Grizzlies follow hiker - Holy Cow!

[Perry]

https://www.backpacker.com/videos-photos/grizzlies-follow-hiker

 

[Rockskipper]

Why didn't he just step off the trail?

 

[Perry]

It seemed to me that the bears just wanted to use the trail, too. The complication was the cubs were curious and wanted to catch up to see what he was all about.

 

[Jeffrey Chandler]

@Scott Chandler im pinning this for you so you can say what he should or shouldnt have done.

 

[Outdoor_Fool]

OMG, much ado about nothing. Brooks Camp bears and half-panicked hiker. Like @Rockskipper said, why didn't he just step off the trail?

"I'm hoping they go off the trail at some point" Too funny.

 

[Rockskipper]

The media loves stories portraying bears as people-eating monsters. I get that a few are, but in general, most bears would just as soon avoid us, since they know we're really the dangerous ones. Nothing in this bear's behavior looked to me like she was stalking him or even very interested in him. She looked more to me like she had somewhere she wanted to be. If she had been after him, that video probably wouldn't even exist, she would've been so fast.

 

[Perry]

I agree this was probably much ado about nothing but... there were cubs involved. That's the wild card here to me.

 

[Rockskipper]

He did get some great bear footage, which I enjoyed seeing.

 

[Outdoor_Fool]

I agree this was probably much ado about nothing but... there were cubs involved. That's the wild card here to me.

I agree that that would normally be a huge issue, but at Brooks Camp and a few other areas in Katmai, it is not so much of a big deal.

 

[Perry]

I agree that that would normally be a huge issue, but at Brooks Camp and a few other areas in Katmai, it is not so much of a big deal.

Are they "humanized" in those areas?

 

[Outdoor_Fool]

Well if I remember right, Adolph Murie mentions how tolerant of humans the brown bears of southwest Alaska are in one of his books. And this was from way before the tourist industry had started in that part of the world. I'll find the book tonight so I can pass along more exact info .

When I was studying bears and humans in Katmai almost 20 years ago, it was pretty eye-opening to see what the bears would tolerate, especially sows with cubs. At that time, the bear-viewing industry was really just beginning at my study site and likely the bears had not been exposed to humans to the point of habituation. We had many discussions about the possible causes of coastal brownies being so tolerant of humans in that region. We'll never know for certain but it likely stems from their unique social tolerance of each other to allow such high densities at high-energy food sources (salmon streams).

Just about any bear that includes Brooks Camp as part of its home range is likely habituated to humans to some extent, increasing the opportunity for, but lessening the chance for, defensive charges.

 

[Scott Chandler]

OMG!!! 435 and her little springers!!!!!!!!! They are so adorable!

This is pretty much a daily occurrence at Brooks Camp during parts of the summer. Bears use the trails because they're far more convenient than the woods. People forget bear orientation and don't do what the bears expect them to do, which has lead to new expectations, which leads to management problems.

To answer an above post, yes the bears at Brooks are pretty habituated the people. Rangers have enforced the thought of a "people area" and a "bear area" which they occasionally expect. Regardless, they know the pink things in general mean no harm to them in certain situations. Running into a Brooks bear when they aren't at Brooks is a different ball game. Studies have found that bear habituation is extremely situational. A bear used to people in one spot will become defensive in another.

The cubbins are so cute!

 

[ramblinman]

The theory that bears in Kitmai are more tolerant of humans is an interesting one. It reminds me of the amazing documentary by Werner Herzog called "Grizzly Man" which was shot in Kitmai by a man named Timothy Treadwell. Treadwell spent 13 seasons actually living with Grizzly Bears there and I'm sure many of you know his story. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone interested in Grizzly Bears. There is some beautiful footage in this film, and Herzog is an excellent filmmaker.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_Man

 

[Rockskipper]

Interesting article, and the comments are also interesting:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ionship-with-wildlife/?utm_term=.03f8602fad9d

 

[Outdoor_Fool]

The theory that bears in Kitmai are more tolerant of humans is an interesting one. It reminds me of the amazing documentary by Werner Herzog called "Grizzly Man" which was shot in Kitmai by a man named Timothy Treadwell. Treadwell spent 13 seasons actually living with Grizzly Bears there and I'm sure many of you know his story. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone interested in Grizzly Bears. There is some beautiful footage in this film, and Herzog is an excellent filmmaker.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_Man

Not just Katmai bears but coastal brownies in general.

Grizzly Man was meh, from what I remember it was more of a hit piece on Tim.