Black Bear???

[Wayne SW/MO]

KFF, I've spent many nights camping in Black bear country, and many days hunting and fishing in the same, and I've seen maybe a half dozen, or less.

Tell your wife the danger of being attacked by a "Dillo is probably greater.

[gonefishin]

Thanks guys! My wife just read this thread and now we won't be doing any camping at Roaring River or Taneycomo

Couple years back we were all set to travel Colorado and camp our way around to save money plus have a more "rustic" adventure. That was until she realized there were bears in them there hills! This was AFTER we had packed up all the camping gear into my truck and was half way to Colorado. So we spent the next week staying in motels and having to unload and reload the truck every day.

Someone PLEASSSSEEEE say this was just a "joke" so I can convince her it's okay to camp again.

John

Hey, what does she have you for if not to feed the bears while she makes good her escape?

Isn't that why you are going to Alaska so you can learn how to properly deal with bears? I would think anyone who can deal with a Griz should be able to handle black bears two and three at a time.

Anyway just tell her ticks and mosquitoes are a lot more dangerous now days than bears or any of the local wildlife with the exception of the two legged variety of course.

[jdmidwest]

That's a good point, ticks have killed more people in MO this year than bears.

The main thing with camping is to secure your food and not invite unwanted wildlife into the camp. We camped at Castor River this weekend and the coons raided a campsite next to us. I woke to one unwrapping twinkies under my bunk on the popup. Made a hell of a noise. The point is to secure food where any wildlife will stay out of it. You will know if MO has a problem with bears when the parks start securing the dumpsters.

[gonefishin]

That's a good point, ticks have killed more people in MO this year than bears.

??? Has there been someone killed by a bear in MO this year?

[jcoberley]

I sure hope not! We need Phil to come back from Alaska to find some for us!

[jdmidwest]

No, KFF's wife was skeered to camp now someone told her there were bears in the woods.

There was a kid who died from a tick borne illness this year.

MDC was the one who released in their weekly news and in the Conservationist this month to bear proof campsites and feed houses.

[gonefishin]

I am certainly not worried about no bear in the woods in MO. I just take my guard dogs with me. I have a pair of killer doxies that think they can whip anything that walks. :D

No, KFF's wife was skeered to camp now someone told her there were bears in the woods.

There was a kid who died from a tick borne illness this year.

MDC was the one who released in their weekly news and in the Conservationist this month to bear proof campsites and feed houses.

I was sad to hear about that child that died from a tick bite. That is really sad. Seems there are more and more insect borne illnesses.

I didn't think there had been any bear kills in MO.

I still wonder why KFFs wife keeps him if he can't keep a black bear at bay while she makes good her escape. Heck if I had a rod as big as his I wouldn't be worried about no lil' ol' black bears.

[Kansas Fly Fisher]

I still wonder why KFFs wife keeps him if he can't keep a black bear at bay while she makes good her escape. Heck if I had a rod as big as his I wouldn't be worried about no lil' ol' black bears.

. . . cause I've convinced her that I don't have to outrun the bear . . . I simply have to outrun her! And, I can run faster skeered than mad!

John

[gonefishin]

AMERICAN FORK, Utah (AP) -- An 11-year-old boy was dragged screaming from his family's tent and killed by a black bear during a Father's Day outing in the Utah wilderness.

The boy, his mother, stepfather and a 6-year-old brother were sleeping in a large tent Sunday night in American Fork Canyon, about 30 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, when the stepfather heard a scream.

The boy and his sleeping bag were gone. His body was found about 400 yards away, said Lt. Dennis Harris of the Utah County sheriff's office. His identity was not released.

Authorities said the bear, a male possibly 300 pounds, probably was the same one that was snooping around a different tent in the same area before dawn Sunday.

Wildlife officers shot a black bear Monday and flew its remains out of the Wasatch Mountains for tests to confirm that it was responsible for the fatal mauling. The officers used 26 dogs to track the bear's scent, shooting and wounding him. The creature wandered around wounded until officers shot and killed him several hours later, said Lt. Scott White of the state wildlife agency.

Authorities said the death was Utah's first fatal attack on a human by a black bear. It follows reports of several bear sightings during spring and occurred just hours after other people in the same primitive campsite likely encountered the same animal.

"Truly a tragic event," said Jim Karpowitz, director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. "Events of this type are extremely rare in Utah."

The attack occurred in American Fork Canyon, a popular camping destination with elevations as high as 11,000 feet.

"When it's hot and dry like this, bears are short of food," Karpowitz said.

In May, officials reported black bears in Provo Canyon and Park City, including one that ripped through a screen door at a cabin where residents had burned food and opened windows.

Officers killed that bear because it showed no fear when biologists tried to scare it away with firecrackers, the wildlife agency said.

In July 2006, a black bear bit the arm of a 14-year-old Boy Scout while he slept in a tent, also in Utah County. The female bear returned to the campground and was killed.

Black bears, which are found in 27 states, are "generally less aggressive than other bears and don't prey on humans," said Stewart Breck, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Fort Collins, Colo.

The typical human-bear conflicts involve bears breaking into homes or cars.

"But it's not breaking into a tent and killing," Breck said.

[WebFreeman]

Great, GF, HIDE this from ALL wives immediately!!!!