Bear Encounters

King of the Mountain - early 90s by Griz
Late mourning, Trish and I anchored NW of Ocayu Island (x marks the spot) after motoring from Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island. 3/4 of the visable mountain side, to the west, was clear-cut, as was the isthmus north of us. The lower cut area (near shore) was covered in brush. The higher hill side was stumps, slag and very lightly spotted with green (which we hoped was berries). No sign of new tree growth. My thought was that it had been logged within the last 5 years and they did not replant it. Note: Later I found out it was logged in 1970 (over 20-years prior). Along the shore was a 3-5-foot bank with narrow strip of rocky beach being uncovered as the tide went out. Off to the SW was a low marshy area about 50-yards wide by 30-yards deep.

Anxious to explore before lunch we took the dingy ashore. There was a log laying from water’s edge to top of the 5-foot bank. We walked up the log and found a maze of cris-crossed logs hidden by the growth which came to shoulder height. 10-yards in (walking the logs), I looked down and found we were at least 15 feet off the ground and only peeking above the brush tops. We could see huckleberry over on the isthmus as well as a logging road, but no berries in this spooky area. It was dangerous and not worth the risk to continue on to the relatively open hillside. So, we circled around back to the entry log, then back to the boat for lunch. After lunch we were in the cockpit gathering buckets, bags, berry combs, etc. in prep for a major berry expedition. Trish spotted a black spot on the shore to the east of us. As we watched the spot became a bear working the tide line (coming our way). The closer he got the bigger he got. By the time he was directly north of us we realized he was massive. Easily the biggest black bear either of us had ever seen. I said "OK what does he do when he reaches the log and smells us?". Neither of us guessed correctly. 4 feet from the log he stopped, moved slowly forward, then launched up the log and disappeared into the brush. We could follow his movement by the brush top movement. He tracked our path exactly, arriving back to the entry point, looked out, turned north and disappeared. Soon we could no longer track him by brush motion. We looked at each other and wordlessly agreed, "No berry picking today".

Next morning a sow with cubs came along the shore (crossed the log with only a slight hesitation) went to the marsh area and spent an hour digging and eating ? (roots I assume). The cubs were chasing each other back and forth, up & down, round & round. Then she walked over near the cubs , sat down with her back against a stump and nursed the cubs. When she returned to digging, the cubs rested maybe 15 minutes before resuming play. We got video of the cubs playing with a raven which delighted in landing about 20 feet from the cubs, pretend to not see them as they stocked it, then lift off, with only inches to spare, when they pounced. Note: I could not find the videos or pictures from most of that cruise.

We decided the sow with young cubs must know the big boar was not in the area. So, after she went up hill, then into the tall trees to the south, we geared up for a trip ashore. This time arming ourselves with BIG canisters of bear spray, air horns, machetes, belt knifes and a razor-sharp hatchet. We rowed north to the isthmus, found a spot with exposed tree roots and climbed up to see the log road 10-yards ahead. Huge clumps of huckleberry lined the road. We started picking, but soon realized we could do that on the way out so, we left the bucket (with inch of berries) beside the road, and moved up hill to see what else we could find. As we walked, we announced our presence with air horn blasts and "Hey bear". Saw a few deer, some birds, but no bear. The hill side was like a war zone, stumps, slag, bare earth with erosion channels, virtually no trees. The few small tree seedlings we found had the tip of every branch clipped by deer. The road forked at its highest elevation, one continued around the "mountain", the other headed down the north side. From this vantage we had a impressive view of hills, islands, inlets, channels, etc. for many miles around. Many clear cut patches were visable, some big, some small. We also could see a very tiny WaterBrother at anchor far below. We turned back, picking berries we had located on the way up. The huckleberry bucket was empty, but we quickly filled it.

Back on the boat I cleaned berries as Trish made crust dough. She made 6 pies. 2 large with full upper & lower crust (huckleberry & blueberry), and 4 large bowls with only top crust (Salmonberry, Blackberry, Wild Raspberry and Salal). I fired up my homemade, power hungry, refer and we ate lots of pie over the next week.

Weeks later, I was talking to an old native. I told him about the Big Boar following our scent. He laughed and said "He is king of that berry patch; he patrols it every 3 days and has run off all intruders (animal and human) for at least 10-years. He has not killed anyone (yet) but has sent a few to the hospital. All locals know it's the best berry picking around, but not worth the risk." He also told me when that area was "raped by the white man" (1970).

We saw many (20+) black bear working the low tide shores during that summer cruise. Mostly at distance while sailing or motoring. Several were very close (within 50 feet while anchored and the wind was right). But, nothing as intimidating as "King of the Mountain".


Garbage Can Caper - 1997 by Griz 9/14/14
It was "garbage day" about 2 years after we moved ashore, when we had our first bear experience here at "Acres North". I went to take it down to the road for pickup and found both 40-gallon cans of garbage spread all over the parking strip below our bedroom window. All the plastic and paper bags were ripped open and several of the food cans had 1/2" diameter tooth holes punched completely though them.

We agreed, "That was stupid of us" and set about to bear proof the garbage. I made a pad behind the steel tool shed (the "Steelie") and put 3 strings of high voltage electric fence around it. Then I rubbed Peanut Butter and Honey on the top strand of braided conductor. 3 nights later Trish woke me to say she heard a commotion outside, but a quick check with flashlight (from back door) proved fruitless. In the morning it was clear from the flattened tall grass on the slope below the garbage cans that something very large had rolled down the hill. I would have loved to see his reaction when he got lit-up. We kept the fence hot for over a year but never saw any indication of another visit and stopped powering it. Almost 20 years later, the fence is still there ready to be turned on, but no one has touched our garbage cans since.


Bear in Yard - 7/15/2000
This afternoon a bear walked across the lawn from the tree farm down toward the creek, passing within 50 feet of the house. We often see signs of bear around the property and a few times a black spot at 200-300 yards up the easement, but this is the first time we got a close up look at one. He was fairly young (maybe 1-2 years) but fat with a sleek gloss black coat and brown muzzle. It seems he is hanging around below the house while feasting on berries. The cats are all upset and won't go far from the house without Trish. Dart (our male cat) spent Thursday night up a tree and all Friday under the bed so I guess he and the bear had a close encounter.

Trish and bear cub - 2002 By Griz
Grandson Robby spent several weeks each summer with us when he was young. I (and Trish) greatly enjoyed being a part of his life and wish we could have had as much time with the other grandkids. When Robby was 4 or 5, he had been here a few weeks, I can’t remember what I was working on, south of the house, but Robby was nearby building a damn.

A deer came up from the creek, Robby saw it and got excited, deer turned and walked back the way it came. Robby wanted to chase after it but I interceded and convinced him to walk don’t run. As we went down the road (wide trail) that I keep maintained along the creek, Robby was worried we had lost it. I showed him the tracks in the dirt, pointed out each foot, spacing between front left print to next front left print (indicating the deer was walking not running) and how to use that info to locate the next print if it was on harder ground and more difficult to see (because you knew exactly where to look for it). Kid was on it instantly. He tracked the deer almost 200 yards along the creek and up the hill side at the north end of our property. About half way up to the pipeline easement, we caught up with the deer. But something was wrong, it was standing on high alert, with one ear cocked our direction, the other ear and eyes were focused away from us. Moving a bit further uphill I saw that it was focused on Trish who was on the pipeline easement just past our north property line. Suddenly Trish took off running south and the deer bolted west passing north of us. When Trish saw us, she hollered “Bear cub”. I grabbed Robby’s hand and we ran southeast to merge with Trish about mid shop. I sent Robby running for the house telling him not to stop till he was inside. I assumed Trish would do the same, but she went around the south end of the shop instead. I was slowly backing south while watching the area Trish had come from when she reappeared with loaded 12 ga. I never saw the bear (cub or sow). I was game to hang around (100 yards away) to watch mom come collect the cub. But Trish was adamant that I accompany her to the house - NOW! When we got to the house, Robby was inside with door ajar peeking out at us.

I had cleared and prepared the hillside north of the shop, east of the pipeline and south of the tree farm, for future orchard. The tree farm edge was banded by a hedge of thick blackberries. Trish had been up near the shop when she heard a small dog barking (high-pitched yap) near the top of the hill. It continued, and seemed very distressed to her, so she went to investigate. But the dog was in the woods on the other side of the blackberry barrier. She called to it, but it continued to bark and moved west (downhill), she followed. About 10 yards from the pipeline easement, the barking abruptly stopped. She called to it, but nothing. She continued downhill to the easement where she knew she could round the end of the blackberries and look into the woods for the dog. That’s what she was doing when a slight sound behind her caused her to turn and see a very small bear cub huddled in the tall grass less than 8 feet from her. Instantly the whole picture was clear as a bell. The dog had been hounding a sow with cub. Bear had killed dog. Trish was standing directly between sow and cub. Whoops.

Small Bear - June 2009 by Trish
I was walking up the hill just after sunset last night when I noticed a bear watching me from just beyond the shop (about 60 yards away). The bear had just entered the cleared area from the forest, he was perfectly still and because of the diminishing light, I hardly noticed him in the shadows. He was staring at me and I stared back, initially asking myself "is that a bear or just low-light shadow play?" Once I focused more carefully, there was no doubt. I walked (swiftly) back down to the house contemplating whether to bother with the camera - light was fading fast.

This forest-to-meadow margin area is where we see most bears. They use the meadow northwest of the shop for forage, and as an easy path to water as uphill streams begin to dry at this time of year. My assumption was: by the time I get to the house and back up to the shop (100 yards one-way), the bear will be moving away.

But no, this young bear (250 pounds?) was lingering in the meadow fairly close to the shop. Apparently, he'd found the rodents abundant and there are some small patches of clover in bloom there.

I got a few photos, but none of them turned out well - poor light was a factor, but the emotional state of the photographer played a bigger role.

This young bear, which was obviously aware of my presence, was not moving away like I expected. He kept an eye on me, and even moved toward me several times.

It's just so much easier to be cavalier about the bears when they're moving in the opposite direction. They seem awfully big when they start taking an interest in you. Knowing they can run 30+ mph doesn't help the nerves. I have the greatest admiration for the good wildlife photographers.

In the light of day, I worry about this young bear's future. If he has no innate fear of humans, he'll find trouble sooner or later in this rural-to-suburban transition area. We made sure our garbage cans were well-sealed last night - and turned on the seldom-used little electric fence which surrounds them - don't want to be responsible for encouraging bear bad habits.

Griz & Bear - 11/9/2012
I stepped out the West door of the shop tonight, right at dusk. I was going to get the bucket lid removal tool, which is in the open-air lean-to on the side of the shop, where I keep the 5 gallon cans & buckets of chemicals and the parts tumbler...........

Anyway, I took 2 strides out the door and my eyes met the eyes of a 500-pound black bear standing broadside to me at about 30 feet. Nothing was between us but 8 foot of concrete slab and some field grass.

We both froze in mid step and stood like that for what seemed like forever, but it was actually only a few minutes. I talked softly and did my best to be very calm about the whole thing. "And how are you this evening" I said [as I thought: damn this is way to close. Can I make the door if he charges?]. I told him of my quest for the opener as I looked for signs of aggression; no mouth chomps, no standing shoulder hair, no stiff legs; he just stood there watching me. This was good because I had determined that if he had mind, I was dinner. I was 4-5 feet from the open door, it's a steel door but I would need to get in, close the door and dead-bolt it (no lower latch) before he reached me. "We've met before but always at greater distance". "Why are you so close to my shop?" "You need to stay up along the woods for me to be comfortable." I don't know if it helped him but it sure helped me to be deliberate about my actions and focus completely on his every breath. It took a while, but slowly we both relaxed (a little) realizing that neither of us was going to attack.

I needed to get the bucket opener, but with him that close, I was not going to venture further from the door, and/or out of sight of him, to get it. So, back in the shop I went to get a flashlight (by now it was getting dark). When I went back out, he had not moved an inch and continued to watch me closely. I played the flashlight in his eyes, causing him to lope off toward the woods. He moved with an effortless flow that covered 10-15 feet per second, head cocked to the right (one eye on me) as he went.
Note: 15 fps is about 10 mph. Wikipedia says they can do 30 mph. At 30 mph it would take him 1 second to cover 44 feet (less than 0.7 seconds for 30 feet). Seven tenths of a second is spooky close to be from a wild bear. I'm sure glad it was a self-assured old boar and not a nervous young sow with cubs.

As he reached the woods, I dove into the tumbler annex and searched in vain for the opener (must have taken me all of 10 seconds to decide I didn't like not being able to see if the field was clear). On the way back into the shop I didn't see him anywhere.

After searching the shop again for the opener, I went back out to check the tumbler annex again. There he was, at the edge of the woods (about 90 feet from me), nose down, snapping up big field voles as he ambled along. He looked over at me once (without breaking stride), then continued north (away from the shop) on his quest for supper.

10 minutes later I gave up searching the annex and went to wash my hands.

BAM!!!, right there in front of me, inches away from my face,
was the opener. It was hanging on a nail above the sink. I grabbed it and stood there for a long time, but could not remember what I wanted it for.

P.S. It was a very long, very dark, 100-yard walk from the shop to the house.

Note: Over the next 10-12 years I often saw him in the evening working the forest edge or pipeline easement, but never again close to the shop or house.

The next day I was pondering the experience :
I decided it was one of the scariest times of my life but also one of the coolest.
It's hard to compare it with other scares I've had. On the adrenaline scale it ranks right up there with jumping into a foxhole with a rattlesnake and going off a 75-foot cliff in a car. However, those were completely different: the foxhole was automatic muscle reaction the instant I heard the "buzz" (my buddy said I levitated out of the hole without ever hitting bottom) and going off the cliff was more "damn, what have I done?" then conscious fear of dying. The other factor is duration of scare. Relatively short duration fear (like this one) does not have the same lifelong impact as some long-term situations I've been in. Mainly (I think) because you have a lot more time to think about how bad your situation really is and the body chemical response to long-term, high-level fear screws up all your systems (digestive, breathing, heart rate, muscle fatigue, mental,,,), and recovery takes a very long time (if ever).


Bear roaming the yard at night - 8/7/13 @ 10 pm by Griz
I was out on the front porch just now, gazing out into the dark toward my shop, when the security light on the SE corner of "Garaj Mahal" came on. I saw a 2 or 3 yr. old black bear moving quickly, past the door, up-hill toward the old pump house.

Part of me says "Wow, that was great"

Part of me says "Damn, more bears in my yard"

Part of me says "Cool, I'm living amongst them"

Part of me says "How many 100s of times have I stepped out of that door at 10 pm and walked into the dark until that very light is tripped by my motion?".
I don't know if I'm ready for another "too close for comfort" bear encounter.
But, I guess it's the inclusion of "all" that paints the true picture.

~~~ An experience generates numerous emotions that each should be cherished and respected. ~~~

Daytime Visit - 6/12/14 by Griz
Today I was leaving the house (headed for the shop) when I noticed a large Black Bear exiting the lower woods. I ducked back out of sight, went in to get the camera, then out on the porch to catch him as he crossed the yard. But instead of continuing up hill, he rounded a big tree in the yard and turned toward the house. At about 25 yards out he saw me standing on the porch and froze. We stared each other down for a minute or two. He was quite nervous (I could see his front legs stiffen up and shoulder muscles flex). He turned slightly to his left and circled me slowly. I was concerned he might charge so I was ready to dive in the house. Telling him to "get the hell out of here" caused a slight hesitation before turning away and going into the woods east of the house. He was big but not fat; maybe 250-300 lbs. Not the huge 500 lb. boar that hangs out north of the shop, but a whole lot more animal than the yearlings I chase out of the yard every few years.

Scared Bear - 3/7/20 by Griz
I ran out of cigs last night about 10 pm. So I threw on a sweater, shoes and hat. Grabbed the keys and went out around the front of the car. Moon was covered by clouds so it was fairly dark. Got in and started it up. Head lights came on and standing less than 12 feet in front of the car was a bear. I had just walked between the bear and the car. The bear looked to be maybe 2-3 years old. It obviously had been checking out my garbage can. I dropped it in drive, hit the gas & horn at the same time. Car lurched forward with a noisy spray of gravel – then died. Bear dug a trench in the driveway and was still throwing gravel 10 yards out. He never looked back and was nothing but a black streak when he dove though my Deer-Food trees onto the Tree Farm. I sat there laughing my ass off and was still giggling when I bought the cigs. I don’t think he will be back to finish checking out my garbage cans.