OZ, I was thinking the same thing. If you had a pipe and low gearing on your bike what would the bear think if you revved your bike and popped a short wheelie and stood up on end? LOL That might provoke him though.
________
Hemp Marijuana

 

Where I'm from hunting is one of these


Plus one of these

Equals one/some (if your lucky) of these

 

Yikes!!!

 

No hollow points here. Up close so you can smell it.
Better make sure that knife is sharp though. You can be sure his tusks are.
I use to go with the bow too. But once you've tried it with a dog and knife there's no going back.

 

This may make you laugh. No stereo types though.
NOTE: Explicit language.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y

 

I've lived in bear country all my life, but never had an encounter like this one. I respected bear, but never feared them. I have a .460 S&W XVR, but at 15" long and 5lbs. loaded, it's not exactly a "go to" weapon. Plus, the recoil will make you re-evaluate which is worse - a bear attack or another shot! Truth is, even if I had a gun, I would have done the same thing again. A pissed bear is one thing, a wounded pissed bear is something else entirely.

At my dad's urging, I called the PA Game Warden last night and told him the whole story. I realized that telling the story took longer than the whole event lasted. Here's what he thought:

Bear are near-sighted and can only see clearly for about 30 feet. Anything past that, and they see movement, not detail. Their sense of smell, on the other hand, is many times more acute than ours. However, if the wind was to the bear's back, he may not have picked up my scent right away at that distance.

When bears stand up and display aggression, they are trying to intimidate a would-be rival. Humans usually don't fall into that category. With all the other bears in the area, he may have picked up another bear's scent, spotted my movement, and decided to show dominance. I never got off the bike, so he may not have recognized my silouhette as human. In short, it was probably a case of mistaken identity.

Once I started to leave WFO, the bear did stop, so maybe this was the case. One thing he did say was that bear incidents are on the rise here in PA. Less people hunt them, so their population is expanding. Since there is less hunting pressure, each generation of bear eqate humans with danger less and less. Instead, they equate humans with easy food, either through garbage, camp food, pet food, or idiots intentionally feeding them. Where this took place was a few miles from a camp ground and a restaurant, both of which are having bear problems.

So there you have it. The bear thought I was the rare and elusive Lime Green Bear with the constant roar trying to muscle in on his territory.

Finger is right, too. Always fight a black bear. Smack rocks together, scream and yell, hit it with a stick, poke his eyes, whatever it takes.

 

Man... You're right out of a "Lord of the Flies" novel.

What's with the dog collar? Is it to keep the dog from licking his anus?

Mike

 

Not quite. It's made from Cordura or fire hose material to protect the dogs throat from the tusks of a rough boar. Good book by the way. Talking of bugs, try this one. "Metamorphosis" by Kafka. Another good read.

 

Now I got this "Lord of the Flies" image stuck in my head...

...must...poke...out...mind's...eye...

 

OK...so picture this...Mustang out on a ride in the woods on his KLX. He's smiling, the birds are singing, the sun is out, and he's looking forward to eating his lunch that he's carrying on the back of his bike in a ...DOH!...pic-a-nic basket!

And down the road trots Yogi Bear. He almost runs over Boo-boo trying to get away.