lots of info on deer... what about bears?

newtoit

newtoit

Well-Known Member
anyone know if bears would cause any problems to plants? i know deer can be a problem but i saw this guy on a trip to a potential site...
 
Flabos

Flabos

Well-Known Member
Holy...
And you weren't freaked when you saw him ?
Imagine this - You're going to your spot and get attacked by bear .
Not a good thing.
 
We TaRdED

We TaRdED

Well-Known Member
what a cute bear :D

lol, i doubt that bears eat MJ plants, but im not certain..

im sure you know the rules when walking through bear territory- make noise to ensure that they know your coming and not to scare them..

what happened with your bear encounter? did he just slowly saunter off after you took the pic or what?:peace:
 
P@ssw0rd

P@ssw0rd

New Member
well i don't know if bears eat pot but deer sure do and your sure to have less of them around if theres a bear in the area. Imagine having a guard bear for your spot, that would be incredible.
P@ssw0rd
 
newtoit

newtoit

Well-Known Member
We TaRdED said:
what a cute bear :D

lol, i doubt that bears eat marijuana plants, but im not certain..

im sure you know the rules when walking through bear territory- make noise to ensure that they know your coming and not to scare them..

what happened with your bear encounter? did he just slowly saunter off after you took the pic or what?:peace:
Click to expand...

this was before i even got close to the potential spot... was about to get out of my car and saw him in the trees... took a couple of pics before it took off, never even got out of my car, don't really want to try to fu@k with a bear... or go for a walk in the bush when i know one is close by. If i saw it on my way out or when i was walking around, not sure what i would do... needless to say I will be carying around some bear mace or a bigass machete... at least i can try to have a chance that way
 
Flabos

Flabos

Well-Known Member
I'm even afraid of deers because they have rather long horns :S.
I hope i never run into a bear.
About the plants i think they may eat them but deers are a much bigger threat.
 
RandomJesus

RandomJesus

Well-Known Member
Ah reminds me of growing back in Oregon.
Bears didn't fuck with my stuff, and they left me alone
Black Bears don't want anything to do with people....
but if you get between them and what they're after i.e cubs,
look out.
 
F

fdd2blk

Well-Known Member
i've heard of this trick........

take a few cans of WD-40 or brake parts cleaner. smear them with bacon grease and place around your grow area. once the bear bites into it he will never come back. :)
 
Skunk Baxter

Skunk Baxter

Well-Known Member
Black bear are nothing to worry about. It's extremely rare that one would ever attack a human; only happens a few times a year nationwide, and there are tens of millions of people living and playing in close proximity to bears. Almost all bear attacks result from a human getting between Mrs. Bear and her cubs, or a young bear looking for new territory advancing too far into a human habitat and getting himself into a situation where he feels trapped or cornered. I can't tell much about that bear from your picture, but it's probably fairly young - less than 5 years, I'd say. I think it's a female from the shape of its face, but I'm out of practice, so I'm not sure. If it is a female, she's of breeding age, so you should be careful for the next few weeks in case she has cubs nearby. By mid-summer, the cubs will be larger, and she won't be so lethally protective of them. When they're small and helpless, she's got a hair trigger, and will maul anything that looks like it's even thinking of entertaining the idea of sticking its tongue out in the general direction of a cub.

As for eating your plants, don't sweat it. That's not the sort of thing they typically go for. Their entire summer is dedicated to getting as fat as possible to prepare for hibernation, and marijuana just isn't very fattening. They prefer fatty, higher-protein foods like grubs and insects, and fruits and berries in the late summer. Look for bear signs around your grow. Are there are a lot of dead trees that look they're torn to shit? That's a bear. Bears are territorial; once they find an area they like, they tend to stick close to it, or keep coming back. A bear may have several such areas in its territory, and it'll spend almost all its time commuting back and forth between them. If you're growing in one of those areas, you can expect to see quite a lot of your bear over the course of the season, so if it makes you uncomfortable, pick a different spot.

A previous poster mentioned that having bear around would keep the deer at bay, but unfortunately that's not really going to work. Deer don't care about bear. A bear might spook a deer when it's blundering around in the brush, but that's just because it's a big clumsy something that startles the deer. Bears aren't a predator that deer live in mortal fear of, like wolves or cougar. They co-exist in the same habitat without any problem. One thing that is encouraging about the bear, however, is that having a bear nearby generally means there aren't a whole lot of humans wandering around in there. Of course, the other thing it could mean is that you're right next to a dump or a campground, which obviously would not be to your advantage, but that's up to you to determine.

Edit: I should make clear that everything I said here pertains to black bear, because that's the brand of bear featured in the photo. If you live in a western state and spot a grizzly near your grow, my advice would be to get the fuck out of there and don't come back. They're very similar to black bears in that they, also, do not typically eat marijuana; but they differ from black bears in that they do eat marijuana growers.
 
4

40acres

New Member
As it looks like a black bear from that picture, let me tell you that black bears are one of the only animals that will attack humans as food.If you are attacked by one, you must fight back, because it will kill and then eat you. You cannont lay down and act dead, or run, or anything like that, you have to fight.
If you get attacked by a brown bear, it is a teritorial issue and they just want to basically show you who is boss.
If you are in bear country, get yourself a big gun. I wouldnt hurt anything unless I was atacked, but its beter them than me.Advice from someone who wont let any firearms in their house or presence.
 
K

korvette1977

Well-Known Member
We have black bears here .... Im sure if they stumble onto your crop they might eat it , but I would worry more of them being smashed by the bears weight ...
 
4

40acres

New Member
. Deaths by grizzlies are most often defensive, while black bear fatalities on humans, although extremely rare, are often predatory.[13] This makes feigning death when a black bear attacks ineffective. Although 14 North Americans have been killed since the year 2000

Just grabbed it off wiki(which I realize isnt def.), But I am pretty sure this is right. I grew up with people who would try to kill anything that might be food.:mrgreen:
 
newtoit

newtoit

Well-Known Member
fdd2blk said:
i've heard of this trick........

take a few cans of WD-40 or brake parts cleaner. smear them with bacon grease and place around your grow area. once the bear bites into it he will never come back. :)
Click to expand...

lol i just wish i could see a bear do that... set up a video camera or something...:mrgreen:
 
newtoit

newtoit

Well-Known Member
Skunk Baxter said:
Black bear are nothing to worry about. It's extremely rare that one would ever attack a human; only happens a few times a year nationwide, and there are tens of millions of people living and playing in close proximity to bears. Almost all bear attacks result from a human getting between Mrs. Bear and her cubs, or a young bear looking for new territory advancing too far into a human habitat and getting himself into a situation where he feels trapped or cornered. I can't tell much about that bear from your picture, but it's probably fairly young - less than 5 years, I'd say. I think it's a female from the shape of its face, but I'm out of practice, so I'm not sure. If it is a female, she's of breeding age, so you should be careful for the next few weeks in case she has cubs nearby. By mid-summer, the cubs will be larger, and she won't be so lethally protective of them. When they're small and helpless, she's got a hair trigger, and will maul anything that looks like it's even thinking of entertaining the idea of sticking its tongue out in the general direction of a cub.

As for eating your plants, don't sweat it. That's not the sort of thing they typically go for. Their entire summer is dedicated to getting as fat as possible to prepare for hibernation, and marijuana just isn't very fattening. They prefer fatty, higher-protein foods like grubs and insects, and fruits and berries in the late summer. Look for bear signs around your grow. Are there are a lot of dead trees that look they're torn to shit? That's a bear. Bears are territorial; once they find an area they like, they tend to stick close to it, or keep coming back. A bear may have several such areas in its territory, and it'll spend almost all its time commuting back and forth between them. If you're growing in one of those areas, you can expect to see quite a lot of your bear over the course of the season, so if it makes you uncomfortable, pick a different spot.

A previous poster mentioned that having bear around would keep the deer at bay, but unfortunately that's not really going to work. Deer don't care about bear. A bear might spook a deer when it's blundering around in the brush, but that's just because it's a big clumsy something that startles the deer. Bears aren't a predator that deer live in mortal fear of, like wolves or cougar. They co-exist in the same habitat without any problem. One thing that is encouraging about the bear, however, is that having a bear nearby generally means there aren't a whole lot of humans wandering around in there. Of course, the other thing it could mean is that you're right next to a dump or a campground, which obviously would not be to your advantage, but that's up to you to determine.

Edit: I should make clear that everything I said here pertains to black bear, because that's the brand of bear featured in the photo. If you live in a western state and spot a grizzly near your grow, my advice would be to get the fuck out of there and don't come back. They're very similar to black bears in that they, also, do not typically eat marijuana; but they differ from black bears in that they do eat marijuana growers.
Click to expand...
any way you put it there are a lot of black bears in my area, so anywhere i end up going I am going to run into the possibility of seeing one, I decided against going to that one spot as I would rather not go to a spot i know there is a bear around... There is plenty of bush around me, and plenty of potential spots.

p.s. thanks for all the advice
 
Skunk Baxter

Skunk Baxter

Well-Known Member
The Wiki article is somewhat accurate, but even at that you left out these parts -

Like many animals, they seldom attack unless cornered, threatened, or wounded. They are less likely to attack humans than grizzly bears and typically flee for cover as soon as they identify a human visitor.... Although 14 North Americans have been killed since the year 2000, it is estimated that there have been only 56 documented killings of humans by black bears in North America in the past 100 years.
Click to expand...
And more details from the source that the Wiki article cites -

Offensive or “predatory” or “predaceous” attacks on humans by black bears do occur but are very rare. During the period 1900-2003, there have been 52 human fatalities from black bears, more than 80% of which were predatory in nature. Of these, 5 have occurred in Alaska, 11 in the lower 48 USA, and the remainder in Canada. Non-fatal predatory attacks are more frequent but still rare. The trend of bear-inflicted injuries–at least in Canada–has grown along with the human population. Predatory attacks have typically been in remote or rural areas, probably where bears have little or no experience with people, and almost always have involved male bears. Persons most at risk have been those hiking, fishing, berry picking or working in remote areas. In British Columbia between1960-1997, 77% of black bear attacks involved such persons. Recently, there is some indication that predatory attacks are increasing in more settled areas, although data are yet sparse. Wounded bears and sows protecting young are a small component of the serious injuries or fatalities from black bears.


Overall, black bears are extraordinarily tolerant of humans, even under substantial provocation. In Yellowstone National Park, injuries from black bears averaged 2.7 per million visitors between 1970-1979 and from 1980-1994, 0.5 per million. Roadside injuries decreased due to vigorous public education and the removal of food-conditioned bears. In New York State (1960-80), only 3 minor bear-related injuries occurred during 77 million recreation days.
Click to expand...

Grizzlies will stalk you and kill you for food, black bears very rarely. They mostly just want to be left alone. If you're just looking at the statistics, it's easy to let yourself believe that black bears are more dangerous because there are more black bear attacks each year than grizzly attacks, but this is a case where statistics are deceiving. The numbers only make it look that way because there are so many more black bears than grizzlies in North America, and black bears typically live much closer to humans than grizzlies do.

40,000 people die in traffic accidents each year, but that's no reason to be scared of cars. When you have hundreds of millions of people driving every day, 40,000 deaths a year is nothing. And when you have tens of millions of people in close proximity to hundreds of thousands of bears each year, a half dozen attacks a year is less than nothing. Sure, you should exercise caution, but to be afraid of them - or even wave off on a good grow site because you saw a bear - is a drastic overreaction. You're probably in more danger from getting gored by a deer than mauled by a bear.
 
Skunk Baxter

Skunk Baxter

Well-Known Member
newtoit said:
any way you put it there are a lot of black bears in my area, so anywhere i end up going I am going to run into the possibility of seeing one, I decided against going to that one spot as I would rather not go to a spot i know there is a bear around... There is plenty of bush around me, and plenty of potential spots.

p.s. thanks for all the advice
Click to expand...
Oh, you're welcome. But keep in mind, if you've got a lot of woods around and a lot of bear in your area, no matter where you go there will be bear. You won't see them, but they're there. It was just one in a million that you spotted that one, and again, probably a good sign for a grower because it suggests that she feels comfortable there because she's not used to seeing humans.

But like I said, if you're not comfortable growing there, then you're just not comfortable. I'm sure you'll find other good spots. Good luck!
 
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