Re: [at-l] In season

[Tim Hewitt <thewitt@fairchildsemi.com>]

WHHAWKINS@aol.com wrote:
[clip]
> The so called "Bear problem" is caused by humans. Mainly in the campground
> were humans drive in setup the tent, put the food out on the picnic table.
> Then the Bears see a free lunch. The Bears have to be captured and taken to
> the backcountry. The Bears come back and its food, capture, taken to the
> backcountry. After too many cycles of this; it goes to food, capture, and
> death of the Bear. The Bear was only doing what any animal would do and that
> is getting food to live.
> 
> The problem is not the Bear. It is the lazy, ignorant human.

So I vote for putting up a gate on all road accesses to anywhere bears live,
and testing any humans that want to enter. If they can't pass the ignorant,
lazy test, we don't let them in...

The point in this hunting thread regarding bears and people was that where
hunting pressure is light, bears do not fear people. Where there is hunting
pressure, the bears will run away as soon as they smell you on the trail. They
will not dare enter your campsite and eat your food. Their fear and self
preservation instincts are too strong.

In Maine, we have a very large and healthy black bear population. You can
count the personal sightings that anyone has in a lifetime on one hand however
- and I can only think of one occurance in the last 10 years of a "problem
bear" and he was a town-bear.  It's not that they are not here, nor that the
campers in Maine are any less ignorant or lazy than campers anywere else. It's
just that bears shy away from all human contact.

I see more wildlife from the water than the trail - as there is little hunting
pressure from canoes anymore. The animals, though they see and smell me
floating in my canoe - don't see me as a threat until I get real close. Not so
for animals I meet on the trail. I cannot get anywhere as close to them when
I'm on foot.

-Paddler
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