Bear Damage

[Donna D.]

My friend Sandy who's a Bolerite sent me a message about a posting on Bolerama... and the picture .

"The bear ripped out the small window above the stove, then pulled out a chunk of fibreglass below the window to make it bigger so he could get in. He then wrecked the stove (pulled off the cover, and bent the burners), ripped off the fridge and freezer doors and generally made a mess.
and no, we were not at the trailer - it was parked in while we were doing about a week backcountry out of our canoe."


It's Gina D., that's said about molded fiberglass trailers "Hard and crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside." YEOW!

[Casita Greg]

I kinda wonder if maybe he smelled something that he thought would be good to eat, since it was in the vicinity of the stove. Perhaps some remnant of spilled grease, or some other "attractant". After all, their sense of smell is a lot keener than ours is.

Maybe we should hang our trailers from a rope over a tree branch to keep them out of the bear's reach...

Sorry to hear of your damage.

[Robin G]

Wowser! Glad your friends were not napping in the trailer during it all. Thanks for the picture!

[Donna D.]

I don't know these people... evidentally the bear destroyed the door on the refrigerator.

[honda03842]

We carry bear spray when hiking. In Alaska it was not unusual to see a sign at the head of a trail that said "grizzle sighted on trail today". As a result we bought a can of bear spray available at Walmart in Alaska. Maybe we need a second can for the trailer.

I will say we saw a grizzle standup in the road while in Denali. They are huge.

[AuntHoodoo]

Bears have definitely been on the list of concerns for me! I'm so glad that they weren't in there when it happened. In my head I envisioned bear spray right next to the fire extinguisher in my imaginary home on wheels!

[reeves99]

Donna,
My partner thinks he's gonna be safe from the bears in our little trailer. I'm definitely NOT going to show him your post.
P

Originally Posted by Donna D.

My friend Sandy who's a Bolerite sent me a message about a posting on Bolerama... and the picture .

"The bear ripped out the small window above the stove, then pulled out a chunk of fibreglass below the window to make it bigger so he could get in. He then wrecked the stove (pulled off the cover, and bent the burners), ripped off the fridge and freezer doors and generally made a mess.
and no, we were not at the trailer - it was parked in while we were doing about a week backcountry out of our canoe."
Attachment 39284

It's Gina D., that's said about molded fiberglass trailers "Hard and crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside." YEOW!

[Donna D.]

Phil, I think campers/rvers/popup owners should ALL be careful when in bear county. Fortunately except for in some areas, bears are as afraid of humans as we are of them. It pays to be aware and prudent.

[LukeP]

Donna, did your friend or the post mention where this happened?

[Hazel in Sk]

Obviously I don't know the whole story here - so hesitate to point fingers or anything. For what it is worth we NEVER cook anything in our trailer, nor do we store food items there. Anything that goes in the camper goes straight into the fridge sealed inside something. Pots/pans and food go in the trunk of the car.

Actually I'd love to be able to buy a small trailer that gives us more space and no stovetop/sink.

We too have bear spray - one in the car, one in the camper, two more for when we are walking away from the campground. We've never actually had a bear problem even though we live in bear country - but like Boy Scouts, we like to Be Prepared.

[Robin G]

Bear spray is great line of defense (if your that close ) but truth be known, I don't care to be that close to start with . Spraying Bear spray from a 100 feet away, doesn't work .



Best line of defense is to avoid a get together to start with! Make noise, talk, sing, whistle, clap, etc when hiking/running/walking/biking in bear country.

Of course not knowing why the bear decided this egg was worth getting into, it's hard to say how they could have protected it to avoid such a issue.
But would wonder if there was anything left out, such as a piece of fruit, candy bar, cracker, even a box of cereal, left on the counter will entice them. The slightest odor will bring them investigating. I have lived in Bear country on and off for years. And have had only one issue. Of course it was at our back door .
While Dh was walking some trash out to the bear proof container the phone rang, instead of letting it go to voice mail, he sat the trash down just outside the back door and answered the phone, when he finished the phone conversation he decided to finish reading the paper so he could add it to the trash before unlocking the bear proof trash container (God forbid you make 2 trips ) . We had 2 bears within 20 minutes of him sitting it out the door. Boy that was fun! Thankfully we got them on their way, before animal control got there. Though I almost got shot by a neighbor in the process! (dumb a$$!)........



Best line of defense is to avoid them. As beautiful and majestic as they are, I respect the fact that they know I am scared of them.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by AndyGee

Actually up here in Canada , BC & Alberta in particular are trying to have laws regarding handguns changed to allow fishermen, hikers and campers to carry handguns while in bear country.

Hehe where in BC??? most communities in BC are actually adopting the Bear Aware program and bylaws that result in big fines to people who leave out things that attract bears such as their garbage (cant be outside unless it is garbage day), bird feeds, dirty bq's and any fruit that has dropped to the ground from trees etc. They have a pretty good write up on what you can do to avoid a conflict with them - seeing one in your yard is not considered a conflict but if they come into the house thats another matter ( 3 have recently in my area) :-) Conflict Prevention | BearAware

Call to report a bear in your yard in most areas of the lower mainland - city or not - and the bear will live to the tell the story about the guy who got a big fine for feeding him. :-)

I leave my trailer in the driveway but it has no food in it and I clean the fridge and stove well after every use. Yup I saw more bears in my yard in the week I came home from Yellowstone than I saw in 10 days in Yellowstone (did not see one). Heres a video that a fellow took in my area:

Three Bears in North Vancouver - YouTube

Only problem with the video is the guy is doing everything wrong - we are taught not to take pictures but to yell and bang pots to scare them -he gets mad at his neighbour for scaring them off - he also has a bird feeder out which is like candy to the bears and although it appears that it is garbage pick up day so his garbage can be out he has no latch on his cans - actually the bears around here know the garbage schedule better than me.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

It's Gina D., that's said about molded fiberglass trailers "Hard and crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside." YEOW!

A few years ago while kayaking in the Queen Charlotte Islands came across a couple of guys who had been stranded on a beach for a fews days (radios did not work in the area) as one of the kayaks had been ripped apart by a bear as they had made the mistake of stowing their food in the boat over night.

[honda03842]

Carol,

If you pick up all the fruit that hit's the ground, do the bears simply shake the tree or pick the fruit?