5 ms·

I live in southeast Alaska, where bears are still well-established. Bears come into town on a regular basis, and they can be anywhere in the woods. I was high o

by japhyr 9y ago

I live in southeast Alaska, where bears are still well-established. Bears come into town on a regular basis, and they can be anywhere in the woods. I was high on a steep rocky mountain once, and heard a loud breathing sound in front of me. I thought I'd turn a corner and see a big mountain goat, but when I got around a large boulder I saw a giant cinnamon-colored bear. It turned and ran up the neighboring ridgeline to the summit of a 4000' mountain. That was when I learned bears really can be anywhere here. It's a different feeling walking in a woods where you are not the apex predator. It's humbling, but it also tunes you in to your surroundings. I don't wear headphones in the woods; I watch and listen to the forest. I don't romanticize the experience, but I sure appreciate having the chance to experience the woods largely as our ancestors have, aside from the modern clothes we wear and communication devices we carry. When I visit other places and walk in the woods or climb a mountain, it's an entirely different feeling. The woods feel empty, and I feel a little more dull. I don't know where to go with that; it's a sad state that I don't see any way back from, outside of pockets of wilderness being preserved.

germinalphrase 9y ago
A year ago I was camped by a lake on the US/Canada border. A large otter popped up not ten feet away and casually cleaned its fur, dropped down to grab something to munch on from the lake bottom. Obviously, it's a less intimidating encounter - but I had a similar thought at the time: people don't see large and/or rare animals outside of zoos. That has to affect the appreciation of natural spaces and the public's desire to preserve the ability of complex systems of wildlife to live within them.
- 52-6F-62 9y ago
  I had the fortune of growing up in a sparsely-populated, rural part of Southern Ontario. I didn't think so at the time, but looking back I almost envy my younger self. Whenever you went swimming in a creek or river that wasn't Lake Erie, and the water wasn't rushing too quickly at that spot you had to be damned careful about snapping turtles. There were also a lot of beavers. Coyotes could be dangerous if they got hungry, but usually ran away. You'd hear of the odd wolf venturing down, but that was not common -- too many farms. There was a large population of deer. I always joke about the county fair we had down there, too. I like to say that's where I milked my first goat. Which is true... but it was also, thankfully, my last.
sandworm101 9y ago
Trust me. In Alaska you are still the apex predator. That bear has far more reason to fear you than you do it. The bear doesn't know that you aren't carrying your rifle.
- vvanders 9y ago
  If you think a rifle/pistol is going to save you from a bear then you have a lot to learn about being out in the woods.
  - sandworm101 9y ago
    I've confronted many bears both in the woods and my back yard. They are not monsters. Statistically, a human should be more afraid of confronting a random human in the woods than a random bear. And yes, a rifle or pistol will protect against bear attacks. Only an idiot would think to attempt to kill the bear, but such a noisemaker will chase away 99.99% of bears. That's what bearbangers are for.
  - japhyr 9y ago
    You might also be surprised at how effective bear spray is. You have to know how to use it; you have to wait until the bear is close enough to you, you have to not run, you have to pay attention to wind, and you need to know a few things about bear behavior. The nice thing about bear spray is that if you know how to use it, most or all of your bear encounters will end with the bear running away from you long before you could use the bear spray anyway.
    - vvanders 9y ago
      Yup, totally agree. There always seems to be some yahoos who think that strapping a 454 Casull to their hip is going to keep them safe from bears/wildlife. Watching your surroundings, knowing common behaviors and keeping a cool head will help mitigate your chances. Acting like you can take on a bear head-to-head single handed won't.
- japhyr 9y ago
agumonkey 9y ago
I don't live near bears or potential predators, just surrounded by forrests. Once I decided to jog longer than usual, and got 10km away from home. At one point I stopped. And something striked me. I was "far from home", in a place where nothing was known, predictable, slightly confusing; just slightly, the trees were spaced enough so I could see far, but not sure if that's a person or a tree in the distance. I didn't feel fear, but clearly something in my brain became alert, just slightly alert, without even trying to focus or think harder. I was surprised that this mode was here and I never experienced it before. Got me very curious about nomadic life. Previous generations gradually removed this randomness from our lives so we could be comfy and fear less. But it also gave me a rush of sensory inputs, that compared to the pleasure oriented cities, felt very good.

by japhyr 9y ago

germinalphrase 9y ago

A year ago I was camped by a lake on the US/Canada border. A large otter popped up not ten feet away and casually cleaned its fur, dropped down to grab something to munch on from the lake bottom. Obviously, it's a less intimidating encounter - but I had a similar thought at the time: people don't see large and/or rare animals outside of zoos. That has to affect the appreciation of natural spaces and the public's desire to preserve the ability of complex systems of wildlife to live within them.

52-6F-62 9y ago
I had the fortune of growing up in a sparsely-populated, rural part of Southern Ontario. I didn't think so at the time, but looking back I almost envy my younger self. Whenever you went swimming in a creek or river that wasn't Lake Erie, and the water wasn't rushing too quickly at that spot you had to be damned careful about snapping turtles. There were also a lot of beavers. Coyotes could be dangerous if they got hungry, but usually ran away. You'd hear of the odd wolf venturing down, but that was not common -- too many farms. There was a large population of deer. I always joke about the county fair we had down there, too. I like to say that's where I milked my first goat. Which is true... but it was also, thankfully, my last.

sandworm101 9y ago

Trust me. In Alaska you are still the apex predator. That bear has far more reason to fear you than you do it. The bear doesn't know that you aren't carrying your rifle.

vvanders 9y ago
If you think a rifle/pistol is going to save you from a bear then you have a lot to learn about being out in the woods.
- sandworm101 9y ago
  I've confronted many bears both in the woods and my back yard. They are not monsters. Statistically, a human should be more afraid of confronting a random human in the woods than a random bear. And yes, a rifle or pistol will protect against bear attacks. Only an idiot would think to attempt to kill the bear, but such a noisemaker will chase away 99.99% of bears. That's what bearbangers are for.
- japhyr 9y ago
  You might also be surprised at how effective bear spray is. You have to know how to use it; you have to wait until the bear is close enough to you, you have to not run, you have to pay attention to wind, and you need to know a few things about bear behavior. The nice thing about bear spray is that if you know how to use it, most or all of your bear encounters will end with the bear running away from you long before you could use the bear spray anyway.
  - vvanders 9y ago
    Yup, totally agree. There always seems to be some yahoos who think that strapping a 454 Casull to their hip is going to keep them safe from bears/wildlife. Watching your surroundings, knowing common behaviors and keeping a cool head will help mitigate your chances. Acting like you can take on a bear head-to-head single handed won't.
japhyr 9y ago

agumonkey 9y ago

I don't live near bears or potential predators, just surrounded by forrests. Once I decided to jog longer than usual, and got 10km away from home. At one point I stopped. And something striked me. I was "far from home", in a place where nothing was known, predictable, slightly confusing; just slightly, the trees were spaced enough so I could see far, but not sure if that's a person or a tree in the distance. I didn't feel fear, but clearly something in my brain became alert, just slightly alert, without even trying to focus or think harder. I was surprised that this mode was here and I never experienced it before. Got me very curious about nomadic life. Previous generations gradually removed this randomness from our lives so we could be comfy and fear less. But it also gave me a rush of sensory inputs, that compared to the pleasure oriented cities, felt very good.