Guest LarryP Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 These would be black bears. Just wondering what kind of stories about Black Bears stalking humans. They can be pretty clunky, can't see black bears as stealthy, but maybe someone who hunts knows? They can be very stealthy and quiet when they need to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 My friend tree planted for years in his younger days. His most disturbing bear story(he has more than a few) is of a black bear who knocked over a planter in camp and proceeded to eat his gluteals, bears don't bother with the niceties of killing their prey before eating it. By the time the shotguns got there he was a bloody, shredded mess, and had to be medivaced out. The old literature that says play dead with black bears is completely wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Yes! About 14 years ago I had my wife and 3 and 5 year old boys at Whitewater Falls in the Jocassee Gorge area in SC. We were down there messing around all afternoon and the sun was starting to get low, so I rounded everyone up to head back. Since we stayed a bit longer than planned I suggested we don't take the switchback but instead go straight up to the parking lot, thinking it might be faster. It was not long before we were pulling ourselves along by grabbing mountain laurel and saplings. By now it was dark and the kids were getting fussy. We were bushwacking and after it was dark I never noticed crossing any part of the switchback again because it would have been easier to get back on it. This was about the time I realized I was being stalked by something quite stealthy at my 7-8 o'clock position. I would stop and hear something stop too. I would walk some more and do a quick stop or an unexpected stop and hear it stop again. This went on til we reached the edge of the forest and got to the parking lot were a ranger was waiting because the place was now closed and he wanted to lock the gate but our car was still there. I told the ranger that something had followed us out of the woods and he said "we have not had panther's here for almost 100 years. It wasn't until I got back into BF several years ago that I thought about this incident and realized the kids distressing sounds had probably drawn one in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWWASAS Posted June 10, 2014 BFF Patron Share Posted June 10, 2014 (edited) Back to the threads question. It would be difficult to tell if a BF was just following you out of curiosity, trying to escort you out of the woods, or stalking you. But logic says that if a BF is close enough for you to hear it moving in the woods near you, it is close enough to grab you in a few steps and kill you. So stalking for the purpose of attacking seems unlikely to me. They can run us down any time they choose and can move fast enough to circle ahead without you continuing to hear them and ambush us at some point up ahead. If they are moving and following you they are quiet as they can be but nothing that big can move without making sound if you are moving at any rate at all. The faster you move the more noise they will make. If you are in camp or in a static situation, they are frequently reported to approach with absolute stealth without any sound. Human snipers can to the same thing but it requires a very slow and careful approach. But even their stealth approaches can be perceived if you listen for nearly inaudible low frequency sounds. The soft thudding sounds their feet make can still be audible on a stealth approach. I noticed that the last time one was moving in on me. I was hearing sets of two or three very low frequency thuds that seemed like I was hearing their footsteps as they moved from one tree to the next as it approached. It sounded similar to very distant thunder. I did the unpredictable and moved towards the soft thuds I was hearing. I did that until I heard an answering growl and backed out. Yes skeptics, it could have been a bear so I will save you the effort of a response. So the frequent reports, where someone hears something following in the woods, that stops when you stop, and moves when you moves, is in my opinion most likely a BF that either wants you to know or does not care if you know it is there. I guess you could call it escorting. In these situations, I have started talking to the BF. I have no idea if they understand but I want them to know that I know they are there. In reality when you stop and listen that says the same thing. But my purpose, if one is that close, is to try to establish some level of communication. I think it likely from reports that they have some level speech of speech ability even it is very primitive. By talking to them I am trying to convey that I put them on an equal level as I would with another human I encountered in the woods. And by talking to them I am indicating I want to communicate. Even if they cannot understand, what do I have to loose? If one knows me well enough to step out and try to talk back at some point, all the better. I can always hope. Randy Edited June 10, 2014 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 My "stalker" was 10 feet or less from me. When I stopped once it stepped on a small twig and cracked it. I not one time thought BF, but who would follow me off trail , up hill, in the dark with two kids and a wife? Very quiet movement, no smell, no eye glow or figure that I noticed. When we got to the car we were last one's there and a ranger was waiting to close... FWIW I wanted to add I am quite proficient in estimating distance have worn a tape for over 20 years doing flooring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWWASAS Posted June 10, 2014 BFF Patron Share Posted June 10, 2014 Sure sounds like a BF to me. Probably interested in watching the kids. I sure would like to rent out some neighbor kids for field work but their parents don't like the idea of them being bait. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIB Posted June 10, 2014 Moderator Share Posted June 10, 2014 I was hearing sets of two or three very low frequency thuds that seemed like I was hearing their footsteps as they moved from one tree to the next as it approached. It sounded similar to very distant thunder. Randy In SW Washington, that's probably a grouse. They lead people off trail and the other grouse sneak in behind them. MIB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cotter Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 ^LOL! Good post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWWASAS Posted June 10, 2014 BFF Patron Share Posted June 10, 2014 MIB Yes you have to worry about birds like grouse behaving like veloco raptors with one distracting you while the other one moves in from the side or back for a kill. After all birds are descended from dinosaurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Is "bear stalking humans" a common behavior of bears? When they can be heard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cotter Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 ^That doesn't seem as much as a stalk as an outright aggressive event. I did come across that in my searches as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIB Posted June 10, 2014 Moderator Share Posted June 10, 2014 (edited) MIB Yes you have to worry about birds like grouse behaving like veloco raptors with one distracting you while the other one moves in from the side or back for a kill. After all birds are descended from dinosaurs. No worries. I wasn't trying to insult you, there's sort of an inside joke and a test there. You missed it / failed. I know someone who is researching the same area you are, with a lot of similarity in technique, some similarity in perspective, and a lot of the same details to their stories they've shared. Flip side ... vocabulary is a little different. I wondered if "you were you." Guess not. So if I offended you, I apologize. Best of luck ... I think you have a pretty good spot you're researching. MIB Edited June 10, 2014 by MIB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zenmonkey Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Yes my research are I have concluded several times that Ive been flanked from several sides on several occasions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LarryP Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 ^That doesn't seem as much as a stalk as an outright aggressive event. Agree, and an extremely rare event for a Black Bear. Normally they avoid humans because they're scared of us for good reason. In my opinion, anyone that hears a BF stalking them is because the BF wants you to hear them stalking you. A passive - aggressive event instead of an "outright aggressive event". Because if they just want to observe you without you knowing that you're being observed they can be incredibly stealthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWWASAS Posted June 10, 2014 BFF Patron Share Posted June 10, 2014 MIB for whatever reason it did go over my head. I thought you were being funny so I responded the same way. After all the skeptics all think we imagine all of this anyway. I have even been asked if the footprints I find are real and not some sort of "natural formation" My luck if that happened, I would find a human like footprint and a dinosaur on the same rock strata. How would I explain that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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