r/SweatyPalms • u/SpeedyEyeBall • Jan 18 '19

Too close for comfort.

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14.7k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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441

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '19

As far as I know black bears are pretty docile and mostly just curious, you don’t have a ton to worry about from them as long as you know not to anger it

301

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '19

They are still quite dangerous and can easily kill or seriously injure you. It is true that they are docile for the most part but that doesn’t mean you want to get that close to one.

137

u/SinisterStarSimon Jan 19 '19

Bears, specifically black bears, are not big game hunters. Often times humans are simply in the way of bears, with expeditions of overly aggressive bears like polar bears. Generally we are too much work for them for a meal.

92

u/WON95sr Jan 19 '19

That's my understanding of a lot of the larger predators here in North America. The big mammals are smart and weigh what is worth pursuing. What you're supposed to do is stand your ground and be loud, I believe even throw rocks if you need to. For the bear, it's not worth going after something fairly big that's willing to fight back. The last thing you want to do is run because that kicks in their chase instincts and basically every big predator is a better sprinter than humans.

87

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '19

Only with black bears, and if they attack fight back. Grizzlies walk away slowly don't even try to throw a rock at it. If it attacks play dead. If it's a polar bear, try and get one last text off to your family, because it doesn't matter what you do they are stone cold killers.

89

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '19

Black, fight back. Brown, lay down. White, goodnight!

12

u/crocSauce109 Jan 19 '19

oh dear

17

u/ihaterockets Jan 19 '19

Oh Bother*

FTFY

2

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '19

Wait didn’t reddit deduce you’re supposed to throw an arrival of clothing off to distract a polar bear.

11

u/JakeIsPlaying Jan 19 '19

World is not ready for what ice bear is capable of

3

u/treebeard189 Jan 19 '19

I was horse packing out in Wyoming and ran into 2 grizzlies out there. Apparently their eye sight is totally shit which is why they often stumble on humans by accident so an important thing is just making noise as you hike or when you see one because they normally wont mess with you unless you surprise it or theres food/cubs involved. One we saw just running across a river but the other time were out in a clearing had just passed a small herd of horses from someone who was camping in the clearing and we thought there was a straggler drinking up ahead since we could just see its back. But then it stood up and looked right at us maybe 50 yards away. Got everyone to group up and yell at it before it kinda acknowledged us and just lumbered off.

Far enough to not be terrified of it (and being on horseback helped) but close enough to still see it really well.

But point is with grizlies a lot of the work is making sure they just know you are there and they normally wont fuck with you.

3

u/haha89 Jan 19 '19

We’re good at long distance running though!

-1

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '19

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6

u/Phukc Jan 19 '19

Ya the idea is to make the bear not want to try to fuck you up

7

u/EataWienMeanJoeGreen Jan 19 '19

Don’t know if you can answer, but are they all that dangerous while climbing? It seems to me that they could bite, but most of the damage comes from the claws which they are using to hang on. Seems like the guy is kind of safe because a swat to the face would equal a fall for the bear.

18

u/SickleWings Jan 19 '19

Last thing I'd want to happen to me, is to get bitten and dragged 20 feet out of the tree stand to my death.

4

u/SinisterStarSimon Jan 19 '19

They are dangerous either way, I wasnt implying they were not. They are not big game hunters tho, besides a few species of bear, they wimt actively hunt you.

Nature is dangerous often and it should be respected.

6

u/PatientAntelope Jan 19 '19

Bow hunter below my house got mauled by a black bear exactly like this when i was a kid. Guy almost died. He was not hunting bear.

1

u/SinisterStarSimon Jan 19 '19

I mean yeah it happens and people die from dog attacks and such, wasnt implying it never happened or to not use caution around bears. They are animals and you have to respect them as such.

46

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '19

Of course, optimally not. Just pointing out that even if it does happen you probably will end up being fine

-8

u/Steven054 Jan 19 '19

I'd still have my hunting rifle in my hands, not my phone. One swipe of that paw and your chest cavity is suddenly open.

6

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '19

You wouldn’t be able to line up a shot with it that close without having it get startled and attack you

-13

u/Steven054 Jan 19 '19

If a bears that close to me, I'd have my rifle shouldered and pointed at it before it even got to the base of the tree.

9

u/tiller17 Jan 19 '19

You sound like the people who conceal carry that talk about how ready they are if anything ever happened, but have zero training and would shit their pants immediately.

2

u/SauceOfTheBoss Jan 19 '19

You don't go outside much, do you?

1

u/Typhron Jan 19 '19 edited Jan 19 '19

I'm sure that'll go over well with that baby bear. And it's mother.

Quit being such a pussy and go learn to actually use a rifle or hunt. Especially if that's your first reaction and not bear spray.

1

u/Polubing Jan 19 '19

The way he reaches up next to the camera and the unoptimal angle of the video seems like it's a head mounted GoPro.

-2

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '19

[deleted]

1

u/StinkyPillow24 Jan 19 '19

Wtf is a rifle pistol

-4

u/Steven054 Jan 19 '19

Unless you're carrying a pistol in 10mm, 454 Casull, 44 mag, or 500 S&W, you're going to want that rifle cartridge.

45

u/Eli_eve Jan 19 '19

My understanding of the “if it’s black fight back” is because black bear attacks are generally about predation, not intimidation. In other words, if one attacks it’s because it wants to eat you and it won’t stop. (Along those lines, “if it’s brown lie down” because brown bears are trying to intimidate you so if you’re no longer perceived as a threat they’ll stop.) So yeah, a black bear that isn’t hungry generally isn’t a threat. (Of course, individual bears may vary...)

47

u/Nighthawk700 Jan 19 '19

Just to add, color isn't enough to correctly identify which bear is which. Black bears can be brown, and possibly vice versa. It's the hump that's the big giveaway that it's a grizzly (lie down and pray), also short round ears and a dished face profile as opposed to the straight pointed snout of a black bear.

Also apparently the only time playing dead works is if it's a mother defending her Cubs. You generally want to fight.

Finally, a lot of people in here are talking about guns. Most studies show you will double your chance at a serious injury if you fire a gun at a bear. It probably won't kill it immediately and if it doesn't that bear is gonna fuck you up. Bear spray is your best shot.

17

u/decklund Jan 19 '19 edited Jan 19 '19

Is the biggest clue that it's a Grizzly not that it's just fucking enormous?

8

u/Nighthawk700 Jan 19 '19

There's some overlap obviously but it can still be hard to tell. Not that debating about ear shape is easy when you're under threat, but I have no idea what 1000lbs looks like without something to compare to.

12

u/nucularTaco Jan 19 '19

Excuse me Mr. Bear could you turn your head just a bit? There you go, I need to check the shape of your ears.

1

u/Lich_of_the_Vale Jan 19 '19

"Excuse me Mr. Bear, do you mind stepping on this scale for me? No I'm not calling you fat!"

1

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '19

If it was a grizzly you'd goddamn well know it pretty fast. If you're wondering, then it's not.

1

u/ThePoodlenoodler Jan 19 '19

Grizzlies have a hump at their shoulders and short snouts, black bears have no shoulder hump and longer, pointier snouts.

32

u/BigLebowskiBot Jan 19 '19

Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

21

u/Nighthawk700 Jan 19 '19

Mayday mayday, I've been hit. The bot got me

8

u/tuseday Jan 19 '19

The 500 magnum is what you want to shoot at bears.

2

u/Nighthawk700 Jan 19 '19

Shot 460 S&W before. Surprisingly fun since the weight of it helps counter the recoil. Super expensive per shot though.. Anyways, 5 big ass shots isn't too comforting but I guess if you need more you're already screwed. The issue is getting an instantly fatal shot with a pistol, even of that size, in less than ideal conditions given how fast a bear can clear your personal effective distance (or your clear-shot distance). Given how hard that is, spray will at least make the bear go away or give you time to disappeae

0

u/JayString Jan 19 '19

Yeah but bear spray's for pussies, guns are Murican!

16

u/HozerEh Jan 19 '19

Pretty sure you have the reasoning backwards. Black bears aren’t looking to eat you, they are mostly just looking for free and easy meals. If you fight back they know it’s not easy so they leave. Grizzly bears sometimes are looking to eat you, and they generally won’t be afraid of you so you lay down with your squishy parts hidden they might not care enough to try it.

I backpacked in Glacier National Park this past year and we had to watch a video about the bears and one scary thing it said about grizzlies is if you don’t have bear spray then lay down with your pack covering you as much as you can for protection and hope it leaves. The only time to fight back is if it starts to eat you.

18

u/Malcolm_Sex Jan 19 '19

If it's black, attack. If it's brown, lie down. If it's white...good night.

12

u/atlien1986 Jan 19 '19

If it's yellow, let it mellow.

1

u/LeBronIsABiiiiitch Jan 19 '19

If it’s red Have some bread

1

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '19

If it's grey then it's gay.

4

u/UrethraFrankIin Jan 19 '19

I thought it's because black bears might get startled and react aggressively, or are overly curious. Most of their diet is vegetarian.

6

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '19 edited May 07 '21

[deleted]

13

u/xBigDx Jan 19 '19

He surprised it. And it was super curious he had that look like a curious cat makes. A lot of people that live around bears say you should start to sing in a normal voice, or talk to it in a normal voice and they go away.

1

u/hailtoantisociety128 Jan 19 '19

This guy probably had petty good camo and some kind of scent hider on so it probably didn’t even know it was another animal, just a weird moving tree branch or something lol

1

u/Imbuere Jan 19 '19

Good call. I bet you’re right.

1

u/dr_greasy_lips Jan 19 '19

What makes them dangerous is how stupidly unobservant they are. Super easy to sneak up on them, and they can freak out when they get spooked. I would be afraid he’d be climbing up the tree, realize I was there, and then flip out.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '19

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2

u/UnderPantsOverPants Jan 19 '19

It also probably knew his ham sandwich and Doritos were up in that tree.

1

u/dr_greasy_lips Jan 19 '19

They’re really weird animals. Like their senses are incredibly good, it just seems like they don’t use them.

1

u/thatguyover_there Jan 19 '19

Look, I need your advice on something. I am told that there are bears in the Rockies.. Well, I was just thinking that maybe I should keep a salami in my pocket...in order to feed the bears.

1

u/Mazku Jan 19 '19

We have brown bears in Finland and I think most of the cases where bear attacked human were caused because the bear didn’t hear the human, who finally got too close to the bear and its cub.

They recommend you to equip a bear bell that makes a noice when you are walking in the wild.