Bear Aware

I always knew there were bears around and that they're dangerous and all that jazz, but I'd never really had a taste of what they could do or how powerful they really were.

In the last few days, I have seen more bears than I ever have in my life. More importantly, they were all Grizzly bears.

There's been a grand total of 5 bear sightings in a matter of a week while we were on this particular grid about 25km from where we are staying.

My love of teddy bears has put this idea into my head that: a) bears are all super soft b) bears are all super cuddly and c) bears will all listen to you when you talk to them without judgement.

Unfortunately, none are true. (well, maybe a), but maybe not SUPER soft)

The first four bear sightings have been interesting yet uneventful. All sightings (thankfully) have been from the safety of the big trucks and for the most part we get to see the back end of the bear more than the front end. They're usually running away from the truck as we barrel down the logging roads or just moseying along cut blocks far in the distance.

Now that summer is officially here, there seem to be more and more mama bears and cubs floating around the forests. They're grumpy, they're hungry, and very protective. I'm not quite sure how safe exactly being sent into a grid solo is after seeing multiple bears, but that's what we've done. Bear spray is always to be kept in an easily accessible place, and bear bangers and launchers are to be kept in the front pocket of the vests for easy access and use. Whistling, singing, and yelling are encouraged when going into a new area, and getting a good look around when you enter a cutblock is imperative.

This is all well and good, however it's useless if you happen to come across a mama bear and her cubs while you're trodding along sampling in your own little world.

We've ordered some bear bells to keep us extra safe, and we've had special meetings with particular emphasis on bear safety and encounter avoidance.

The picture that you see attached to this post is one that I took from the window of the truck (thankfully). We had driven about 15km from our muster point at the end of a long day of hiking and sampling when we came across this bear family along the side of the road. Most animals/things/people would be scared and run away if a gigantic Ford F350 super duty offroad (read: huge) pickup truck came barreling towards it. Well - Mama wouldn't be classified in the 'most things' category. After pausing to watch the bears (a mother and 2 little cubs - one is hidden behind the hill) run away, mama bear stopped. She stood on her hind legs, looked at us, and charged towards the truck faster than I have ever seen a bear move! I frantically got my camera out (not to miss a good picture...) and rolled down the window (stupid idea) as Robin quickly tried to put the truck in D to get the heck out of there. Jazz (the dog of one of the samplers) started making a HELL of a racket while sitting in the truck between myself and Chris, and Mama bear stopped. Less than 50ft from the truck, she turned around and ran back to her cubs to get them out of there. This picture was taken just as she was running back to cub1. Cub2 had already run out of there.

Mama was a BIG bear, too. We guestimated about 500lbs, and the cubs were very young.

At dinner that evening, we talked about it and discussed what we should do if we came across that situation in the wilderness if we were on our own.

'Use your bear spray - it adds a nice seasoning to you if you're lunch' - said one of the crew
'You can't do anything - in that situation, you're screwed!' - said another

I was hesitant to go back to that grid the next day, especially since I was working by myself 500m away from the nearest person. I was careful though, and kept all of my bangers and spray within easy reach, and did everything that I was told to avoid that situation. I was singing the same Oasis song over and over and over again (good thing I was alone, or else my partner would have wanted to shoot me out of sheer irritation).

It's getting to be that time of the year, and we're being extra careful when we're out and about. It seemed like a good learning experience. It was the first time I'd ever really seen how powerful and fast a Grizz can be, especially when protecting her young.

I took notice of it, and I now pay extra attention when I'm in the bush and make sure to be extra safe. Before, it was just a daily hiking trip with some dirt bagging thrown in there. Now, I realize that it's all about being safe in the wilderness where there's some serious threats and dangerous animals to be aware of.


Lesson Learned.