Jaree wrote:
"Stay more than 25 yards (23 m) away from all large animals " should be revised to "Stay more than 300 yards (275 m) away from all large animals, use a telephoto or binoculars and be within 50 yards of your vehicle". Obviously there are people who think they can outrun this rather pleasant beast at 25 yards.
Certainly for people who aren’t used to being around wild critters, that’s good advice. (I might shorten those distances a bit, depending on the situation.)
I once watch a complete fool in Florida walk up to an alligator at the edge of a pond in Florida. The thing was roused and it flipped around and chased him. He barely made it back into the bus he had jumped out of. (The driver was royally pissed at the guy.)
I learned the lesson when I was quite young — perhaps middle school age. My parents had stopped along a road in Yosemite along with a bunch of other people to “watch the bear.” As the ignorant, naive kid that I was, I opened the side door of the family van and stepped out to make a picture. The bear immediately charged and I think I re-entered the van in one giant leap at about 50 mpg, slamming the doors behind me.
A few years back, I was photographing in snowy conditions in Yosemite Valley, with my tripod set up on a bridge. I was focused on the subject and the shot and my gear hen I caught a shadow out of the corner of my eye. A bobcat had run right past me on the bridge — I had not even seen it coming.
According to the Park Service this guy did nothing wrong. He was a good distance away from the Bison. The Bison just had an attitude and picked on that one person. From the interview I saw the guy said he was injured more from the fall than the Bison.
AZHeaven wrote:
According to the Park Service this guy did nothing wrong. He was a good distance away from the Bison. The Bison just had an attitude and picked on that one person. From the interview I saw the guy said he was injured more from the fall than the Bison.
That’s interesting.
And it is a reminder that things can go south quickly and in unpredictable ways with wildlife, and the rules don’t always apply and won’t always protect you.
I’ve had a good number of backcountry encounters with black bears in the Sierra Nevada over the years. In one, a group of us were sitting around our wilderness camp when mama bear and cub wandered into camp. We knew that she was looking for food left unprotected, and all of ours was safely secured in canisters. We also knew that standing up and running off was likely a worse bet than just sitting as she checked out (knocked over) each of the canisters. She moved on.
A good friend was a backcountry ranger for decades in Yosemite NP, and he’s known for a different approach — yelling, waving his arms, and tossing very small pebbles in the direction of the bear.
Situations are variable and complicated and dependent on a lot of factors. If you aren’t familiar with all of those factors… best to err on the side of caution.
And it is a reminder that things can go south quickly and in unpredictable ways with wildlife, and the rules don’t always apply and won’t always protect you.
I’ve had a good number of backcountry encounters with black bears in the Sierra Nevada over the years. In one, a group of us were sitting around our wilderness camp when mama bear and cub wandered into camp. We knew that she was looking for food left unprotected, and all of ours was safely secured in canisters. We also knew that standing up and running off was likely a worse bet than just sitting as she checked out (knocked over) each of the canisters. She moved on.
A good friend was a backcountry ranger for decades in Yosemite NP, and he’s known for a different approach — yelling, waving his arms, and tossing very small pebbles in the direction of the bear.
Situations are variable and complicated and dependent on a lot of factors. If you aren’t familiar with all of those factors… best to err on the side of caution....Show more →
I've had a few encounters some would say were dangerous. Several years ago in the Cottonwood Forest in Prescott, AZ another photographer and I were searching for the Great Horned Owls and came upon a black bear in a tree. We took our photos and moved on eyeing the bear for that just in case moment. I called Game and Fish and it became a big to-do. The sheriffs office showed up with shotguns to protect those that didn't realize the bear was there and those that would no doubt take selfies with. Game and Fish came and I showed her where the bear was and left. That same officer with Game and Fish called me 2 days later and said they successfully tranquilized the bear and relocated it. It was a 115lb subadult female.
Several encounters with Coyotes. But they are skittish to begin with concerning humans. I've been out and about in the wilderness and had that being watched feeling one gets. My guess is it was mountain lions. But I'll never know since I didn't see any.
And then there's the rattlesnake encounters I've had! One in particular was I came within striking distance of a Mojave on a trail in the Watson Lake Dells trail area. Didn't see it due to it being camouflaged but heard the rattle! I'm not very athletic at all. But you see in cartoons characters leaping great distances? That was me. On one leg I jumped back a good 6 feet. The only reason I think it didn't strike was that it appeared to have just eaten. And if it had struck? I was a good maybe 1/2 mile from the main trail and probably 30 mins before any help arrived. I won the lottery that day. I'll take that over a million dollars.
AZHeaven wrote:
I've had a few encounters some would say were dangerous. Several years ago in the Cottonwood Forest in Prescott, AZ another photographer and I were searching for the Great Horned Owls and came upon a black bear in a tree. We took our photos and moved on eyeing the bear for that just in case moment. I called Game and Fish and it became a big to-do. The sheriffs office showed up with shotguns to protect those that didn't realize the bear was there and those that would no doubt take selfies with. Game and Fish came and I showed her where the bear was and left. That same officer with Game and Fish called me 2 days later and said they successfully tranquilized the bear and relocated it. It was a 115lb subadult female.
Several encounters with Coyotes. But they are skittish to begin with concerning humans. I've been out and about in the wilderness and had that being watched feeling one gets. My guess is it was mountain lions. But I'll never know since I didn't see any.
And then there's the rattlesnake encounters I've had! One in particular was I came within striking distance of a Mojave on a trail in the Watson Lake Dells trail area. Didn't see it due to it being camouflaged but heard the rattle! I'm not very athletic at all. But you see in cartoons characters leaping great distances? That was me. On one leg I jumped back a good 6 feet. The only reason I think it didn't strike was that it appeared to have just eaten. And if it had struck? I was a good maybe 1/2 mile from the main trail and probably 30 mins before any help arrived. I won the lottery that day. I'll take that over a million dollars. ...Show more →
I’ve dealt with all of those. There are coyotes in all of the hills around where I live, and they regularly track through neighborhoods. (Not swell for local pets.) Rattlesnakes get my attention, but it is kind of exciting to see them at a safe distance. (I did have one near problem with a baby near my feet once. Yikes!)
Any critter can behave in unpredictable ways. Once in Alaska I had walked a ways from camp in the evening and was sitting in a small clearing when a caribou showed up. I decided to sit quietly and watch. The thing ended up coming right up to where I was sitting, and it was looking pretty distressed about my presence, at which point I started to feel very exposed. Running probably would not have been a good idea at that point, so I just sat and eventually it moved off.
(In my road cycling days, I’ve had bears and coyotes suddenly appear on the road in front of me while I was flying along at cruising speed. Yikes! A buddy riding on a remote rode had a head-on with a deer. He wasn’t sure whether he or the deer ended up with the worse road rash…)
Imagemaster wrote:
The old guy had three options, none of which he took. You don't run around a tree, you keep the trunk of the tree between you and the bison. He had the option of going behind two vehicles, and did neither.
The National Park Service recommends that a minimum of 25 yard distance be maintained from a bison. Based on the speed at which a bison can travel, I don't think that it is enough (not for me anyway). Also It appears that there are more unwanted encounters between bison and Park visitors than other animals. I hope to go there next year and I will definitely bring my long lens and proceed with caution.
gdanmitchell wrote:
I’ve dealt with all of those. There are coyotes in all of the hills around where I live, and they regularly track through neighborhoods. (Not swell for local pets.) Rattlesnakes get my attention, but it is kind of exciting to see them at a safe distance. (I did have one near problem with a baby near my feet once. Yikes!)
Any critter can behave in unpredictable ways. Once in Alaska I had walked a ways from camp in the evening and was sitting in a small clearing when a caribou showed up. I decided to sit quietly and watch. The thing ended up coming right up to where I was sitting, and it was looking pretty distressed about my presence, at which point I started to feel very exposed. Running probably would not have been a good idea at that point, so I just sat and eventually it moved off.
(In my road cycling days, I’ve had bears and coyotes suddenly appear on the road in front of me while I was flying along at cruising speed. Yikes! A buddy riding on a remote rode had a head-on with a deer. He wasn’t sure whether he or the deer ended up with the worse road rash…)...Show more →
I haven't been able to get out and about this year like previous years...this getting old thing is getting old...and I'm only 68.5.
Anyway. I'm snake-less this year. I have't seen any wildlife other than Pronghorn driving down the road. I hear the coyotes howling away in the prairies near the house. Ok, well, I have a mating pair of Coopers Hawks who just kicked out its young one who's harassing the sparrows in my yard now and a couple of Redtails. Other than that? Nada.
And yeah, Yikes is the right reaction to everything you've come across!
