# I saw a BEAR today! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 3, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-bear-today/808124 "2018-02-03T22:14:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-bear-today/808124/21 "2018-02-04T18:10:21Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I live on a property that has many bears roaming around, and I rarely see them except on my game cameras. I would not wish to have an encounter as up close and personal as you did! You did exactly the right thing, though: Back up slowly, avoid eye contact, don’t turn your back and don’t run. > > I think there are more sightings in urban areas these days because we have encroached so deeply into their natural habitat. They just don’t have anywhere else to go, and domestic cats and dogs make easy prey. > > I’m glad your encounter was not more exciting! that’s part of it, but we’ve also attracted them to come deeper into populated areas. I’ve seen deer strutting around Grosse Pointe, or even one caused a traffic jam because it was running around on I-75 (or I-94, memory hazy) near the downtown Detroit interchanges. and why wouldn’t they? We leave plenty of food around for them, and they can’t be hunted. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-bear-today/808124/22 "2018-02-04T18:36:27Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I live on a property that has many bears roaming around, and I rarely see them except on my game cameras. I would not wish to have an encounter as up close and personal as you did! You did exactly the right thing, though: Back up slowly, avoid eye contact, don’t turn your back and don’t run. > > I think there are more sightings in urban areas these days because we have encroached so deeply into their natural habitat. They just don’t have anywhere else to go, and domestic cats and dogs make easy prey. > > I’m glad your encounter was not more exciting! There was a bit of oddness with this experience. We carry airhorns in our jacket pockets to stop our two boy dogs from fighting when we’re in the yard (the horns are remarkably effective - no fights for several months now. It only took a few honks to remedy the problem, now we just show one and the boys shape up). Before I left home I took the horn out of my jacket pocket and left it on the porch because I had to carry some extra stuff in the pocket. Lots of hikers carry airhorns as bear deterrents - how weird that on most days I would have been carrying one. At any rate, bear was mellow, he didn’t seem aware of me. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-bear-today/808124/23 "2018-02-04T21:09:25Z")
The closest wildlife encounter I’ve had was when my dog was in the back patio and some coyotes walked along the wash a few yards beyond the fence. He started barking his head off. The coyotes just ignored him, as if they knew they could kick his ass, but he wasn’t worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2018, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-bear-today/808124/24 "2018-02-04T23:51:49Z")
I’m in the UK and had an American friend visit. She’d seen bears, coyotes and alligators in the wild. The best I could do was when she saw a fox in a London garden… ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-bear-today/808124/25 "2018-02-05T01:29:53Z")
When I was stationed in Great Falls, MT (Malmstrom, MT), I took a weekend trip to Lewis & Clark National Forest, to a favorite campsite. . . _alone_ (first mistake). I made a great campsite in the mid-afternoon, and fired up the fire ring (second mistake). Threw a good T-bone over that fire (third mistake) just before sunset; had a fine meal . . . up until _baby bear_ came sniffing about 50 yards away. I’ve never struck a campsite so cat-damn quickly in my life. I had a sidearm and pepper spray, but I wasn’t going to tango with a Mama Bear on any level. Tripler I ended up watching PBS at 1:AM that night. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-bear-today/808124.md?page=1)