4 ms·

> Talk to anyone in the pacific northwest. If you take only the slightest precautions you have nothing to fear from the wolves, cougars and bears. I lived in W

by chroma 11y ago

> Talk to anyone in the pacific northwest. If you take only the slightest precautions you have nothing to fear from the wolves, cougars and bears. I lived in Washington for six years, and I can say that's simply not true. Protecting yourself from predators involves significant work. It's just that everyone is used to it. When camping, you have to store food and toiletries in bear canisters. You have to check for reports of bear activity. You carry bear spray. Some even carry a gun. Despite these preparations, there's the constant anxiety of knowing you might encounter a predator. It really sours the outdoor experience. > So the wolves will in all probability reduce the number of animal-related deaths. Wolves aren't the only way to cull the deer population. When it comes to reintroducing wolves, everyone agrees the risk to humans is low. Almost nobody is going to be killed by wolves. But that argument proves too much. Almost nobody falls victim to serial killers. We still try to reduce the number of serial killers to zero.

anon4 11y ago
Serial killers kill for fun, wolves don't. Other than that,the argument is pretty sound.
- nightpool 11y ago
  Also serial killers target humans. Wolves don't.
lukaslalinsky 11y ago
Many people go hiking/camping to enjoy a little bit of wildness. We shouldn't kill all the bears just to make the occasional hiker safer. When going to a desert, you need to bring water. When going somewhere with a large population of bears, you need to not tempt them with leaving your food around. If it's going to rain, you need to bring a rain-proof jacket. I'm always a bit sad when I go hiking in Austria, knowing that all the bears there have been killed.
mikestew 11y ago
> It really sours the outdoor experience. Man, this is going to come off as snarky, but that is the outdoor experience. Put your food up, if not for the bears you're more than likely not going to see, then for the raccoons you most likely will. Bear spray? Not unless I'm somewhere that might have grizzlies, and even then the stuff is a last resort when all other precautions have failed (read the label about the usage range: close enough that you're about to be mauled). I've never looked up reports of bear activity; I assume they're always out there. "Might encounter a predator", but overwhelming odds are you wont. Fifteen years of tromping around the woods of WA, trail running and hiking, I've seen one brown bear that wanted nothing to do with me. I'm sure I have more to worry about from my fellow drivers on the way to the trailhead than I do from bears and wolves. We all have our personal worries, and one should pack accordingly. Non-human predators are low in my list of things I pack for. YMMV.
- wyager 11y ago
  >read the label about the usage range: close enough that you're about to be mauled There are various bear spray formats. Some have a rather long range (on the order of 10 meters). Still a bit close for comfort; guns are much more effective if you can legally carry them wherever you're camping. Many people doing outdoor activities in grizzly-heavy areas will bring long guns or large handguns.
  - mikestew 11y ago
    The can I've got says in big bold letters on the packaging that it will spray 10 meters. The fine print of the instructions tell a different story. Something like five meters, or maybe less (don't bring my bear spray to work, so can't look). Doesn't matter, if there's a grizzly staring me down, I'm spraying that stuff as soon as the bear gets anywhere near me. As for guns, most of my potential grizzly encounters are going to take place in Canada or someplace that involves going through Canada. Which means no gun-carrying for this U. S. citizen. Yes, technically I think it's possible, but the hassle puts it into my "Bigger Fish to Fry" bucket. I'm also probably going to be on a motorcycle, which means handgun. And from what I've been told by those that would know better than me, your handgun better be a .44 Magnum (biggest I have is a .45 ACP) or you're just going to piss the bear off.
garyrichardson 11y ago
I also live in the Pacific Northwest. I live on the edge of a watershed. Black bears, cougars and coyotes live within 300m of my house (you should see our heavily armoured and locked garbage cans). It's a suburb of Vancouver, so no one really has guns (you'd mostly find them clustered around grow ops) and you'd only have bear spray if you're going far into the backcountry -- I have a can somewhere in my garage. Dealing with the predators here is no more work than dealing with the Sun and sunburns -- a little bit of behaviour changes and a little bit of equipment goes a long ways. People are just used to it too -- putting on sunscreen, wearing hats, knowing when to seek shade.
wallyhs 11y ago
> When it comes to reintroducing wolves, everyone agrees the risk to humans is low. The contention is between wildlife activists and ranchers. Wolves tend to feed on livestock. You can imagine how upset a rancher gets when his assets disappear in the middle of the night.

by chroma 11y ago

anon4 11y ago

Serial killers kill for fun, wolves don't. Other than that,the argument is pretty sound.

nightpool 11y ago
Also serial killers target humans. Wolves don't.

lukaslalinsky 11y ago

Many people go hiking/camping to enjoy a little bit of wildness. We shouldn't kill all the bears just to make the occasional hiker safer. When going to a desert, you need to bring water. When going somewhere with a large population of bears, you need to not tempt them with leaving your food around. If it's going to rain, you need to bring a rain-proof jacket. I'm always a bit sad when I go hiking in Austria, knowing that all the bears there have been killed.

mikestew 11y ago

> It really sours the outdoor experience. Man, this is going to come off as snarky, but that is the outdoor experience. Put your food up, if not for the bears you're more than likely not going to see, then for the raccoons you most likely will. Bear spray? Not unless I'm somewhere that might have grizzlies, and even then the stuff is a last resort when all other precautions have failed (read the label about the usage range: close enough that you're about to be mauled). I've never looked up reports of bear activity; I assume they're always out there. "Might encounter a predator", but overwhelming odds are you wont. Fifteen years of tromping around the woods of WA, trail running and hiking, I've seen one brown bear that wanted nothing to do with me. I'm sure I have more to worry about from my fellow drivers on the way to the trailhead than I do from bears and wolves. We all have our personal worries, and one should pack accordingly. Non-human predators are low in my list of things I pack for. YMMV.

wyager 11y ago
>read the label about the usage range: close enough that you're about to be mauled There are various bear spray formats. Some have a rather long range (on the order of 10 meters). Still a bit close for comfort; guns are much more effective if you can legally carry them wherever you're camping. Many people doing outdoor activities in grizzly-heavy areas will bring long guns or large handguns.
- mikestew 11y ago
  The can I've got says in big bold letters on the packaging that it will spray 10 meters. The fine print of the instructions tell a different story. Something like five meters, or maybe less (don't bring my bear spray to work, so can't look). Doesn't matter, if there's a grizzly staring me down, I'm spraying that stuff as soon as the bear gets anywhere near me. As for guns, most of my potential grizzly encounters are going to take place in Canada or someplace that involves going through Canada. Which means no gun-carrying for this U. S. citizen. Yes, technically I think it's possible, but the hassle puts it into my "Bigger Fish to Fry" bucket. I'm also probably going to be on a motorcycle, which means handgun. And from what I've been told by those that would know better than me, your handgun better be a .44 Magnum (biggest I have is a .45 ACP) or you're just going to piss the bear off.

garyrichardson 11y ago

I also live in the Pacific Northwest. I live on the edge of a watershed. Black bears, cougars and coyotes live within 300m of my house (you should see our heavily armoured and locked garbage cans). It's a suburb of Vancouver, so no one really has guns (you'd mostly find them clustered around grow ops) and you'd only have bear spray if you're going far into the backcountry -- I have a can somewhere in my garage. Dealing with the predators here is no more work than dealing with the Sun and sunburns -- a little bit of behaviour changes and a little bit of equipment goes a long ways. People are just used to it too -- putting on sunscreen, wearing hats, knowing when to seek shade.

wallyhs 11y ago

> When it comes to reintroducing wolves, everyone agrees the risk to humans is low. The contention is between wildlife activists and ranchers. Wolves tend to feed on livestock. You can imagine how upset a rancher gets when his assets disappear in the middle of the night.