Followed by bear

This was in the Italian Alps. The family was out to pick alpine pine shoots. They boil it and make syrup from it. It's actually a delicacy. The boy was not carrying a food bag but a bag with shoots. It was not the dad but the boy who said "shh" when his mother started to freak.
There was a video on Spiegel.de a couple weeks ago which showed the incident as they filmed it with a cell phone. That boy was very collected and for sure did not need a new pair of pants.

The Braunbaer as they call em there was not showing any aggression. He followed for a bit, then stood up on his hinds to get a whiff and off he went.
 
About 30 years ago found myself and my 7 year old son about 500 yards down a creek panning gold . The creek varied from 10 to 15 yards wide but very shallow and has been prospected for at least 200 years . We panned one side and turned around to pan the other side while making our way back to the truck . A small black bear came out on the bank . 150 to 175 pounds . I shouted and waved my arms and the bear never looked at me but focused on my son . It ambled off into the bush .

Another 75 yards and the same thing happen . Again waving my arms and shouting and making sure my son was on the other side of me . The bear paid zero attention to me but stared straight at my son . Again it sauntered off into the bush . Now i was catching sight of it as it paralleled the creek following us .

A bit later , maybe another 75 or 100 yards there was a fairly large gravel bar that extends most of the way across the creek . As we walked up the bar the bear came walking down the bank with it's head extended out and total focus on my son . The bear was about 10 yards away with my son another 5 yards opposite me . I'm standing between my son and the bear shouting and hollering and waving my arms and it was as if i wasn't even there . This time as i saw it i reached into my jacket pocket and drew my 2 inch barrelled S&W Airweight 5 shot .38 Special and his fvcking number just came up . With 2 or 3 long strides i was no more than 3 or 4 yards from him and killed him with a head shot followed by two more .

That bear was radar locked on to my son and followed us for maybe a couple of hundred yards with no fear or notice of me .
 
The Braunbaer as they call em there

They're a close relative of our Grizzlies, maybe not as badly tempered, but not to be taken lightly.

Grizz
 
Jaaska said:
About 30 years ago found myself and my 7 year old son about 500 yards down a creek panning gold . The creek varied from 10 to 15 yards wide but very shallow and has been prospected for at least 200 years . We panned one side and turned around to pan the other side while making our way back to the truck . A small black bear came out on the bank . 150 to 175 pounds . I shouted and waved my arms and the bear never looked at me but focused on my son . It ambled off into the bush .

Another 75 yards and the same thing happen . Again waving my arms and shouting and making sure my son was on the other side of me . The bear paid zero attention to me but stared straight at my son . Again it sauntered off into the bush . Now i was catching sight of it as it paralleled the creek following us .

A bit later , maybe another 75 or 100 yards there was a fairly large gravel bar that extends most of the way across the creek . As we walked up the bar the bear came walking down the bank with it's head extended out and total focus on my son . The bear was about 10 yards away with my son another 5 yards opposite me . I'm standing between my son and the bear shouting and hollering and waving my arms and it was as if i wasn't even there . This time as i saw it i reached into my jacket pocket and drew my 2 inch barrelled S&W Airweight 5 shot .38 Special and his fvcking number just came up . With 2 or 3 long strides i was no more than 3 or 4 yards from him and killed him with a head shot followed by two more .

That bear was radar locked on to my son and followed us for maybe a couple of hundred yards with no fear or notice of me .
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Only the person in the encounter can decide when or if to shoot. I've set my "shoot him" range at 15 yards with an ATC handgun.
 
Over the years, I have had plenty of contact with both Black Bears and Grizzlys.

Was even involved in a "cull" operation when black bear population density got too high
in a certain area [many, many years ago] One thing that has been to my advantage - I
NEVER trust a bear!! Most encounters are benign, and the bear will leave, but you
cannot predict the encounter that could turn deadly. Most charges are "bluffs", but.....

I try to avoid bears in the woods unless I am actually hunting them. The most dangerous
bears IMHO are those who are used to humans, are eating garbage discarded by people, or
are wounded. Also in this class are mothers with cubs...they are very protective. Dave.
 
Grizzly Adams said:
The Braunbaer as they call em there

They're a close relative of our Grizzlies, maybe not as badly tempered, but not to be taken lightly.

Grizz
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there is no one temper for the grizzly as one for the european brown bear ... some grizzly are well educated to avoid human like some in europe but when the density of bears and humans are at their max then start the problem as when the food is an issue. if you had on any equation a sow with cubs then that is another problem.

i ve seen my grand pa dealing with european brown bears and was given by the state every year a license to kill a problem bear, as one kind was interested by sheep but never by hives or honey.

the 8x57js always worked good that and provided as well good meat for a while.
 
In more than 60 years of bush travel, hunting, fishing, guiding, and just being out for a walk, I have seen and been close to many bears of both kinds. I am not talking about two or three weekends a year, but weeks at a time on foot and horseback. The last year I guided full time I was in the bush for 73 consecutive days that Fall, as well as the earlier Spring bear hunt.

Rarely encountered bears while fishing, unlike my pals in Alaska and BC.

I only ever had to kill one bear, and that not during a hunting trip. It was a medium size black, and he fell close enough to my feet that I only needed to reach out with the muzzle of my old 270 Husky to test him for a blink reflex. Believe me when I tell you that one is plenty.

There are far better ways to experience Adrenalin.

Ted
 
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pounder said:
GreenBob We have a 1 guide to 10 people ratio. We don't want to scare our clients with too many guns around. We want our clients to enjoy the trip and not worry about the dangers that may be or are around. We cannot just shoot any bear that shows up. There is a very stringent set of rules around shooting a polar bear. And that is the second last thing that the clients need to see.
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Thanks for the response Pounder and clarification.

:cheers:
 
In the late 70th, i was out hunting WT in Gatineau QC.

I was tracking a WT in a 4 inch snow, i was almost out of legal light, i decide to make a U-turn and head back to the cabin.
Well about a quarter mile back, i noticed tracks in my previous tracks, those were track of a 2 bigs Timberwolfs, they were following me.
Did walk faster after seeing that

I think about this adventure often, this could a been dangerous…
 
Isn't European brown bear almost extinct though? Can't they relocate it or something.. educate the local population? Shame to kill something as we struggle to keep it alive.
 
J.Hancock said:
Isn't European brown bear almost extinct though? Can't they relocate it or something.. educate the local population? Shame to kill something as we struggle to keep it alive.
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They're actually moving back into territories they occupied in days past, kind of like our Grizzlies. Relocation or shooting is not politically expedient, just like here.

Grizz
 
People up here that regularly deal with bears would rather deal with polar bears than barren ground grizzly bears. Polar bears are way more polite.
 
During the Deer hunt,our camp crew always wait until almost the end of legal shooting time before encasing firearms and heading back to camp in the dark for supper. Once,I forgot my Thermos,so,I left the crew and went back for it. By this time,it was dark,but,the trail was clearly marked and I had a good flashlight,so,I wasn't the least bit concerned. I got my Thermos,put it in my pack and headed back almost instantly realizing that I had company. That Bear followed me all the way back to camp. I had to throw rocks and fire a shot at him before he buggered off. It showed up again two days later and tried to get into the camp. One of he guys finally shot him.
 
In some areas some modicum of “ stalking” by young male back bears is fairly common when working in the bush.

I’ve never encountered a grizzly that did this, ime they have huffed, puffed, popped and barked like a dog but never followed me or seem interested in doing much more than blustering.
 
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