Just Bearly
With all the warnings about bears in Yosemite National Park, I did my homework on how to handle an American black bear encounter before our trip last summer. While one would tuck and protect oneself from a grizzly (“play dead”), black bear protocol calls for the surprised human to scare the bear (yeah, right) by standing tall, shouting and waving one’s arms. The state flag is dominated by a California grizzly (or “brown bear”) but the last of these was reportedly killed in the late 1920s. Park managers aim to protect Yosemite’s black bear population from the same fate. Bright yellow signage reminds visitors that “speeding kills bears” and marks the spots where bears have been hit by traffic. Proper food storage is a common theme in the campgrounds.
My eyes were constantly scanning the road and trail side for them, remembering that while they are called “black bears” -most of them are actually brown! During our Yosemite visits we heard about plenty of bear sightings but were hard pressed to actually spy one ourselves. Finally, during a fuel stop there was a commotion at the other side of the road, and rangers began managing the slowing flow of traffic. And, in the distance an ambling bear munched his way across a meadow, oblivious to the eyes and camera lenses riveted in his direction. There was no need to wave my arms or intimidate the distant bear which left my hands free for picture taking.
Seems like the bear did not cause any danger to the public, what if ???
Ha ha ha… I am too cautious.
The deference with which that bear was treated reminded me of the way that cows are related to in India. I’m wondering if somehow that practice started in a similar way. Not to suggest that we shouldn’t protect endangered species.
I bearly finished your wonderful article when I was reminded to forward it to my youngest boy in Montana. He frequents the northern part of Yellowstone and could run into both bear species. Thanks for the reminder!
WOW!! I would love to see a bear in the wild, but only from a safe distance.
Great shot!
Happy Friday Heather!!
Just tried to leave a comment, not sure if it worked.
But here goes again.
I love the shot!
It would be fun to see a bear in the wild but ONLY from a safe distance.
I’ll stick with fish. Well done you though,you are not just a pretty face.
I see you didn’t go nearer to get a picture of yourself with the bear!
That’s one sight I will never see in New Zealand. A wild pig is about as dangerous as it gets here.
Just be careful Heather!
Keith
That’s exactly the way I’d want to view a bear, at a safe distance! How exciting that you were able to get this shot.
Rainfield: No one has ever been killed by a bear in Yosemite -but a big part of maintaining safety for both bear and human is to minimize actual contact. It’s when bears get comfortable being around people that bad things happen.
Douglas: Who knows? An encounter with Utah cows (http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/2008/09/08/the-cows-part-one-boulder-utah/) tells me that cows can be just as intimidating!
Bring Back Pluto: I’m in full agreement. Distance is good (especially with a telephoto zoom lens on my camera).
Donald: Well, thank you sir! -Some of your fish stories are rather harrowing though, Donald!
Jean-Luc: I wasn’t even slightly tempted! I remember watching grizzlies fish in Alaska when I was a kid. Bears have effortless strength.
Suzanne: Any wild animal with a bad attitude is nothing to trifle with. I hear those pigs can be a bit destructive.
Keith: I’d say that I’m always careful -but having taken a spectacular dive into the woods while running yesterday… I’ll just say that I’m very careful around wildlife!
Fly Girl: Having the right camera lens (or binoculars) makes it possible to get a good view from a safe distance. This bear was plenty close enough for me!
Heather,
We finally got around to adding you to our Blogroll. Sorry it took so long, we’ve been meaning to for months.
Thanks!!
Not too keen on tucking up and playing dead and I’m too short to stand tall and wave my arms around, viewing from a safe but watchable distance sounds ideal. Lucky you to encounter these lovely creatures.
Thanks “GUYS”! I’m adding you as well so that you may enlighten more women on the male perspective.
Cate: Distance is good when it comes to bears. I think it would be kind of tough not to run from a grizzly, and if I waved at a black bear -he might think I was motioning him to join me!