Bears

[bling306]

One time, at Monksville, I was with a group of people, hanging out on the island when my buddy suddenly told us to be quiet. Next thing I know, I'm hearing a faint grunting sound that was getting somewhat louder. We walked to the edge of the island to see a 400lb or so bear swimming from one side of the reservoir to the other. He took one look at us and kept on swimming.

[shrimpman steve]

Originally Posted by jmurr711

ran into one at a rest stop once very awkward

That's funny. What were you doin at the pickle park

[shrimpman steve]

I live in Ringwood. They are just a part of life up here

I've been pretty close to these "ghosts of the forest". They are really beutiful creatures.

[Gerry Zagorski]

My favorite bear joke

The National Park Rangers are advising hikers in Glacier National Park and other Rocky Mountain parks to be alert for bears and take extra precautions to avoid an encounter.

They advise park visitors to wear little bells on their clothes so they make noise when hiking. The bell noise allows bears to hear them coming from a distance and not be startled by a hiker accidentally sneaking up on them. This might cause a bear to charge.

Visitors should also carry a pepper spray can just in case a bear is encountered. Spraying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear's sensitive nose and it will run away.

It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you have an idea if bears are in the area.

People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat.

Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur. Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper

[mondofish]

hahahahaha!!!!

Gerry that's great....lol! Fished this spring for shad near the Gap. In particular along Old Mine Road adjacent to the river north of the Water Gap Rt 80 bridge. In a matter of two weeks, I ran across 4 mother bear and a total of 9 cubs. All bear encounters were as someone pointed out early or late, dawn or dusk, and fortunately from inside my truck while going to or leaving the river. One bear jumped out from heavy cover about 15 ft in front of my truck , ran along the road for about 5 seconds and disappeared into the woods on the other side of the road. My son was with me at the time and both of us were like WTF! Interestingly enough this happened on a weekend and the spot the bear came from was right at the Worthington State campgrounds which was loaded with people. I'm sure she was attracted by the smell of food being grilled but I was surprised on the other side of the heavy cover she erupted from there had to be a hundred campers hanging out! As I was pulling away from the spot, I looked in my rear view mirror and two tiny cubs came waking out from the same area mama bear did and walked across the street to be reunited with mama. CRAZY! That area as someone already posted is LOADED with bears many of which have cubs in early spring. Old Mine Road is a 15 mph road and I've always wondered why and now I know. Between the dense cover, deer and bears, you need to be extremely careful driving there. While it was very cool seeing the adult bears and in particular the cubs you need to be careful to not get in nature's way. That sizeable a bear population and that many people all in close corners is an accident waiting to happen if you're not cognizant of your surroundings. The Delaware River in the spring , that area, is littered with dead or dying shad and the resident bear population frequents the river every night to snack, especially the mothers and their cubs. Great site to see but something you need to respect as well.

[jmurr711]

Originally Posted by shrimpman steve

That's funny. What were you doin at the pickle park

$20 is $20.............

[Dave B.]

Originally Posted by NickN

Saw 3 on the Big Flatbook last night. They are all over the place up there.

There'll be 1 less up there come early Dec if I can help it, they're tasty!

As for close encounters, after decades of spending an average of 30 weekends a year camping in the area there are just way too many to go into. Suffice it to say that within 10 to 20 feet on dozens of occasions likely counts as close, that's without mentioning the couple hundred other, more 'distant' encounters.

[shrimpman steve]

Yesterday in neighbors yard

[bunker dunker]

they look cute in the woods but look Great next to mashies and gravy.come on December!!!!