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Are Bears in Canada dangerous? (Ontario) and Bear Hunting? |
Travel Info Hi, will be in canada for 5 weeks starting August, and will probably be open air/tents sleeping wherever as will be hiring a car to get form forest to forest, just wondered if anyone whose been or is in canada can verify that the chances are I wont even see a bear, let alone get eaten. My friend here in England insists im going to die. Also has anyone been on a bear hunting trip? And is it true they let you keep the hide? ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAARR- cheers guys! Travel Tips I live on a bear migratory trail in NW Ontario. Every year late summer we see bears ever day. I am still alive, never been attacked and I am the better person for learning to respect the beautiful animals in my area. Are bears dangerous? Sure...and so are itty bitty squirrels and mice. They are wild animals and need to be treated with respect. If you are camping, do not keep food out in the open. Keep it away from where you are sleeping. Even if it is in a cooler, keep it in a car; sealed. Your hot dog to a bear is an easy meal. (fast food if you will) ;) If you encounter a bear, it depends on what type of attack it is to determine how your react. (any camping park in Canada will have brochures on what types of bears are in their area. Rule of thumb: a "hump" on the back is a grizzly) Don't run. Give the bear space. Defensive attack: (black bears) If you surprise a bear and it responds to defend itself, its young or its food - and contact has been made or is imminent - play dead (lie on your stomach with your legs apart; protect your face, the back of your head and neck with your arms; remain silent; and if wearing a pack, leave it on for protection). Remember: such attacks are rare despite the much more common aggressive displays without contact by black bears. The bear will leave you alone once it believes the threat is passed. Offensive attack: (black bears) This is the most serious and potentially deadly attack a black bear might make! It occurs when a bear appears to stalk or follow you for a period of time and then chooses to attack; or the bear attacks you at night. In this situation, playing dead is not appropriate. Try to escape to a secure place such as a vehicle or hard-sided camper. You can climb a tree...but remember bears can climb too. The two main types of serious attacks are defensive or predatory... A defensive attack is when the bear is trying to remove a threat. A predatory attack is when the bear is intent on eating you. Your initial response to both should be the same... stand your ground! If you are unable to deter the bear before it physically makes contact, your response to these two types of serious attacks are different鈥?br /> Defensive attack... play dead! Predatory attack鈥?fight back! The links I gave are really good. Just dont be an idiot and try and feed the bears. Some idiots up here did that 2 years ago and wondered why they bear was upset when they ran out food. Bear spray is ok, but I dont' think you can come into the country with it. It can also work against you if you are the wrong way in the wind!! Hunting...there are very strict hunting rules up here. And...to be honest...some idiots have cause a LOT of people to not like hunters because of the lack of respect for everything. Keeping the hide depends on a lot of things. When you register your guns ask the people who can give your the right answers; Dept of Natural Resources in wherever you are. (and keep in mind there are times of year you aren't able to hunt) Edit: Incidently, since you are from England...it was a black bear cub named Winnie from Manitoba that started the story of Winnie the Pooh. (Winnie=Winnipeg) Just don't treat the bears like the one in the story. ;) If you are travelling this way, pop into the Assiniboine Zoo in Winnipeg. Source(s): http://www.mountainnature.com/wildlife/b... http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/v-g/oursnoir-bl... http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/v-g/oursnoir-bl... http://www.canadianrockies.net/grizzly/s... http://www.environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/fi... Other Travel Tips Most places in Canada just have black bears, which aren't the most dangerous kind. They will go away if you play dead. But up north there are polar bears, which sometimes have never seen a human. and in BC there are Grizzly bears which are very aggressive. Bears dont like to be surprised. So many hykers attatch little bells to there packs, the kind you get on cats. Also they might carrie some pepper spray. You can tell what bears are in the area, by their droppings; black bears have seeds in them and smell of berries, grizzly's on the other hand smell of pepper and have bells in it. lol. The chances of getting eaten by a bear are pretty slim. I don't know what the bear population is in Ontario, but here in BC, black bears are everywhere. Last week camping we saw one. He was wandering through the tall grass minding his own buisness. They're usually only dangerous if they have cubs with them. If you're camping don't leave your food out, as this attracts them. If you're hiking through the bush make lots of noise, they will almost always go the other way. If you do encounter one up close, back away slowly. If it does attack, fight back. Do not play dead with a black bear. They are scavengers & would love to have an easy meal. You only play dead with a grizzly. If a bear knows that it is about to be killed (hunted) it is going to get dangerous. Wouldn't you? Grizzly bears in Alberta (province) and polar bears in Canada's northern territories are more likely to kill humans (but not always). Other bears will maul you if they have reason to feel threatened by you. As for camping, it depends on how far north you go. Kilarney Provincial Park (Ontario) has bears that will go wherever they smell food. (You can't hunt within the protected area though). If you stay a bit further south you will probably never see one. Please note that what Ontarians hate the most are when people leave messy carcasses all over the woods. If you are going to hunt please be clean about it and make sure that you have a hunting permit. (My uncle always kept the fur of what he hunted. He was always clean about it and he only hunted what was in season. More than once he could've shot an animal out-of -season but refused to out of respect to everyone). http://publicdocs.mnr.gov.on.ca/view.asp... http://publicdocs.mnr.gov.on.ca/view.asp... http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/mnr/index.html... http://publicdocs.mnr.gov.on.ca/view.asp... All bears are dangerous! A girl was attacked last year. She was jogging in a park. If you survive the bear you can keep the hide! I believe your hunting black bears? Steer clear of mothers with their cubs! |
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