Cougar attacks
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#52
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Bear spray.?
What happens when the bear is approaching you from upwind?
What happens when the bear is approaching you from upwind?
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Bear spray depends on the bear and/or the strength of the wind.
I've sometimes wondered if adding a constant noise-maker (think playing card-type in the spokes thing) would help prevent attacks by many startled animals.
In the videos I linked to the woman who was attacked by the cougar/mountain didn't even realize at first that it was a big cat that had attacked her. That shows how sudden the attack was.
I think that the same sort of thing happens sometimes with bear attacks - a MTB rider approaching from downwind a speed rounds a blind corner and surprises a bear. The bear then instinctively attacks and bear is on the rider before the rider can even think about reaching for any deterrent.
A cougar/mountain lion can run 43 mph or between 64 - 80 kph. They can jump vertically 18 feet or 5.3 meters.From a standing position they can jump between 20 and 40 feet or 6 to 12 meters.
From WIkihow. What to do if attacked by a cougar/mountain lion.
"The mountain lion will most likely attempt to tackle you and crush your skull or bite your throat. Try to block the mountain lion from your eyes and face as you strike it. Do everything you can to fight it off. An average adult should be able to ward off an attack by fighting back since mountain lions are rather small."
OP here again.
Btw, grizzly bears can run up to 35 mph. Black bears can run at 25 to 30 mph = 40 to 48 kph.
I ride a lot of trails and quiet roads around here and sometimes do so at night. I like to see the critters that are out and about and thus I don't like to use a noise maker. However if I were in an area where big cats, or bears were known to be, I'd seriously consider it.
Do any of you use a constant noise maker? have any of you considered using one?
Cheers
I've sometimes wondered if adding a constant noise-maker (think playing card-type in the spokes thing) would help prevent attacks by many startled animals.
In the videos I linked to the woman who was attacked by the cougar/mountain didn't even realize at first that it was a big cat that had attacked her. That shows how sudden the attack was.
I think that the same sort of thing happens sometimes with bear attacks - a MTB rider approaching from downwind a speed rounds a blind corner and surprises a bear. The bear then instinctively attacks and bear is on the rider before the rider can even think about reaching for any deterrent.
A cougar/mountain lion can run 43 mph or between 64 - 80 kph. They can jump vertically 18 feet or 5.3 meters.From a standing position they can jump between 20 and 40 feet or 6 to 12 meters.
From WIkihow. What to do if attacked by a cougar/mountain lion.
"The mountain lion will most likely attempt to tackle you and crush your skull or bite your throat. Try to block the mountain lion from your eyes and face as you strike it. Do everything you can to fight it off. An average adult should be able to ward off an attack by fighting back since mountain lions are rather small."
OP here again.
Btw, grizzly bears can run up to 35 mph. Black bears can run at 25 to 30 mph = 40 to 48 kph.
I ride a lot of trails and quiet roads around here and sometimes do so at night. I like to see the critters that are out and about and thus I don't like to use a noise maker. However if I were in an area where big cats, or bears were known to be, I'd seriously consider it.
Do any of you use a constant noise maker? have any of you considered using one?
Cheers
#56
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I don't use any noise makers, because there are no cougars here in GTA...Black bears have been moving closer to urban areas in recent years and there have been few sightings in some suburbs and towns which are close to GTA but it's not very common...I was doing an early morning ride today and I've seen a large coyote trotting along the sidewalk in a residential area in Oakville. I also frequently run into coyotes here in Mississauga but I never had problems with them yet, some of them are very large and look more like a wolf than a coyote.
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I’ve never worried much about black bears. I’ve had probably 40 or more encounters with them, mostly while mountain biking. 3/4 of the time I am looking at their @ss end as they are running away. We are not prey to them. All but 5 encounters were on the east coast where they are much smaller than out west. The first couple times I saw one out west I was scared until I realized they behaved similarly. Also, everything being so wide open, I always saw them a ways off and they seemed as interested in avoiding me as I was them.
The only time I have ever been truly scared of something I came across in the woods/wilderness was a pair of Elk near Jackson Hole. I had never given Elk much thought as I figured they were just big deer. I came around a corner and they were just standing in the trail. After a few seconds of taking them in and sensing their disposition, I realized these were NOT just big deer, and I had better give them a LOT of birth.
I’ve never encountered a grizzly.... and hope I never do.
The only time I have ever been truly scared of something I came across in the woods/wilderness was a pair of Elk near Jackson Hole. I had never given Elk much thought as I figured they were just big deer. I came around a corner and they were just standing in the trail. After a few seconds of taking them in and sensing their disposition, I realized these were NOT just big deer, and I had better give them a LOT of birth.
I’ve never encountered a grizzly.... and hope I never do.
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Wolfchild. I wonder if any of those big coyotes are actually coy-dogs? I see the odd coyote and the odd coy-dog around here in south-central, Ontario. I also often see deer just outside of town, especially at night.
Cheers
Cheers
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I play a tape of Slim Whitman yodeling when I am in dangerous territory.
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I am pretty sure that some of them are a hybrid mix of wolf and coyote. They're beautiful animals to watch up so close.
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I’ve never worried much about black bears. I’ve had probably 40 or more encounters with them, mostly while mountain biking. 3/4 of the time I am looking at their @ss end as they are running away. We are not prey to them. All but 5 encounters were on the east coast where they are much smaller than out west. The first couple times I saw one out west I was scared until I realized they behaved similarly. Also, everything being so wide open, I always saw them a ways off and they seemed as interested in avoiding me as I was them.
The only time I have ever been truly scared of something I came across in the woods/wilderness was a pair of Elk near Jackson Hole. I had never given Elk much thought as I figured they were just big deer. I came around a corner and they were just standing in the trail. After a few seconds of taking them in and sensing their disposition, I realized these were NOT just big deer, and I had better give them a LOT of birth.
I’ve never encountered a grizzly.... and hope I never do.
The only time I have ever been truly scared of something I came across in the woods/wilderness was a pair of Elk near Jackson Hole. I had never given Elk much thought as I figured they were just big deer. I came around a corner and they were just standing in the trail. After a few seconds of taking them in and sensing their disposition, I realized these were NOT just big deer, and I had better give them a LOT of birth.
I’ve never encountered a grizzly.... and hope I never do.
#64
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I once read a very evocative description of what it's like to be attacked by a tiger, which can weight 500-600 pounds and often charge into their prey at a decent velocity. IIRC It was compared to being hit by a piano dropped from a 3rd floor window. Of course, with the tiger, the impact is only the beginning.
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I would be very careful in bear country not to go around bends in the road at 25 mph. You surprise a bear, you will not get a bluff charge and you will be mauled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDJjyQ4Ldkg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDJjyQ4Ldkg
I actually camped in the area back in 2003 before heading into the Glacier backcountry for a week. Got up to pee early in the morning. Went the edge of my site and spooked what I am sure was a bear. It ran off. Never saw it because the grass was too tall, but something like a deer would not have made the loud thumping and snorting I heard. And a deer would have been tall enough to be seen above the high grass.
You want to read something chilling, check out this:
https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie...rt%20final.pdf
The guy's ex-wife is a former student (I was a research and writing TA in law school) and old friend of mine. Had dinner with her last September during a bike tour out her way. One of their daughters was pregnant with twins when he was killed. They'll never get to meet their grandfather.
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A sneeze spooked this little guy who was close the edge of a trail I rode during a week-long tour across PA. He jumped into the creek and swam across. I nearly wiped out when I slammed on the brakes so I could stop and break out the camera.
#68
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Probably not a good idea to travel alone in bear and cougar country without a strong deterrent like bear spray. If it was me I would sacrifice weight and carry a collapsible baton (ASP) as well. This weapon can crush a skull of a bear or cougar but you will only likely get one good shot if that.
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Guess it depends what you mean by encounter. A year or so ago a friend of mine was driving really slowly in Banff. Large grizzly came out of the woods and walked along side the car. Never once bothered them. The video they took was amazing.
The plowing crews at Glacier National Park took these recently while on the way to work. Look at the giant rear mitt of that running mom.
The plowing crews at Glacier National Park took these recently while on the way to work. Look at the giant rear mitt of that running mom.