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Bear & Cougar Issues

Old 08-20-2015, 06:15 AM
  #11  
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You have two different things going on at the same time. In my mind Bears are raiders of opportunity and are just following their noses to a possible meal. I've only had a few Bear encounters, so I'm far from an expert.

I've had more encounters with Cougars and in your shoes I would be very afraid. They are ambush hunters and unlike Bears aren't really interested in your chow, they are interested in you.

A two year old Cougar freshly out on his or her own has a tough time, they get to the point it is either eat or starve to death. In other words they get desperate.

They can get way close before you are aware they are anywhere near. I can think of at least two incidences where my dogs didn't even know they were there, the Cats came in down wind for a look see.

Imagine a 100-150 lb. Cat crouched under some brush waiting for you to walk by. Or watching you from a berm or a bank on a Creek. Chances are if they are in the area they have already been close enough to you to hit with a thrown rock and you didn't even know they were there.

One instance that still makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I was exercising a couple of my dogs and happened to glance down a bank into the brush maybe 40 feet away and saw a Cougar there. That Cat was just crouched there watching joggers run by, it was a fairly heavily traveled fire trail, not far from some houses. Both of those dogs were Cat/Coyote dogs and neither of them alerted on that Cat. If the Cat hadn't twitched an ear I would have never seen it.

I'm from the it is better to be safe than sorry school of thought, either have a designated guard while you are working, get a big dog with a good nose or leave until it rains and the prey numbers improve.

I had one of my dogs get her stomach opened up by Cougar. We where running Rabbits near a little water seep in dry country. I was totally unaware of what had happened until I saw the Cat running away with my dog chasing it with her intestines dragging the ground. The whole thing went down in near total silence. I didn't hear a thing until the Dog went nuts and started singing as she was chasing the Cat. Best guess is the Cat had ambushed the dog and she put up a better fight than the Cat expected. Darned Cats don't growl, yowl or do like in the movies and make some sort of hubbub before or during an attack, they are silent killers.

One of the few places I keep a round in the chamber and the flap opened on my brush holster, is in Cougar country. And even then I most always have a dog with me and no big expectations of seeing that Cat until it is right on top of me. That Cat likely knows when it is within a quarter of a mile of you, you are at a distinct disadvantage.
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Old 08-20-2015, 09:13 AM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by RotGrub
The area we're in is very dry, there is no obvious food as far as I can see. I know the deer and at least one bob cat is drinking from our supply tanks. Never any bears or cougar tracks around the tanks.

I'm told that these "little" black bears are easily scared off. An from my experiences so far that is somewhat true. But chances are we will run across one with an attitude. Never seen any cubs.

The cougars seem bold. The last time we had an encounter we (my wife and I) we working a 6' deep pit in a dry creek. The cat was coming up creek. My lab was sleeping and broke into a vicious raid down the creek. By the time I got out of the pit, the cat & Tug we having a standoff. As soon as the cat saw me it took off up the hillside into the thick forest. Tug tracked this invisible cat for 30 min moving up and down the creek with his nose in the air. Once he calmed down we went back to work.

Cats seem to be daytime while bears are always just before dawn.
Bears are most active at dawn and dusk but will be out any time, the most dangerous bear is one with cubs the 2nd is a bear who is used to humans and associates them with food. We had a woman here who fed black bears at her house one day the bears ate her.

Fire crackers might work well but they may start a fire. Most of the bears I've seen ran off, the mountain lions I met stood there ground and I think it was about 5am or so, never been so scared in my life.
I think the fence idea is a great one but keep spooking them off. Good luck and be safe with all your wild fires. If your seeing small bears they may have just been kicked out by mama and in need of easy food, black bears can get to over 700 pounds.

Last edited by RockyMtnGobblers; 08-20-2015 at 09:32 AM.
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Old 08-20-2015, 09:19 AM
  #13  
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Anatolian shepherd, Spanish mastiff, or Great Pyrenees would be ideal to keeping critters at bay. The only issue with a GP is they will probably keep you up barking.
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Old 08-20-2015, 11:56 AM
  #14  
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Originally Posted by turke7
You may want to store your food a distance away from camp and possibly hang it from a tree off a large branch so they can't reach it off the ground and can't reach low enough to grab it from the tree branch. Bear spray could work on bears/cougars to scare them off and hopefully teach them to avoid humans. Also make sure your being diligent with your trash removal and storage. I also suggest covering your water tanks. If your using them for your drinking water its probably not sanitary for the wildlife to be able to drink from it. Plus possibility of bugs inhabiting the water, birds etc pooping in it and so on.
turke7, no good trees in the area for that. I lock it in the truck cab. I have concerns with the bear spray. I kinda get the feeling that one would end up perhaps chasing a bear to get a good spray, if the bear is charging I would not want to rely on spray. But if sprayed around the camp would it have any effect? Never used it...The water is for mining and our recirculating systems.
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Old 08-20-2015, 12:12 PM
  #15  
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Locking your food in a truck cab is a good way to one day find your truck destroyed. If you have no trees to hang your food you should dig a cash and put steel doors on it with a heavy lock. Bear spray is not made to be sprayed around as a deterrent it is a last resort made to be sprayed in the bears face so that its eyes burn so badly it can't see and it has a hard time breathing. It sounds to me like you are no where prepared enough to be doing what you are doing in an area that has predators that kill and eat humans and you need some expert advice on how to do it. I suggest you contact the wildlife agency that has jurisdiction of the state you are mining in. Those animals are doing what they do, you are in their backyard and you need to learn how to safely be there and how not to attract trouble to the best of your ability. You don't say what kind of shelter you are living in or if you have bear proffed it.
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Old 08-20-2015, 01:13 PM
  #16  
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Oldtimr---They stay in tents and are out in CA. I think he needs to do exactly what you stated if he doesn't even know how bear spray is used!
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Old 08-20-2015, 03:45 PM
  #17  
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Originally Posted by bald9eagle
Anatolian shepherd, Spanish mastiff, or Great Pyrenees would be ideal to keeping critters at bay. The only issue with a GP is they will probably keep you up barking.
I've always had labs. For the past 25 years a black lab has been at our side. We're thinking about another or a golden retriever. My sister had Mastiff's and they seem to lack the energy or stamina for us. I do like the Pyrenees but like the retriever, the longer hair becomes problematic. The wife is voting for the retriever while I'm leaning lab... maybe one of each.
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Old 08-20-2015, 03:59 PM
  #18  
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Originally Posted by Oldtimr
Locking your food in a truck cab is a good way to one day find your truck destroyed. If you have no trees to hang your food you should dig a cash and put steel doors on it with a heavy lock. Bear spray is not made to be sprayed around as a deterrent it is a last resort made to be sprayed in the bears face so that its eyes burn so badly it can't see and it has a hard time breathing. It sounds to me like you are no where prepared enough to be doing what you are doing in an area that has predators that kill and eat humans and you need some expert advice on how to do it. I suggest you contact the wildlife agency that has jurisdiction of the state you are mining in. Those animals are doing what they do, you are in their backyard and you need to learn how to safely be there and how not to attract trouble to the best of your ability. You don't say what kind of shelter you are living in or if you have bear proffed it.
We have no other option. I realize what a bear could do to my truck but I'm hoping we hear and react before it comes to that. The emergency button on the key ring has worked before. Hit that and all the lights start flashing, horn blasting etc... Depending on where we decide to mine our base camp could be set up in April and left until November. We are now working areas where we are mobile. Some are set up and taken down within as little 3-4 days to a week or so. We are small scale prospectors, no huge equipment, or employees.. We move around and look for areas to be mined. We hunt, just not for flesh. When you say "not to attract trouble" that is what we seek.
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Old 08-20-2015, 04:21 PM
  #19  
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All of you have been very helpful. What I've taken from this is 1. the problem is more serious than I thought. 2. we will get a few cans of bear spray. 3. I don't expect much help from the USFS as they would love to find another reason to keep us out of "their" forest. 4. Get another dog(s) ASAP. 5. Reach out to local hunters and take them mining...

I understand some of your concerns and take note. But I cannot allow these creatures to detour me from the wilderness and exploring. There are plenty two legged beasts hell bent on achieving that but they have failed so far. There is no place I rather be. You want danger; I live about 40 miles east of San Francisco CA and have worked as a builder throughout what we call the Bay Area for the past 35 years... I'm deep in lib country and that my friends is real danger...
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Old 08-20-2015, 04:29 PM
  #20  
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I was able to get a few cam picks from a claim just to the south. How do you upload pictures? I see the tab but it asks for a url.
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