Black bear damage

[notanlines]

From Reddit.com
Black bear damage a couple nights ago in Gorges State Park, North
Carolina.

[PolarisCobra]

Wow - Sorry to see that. I had no idea they would be that persistent. Where you in the camper when it happened? That would be scary for sure.

There must have been a mighty good pic-i-nic basket in there.



I'm guessing your insurance will cover the repairs.?

[foldbak]

Wow never seen that before. You must have had something good in there. I'll not be camping there lol

[sourdough]

I've watched bears (black and grizzly) tear up stuff and they can be destructive and persistent, but, that bear was after something. I suspect the camper smelled really good to the bear and he REALLY wanted whatever it was.

Camping once and one of the guys left a coleman stove with a skillet sitting on top of it and a coleman ice chest sitting out when we all went to bed. A black bear came that night, knocked the skillet down and licked it until it seemed he would lick through the cast iron, tore the stove apart and licked all through it then banged the ice chest around until it came open, ate the bacon and other stuff then sauntered off leaving a mess. Our flashlights and hollering didn't faze him/her. Figure this one wanted him some bacon too...

[notanlines]

Please notice I started with “from Reddit.com”
No, it did not happen to me! I would STILL have been running…..

[RagingRobert]

That's a crazy one for sure and another reason why you don't cook in the RV and if you do, have a good working exhaust fan

[PolarisCobra]

My wife picked up this spare tire cover for our Camper. Was supposed to be fun and whimsical, lets hope it isn't a prediction of a future event.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by RagingRobert

That's a crazy one for sure and another reason why you don't cook in the RV and if you do, have a good working exhaust fan

That would not make a bit of difference. If you have or had food in the camper the bears can smell that. Bears often tear the doors off of cars to get inside and folks don't cook in their cars.

[RagingRobert]

That was a joke @6 flybouy But still probably better not to bait a bear cooking fish inside your RV...keep it outside

[fjr vfr]

Eight mile Section of the Blue Ridge Parkway closed due some very stupid people feeding bears and trying to pick up bear cubs. It's amassing how stupid some people are dealing with wild animals. There's often news stories about people making contact with wild animals with bad consequences.
Bears typically avoid us, but when people feed them or leave food out they get accustomed to being around people.

https://www.nps.gov/blri/learn/news/newsreleases.htm

[RagingRobert]

These people are indeed stupid/crazy! Bears are smarter than most people..."hey boo boo, lets go smell some RV's" It also appears stupid to camp in bear country in an RV with aluminum siding

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by RagingRobert

These people are indeed stupid/crazy! Bears are smarter than most people..."hey boo boo, lets go smell some RV's" It also appears stupid to camp in bear country in an RV with aluminum siding

I would be willing to bet a bear "on a mission" could do just as much if not more damage to a filon sided RV if they were hungry enough. At least an aluminum sided trailer is easier to repair.

We all don't share the same definition of "stupid", maybe a strong word to use?

[fjr vfr]

The problem isn’t so much camping in bear county. Bears normally will avoid our sent. The problems come when they get accustomed to us and lose their normal behavior. That happens when stupid people attract them with their behavior.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by fjr vfr

That happens when stupid people attract them with their behavior.

May ignorant is a better description?

[fjr vfr]

Ops…maybe I shouldn’t use stupid. How about unthinking people lol
Anyway there are times where it’s not intentional. People do also make mistakes. Like after a night of drinking a few while tending the campfire then being so tired and forgetting something when going to bed
It happens lol

[fjr vfr]

Ignorant is a good word but sometimes it can be either. Sometimes we just don’t know lol
I’ve seen it both ways

[JRTJH]

The trailer damage occurred at Gorges State Park. The Blue Ridge Parkway closure occurred about 70 miles away from that area and was due to people "feeding the bears and attempting to cuddle bear cubs".....

Both occurred while bears are "feasting to fatten up for winter hibernation" after becoming adapted to having food provided by those "upright walking forest creatures" (humans)....

I'd suspect that most people who hike in Alaska are much better prepared for meeting up with a bear that doesn't see us as a threat, but rather view us as just another meal, a pretty slow, easy to catch meal. Most people don't view black bears as being "dangerous, just like brown or grizzly bears", but they sure are capable of being just as deadly as their larger "cousins".....

Just like the tourists who try to pet bison in Yellowstone or who walk out into the hot springs near north yellowstone or peek over the cliff trying to get a better picture even though the rock ledge they're hanging onto is covered with loose gravel and sand......

Sometimes there's just no rhyme nor reason why people do some of the risky/crazy things they do.... Maybe it's a "hold my beer and watch this" moment, sometimes there may not even be anyone around to impress or to watch them risk peril and death for some unknown reason....

But the fact remains, people do some of the "craziest" or "Stupidest" or "dumbest" or "most assinine" or "just "plain damn dumb stuff"....

The more I read about these "events" the more I understand why truck owner's manuals warn people not to drink the battery acid and why there are "seventy-eleven warning stickers on a 6 foot extension cord"..... YMMV

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

I would be willing to bet a bear "on a mission" could do just as much if not more damage to a filon sided RV if they were hungry enough. At least an aluminum sided trailer is easier to repair.

We all don't share the same definition of "stupid", maybe a strong word to use?

A bear's claws are amazingly strong. A grizzly came into a campsite near us in the Grand Tetons. It destroyed the campsite and took a metal sided Coleman ice chest and literally shredded the metal with it's claws. Also saw one in Yellowstone trying to get into a "bear proof" trash container; it was huge. That bear was just raring back and slamming it with both front paws with a ton of force and that thing was rocking. Didn't get it over but it had LOTS of force behind it.

[RagingRobert]

You're right chuck @12...it sure wasn't the ignorant people cooking fish in bear country in their RV with the exhaust fan on Btw...that was also a joke.

[Dallasrules]

I had a black bear break in my car one time after a roll of butter rum life savers. He busted out the back drivers side window. Pulled out some stuff that was in his way and just set it aside, climbed in, chewed on my headrest, sat on my emergency break, drooled life saver goo all over and then left the way he came in.

The game warden brought out some huge trap and baited it with something I thought would not be be appealing to a bear. I was thinking this is a smart bear. He is not going in that trap. He didn't.