Bear Accident

[digitS']

I guess that here is my pun: Bruised Bruin.

On our Fourth of July outing, a friend drove us to a couple of his favorite places and a place I've circled for years and never ventured into. All of these in mountainous country on good roads altho we generally didn't have to travel above about 40mph. We saw beautiful green forests, creeks, rivers, lakes, and wildlife. Got a little too close to wildlife.

He hit a bear. The creature appeared at a run on the right side of the road. The driver had just enough time to turn the steering wheel and apply the brakes. The collision rolled the bear off the roadway on the left. Luckily it wasn't too direct of a hit or the bear might have gone under the car or up on the hood & windshield.

I think that its size would have resulted in it rolling onto the car. My first thought was that it was a large dog. It must have been the size of a St. Bernard but much heavier. I had absolutely no time to call out a warning. As it was, I was amazed by the quickness of my old friend.

He stopped the car as I'm looking out the side window at the bear running into the brush. The bear seemed to be using all four legs okay. I put a hand on my friend's shoulder and encouraged him to stay in the car. He is built something like a bear but .......

Where we could pull off the road safely we looked at the front end. We had to look closely to see any results from the collision. Breathing sighs of relief, we continued on our way.

Then, in the news this morning was a story of a bear attacking a woman and her 2 dogs on a hiking trail (link). She was airlifted to a nearby hospital because of blood loss. The friend and I have talked about our location.

We doubt that it was the same bear but we were close. By the map, we hit the bear about 10 miles west of where the woman was walking on a hiking trail. It was about 5 hours later in the day. It's possibly the same bear but there is mountainous country between and if I understood the story correctly, after the bear was driven off, it crossed a river to the east, not west. It seems unlikely that it would cross the river again and travel more than 10 miles in the other direction.

Whatever the case, it was all disturbing and unavoidable.

Steve

 

[baymule]

I am glad that we don't have bears around here. I'll take the heat, fire ants, rattlesnakes, etc.......

 

[valley ranch]

Well, I can picture that one, good no one was hurt. About the bear attacking the lady, bear are dangerous, most of the attacks get covered up. Where about were you!

 

[thistlebloom]

Whoa. First of all I'm glad nothing more serious came of your bear versus car collision Steve.

I've only seen 5 bears locally, 4 of them were in Farragut, a mama and 2 cubs when we were mtn. biking. We got a nice boost of adrenaline and stepped up the pedaling! The other in Farragut was an adult coming out of the trees to cross the road, but turned and ran back in as soon as he saw our truck.
Then one was walking down the gas line on our neighbors property years ago.

The 6th was up north of Sandpoint, a yearling ran across the road quite a way ahead of us.
The old timers say they would rather deal with a grizzly than a black bear.

We camp every year on a mountain where grizzlies are. We sleep fitfully, and my husband has the shotgun next to him. Other than the terror of a possible bear encounter we enjoy ourselves! haha.

 

[digitS']

Where about were you!

We were in the Selkirk Mountains.

Behaved like tourists (with a map). Drove the first half on back roads, pieced together along the line we wanted to visit. Then, on the highway returning home exhausted quick as we could. The bear encounter was on a back road.

Steve

 

[journey11]

Wow, lucky you were going so slow. That could have been bad! I hit a deer Monday night. The 3rd deer we've hit this year (2 for DH, this 1 me). I thought at first it didn't do much, until I realized my whole bumper was displaced by an inch or two.

They've reintroduced elk in my state, and while I look forward to one day having elk burgers and jerky, I'm not looking forward to my car insurance rates going up.

 

[Nyboy]

About once every 30 years a small black bear will some how wander out of the Catskills and make it here. Last time was about 10 years police closed the road for whole day while they captured bear

 

[LocoYokel]

Glad everyone is OK, yes, even the bear! My folks have some acreage up the Cd'A River where we camp and there are bear wandering thru several times a year. We keep a clean camp and a close eye on our dogs and have had no problems. Now some bear hunters have set up camp just across the creek and their dogs bay constantly. No more peace and quiet at camp, rather have the bear. I am actually more scared of the cow moose that comes thru with her calves (twins again this year), we see her every weekend ...

 

[so lucky]

Wow, Steve! I would still be shook up about that. I'm so glad the bear wasn't apparently hurt beyond healing. And that your group was OK.
We have a few black bears around here, but they are rarely seen. About 15 years ago a black bear ran out in the road on a busy 4 lane route. Wouldn't you know it, the bear was hit and killed by a car. That was the first and last bear sighting for years.

 

[valley ranch]

Black Bear sometimes attack, when they decide to~Grizzly are more likely to attack. so I hear.

I use to spend days ,up above the mountain place, fishing the small lakes~I always though the Black Bear ate berries and other fruit, until after they took a couple of the girls goats. I've since heard and read of attacks where they've mauled or eaten people. I've began to think/believe when hikers or campers go missing, they are taken by Bear~ the deer sure don't take them.

I've had a time when I've had to spend nights in the overhead of the barn, to protect livestock from Bear that would not leave, until the Bear became a "Good bear".

There is a group called the "Bear League" that will harass a family if the allow the Forestry to put a live trap on their land or ask help from the Sheriff for help.

They, the bear break into homes, sometimes with the people inside. They can be a problem~a sheriff who finally killed a bear that had a lady penned up in one room while it smashed the kitchen and wouldn't leave was getting death threats on his family phone. I use to think they were cute, like other people.