a Key West story? Classic.

Next time we expect this...

This feels so much like a Florida Man news headline...

V8Aggie said:

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Next time we expect this...

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This was the first thing that popped into my head!

How has nobody posted this gif yet?!?!?

Bear black lab

fify

Is that not a trap and relocate type situation? Seems like playing with fire. I can't imagine how guilty I would feel if that bear killed a kid.

gig em 02 said:

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Is that not a trap and relocate type situation? Seems like playing with fire. I can't imagine how guilty I would feel if that bear killed a kid.

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Those dang tourist shouldn't be leaving a tasty morsel kid outside like that.

TxSquarebody said:

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amazing

gig em 02 said:

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Is that not a trap and relocate type situation? Seems like playing with fire. I can't imagine how guilty I would feel if that bear killed a kid.

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As long as the bears don't become habituated or aggressive. Living with bears is part of life up here. There is no possible way you cold trap and relocate all of them, nor would that be effective if you could. But, the wardens do trap bears when they need to.

It isn't nearly what you (and most people) imagine. These are black bears, not grizzlies. It really is like living with raccoons, foxes, or coyotes that frequent your neighborhood. Or swimming in the ocean in Galveston with sharks- there are FAR more than most people realize, and they are all around- you just don't see them. And they don't hurt anything unless people do something stupid- which apparently includes leaving grill spray on your deck, ha ha! Chasing a bear out of your yard here is like chasing a coyote away.
Just like any animal, you quickly learn to read their mood and body language. I'm FAR more afraid of running into our moose than our bears.

From CO Parks & Wildlife Dept website on living with bears:
"If you see a bear in your neighborhood, make it feel unwelcome by making noise or throwing things at it, but stay at a safe distance and never approach the animal." Sure, I didn't follow the second half of that sentence's advice. But I only had my door cracked the width of the dowel rod, no way it was going to reach us. And, it's better to chase him off and let him know this isn't NOT property he can hang around on. I do have little kids- so I understand what you are saying. But it's far better to do everything I can to make that bear leave every single time I see him, than to allow him to remain unmolested.

Thanks for the info, keep on Charlie Murphy'in that bear then

lazuras_dc said:

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Great story! That's close* to Latvian Eagle status for hitting bears on the face (for those who listen to MeatEater Podcast).


Wasn't there a whole thread about the myth of frozen paintballs not to long ago? haha

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PSSSH. Fred Eichler went to a whole other level

1. Shoot the bear
2. Gacy the body
3. ????
4. Profit

C Loves L said:

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1. Shoot the bear
2. Gacy the body
3. ????
4. Profit

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Naw. No need to. As long as he doesn't come in my house or show aggression, I've got nothing against him. If he tears up something I leave outside, that's my fault. I would prefer him to learn to stay out of my fenced backyard- thus the "educational efforts". It's generally the juvenile bears I find get in trouble- they don't know how to act and are just trying to figure out how to feed themselves.

We have a big black sow that has lived here longer than I have. We get along quite nicely. She sprints off the moment a human comes around, and doesn't tear anything up. If you leave trash out, sure she will get into it. She doesn't come into the back yard over the fence since I sprayed her 3 years ago. She still won't go near our fence- spray works, for real. Front yard is unfenced and fair game.

Once I accidentally left out a completely clean ice chest that had previously contained venison. I heard a noise the next day, peeked around the corner to the front drive to see her sitting with the ice chest in her lap, opening the latches so delicately- she didn't break a thing. Until she got the ice chest open, found it was empty, and slapped it away in frustration- which is what broke the lid. I yelled "HEY!" and she darted off.

Our bears get hunted a lot, except in town, so they tend to stay away from us, most of the time. Couple of summers ago I had one find my dumpster. It is right outside my bedroom window. 22 bird shot at about 40 yards convinced him not to come back. We also secured the dumpster lids just to be sure.

So your new OB Indian name is, "Poke a Bear"???

A bear got into my friend's old rustic cabin one time and the door shut behind him. It looked like a bomb went off in that cabin. The bear bit through some thick angle iron to get to some flour and sugar in a large dry box... They can be very destructive when hungry!

I thought of Ursus and this thread when I was listening to this podcast just now.

It's funny because it's a highly political podcast but his wife grew up in Alaska and therefore hates "bear propaganda that says that bears want to be your friends." Therefore he interviews a guy who wrote a book "Bears Want to Kill You."

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-remnant-with-jonah-goldberg/id1291144720?i=1000440226186