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Re: [RC] [RC] Black bears on the trail- California - Karen SullivanCynthia, thank you for your very common sense and educated post...Ranelle, my comments absolutely NOT to minimize your concerns; you very well might be dealing with rogue bears, and something needs to be done..... However, I will add my feelings as to why I ride in rugged areas and wilderness areas, which is to catch a glimpse of native California, plants, wildlife, etc. I have no fears of riding in mountain lion territory, don't have hissy fits over rattlesnakes, and eagerly look for natives plants and wildflowers. I have absolutely no interest in riding in a man-made park like setting, and get extremely upset to see spreading invasive exotics........(like all the tamarisk-salt cedar) choking the creeks in the Cache Creek wilderness), the scotch broom and Pampas grass all over the northern Calfornia coast, etc. I will accept the risks associated with being out with native wildlife, and also hope I do not disturb them in their natural habitat too much. I am sorry, but personally, don't have a lot of sympathy for people who build houses in Mountain Lion territory then gripe when their kitties disappear.....or build in high-fire areas and don't take precautions....just like people who build on earthquake faults.....human stupidity. Likewise, possibly taking a baby in a stroller in a wilderness area? how bright is that? A world without wildlife and native habitats is one I shudder to think of living in...and would have far reaching serious and negative impacts on the life of this planet, we can't even imagine..... Karen On 4/14/08, Cynthia LeDoux-Bloom <cledoux@xxxxxxx> wrote: As a fish biolgist, married to a game warden, I see way to many dead bears in the back of my husband's truck each year shot because humans can't be smart enough to avoid bear interactions: pack up there garbages, cover compost piles and livestock feeds, etc... thus humans train them to associate humans with free, yummy food. This is their death sentence. Just like those parasitic humans we have encountered, bears are just looking for "life's free lunch" and haven't figured out that there isn't one. Here on the north coast of California (way above SF) seeing black bears is viewed as a "finding a really good prize in the crackerjack box" of life. As Barb McCray correctly stated that brown bears (aka Grizzlies)have been extinct in California for over 100 years. During early spring and late fall when bear food is limited, we take extra precautions such as adding noisy martingale rings to our reins or extras if we are riding horses that we ride with martingales. We sing when we smell potential bear [think garbage dump], we sing louder when we see fresh [steaming] bear feces. When we see each other and they split! All that colorful Hought tack, I presume... It's never the bears, mountain lions, or rattlers that we see that worry us, it's the ones that we don't. It's just all part of our endurance training and conditioning experiences. As far as our horses attitudes, I gotta quote Jaime Kerr, DVM, "Your attitude goes right thru your anus into your horse." Okay, he uses another word, but this is PG-13. If you freak, they freak. When we see bears walking toward us, we walk toward them, and over ~10 years, 100% of the time, they have yielded. Would I try this with brown bears in WY, MT,Alberta, heck no. In 2002, when my then 8 year old daughter and I were invited by the Boden Light Horse Club in Alberta to ride from Papke Camp to Baniff, we had a one hour lecture by Park officials on how we should avoid interactions on the trail. Canadians have the wildlife education thing very together. Frankly, I fear dirt bikers, downhill mountain bikers or runners "on IPOD", pit bulls off leash (sorry Daisy), far more than any black bears. A black bear is yet another training experience, in like, "Hello, You Are Training In Their Back Yard"- Please try to be smarter than the bears and plan ahead, or you could be signing the next Fish and Game deprevation (death) permit for the bear whose trail you just crossed and weren't prepared to share. BTW, there are numerous educational websites to help understand and avoid bad interactions with bears... google away. If you'd like more info how we enjoy and also avoid seeing black bears while riding in NorCal, please email me at cledouxatcwodotcom. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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