Dont pick on a mama bear with cubs! Lesson for the day.

[sestoppelman]

MSN

 

[curtism1234]

The ones we saw this week certainly didn't have a care in the world. At one point baby was about 3 feet away from the car. Mama probably wouldn't have liked us cubnapping it though

 

[Mekaniks]

Yeah males bears will kill the cubs to get the female back in heat. Sows get protective and it’s not always the biggest bear that wins. Cool video

 

[sestoppelman]

Its kind of amazing that the sow survived the fall, long drop! Perhaps the male being much heavier landed harder, probably broke his back. He seemed pretty loosey goosey rolling down the hill.
I was not aware that such bears were found in Spain!

 

[Traveler1]

I few years ago in this are of Spain, a local bear know by one community was poached. The body was found on hiking trail by tourist.

 

[Foxi]

images that are hard to bear.

Nothing in nature is peaceful.
Nature is the most antisocial system there is.

 

[DieJager]

Beautiful but at the same time hard pictures. Nature at it's finest

 

[sestoppelman]

I think the sow was lucky they went off the cliff, or the male would surely have killed her, the cub or both.

 

[Nyati]

Its kind of amazing that the sow survived the fall, long drop! Perhaps the male being much heavier landed harder, probably broke his back. He seemed pretty loosey goosey rolling down the hill.
I was not aware that such bears were found in Spain!

We have a population of around 400 bears, distributed in the mountains in the north of Spain, there are also bears in the French side of the Pyrennees mountains.

 

[sestoppelman]

We have a population of around 400 bears, distributed in the mountains in the north of Spain, there are also bears in the French side of the Pyrennees mountains.

Are they closer to a grizzly or a black bear or a thing all their own?

 

[HuntingGold]

A few hours ago I was working in the forests of Southern Oregon. I was working, hanging signs on trees in on spot for ten to fifteen minutes. When done, I hopped in my little truck and started to pull away only to see a nice mature black bear boil out of the brush and cross the road 35 to 40 yards away. It was nice to see but I'm curious how long he had been there.

 

[sestoppelman]

I would think you have some form of firearm on your person while working alone in the woods?

 

[HuntingGold]

I've worked in the woods as either a biologist, game warden, or now as timber security for over 30 years. Sometimes I was armed (law enforcement) but now very rarely and usually only in the hunting season in case I happen upon a dandy buck or bull.

Capturing and handling wildlife was learned early in my biology days and I have grown to respect the critters but not be afraid. It's not something I take lightly or have some sort of false bravado, I've just spent a ton of time with wildlife.

I don't know where my bear trapping photo ever went when I assisted trapping and radio-collaring a large cinnamon colored black bear. In 89 and a few subsequent years, I trapped and radio-collared elk. Thereafter, I chased them (tracked and mapped) from aircraft. I didn't get to trap the bighorn sheep, but I tracked lots for about 3 to 4 months in the lonely high desert near the Oregon/Nevada line. I've trapped and banded thousands of ducks and geese... ever been goosed by a goose?
Sorry to carry on... Overall, I've had a great career in the outdoors.
Randy

 

[sestoppelman]

Hey Randy, I had forgotten about your extensive experience and I now remember these pics.
Hope I didnt sound condescending, I didnt mean to.

 

[HuntingGold]

I hope I didn't come off as an all knowing ass!

Now that I typed that out... the stories are starting to flood back...

 

[sestoppelman]

No not at all, you followed a career I once gave some thought to, but life went other directions. Its all good stuff.
As close as I came to the lifestyle was working for an elk outfitter in Idaho in the mid 70's for two seasons.
Talk about memories! I have some doozies! LOL.

 

[HuntingGold]

With all that said... a young fellow that I now work with, a forester for the company I provide security for, shot a black bear that charged him while he was looking for a forked-horn buck he shot earlier in the day.

Apparently the young man had shot at the buck early in the morning and didn't realize he hit it. From my limited conversations with him this is his first deer and he didn't follow up his shot. He continued hunting then, on his way back to his vehicle, heard some bleating in the area he had shot earlier. He then realized he hit the deer and was working his way through the thick stuff to find and dispatch it. He arrived at his buck about the time a bear had found it. The bear charged and he instinctively shot and killed the bear. The young man was very shaken up but lived to tell the story!

A few weeks later, the same young forester found an elk carcass that had been dumped along a forest road. Knowing I formerly investigated wildlife crimes, he sent me the coordinates and asked that I check it out. I drove to the location and couldn't find the carcass. I rechecked my maps and began looking again but still couldn't find it. Finally after much work I found bits of hair and other material. I began to realize I was looking at a drag mark and then realized a bear found the carcass before I did. Clearly this had just been drug away and the bear was likely close. I decided that was enough for me and I backed out and left the carcass to my unseen bear. Even if the elk had been poached, the evidence was lost.

I'm off to dinner with my wife... all the best to you all. May we sit 'round a fire some night with drink in hand and tell more stories.

 

[sestoppelman]

Good story. I took a decent black bear in Idaho when I lived there, up in the area around Pierce up on the Weippe prairie after work one morning.
Had been working graveyard at the plywood mill, went hunting with a buddy who met me there and within about two hours had a nice bear down.

 

[Nyati]

Are they closer to a grizzly or a black bear or a thing all their own?

They belong to the brown bear family, or Ursus Arctos

Subspecies European brown bear Ursus Arctos Arctos, where males in some populations can grow up to 481 Kgs.

Sub suspecies (if it is correct to call them), found in Spain and France is Ursus Arctos Pyrenaicus, they are smaller, male can grow up to 180Kgs.

 

[Red Leg]

They belong to the brown bear family, or Ursus Arctos

Subspecies European brown bear Ursus Arctos Arctos, where males in some populations can grow up to 481 Kgs.

Sub suspecies (if it is correct to call them), found in Spain and France is Ursus Arctos Pyrenaicus, they are smaller, male can grow up to 180Kgs.

Exactly. From Alaska going east to Kamchatka, they are all brown bears. Various subspecies can be smaller like the Pyrenaicus, or in between like the North American interior grizzly, or true giants like the North American or Siberian coastal brown bears. But they are all Ursus Arctos.