RE: [Paddlewise] Bears

I guess the "why" about bear attacks is a little far flung for a
kayaking list, but I can't resist:
I have another theory about the increase in attacks. The fundamentals of
habitat encroachment haven't changed. Sure there is more encroachment,
but there are also fewer animals. What has changed dramatically is a
reduction of hunting pressure. 
Bears, mountain lion, coyote, and wolf are all intelligent animals. They
run on instinct to a degree, but much of what they need for survival is
transferred by learning from the mother (or parents, aunts, uncles, and
siblings in the case of wolves and coyotes).
How many generations would it take for these creatures to loose their
terror of humans? In CA, just looking at the difference in bear behavior
in national parks (hunting prohibited), to national forests (hunting
permitted), answers the question. National parks are plagued with
misbehaving bears raiding campsites and cars. National forests generally
have bear tracks and bear droppings, but no bears. I really don't know
how the tracks and droppings get there.
I have always backpacked in forests and wilderness areas (hunting also
permitted) for that very reason. I'm chicken, and lazy. I have never
hung my food, and only given casual observance to the no eating in the
tent rule. Our camp has never been raided and we have never seen a bear
in camp. We've seen a mother with cubs at a trailhead, a young bear
running across a road, and that one big one on the trail that I wrote
about recently. I'm not advocating that other adopt my poor
"bearmanship", but the lack of trouble over all these years says a lot
about what deters bears.
I personally haven't hunted them (though I'm not opposed), and most
people who do don't actually get one. Nevertheless, all those hunters
running around in the woods trying to find and shoot a bear have made my
backpacking trips much less stressful over the years.

             Steve Brown


-----Original Message-----
.......There were several hypotheses, most of which run along the lines
of the increase in pressure on bears.....

Mike



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