Bear Encounter

Yes...we thought we would be skunked again in searching for wildlife. Okay, so they were not totally wild grizzly bears, but when we arrived at the Grizzly Encounter Park, the habitat looked empty and we were admittedly anticipating disappointment.  But Maggie and Jake did not disappoint. They were rescued from a wildlife park in Georgia and now spend their years entertaining tourists. To lure them out, the keeper tossed popcorn, grapes, cherries, plums, and watermelon around the habitat and opened the gate. 

Maggie is 7 and Jake is 8 years old - teenagers in bear years.  

Sheena, Lucy, and Brutus were scheduled to address the crowd later in the afternoon. Brutus, incidentally, is a famous actor. He has been in three movies and documentaries. 

Some bear facts: 

- They can run 35 to 40 miles per hour.  Don't let their lumbering gait fool you. 

- Only 11 people have been consumed by bears over the past 100 years.  People have consumed more people than bears during the same period!

- They are mostly herbivores but they do eat fish, ants, rodents, and even other animals.  

- Their sense of smell is 350 times more sensitive than that of a human. They can even smell your mood. They have over a over a billion receptors.  Take a look at the picture below. The tower is at a very long distance. Bears can smell a raisin placed on the that tower!

We learned that bears become aggressive to:

- Protect their cubs

- Defend their food source

- React when you startle them

- Chase you when you run away

- Make sure you are not a threat

So what do you do when a bear has an interest in you? Drop to the ground.  Put your face down and place your hands on head.  Then use your elbows and feet to keep the bear from rolling you over.  The goal is to protect your rib area from the 1,200 pounds of biting force. There, I have performed my public health and safety obligation. 

Here is an appropro joke I heard from a guy on the plane ride here...

Two married couples arrived in Montana and one of the husband asks the other husband "how are we going to protect ourselves from a bear attack?"

The other guy responds by pulling out a nine millimeter hand gun to which the questioner says "You can't stop a bear with that pea shooter. You need at least a .44 magnum."  The gun holder laughs and says "This is not to shoot the bear, it is to shoot my wife in the knee. That way I can out run her and leave her for the bear."

The picture below shows bear spray that we will all carry.  It is a pepper spray that provides a sensory overload for the bear's olfactory system. 

Kelsey posing with the now dead Christie the bear.