I hate BEARS!!!!

[ryan_j 0]

I love bears. It scares the tourists and city folk who then have second thoughts about wanting to move up here. 

[DeerSlayer 241]

I love bears. It scares the tourists and city folk who then have second thoughts about wanting to move up here.

This is also a reason they are useful.

[DeerSlayer 241]

For the most part, bears will not hurt you. Black Bears in Brown Bear Country are more aggressive, and in Michigan area. There are more docile on the two coasts. Here, you really only have to worry about them with their young, or if your dog attacks them. Sometimes if a dog goes after a bear, the bear picks the bigger threat and will attack the human. But, if you ever are attacked, with a black bear you fight back. I would imagine that you would be in a lot of trouble if you shot a bear with your gun, though. Remember, in NJ, bears have more rights than gun owners. And, you are in bear country. The main thing is that you don't leave any snacks outside for them. Bird Feeders are a no no, and of course regular garbage has to be secured. Bear-resistant containers are great, and also, sprinkling some ammonia on your garbage cans when you have food in them helps a little.

 

The closest encounters I had was when I was mountain biking in the late 90s. I went around a turn in the trail and basically almost ran into a bear that was on the trail. I was less than 2 feet from the bear. I jumped off my bike and put it between me and the bear. It just ran off. The other close encounter was when I was in a tent and a bear was right outside sniffing my tent on the AT in Virginia. I was a glad that I really didn't have food in the tent that night. But, there are many others. Another time, the whole family and I were going out after dinner to go out to the store and there was a bear about 15 feet away sampling my garbage that was put out for the next morning's pickup by the curb. We got into the van and drove off. There have been other examples. I was out walking with my two dogs off leash and a bear that was about 100 feet away, stomped with its paw, snorted and made a dash toward me and the dogs and then veered off to the side when it was about 20 feet from me. I imagine that if the dogs didn't behave, or if I had run, it would have been a different result. Still, in another example, I was walking on a trail up by Crater Lake, NJ, and these branches started falling onto the trail in front of me. There was a bear up in the tree. Another time I was out hiking with my dog and a bear and its two cubs ambled by near the local stawberry fields. I was glad my lab was on a leash and behaving herelf. And, there are even other times. Once, I was up at the lookout on the NJ side of the Delaware Water Gap and a bear was between me and the top of the hill where the trail was. I was essentially trapped on the cliff with my two dogs. I waited patiently for the rather large bear to leave and it did about 15 minutes later. I am sure it was there because idiots bring food up there and eat it at the lookout point and drop stuff. I have run into bears up at Stokes a couple of times and I saw one while visiting the hidden falls near Buttermilk Falls in the same area. Another time a bear was walking near me at Tillman's Ravine. And, I have had them in my yard a number of times. One time I couldn't get the bear to leave when I was banging a pot. It was snacking on baby diapers, which seem to attract them. Another time I was camping out in the Delaware Region at Campsite 2? near Sunfish Pond. A bear came into the campsite at night and the attending ranger that was camping there used mace, etc. It finally left.

 

The only time I was really concerned was when I was up at the lookout with the two dogs. I imagine that if I ever was vacationing and came in contact with a Brown Bear it would be quite an experience.

 

I am actually more concerned with the mountain lions which I know we share our neighborhoods with, and we live in a state that cannot have a very large population, and any encounter with a human is rare.

We don't have mountain lions in Jersey. Only bobcat. The eastern cougar is extinct. Any that have been captured in state or found dead and there have been some. Were all released or escaped exotic pets, or drug dealers using them to protect their stash houses. If we had actual wild mtn lion we would find scat, dens, and kills most likely livestock because its easy pickings fenced in here. As well as dead ones on the roads. We have no such evidence. Until we do we don't have wild Mtn. lion living here no matter how many people spot them.

 

[M1152 713]

Nice photo!

[Heavyopp 167]

After seeing the way you shot at the USPSA you should have grabbed the shot gun...

 

Sorry buddy I had too...

He would be fine as long as he didn't need to take his garbage can with him

[Howard 538]

I would never take a trash can to a bear, that would just be tempting fate . Anyway I hear bears only issue one procedural per shooting position.

[louu 399]

Ha, good one Jer

[Heavyopp 167]

 Anyway I hear bears only issue one procedural per shooting position.

Yea we probably should have questioned that --  

[Underdog 1,593]

We don't have mountain lions in Jersey. Only bobcat. The eastern cougar is extinct. Any that have been captured in state or found dead and there have been some. Were all released or escaped exotic pets, or drug dealers using them to protect their stash houses. If we had actual wild mtn lion we would find scat, dens, and kills most likely livestock because its easy pickings fenced in here. As well as dead ones on the roads. We have no such evidence. Until we do we don't have wild Mtn. lion living here no matter how many people spot them.

 

If you want to believe that, go ahead.  I guess the one I saw was an escaped exotic pet, and the one struck by a car a few years ago was a drug dealer's guard on the loose.  With the deer population we have and with them having a 100 mile range, believe what you want.  By the way, I have seen bobcats, too, and I can tell the difference. 

[Johnny 0]

If you want to believe that, go ahead.  I guess the one I saw was an escaped exotic pet, and the one struck by a car a few years ago was a drug dealer's guard on the loose.  With the deer population we have and with them having a 100 mile range, believe what you want.  By the way, I have seen bobcats, too, and I can tell the difference. 

 

Remember when people looked at you like you were crazy if you said you saw a coyote? I have not seen a mountain lion myself but I know someone who claims to. She is a professional wildlife photographer so I give her claim more credence than others I have heard. There was a claim of a dead one in road on 46 by Budd Lake last year, never saw proof though. In Mansfield (Warren Cty) there have been some sightings. Someone claims to have seen one take down a deer on a local farm. Only time will tell if they are really here.

[DeerSlayer 241]

If you want to believe that, go ahead. I guess the one I saw was an escaped exotic pet, and the one struck by a car a few years ago was a drug dealer's guard on the loose. With the deer population we have and with them having a 100 mile range, believe what you want. By the way, I have seen bobcats, too, and I can tell the difference.

Was it walking along side Bigfoot?

 

I'll believe it when i see a carcass, with claws. Most of the captive ones are declawed. One did make it from Iowa to CT and got hit by a car so its not impossible. But as of now no proof no cats.

 

[fishnut 2,358]

Yup the eastern sub species of mountain lions is extinct. The one found dead on the road was declawed so it was a pet. If they are around then why are their no any trail cam pics of them?

[DeerSlayer 241]

Believe me I spend hours in the woods every year along with many other guys. If we had big cats there would be trail cam pictures, tracks, skat, and many kills that someone would find. From a distance people often mistake Bob cats for mtn lions. We really don't have the terrain and range here that the Western cougar likes. Big cats don't like being around people and thats one thing we have a plethora of in our state. Only a very small portion of upper Sussex county has that type of land for supporting big cats possibly. Or maybe some areas of the pines, although they dislike that type of terrain because its flat and den sites they desire are usually high up in Rocky areas. The odds of one staying here even if it did find its way to our Forrest is slim at best, this is according to our state wildlife biology team. I'm acquainted with a few of the members on that team, and we have had this discussion before. Again not impossible so I'm not saying your a liar or a loon but the odds are slim.