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kajasmin
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Question- we live in Florida, gators on a trail no big deal- bears?! Eek. We are considering doing some hiking. What should we bring with us to be prepared for bears? We are flying in and also cruise security so I feel like bear spray is a no no? 

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1 hour ago, kajasmin said:

Question- we live in Florida, gators on a trail no big deal- bears?! Eek. We are considering doing some hiking. What should we bring with us to be prepared for bears? We are flying in and also cruise security so I feel like bear spray is a no no? 

An empty soda can with some rocks makes a lot of noise that bears can hear from a long distance and they will stay away.

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Posted (edited)

We have bears where we live and can walk out of our house and practically smack into them…they have very little interest in humans. We have moose too and I’ve not experienced them being interested either.  That being said, I’d keep my distance from all wildlife.

Edited by cruisetonowhere10
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15 hours ago, kajasmin said:

Question- we live in Florida, gators on a trail no big deal- bears?! Eek. We are considering doing some hiking. What should we bring with us to be prepared for bears? We are flying in and also cruise security so I feel like bear spray is a no no? 

Where and when will you be hiking?  

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We were told by rangers to make a lot of noise and conversations to keep bears away.  Overall the natives warned us about Moose  as being  more unpredictable  than bears

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Posted (edited)

Just make sure that you know the difference between black bears and brown bears and what to do if you are attacked by one of them.  The responses are different.  As others have told you make lots of noise while you are hiking.  If you accidentally get between a mother and her cubs all bets are off.

 

If you need more info check out this site - https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=livingwithbears.bearcountry

 

DON

Edited by donaldsc
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3 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

Just make sure that you know the difference between black bears and brown bears and what to do if you are attacked by one of them.  The responses are different.  As others have told you make lots of noise while you are hiking.  If you accidentally get between a mother and her cubs all bets are off.

 

DON

This is good advice.  

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Of the 25+ years going up there I have had only 2 bear encounters. The first time I was bitten twice by one and the second time one snuck up on me and I was able to scare him off. No moose encounters yet !

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Most bears hate to have their ears pulled or yanked on and this is an effective way to control a bear until such time as the others in your party can make good their escape. For some reason, this technique seems to only work on male bears and is mostly ineffective on female bears so some other technique may be necessary for those bears.

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4 hours ago, Genghis Khan said:

Most bears hate to have their ears pulled or yanked on and this is an effective way to control a bear until such time as the others in your party can make good their escape. For some reason, this technique seems to only work on male bears and is mostly ineffective on female bears so some other technique may be necessary for those bears.

 

Please provide a reference on this. It seems so unlikely that this is true that I did an extensive internet search on it and I could not find any reference to this way of controlling a bear.

 

DON

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5 hours ago, Genghis Khan said:

Most bears hate to have their ears pulled or yanked on and this is an effective way to control a bear until such time as the others in your party can make good their escape. For some reason, this technique seems to only work on male bears and is mostly ineffective on female bears so some other technique may be necessary for those bears.

If I am close enough to tell the difference between a male and a female bear I am probably too close. If I am close enough to pull their ears, I really have a problem then 🤣. As for others making their escape......and what about me?????? 😟

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Couple weeks back there were black bears at Mendenhall Glacier late afternoon. One crossed the Nugget Falls trail behind us (we were told by the people behind us) and another popped out on the Visitor Centre Walkway above the parking lot. Living in the suburbs of Metro Vancouver, bears are regularly present in our various parks, trails and often in people's yards too. Making lots of noise through conversation generally alerts them to move on though often they will just go about their business. Best to give them a wide berth and keep your eye on them. 

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17 hours ago, kajasmin said:

Considering outer point on Douglas island and rainbird in ketchikican. Nothing extreme. 

I am planning to drive over to Douglas island and up north to along glacier highway. Are bears also to be expected there? this thread effectively scared me off 🙂

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On 6/3/2024 at 8:33 AM, Genghis Khan said:

Most bears hate to have their ears pulled or yanked on and this is an effective way to control a bear until such time as the others in your party can make good their escape. For some reason, this technique seems to only work on male bears and is mostly ineffective on female bears so some other technique may be necessary for those bears.

Tried it on my wife and it worked on her !!!!!

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On 6/3/2024 at 7:28 PM, kajasmin said:

Considering outer point on Douglas island and rainbird in ketchikican. Nothing extreme. 

 

I've hiked all over Douglas and have never seen a bear.  Brown bears are extremely rare in Juneau and on Douglas.  Black bears are pretty common, but I've only run into them near Mendenhall.  I've also hiked Rainbird a few times.  Again, you'll be fine.  

 

On 6/3/2024 at 12:02 PM, royal3 said:

If I am close enough to tell the difference between a male and a female bear I am probably too close. If I am close enough to pull their ears, I really have a problem then 🤣. As for others making their escape......and what about me?????? 😟

 

Just be faster than someone. 😉

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We are on the Sapphire Princess now. We did an 8 day land tour last week and now are on the 7 day southbound cruise from Whittier to Vancouver. We've seen 3 bears. Also while we didn't see it, the staff at our Kenai lodge warned us there was another one on property while we were there last week. Everywhere we've been to the bear safety info has been readily posted and shared by guides and staff.

 

We saw a grizzly in Denali last week, a cinnamon black bear by Carcross while driving our rental jeep yesterday from Skagway, and a black bear eating dandelions by the road to Dyea.

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