistle to  banging to rocks shaken in a metal can with a lid and others.

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Bears are smart and opinionated AND VERY STRONG.

We had a bear that was "ripping" us off at a back country work site.  I came back into camp one afternoon and the cook said a couple of canned hams had disappeared.  We thought some hikers may have "liberated" the canned hams while the cook was sleeping in his tent.

A few weeks later I found the canned ham out in the middle of the woods.  The bear had punctured the canned ham with his claws and then peeled it open!!!

Years later, in Colorado in a rental home there was a huge dumpster at the other end of the parking area.  About dusk a bear jumped into the dumpster for dinner.  Every once in awhile he would look up at us and give us a look of disdain.  After much laughter and rude comments we went inside at dark and finally left the bear alone for his dinner.

Next morning we opened the front door and found the bear left a "large calling card" right against the door. 

I suspect he didn't find our comments funny.

Vladimr Steblina

Retired Forester...exploring the public lands.

usbackroads.blogspot.com

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vlad, quite a few similar experiences. The lady/group that left her cell phone on the table also abandon a cooler. The bear knocked it off the table and was biting into the cans .  Most were light duty aluminum but a few were heavier duty cans.  I once came back from somewhere and walked over to relax in my zero gravity chair under the awning and I noticed a bite mark that must have been very tentative a the teeth went  between the weave and didn't break a thread.  I assume that some one came into the area and it took off without doing more damage.

I really enjoyed watching them out there execpt for a few like the one that screwed up my window and nearly gave me a heart attack after it was all over when the adrenlin really kicked in. 

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On 3/19/2021 at 5:28 PM, Pat & Pete said:

 

That reminded me of  camping with cousin and his family about 40 years ago. We're sitting around the campfire watching raccoons pry off the lid to the park garbage can when we got an idea. We waited until a raccoon was inside then slammed the lid on tight.

We arose early next morning to watch the  garbage truck come by, when the guy removed the lid and the very upset coon jumped out he threw can and all in the truck and ran.

That kinda made up for the previous morning when we arose to find our coolers open and contents ruined.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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18 minutes ago, Ray,IN said:

We arose early next morning to watch the  garbage truck come by,

When volunteering at Toro Regional Park in Monterey Co., CA one Monday morning I was helping the staff collect trash and as I approached a garbage can at one picnic shelter, I could hear a very unhappy creature scratching around inside trying to get out. The distinctive perfume made it quite clear what was in the can so I used a long pole to tip the can out so an unhappy skunk could go on his way. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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most times bears have no interest in humans, we just stink to them.

but bears can be any and everywhere.

some years back on I5 just on the north side of the city of woodland in the central valley of ca. a man call 911 about a very large dog being hit by a truck. it ended up being a brown bear. it was believed it was being drawn in out of the creek bed from the smells coming from a local dennys restaurant (only thing in that area). a good 1/2 to a mile away.

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I have had two close calls with getting  blasted and in some ways that caused more fear than dealing with that bear in my face.   One was in the mountains at about 10:30pm. Nothing around but ice cold water  other than the 6 gal in my water heater and supposed to get to freezing that night.  I wouldn't have wanted to even go in my trailer but probably no choice. It would be a nightmare scenario.

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I once took a fishing trip into the BearTooth mountains of N. Wyoming. The guide gave a speech when we met him at the Erma Hotel in Cody. He told us how to act/react when we saw a bear, then he concluded by saying "If any of you force me to shoot a bear I'll be really mad, it will cause me to lose my guide license until I can prove I had no other choice but to shoot the bear, and I'll still have to pay a fine regardless". He carried a 10 ga. pump W/slugs JIC.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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Bears are almost never dangerous to people unless they have been exposed to us and the things that we do which affect them. If you get into really remote areas where people rarely go and when people do go there they avoid contact with bears, the bears almost never initiate contact but avoid people. The problem is that human contact teaches them to consider us to be a food source and not a predator. There are numerous other animals which are the same way. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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Bears and coons have quite a bit in common along with some two legged critters.

"Happy Trails To You" sang Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.  This kid's delight and yes I personally met Roy and shook his hand at a Waco rodeo.  Still have great color photo of him on Trigger.                            Will not be viewing further comments.

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5 hours ago, Kirk W said:

Bears are almost never dangerous to people unless they have been exposed to us and the things that we do which affect them. If you get into really remote areas where people rarely go and when people do go there they avoid contact with bears, the bears almost never initiate contact but avoid people. The problem is that human contact teaches them to consider us to be a food source and not a predator. There are numerous other animals which are the same way. 

Bears are dangerous the first time you come between a mother and her cubs. Seeing that combination near our cabin one time kept us from doing any hiking that visit.

Linda

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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27 minutes ago, sandsys said:

Bears are dangerous the first time you come between a mother and her cubs.

Human mothers are dangerous if you make one think that you are endangering their young too. I suppose that I should have said that they can be dangerous to stupid people. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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6 hours ago, Kirk W said:

Human mothers are dangerous if you make one think that you are endangering their young too. I suppose that I should have said that they can be dangerous to stupid people. 

Did you see the phone video of a mother black bear with 4 small cubs trying to get them across a busy highway? Traffic was stopped and a police car was there.

 

Edited by Ray,IN

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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On 3/30/2021 at 8:30 PM, Ray,IN said:

I once took a fishing trip into the BearTooth mountains of N. Wyoming. The guide gave a speech when we met him at the Erma Hotel in Cody. He told us how to act/react when we saw a bear, then he concluded by saying "If any of you force me to shoot a bear I'll be really mad, it will cause me to lose my guide license until I can prove I had no other choice but to shoot the bear, and I'll still have to pay a fine regardless". He carried a 10 ga. pump W/slugs JIC.

Those were not bears...those were grizzles.

I had a fellow employee talk about the Beartooth's.  I made my bucket list after the conversation.   His stories about working in the Beartooth's and the BIG BEARS made me real paranoid.

But his most scary story was running into a MOOSE in a willow patch in that area.  Moose are mean.

Vladimr Steblina

Retired Forester...exploring the public lands.

usbackroads.blogspot.com

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6 hours ago, Vladimir said:

Those were not bears...those were grizzles.

A grizzley is in fact a brown bear. The smaller, less aggressive bears are black bears. And the difference isn't color, although we think of it that way. 

Quote

The grizzly bear, also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a large population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. 

The grizzly bear has a pronounced shoulder hump, which the black bear lacks. Grizzlies have a concave or “dished” facial profile, smaller ears and much larger claws than the black bear. Black bears have a flatter, “Roman-nose” profile, larger ears, no visible shoulder hump and smaller claws.

The Beartooth area has both black and brown bears, as does Yellowstone NP.

Quote

RANGE: Grizzly bears are found today in Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and possibly southern Colorado, as well as in western Canada. 

Bear Identification

Edited by Kirk W

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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Many years ago we had an off-white Black bear that hung around a town dump in the Adirondacks. Black, brown, and "dirty blonde" blacks are pretty common in the northeast, but a white one is pretty rare here.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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On occasion a Kodiak would break into a house even when occupied.  Dog doors have been used for this purpose on more than one occasion.  The CG base had big fellow go through a slider glass door but the gal escaped through an upstairs window to the neighbors.  Meanwhile her English Bull dog chased the the bear out of the house.  We keep a tight ship and never had a problem when camping in our 5th wheel.  That said have seen many cabins, houses, barns, chicken and other out building broken into.  More often in late summer and fall when our rivers are full of salmon they stay in closer.  The borough has used about every type of bear proof dumpster know to man but eventually gave up in our area that time of the year and simply move them a few miles down the road to an area less accessible to the bear.  Returning to the house after dark sometimes to what appeared to be an outdoor circus with vehicles circling the dumpsters using their headlights to watch the show.  Always fun and somewhat amazing too to watch these agile giants getting into bear proof enclosures and shoving them around.  Once in a while younger smaller bears have gotten stuck inside and needed help to get out requiring ADFG or equipment. One year there was a sow with 5 cubs (heard a record of sorts...F&G figured the sow had 2 and adopted 3).  They were quite a sight that one fall.   The close encounters of the most miserable kind that I am aware of have been in the wild.  Just remember bear are always hungry. 

Later,

J

2012 Landmark, San Antonio

2013 Silverado CC, 3500HD, Duramax, DRW, 4x4

Backup, side and hitch cameras, Tireminder TPMS

 

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