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  • A surprise last night

    I was driving back from seeing the girlfriend for a few minutes and I saw a minivan on the side of the road two miles from my house. They had the hood up and it was blowing steam so I stopped to see if they needed some help. Turns out they hit a black bear and destroyed the radiator, AC condenser, grille, and pushed the hood and pass side fender around. They told me they hit it about a mile down the road, so I figured it was by the river and we would probably never find it.

    So I make sure they have a tow truck coming, called the house and had my kids look up AAA on the web and get me a number so they could call. Then I headed home watching the road and ditches the entire way back. When I get home my daughter tells me she heard a loud smack, and then a groaning whine coming from outside the window. So I grabbed the maglight and one of my rifles and took a look. Turns out they smacked it right between my driveways and it was laying in the ditch about four feet from my fence, dead as Elvis and Julius Cesar. They wanted the carcass so I drove back down there and gave one of them a ride back here to take a look at it. He flipped it over and it seemed to be a rather large male, so no worries about abandoned cubs, thats a good thing.

    Well now I know where my buddies little ankle biting dog went that we havent seen since Thursday, with a bear practically in my yard I am almost entirely sure what happened to her. My dogs had been freaking out for the last few days, barking out the window and acting defensive. They could see the bear across the highway but I couldnt. His dog wouldnt stay in the yard and she would wander around over by the highway, so stupid is as stupid does and she was probably a snack. Not sure how to tell him that the dog he pawned off on us a year ago is gone now, and I didnt have a thing to do with it going missing. Bears eat stuff..


    Kinda hard to tell how big he was in the tall grass, but he was taller than I am, and thats big for a black bear around here. I feel sorry for the poor thing, they dont bother people unless they are cornered up here.




  • #2
    Re: A surprise last night

    R.I.P free spirit.

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    • #3
      Re: A surprise last night

      I'm glad no one in the van was hurt - damned shame to see an animal killed like that. I know bears have become a nuisance in some places - but that's generally because people got too close to the bears - not the other way around.

      Great of you to help those folks. Too bad taxadermy is so expensive- that would be an impressive "welcoming bear" in your front hall!
      There's always something new to learn.

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      • #4
        Re: A surprise last night

        That looks like it was a beautiful animal, what a shame. You can take the bear out of the woods, but you can't take the woods out of the bear ....

        Since the recent population explosion around here, the bears have been having run ins with people. The sad part is that when these people get the DOW involved, they end up calling it an aggressive animal and they put it down.

        My family is a bunch of avid campers. The part of the state we go to is heavily populated with black and brown bears, and nearly every trip we have a run in with them. It's their turf so we give them space and do things to reduce the chances of them following their instinct and raiding our camps. In all my years of going to this area I have only seen ONE get aggressive, and that was because her cub was out ahead of her when we came across them....ooops. We cranked a few rounds into the ground and scared them off. What beautiful animals they are ... from a distance!
        Whiskey for my men ... and beer for their horses!

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        • #5
          Re: A surprise last night

          For several years I went on a boundry waters canoe trip for a week in the summer - up in Northern Minnesota - at some points we were actually in canada. It was a 7 day trip - we carried everything on our backs - canoes, tents, clothing.

          It was a great experience - we saw moose, bear, eagles, all kinds of wildlife - it really opened the eyes, hearts, and minds of kids from the suburbs.

          We saw brown and black bears several times - they are simply amazing animals - awe inspiring like moose and eagles are when you see them in person. Never seen a grizly in person - not sure I want to.

          Sorry to see this big guy downed by a vehicle, you're right - glad it wasn't a mother that would have left her cubs orphaned.
          There's always something new to learn.

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          • #6
            Re: A surprise last night

            they are still very timid here..
            never heard of a car encounter.

            The only I have seen going crazy like a moose in the bugs were lightning fast.

            they can run at least 88mph. :o
            Previously boxer3main
            the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

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            • #7
              Re: A surprise last night

              Sorry old Mr. Bear got killed. I agree with the other Dan - beautiful from a distance. I haven't seen nor heard of any in our part of NC but that doesn't mean they aren't here. Up in the mountains there's tons of them. Neither did I see any in Ann Arbor - but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Saw lots of deer and we lived right in almost the middle of town.

              RIP, Old Bear
              Dan

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              • #8
                Re: A surprise last night

                I pulled into a campground in Yosemite CA w/ girlfriend back in the early '80s, it was late and I was tired an just put the food on the roof of my V8 Vega hatchback when we crawled in back to sleep. We left the hatch up and had our heads at the rear.

                Man, talk about "bump" in the night. We woke to see a medium-size bear on the other side of the hatch glass, on the roof literally an arm's reach away, taking our food apart. We pulled the hatch down and slid into the front, when I started the car the bear jumped off but he wouldn't leave the campsite. Not an agreeable guy.

                I drove up the road a ways, tied the food to a tree like I should have done in the first place, and after perhaps a half hour the bear left.

                Vega ads used to show a guy standing on the roof, demonstrating the strength...I thought of that when examining it later. Kinda funny. No damage.

                Bears are some tough animals. It's too bad we get the situations where they have to share space with humans.
                ...

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                • #9
                  Re: A surprise last night

                  I was born in Alaska when Dad was stationed at Eilson near Fairbanks. He was a big hunter back then. He shot a black bear that was much larger than that one just before I was born.

                  That bear you have looked to be a beautiful creature. Glad no one was hurt in the melee.
                  BS'er formally known as Rebeldryver

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                  • #10
                    Re: A surprise last night

                    Something about me changed years ago. I used to hunt rabbits back in 92-93 so I could eat before I got a job after the military draw down left me unemployed. Darn Russians quit the cold war and I wasnt needed to keep them out of western Europe. Now I have deer and rabbits strolling around my yard and I would rather take pictures of them than shoot and eat them. I do my hunting with a camera instead of my rifle. I respect bears and it saddens me that this one was killed, but I really dont want one strolling around my yard. I have a very different outlook from what I had 20 or 30 years ago. Its part of why I love living here in the UP.

                    The change about me is I will only kill something if I have to eat it, not just because I want to eat it. It is getting to the point where I have been thinking about a large freezer so I can have venison and be more self sufficient, but I would rather let them wander around and admire them. I have never liked killing for sport, and someone who only wants a trophy buck with a big rack irritates me. We got a lot of those 'hunters' back in Nebraska, they would cut the head off and leave the rest to rot. I guess the coyotes ate well for a couple weeks. It reminds me of the buffalo hunters that would leave the carcasses on the plains, its a huge waste of life.

                    I really dont like the idea of moving from here, but I might have to.

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                    • #11
                      Re: A surprise last night

                      Originally posted by Thumpin455
                      Something about me changed years ago. I used to hunt rabbits back in 92-93 so I could eat before I got a job after the military draw down left me unemployed. Darn Russians quit the cold war and I wasnt needed to keep them out of western Europe. Now I have deer and rabbits strolling around my yard and I would rather take pictures of them than shoot and eat them. I do my hunting with a camera instead of my rifle. I respect bears and it saddens me that this one was killed, but I really dont want one strolling around my yard. I have a very different outlook from what I had 20 or 30 years ago. Its part of why I love living here in the UP.

                      The change about me is I will only kill something if I have to eat it, not just because I want to eat it. It is getting to the point where I have been thinking about a large freezer so I can have venison and be more self sufficient, but I would rather let them wander around and admire them. I have never liked killing for sport, and someone who only wants a trophy buck with a big rack irritates me. We got a lot of those 'hunters' back in Nebraska, they would cut the head off and leave the rest to rot. I guess the coyotes ate well for a couple weeks. It reminds me of the buffalo hunters that would leave the carcasses on the plains, its a huge waste of life.

                      I really dont like the idea of moving from here, but I might have to.
                      I feel the same way. Dad taught me to hunt and shoot, but as long as I can buy food at the store I'd rather just look and admire. When my Dad wanted to go hunting in Alaska with me on horseback; I was all excited to go, but I let mention that I didn't care if I shot anything. Just being in Alaska on horseback would be the coolest. I think he was let down.

                      I have friends that were big hunters when I lived in Nebraska. I used to see them now and again. Once saw a buddy in his new truck chasing a deer across the field with his brother in the bed with a bow trying to shoot it. It was almost comical. He was big into venison. I remember him bringing venison sandwiches to school for lunch.
                      BS'er formally known as Rebeldryver

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                      • #12
                        Re: A surprise last night

                        Damn, good thing no one was hurt. I live just outside of NYC, in a contested bedroom community. We're getting black bears here too! My friend had a cub in a tree in his yard right off a main road.

                        We're also getting deer, fox, turkeys and coyotes. There's lots of lost pet posters too :
                        Tom
                        Overdrive is overrated


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                        • #13
                          Re: A surprise last night

                          I was raised that real men shoot and kill animals to eat. I managed to bag a couple squirells, rabbits, a fox, some pheasants... I never enjoyed it. I like meat, but killing does not make me happy or fulfilled.

                          I don't get people who love hunting, but if it blows your skirt up, go for it.
                          The official Bangshift garage door guru. Just about anything can be built using garage door parts, trust me.

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                          • #14
                            Re: A surprise last night

                            I thoroughly enjoy hunting but I also do it with respect to the animals. The pheasants I hunt are barely more than chickens that run free, I feel no remorse shooting farm raised animals. The waterfowl I shoot, I feel for but I know I will use what I shoot for food. I don't go out to shoot the biggest trophy I'm shooting to put food on my table. Could I go to the grocery and get it? Sure. I just choose not to.
                            Dustin in Pennsylvania

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                            • #15
                              Re: A surprise last night

                              Originally posted by Schtauffer
                              I was raised that real men shoot and kill animals to eat. I managed to bag a couple squirells, rabbits, a fox, some pheasants... I never enjoyed it. I like meat, but killing does not make me happy or fulfilled.

                              I don't get people who love hunting, but if it blows your skirt up, go for it.
                              There's a huge majority of guys here in TN who hunt. Guns are the thing. In fact, there's very little crime in the good parts of town here, because everybody thinks everybody is else packing a gun. And in fact they are. Which house does NOT have a gun?.... You guess, bad guys.

                              But the hunting, yeah. I don't get it either. Lots of hunting not for eating. Like you, Gene, I just don't get it. It's never been my thing either. Trophys or supper? These days if you can afford a big fancy hunting gun, you could surely afford to buy a meal somewhere. In any case, you don't NEED the killed animal for food because you have money, and...

                              Whatever. It's like religion and politics, no matter what you argue, you can't be right, no matter which side you argue. Did I just get banned?
                              Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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