Had a bear come thru camp

[avf100]

Friday morning about 5:45 I was getting out of bed and I heard someone rustling around in the ice chest. I thought it was my wife's brother,he has a habit of having a beer when he gets up. I walk down from the bedroom and the rustling continues, I thought it shouldn't be that difficult to find a beer!! I look out the dining table window and it's a bear rummaging thru the ice chest !! Oh sh@t !! I've never seen a bear this close up. I tried to get a picture but the flash was turned off and it was still a little dark out, so the pics were to dark.
So I just watched the bear go thru the ice chest, there was only beer in there no food. He gave up and started to meander around camp while my brother n law was in his tent. I'm thing what am I going to do if the bear goes over to the tent. Fortunately it left our campground & went over to the camp host's campground, looked into the back of their truck & then left.

We've been coming here for several years now and this was the our first bear sighting. I told the camp host about it and she said that several bears were relocated from a fire area to here.
A pic of the ice chest, fortunately it wasn't damaged. The bear poked some holes in a few of the beers.

The campsite

[Canyonlight]

Yikes ! Apparently your B-I-L is not the only one who likes a beer in the AM !

Dan

[kevinpo]

Where were you camped? It's fairly common up here so we never leave any food or...especially beer out Glad it didn't do more damage as they can be quite destructive. They are pretty easy to chase off if you don't surprise them. They act like a kid in the candy jar when you yell at them.

Regards,
Kevin

[WhittleBurner]

Bears know that food is in coolers, smart critters! We had always camped in bear areas in northern MI so played by bear ettiquette rules. Never leave anything that resembles food outside. The raccons don't get much from us either.

This was back in the 80's and camping in our much loved Aliner.
We were in the UP at a SFCG one of us must not have washed our hands before relocating the Solar panel for morning. About 4 AM we hear all kinds of racket as we lay in bed..thinking he won't find anything in our trash can (always locked sealed Garbage bags in the van) we went back to sleep. I woke up early to go take photos the loons in the lake and was focused on that. Gary walks up with a sad look...our solar panel was in a million little pieces. The bear knocked it over (we had a robust stand ! ) must have stepped on it more than once. We were in the middle of a few week campout and it was labor day weekend , We found out quickly how hard it would be to find a solar panel to keep us powered up. Had to charge off the van for the rest of the trip. Every time we camped in bear country after that the panel went either under the trailer or on the van at night.

Even to this day we follow bear rules just out of habit.

[boyscout]

In Ontario, in an ill-considered move the government cancelled the long-standing spring bear hunt. Bear population soared in just a few years and people began having many more and sometimes more-dangerous encounters with them.

One friend watched from his kitchen window as a huge bear worked on his latched steel garbage bin. He figgers the bin weighed 200-250 pounds. No guess on the bear but it was big enough to pick up and throw down the bin about a dozen times before it unlatched and spilled breakfast for the bear.

Spring bear hunt was restored when the government could no longer ignore the consequences of cancelling it.

[Bradnailer]

The only time we've knowingly had a bear come through our campground in southern Colorado was when I was a lad. I'd left a fishing creel hanging on a tree limb. The bear came through and tore the creel to shreds.

[dennysbabe]

We like to boondock in East Flats about 20 miles from Big Bear, California and bears come thru there occasionally looking for food. The first time we saw one was about 9 in the morning about 10 feet from our door. The "big" black bear was headed straight toward our little dog outside on a leash. Dennis quickly opened the door and yelled and it took off running. We realized it probably smelled the trash bag in the back of the truck and was likely heading to it instead of our fur baby but no more taking a chance on having him outside on a leash unless we're with him. Also learned to hang our trash by a rope in the tree. Well...… except for one night the following year when we threw the trash bag in our storage for the night and then hung it up the next day. The smell of the trash in the storage lingered thru the night and early the next morning I caught a young black bear trying to open the latch. Scared both him and me. :0

[WhittleBurner]

In the UP of MICH the DNR warns hikers not to keep food in their backpacks. Bears have learned what's inside of those packs. They tell them to keep the food tied in the cinch at the bottom of their backpack. That way if they do come across a bear they can pull the cinch and leave the food there and keep going themselves. Otherwise that bear may chase you down to get to your backpack.

[jh.xsnrg]

Yellowstone fliers and park info all says to never leave any food behind, always take it with you. It seems more dangerous, but usually the bear won't come after you (they say) if your encounter goes according to their plan. The problem with leaving food is then the association of food with humans.

Jim

[el Rojo]

On our trip to Alaska I enjoyed getting to see bears. We were in the Yukon at a campground that had bears roaming through occasionally. Well one morning we had one walk right down the side of our camper and where was I, yep sitting on the potty and missed it.