Guy shoots sow bear with two cubs - What would you do?

Guys - seriously - let the personal stuff go. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, and the rules here say they can state it without being attacked for it as long as it's not trolling.

ROA - I understand you're honked off at bears right now due to your recent experiences, but think for a second. I had my first encouter with bears when i was 7 and a couple of 'em ran us off the playground at school. Had many since. Gatehouse has 'em in his yard often enough and lives and works in an infested area prone to human-bear encounters. Bones has killed more bears than most of us have ever seen, and had tonnes of non-lethal encounters with them. All three of us hunt and kill bears and have no problem smoking one if it's the right thing to do. ANd many of the others commenting here have wide experience as well.

And we're all pointing out.. it was not the right thing to do in this case.

So i think you'll have to concede this ain't a bunch of hippy vegan urbanites you're talking about :) - no one here values the bear more than people.

With that in mind, don'tcha think we might have at least a LITTLE bit of a point?
 
My opinion is not "safe" or "politicaly correct" and there are many people that I know that have LEAGALY shot problem bears. People just won't say anyting for fear of reprisal. I am not one of these people.
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c'mon - most of us would dust a true problem bear faster than a fat kid would eat a smartie. This isn't a 'politically correct' issue. It's just as simple as there's no point destroying wildlife without a reason, and AT THE TIME THIS GUY SHOT, there doesn't seem to be sufficient reason to justify it.
 
Foxer said:
c'mon - most of us would dust a true problem bear faster than a fat kid would eat a smartie. This isn't a 'politically correct' issue. It's just as simple as there's no point destroying wildlife without a reason, and AT THE TIME THIS GUY SHOT, there doesn't seem to be sufficient reason to justify it.
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What if it was your shed that was getting torn apart?
 
What if it was your shed that was getting torn apart?
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An older shed I wasn't using? Well, i wouldn't be too worked up. (actually, i'd be mildly curious to watch the bear's behaviour.) but that's just me. Bears are cool to watch, and it's interesting to see how they 'decide' to deal with things.

If I actually cared about the shed, i'd likely drive the bear off. I might even call the CO and talk to him about it - get his two bits and point out if it comes back and damages stuff again I might have to smoke it out of safety and property concerns. Get his blessings. If I tried to drive it off and it became confrontational... story ends there with a dead bear.

But just because it was on the property and behaving like a bear? I wouldn't shoot at that point, especially in a no shoot zone. I'd just send it packing, and then look at my options. If the shed is the problem, get rid of the shed. If what's IN the shed is the problem, consider dealing with that. If the bear is just becoming agressive - next time she's a rug. Might even look at deterrents like an electric fence or the like. Or talk to the co and see if he's got any bright ideas.

Killing is sometimes the best choice, but it doesn't sound like it was in this case. And it's not good to destroy wildlife on a whim.
 
I've shot problem bears before and will do it again if I need to...Sounds to me shooting this bear was premature, especially as it had cubs..Sounds as if the guy was just scared of it.

It is required by law for the shooter to report the destruction of any wildlife killed in defense of life or property. If he doens't, he is in violation of BC wildlife laws.

If he doens't want to report it to the CO's, it's pretty clear that he thinks he was in the wrong, too.
 
Actually that is a good point Foxer...just what was in the shed to attract the bear in the first place? In my experience animals don't waste time trashing stuff for no reason.
 
IBTL - :popCorn:

This thread seems to be heading down the crapper fast.

The MAJORITY of posters here seem to agree that the Bear's demise was wrong and should/could have been avoided. Further that if it was deemed necessary, the cubs should have been dispatched as well, further still, the Bear was shot in an area designated as "No Shooting" AND on Private Property. So in fact the guy was wrong on several levels.
 
Actually that is a good point Foxer...just what was in the shed to attract the bear in the first place? In my experience animals don't waste time trashing stuff for no reason.
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Could be old and rotting - lotsa bugs. The bear may have thought of it like a big rotting log if you know what I mean.

Still - good question.
 
Republic of Alberta said:
So who's trolling......?
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Once again troll, case and point...

What have you actually added to this thread


What if it was your shed????


For that, you get an Attaboy


Dude, I've spent more time dealing with problem, and non problem bears than you've been out of Diapers by your posting. How about you tell us something we dont know?
 
H Wally said:
This man explains that he saw the sow pulling siding off one of our neighbors old sheds (these have been unused on the properties since I can remember) looking for ants. (ants there will infest anything not used within a year). His logical solution to this problem was to shoot her, despite community rules against discharging firearms, and the fact she is known in the area as the "3 oclock bear" because for the past several years she has walked through the community at 3 pm. In the two years she has been doing this she has avoided people at all costs, even with cubs. It is also widely known she had two cubs.
Alternatively, it's a very very quiet area up there ;).... what would you do?
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H Wally said:
The sow was NOT tearing the walls out of a cabin, it was a very very very derelict shed. The shed was built around a very old gutted camp trailer, but that's more because they didn't want to bother building a proper structure. The bear walked through the community to reach an old standing logging bridge that is the only means of crossing the local river for several kilometers. The bridge is rarely, if at all used.
As for the shooter, he's a fellow with an interesting history. In short, he's an abusive drunk who gets wasted and has junk fires all through summer during fire bans (we are in a rain shadow that results in extreme heat and no rain for 4 months of the year) then leaves them to be dealt with by neighbors. It is also coming to light that he may not have a firearms liscence and may have a prohibition against owning a gun. I would give him the benefit of the doubt if he had shown any signs of descency in the past, however no go so far.
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LOL foxer and boys, just read the red, and a touch of blue... a recap for page what? 10? :D
 
DarrylDB said:
How was it a problem bear? Because it was familliar to a community, doesnt mean it was a problem animal, nor should it have been dispatched.
It was tearing apart an apparent Eyesore.
Another bear guilty by association IMHO.
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You can try to elevate yourself to "internet expert" status by calling me down but the truth is you realy show your lack of experince in this and other posts. You realy honestly belive that this bear is not a problem??? You think it is ok to let it walk through a populated area distroying what it wants?


I have seen bears switch thier behavior from scared, and timid to aggresive and confrontation in less than 20 minutes. I have also seen bears "pretend" they don't know your there only to turn and bluff when you get close.

Trying to pass off the notion that there are "safe" bears is crazy. You don't know what it is going to do 100% of the time. Anyone with REAL experience knows this. And for that reason alone knows it is not wise to let them hang around.

Based on something that happend to me I belive that once a bear becomes a threat, by acting aggresive, having no fear of people or any escalation in it's behavior it needs to be delt with IMMEDIATLY if it is near people. I found out the hard way that killing the bear outright rather than waiting to talk to a CO is the correct thing to do. My indecision at the time could have had grave consequences. If somemone was hurt I could not live with that, mabey I am an internet ####### but my integrity as a man will not let it happen again.


This guy is a bum but the fact remains that he was able to make a decision that many of you would not be able to make, many of you doing the typical Canadian copout and saying, "well what can you do.. it might not be leagal.. it's not my problem... or people may not like me for taking action"
I have been there, it's not the right way to think.
 
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I have seen bears switch thier behavior from scared, and timid to aggresive and confrontation in less than 20 minutes.
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Then you shoot them ... in 20 minutes when they become agressive.
Trying to pass off the notion that there are "safe" bears is crazy. You don't know what it is going to do 100% of the time. Anyone with REAL experience knows this. And for that reason alone knows it is not wise to let them hang around.
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Dude - you are talking crazy.

If you don't want a bear around - run it off. If it gets hostile, you kill it.

Based on your logic, we should kill ALL bears. They might organize at any moment and revolt! :D

Look - maybe it's different where you are, but living in bc means living with bears. I'm not sure there's anywhere you can be, even in the heart of hte biggest cities, where you're not within 50 miles of a bear. And 50 miles is nothing to a bear. Most places they're likely within more like a couple miles.

You can't be killing every bear that wanders past. The vast vast majority want to go about thier business and mean no trouble to humans.

The ones who are trouble you dust. But calling a bear a 'problem bear' because it was interested in old rotting bug filled wood is crazy - that's what they live on.
My indecision at the time could have had grave consequences. If somemone was hurt I could not live with that, mabey I am an internet a**hole but my integrity as a man will not let it happen again.
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Oh for gods sake - don't be such a baby. If you want a guaranteed life free of danger from wild animals - go live in the middle of toronto.

If the bear becomes agressive - kill it. If it's just doing what every bear ever born does and isn't bugging any humans, then you DON"T need to kill it.

If you're in a real situation and you are truly unsure - fine. Sometimes erring on the side of caution is the best choice. But for god sake - the bear wasn't bugging humans, it wasn't behaving agressivley, it wasn't even trying to get into a living space.

This was a non-problem bear. The fact it's a bear is not sufficient reason to consider it hostile!

The difference between us and liberals is we kill what needs killing. The difference between us and animal cruelty sickos is we DON"T kill things that don't need killing.

The bear was fine. There was no impending need to kill it. If it had to be killed, it could have been killed later anyway. Nobody was in danger, nobody was 'going to regret it', and worse case an old shed that wasn't in use might have gotten a little chewed.

You scare the bear off. If it doesn't scare so easy - then you dust it. If it keeps coming back, then you dust it. If it starts breaking into homes, you dust it.

But a mother with cubs.. there's no need to kill her just because she's attracted to wood and bugs.
 
At no point did I ever say that we should go around killing all bears so don't try making it sound like I just want to go around shooting everything, it's getting old.

And when I say beara need to "delt with" immeditly that dosn't nessesarly mean shooting them, it means not letting them hang around especaly for 3 YEARS.


You are realy a canidate for the Darwin awards if you don't see this bear as being a problem. There is a lot of eduction you need
 
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At no point did I ever say that we should go around killing all bears so don't try making it sound like I just want to go around shooting everything, it's getting old.
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But it is the logical extension of your argument. All bears are potential threats, and therefore no chances can be taken.

If you find that argument distasteful, you'll have to reconsider your position.

My position is that most bears are not dangerous if left alone, and are quite happy to avoid confrontation. (black bears i mean). the SMALL HANDFUL who are not in that catagory should be shot, but the others do not need to be.

I suspect deep down you're closer to my stated position than the one you put forward, but are digging in your heels a little out of obstinacy.

Will you not at least concede that given that bears are all over, and given that humans are also pretty much all over - mere proximity to humans is not a sufficient reason in and of itself to destroy a bear?

And when I say beara need to "delt with" immeditly that dosn't nessesarly mean shooting them, it means not letting them hang around especaly for 3 YEARS.
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If they stay on their side of the line, and dont' bug anyone - they're not a problem whether it be 1 year or 3 years or 300 years. If they walk into a yard, you let 'em know that's a bad thing and run them off.

Bears are ALWAYS close by in bc. There's more than 200 thousand of them by current estimates, and that might be low. Something like a quarter of all black bears in the world live in bc. We're the only place where all 7 colour phases exist.

That means we have to live with 'em. And simply being 'close' to humans isn't really enough to justify killing one.
 
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