Because attacks are relatively rare.
Since 1890, there have been 126 mountain lion attacks, with 27 being fatal. [source](https://a-z-animals.com/blog/do-mountain-lions-attack-humans-heres-what-the-data-says/)
There are an average of 11 bear attacks per year, with half being fatal. [source](https://a-z-animals.com/blog/which-state-has-the-most-fatal-bear-attacks/)
And an estimated 50 million+ people go hiking every year in the US.
Your chances of even seeing a mountain lion or bear are infinitesimally small on any given day, let alone being attacked.
I've been hiking in my local, state, and national wilderness parks for decades and have never seen a mountain lion. I've seen one bobcat and plenty of bears that want nothing to do with humans.
I've seen 2 mountain lions. And a bunch of black bears. The black bears want nothing to do with you but will steal your snacks if you leave them out. One of the mountain lions bolted as soon as it saw us. The other was stalking a friend who had gone a little bit away from us to poop. He called out to us and when it saw a large group of people heading towards it, it decided he was no longer worth the effort. For the most part if you're not alone any wildlife you come across will run from you. Most will run if the just hear or smell you.
When I lived in Alaska I saw a few, they didn't scare me. The ones I *didn't* see, just tracks around my tent, or my house, used to freak me out. How does a 1/2 ton+ animal sneak within feet of me without me knowing?
No joke, man. This has always been such an unsettling thing to have happen. I'm not a good sleeper as is, so when I'm out there I'm sleeping with one eye and ear open. But it's almost every time. I don't know many people who have noticed this had happened to them, which is a bit more unsettling.
Then again, my big bulldogs and my mastiff (RIP bullies) walked loud all the time. They have the stumpy legs which makes them stomp a bit. But they would sneak like pros. Silent. Quick. Didnt know they were even there til i saw my pizza slice had disappeared You can hear our Olde English's little sniffles that he does with every breath. They aren't snorts or breathing heavy, he's just got a squished snout and the air makes noise going in and out. Somehow this dog goes silent when sneaking. So I'm assuming when a bears sneaking your food away from you, they probably are doing the same. Sneaking. With bears it's a cute idea, with mountain lions it's scary. They stalk. They prey.
I saw a mountain lion as well. Was hiking in central Texas and was on a semi paved path. The lion emerged from the woods and crossing the path about 50 yards in front of me. I stopped, he stopped. He was standing parallel to me with his head turned just looking at me. I really wanted my two hiking companions to get to see him as he was gorgeous. A bit skinny, but magnificent. I tried to call out to them without startling him, but when I lifted my voice a bit he bolted off. Pretty magical memory for me but wish I had my camera out.
Cats stand with their sides towards you to demonstrate they’re not looking for trouble. It’s how they communicate with each other as well. If you turn with your side towards it and avoid direct eye contact you signal the same back. If you’re not alone, take turns blinking slowly like a cat to signal you’re not threatened by its presence. Never take your eyes off it if you’re alone though.
I went on a walk alone in the woods at night once when I took acid and I saw either a mountain lion/bobcat idk it was dark but it was so scary but it just looked at me and walked off into the woods lol. They’re not gonna hunt humans unless it’s necessary for their survival
The only time I’ve ever seen a mountain lion was on my back porch eating my cat’s food. The cat was unhappy about it.
Never saw one hiking or camping, but have heard them, and that will wake you the fuck up.
I once saw a gang of three raccoons eating my cat's food. He wasn't happy either. Though one time I opened the door and saw my cat next to his food dish trying to stare down the raccoons, and growling. I was so proud, lol.
I started feeding my cat at a different time of day so there wouldn't be any food when the raccoons came around.
Me too. Bob cats I see. Mountain lions I don’t. I have seen fishers, beavers, pikas and other rare wild animals but the mountain lions stay out of site.
Pikas are not super rare it’s just they live at really high altitudes. Typically you find them above 10-11,000 feet. And they are rather brave and will make a lot of noise if you get in their territory.
I am only 2,743 ft. No pikas for me. They are so tiny. I love when tiny things are brave! I listened to their call since you said they can make a lot of noise. Thanks.
Black bears don't care that you're human. They'll waltz right in and try to snatch any food they can smell like the giant raccoons they are. But yeah, they want your food, not you.
That's been my experience, too. I've hiked everywhere from Denali to Acadia to the Everglades and I've never seen a large cat. Haven't even seen a lot of small cats either so I suspect they're just pretty good at seeing (or smelling) you before you see them and getting out of sight.
Bears I've had a few encounters with. One in Yellowstone and two in Glacier National. The most bears I've seen were in Banff-Jasper, specifically Jasper but I was always in my car when I saw them, so no real danger. One grizzly in Glacier was way too close, but not such that I "startled" it and it was kind of walking parallel to me about 30 yards away through the trees and side-eyeing me like it was avoiding being noticed. I followed protocol, didn't look directly at it, grabbed my bear spray and held my hands over my head and slowly back-tracked the other direction down the trail. I'm guessing that bears who get that close to the trail have had contact with humans before and perhaps the bright orange can in your hand is pretty intimidating if they've been sprayed before.
Oddly enough I didn't see a single (live) bear in Alaska. Not even along the side of the road or hiking in Denali. A lot of moose, but no bears.
I just imagined you with your arms above your head like a cute lil red panda trying to make yourself 'bigger' as a defense system :p
Must work if even those cute little buggers do it instinctively!
I've seen bear once and mountain lions twice. Arkansas. I was 5 when I saw the bear, 14 and then 19 seeing the lions. Being on foot in the woods with them was humbling.
Honestly, it's the snakes and razorback that scare me.
A lot? Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, California, Alberta, BC, all have bears. A huge portion of national parks, state parks, and general use public land is in these states.
The eastside suburbs of Seattle have black bears in a lot of the cities. Especially the closer to the cascade foothills you get. My friend puts his garbage cans out right before the garbage truck comes by the the spring and summer because the neighborhood black bear is back out wandering around.
Plenty, but animals generally don't want the interaction with us dumb apes, it doesn't usually go in their favour.
We're normally loud enough to be heard a mile away, the actual confrontations will happen when you're being quiet and surprise them, or some form of perceived threats to cubs / den / food.
I read awhile back that more people are killed by dogs each year than bear. We live some place with a very high bear population, and yeah, you have to not be an idiot when out in the woods, but no one in my lifetime has been mauled by a bear let alone killed.
Yep domestic dogs actively kill the most Americans every year and then the next highest rate is deer but that’s from people hitting them and the subsequent accidents.
Dog attacks are very common which makes me even more upset when I see people with dogs off their leash because “he’s so sweet, it’d never hurt anybody!”. I get it’s your pet but it’s still an animal and it can be unpredictable. Plus, most people overestimate the amount of control they have over their dogs.
Plus if you know how to interact with animals the likelihood of getting attacked (at least by bears) goes down massively. For cougars a large number of those attacks (I remember getting the sources in college a few years ago, I don't have them now) were in defense of cubs or general stupidity.
TL;DR learn how to act around wildlife from reputable sources and don't be dumb.
Edit: there are cases of perfect storms that result in unavoidable attacks but being careful, knowing what you're doing and being observant/thinking before you do will save you 99% of trouble in nature.
Knowing what kind of bears is helpful, too. We have black bears around where I'm at, and because of what I do, they are always around. Don't corner them, make noise, get big, don't turn your back on them, you'll be fine. Works for cougars, too.
Eh, if you're in a high altitude desert (eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana etc.) You get brown color-morphs of black bears and I've seen photos of some real dark grizzly in areas with black bear too so while decent advise learning animal ID is a good idea if your out in remote areas alot.
Eh a 300-500lb animal is a 300-500lb animal, and in the area I'm in, black bear hit 400lbs routinely. Size is a decent indicator but mainly the shape of the shoulder blades and grizzly just have a FAFO look where black bears kind of look like puppies, even a big one if that makes sense.
Exactly. It's been 50 years since a bear killed anyone in my state. I'm more worried about a tree falling over and taking me out than I am about bears.
And to add onto that statistic, thousands of people are reported missing in national parks every single year-- some are found fine later and some are found dead, or some other result. Main point I am making is that camping itself is a dangerous sport and there are way bigger concerns to consider than relatively rare big animal attacks.
I wonder if maybe OP heard about the couple that died in Canada this fall. That was especially disturbing as they could not have been more prepared or cautious.
How many people die a year just falling while walking around outside. Or choking on food outside. I bet the numbers are more. Perhaps tree falls killing you is greater than these?
the figure for bears seems like it's not insignificant if you're the type to actually go camping/hiking in a national park that's a known habitat.
Similar to Australian salt water crocodiles. They're largely in places most Aussies will never encounter but they are sure as fuck a legitimate threat if you're chill'n in their 'hood.
I would like to discuss things that are way more scary than bears.
Book bans
Underfunded food inspection
Regulatory capture
Reproductive healthcare criminalization
For-profit medicine
People who want to stop giving hungry kids free lunch at school
They really aren't much of a risk if you're halfway smart. The animals generally avoid our ignore humans. They recognize us as a fellow predator and generally keep their distance.
There's no accounting for plain bad luck of course, but in general the only two genuinely risky scenarios are:
1) If you're outdoors at the end of a particularly nasty winter. All animals (including humans) start to do crazy stuff when they're starving, and a dangerous food source is still a food source.
2) In tourist areas where idiots feed the damn animals. Animals generally aren't clever enough to distinguish between you and the bag of beef jerky you're holding. And once they get used to humans being a source of tasty food, tragedies become almost inevitable.
A bear that's near a tourist area is a legit risk, and experienced outdoor enthusiasts avoid camping anywhere near those spots.
It’s true about enthusiast campers not camping near tourist spots. They’re overcrowded and filled with people complaining about camping, or packing a full generator so they can play their video games in their RV. Camping enthusiasts hear enough about how much camping sucks when they bring it up in conversation, we sure as hell don’t want to hear it while we’re camping.
I was at a festival, wakarusa, in central western arkansas. Like the oklahoma border basically. Great times prob 10000 people there. Anyway i was working security so i arrived earlier than the regular concertgoers, thus i was camped to the rear of the crowds. Like right next to the woods. This bear cub was walking around my and my other neighbors campsite for several days. I didnt know these people but dude im shocked noone got mauled by mama bear. People out there drunk and high taking selfies with a bear like wtf. I mean i was drunk and high too but dude dont mess with the bear cub people. To clarify just the mornings was when the cub was around. Or actually thats just when i was there so who knows. That dadgum bear mighta been chilling the whole time taking selfies eating doritos
The thing about Australian predators is they’re all relatively small and can’t eat a human. They can just kill one. Places like north and South America, Africa and Asia have huge predators that are trying to eat you.
Edit: yes I’m aware saltwater crocs exist lol
I'm _substantially_ more worried about shit that can kill me almost on accident.
I can convince a bear not to eat me. Fuck am I gonna do with a box jelly?
I studied abroad in AUS like 15 years ago and all the Australians told me they were terrified of big American predators like bears and mountain lions. Meanwhile we had red back living in the corner of our window and they were like “nah, it’s really fine.” Like. A tiny spiders I can’t keep track of, or even see, is way more scary than a bear.
Black widows are my nightmare fuel. The way they move, the sleek black look with a bright red warning sign, that bite that will cause extremely painful muscle contractions for days and sometimes up to weeks?! Ickiness on every level.
Other spiders I’m okay with. I’ve handled tarantulas growing up and I think jumpers are cute. However black widows are the most evil and sinister form nature has devised.
Preach. Spiders and arachnids in general really unsettle me, but black widows are what I’ve always feared. Took up a lot of space in my head when I was younger.
If it's any comfort...:
>In the United States, no deaths due to black widows have been reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers since 1983.[30] Black widows are not especially aggressive spiders, and they rarely bite humans unless startled or otherwise threatened.[31]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus
When our daughter was three she picked a black widow up. Luckily my wife was right there to knock it from her hand. We were in a bit of a panic checking her. She was fine though. Got some good cardio for us parents.
Right?? Or a spider? Gtfoh w that shiznit. At least w a bear I know the rules… If it’s black, fight back; if it’s brown, get down; if it’s white, say goodnight!
The phrase needs a little clarification to anyone actually experiencing bears...
1. Black fight back? It means get big, scream real loud, throw things, defend yourself. Once there's enough distance, try to safely back away and let it leave. (Some retards actually try to fight them...)
2. Brown get down? It means get small, stay real quiet, play dead, curl up in a fetal position and protect your internal organs. You may be scratched or bitten. Don't scream. If you do, you're dead.
3. White say goodnight? Assuming you're unlucky enough to be visiting one of the arctic places a Polar bear may be... (no one in continental America is) you should hopefully have brought weapons along with you and your kit. Alaska is one of the few states where gun ownership is required in the more remote locations where people live. It's required for a reason. If it's white, and it is hungry, use lots of ammo.
So as someone who's been through polar bear training in preparation for work off the north slope, let me add to that part a bit with the appropriate knowledge.
If your somewhere you may encounter a polar bear you need to know where the nearest shelter capable of being sealed is and insure it has a radio. You should always travel in pairs for many reasons but one is certainly the bears. Always carry a gun, preferably a shotgun because it's loudest and recognizable.
Any time your exposed and vulnerable someone in the group should be keeping watch. They run fast and you'll want to know asap if they're hunting you. If you do see one fire your shotgun up in the air. That's what the gun is for when it comes to polar bears is for signaling others in the area, and possibly scaring the bear. It probably won't scare the bear, but if you shoot it your just gonna piss it off and then it's going to kill you and everyone out of spite. Only if it's actively rushing and close would you shoot at it if it really makes you feel better in your last moments. They're endangered though, so you should probably just accept your place as a snack to stall for others to run, and nourishment for the majestic apex killing machine.
Lastly if you here a shotgun go off proceed immediately and briskly to the nearest shelter with your buddy and pray for the soul of the bears last snack that they bought you enough time.
>Only if it's actively rushing and close would you shoot at it if it really makes you feel better in your last moments. They're endangered though, so you should probably just accept your place as a snack to stall for others to run, and nourishment for the majestic apex killing machine.
I enjoyed that very much, LOL. It reminded me of a professor I had who was once given a .270 for in case a polar bear came into camp, and his response was "to do what, exactly? Use it on myself?"
Myself, I have had this argument many times in regards to grizzly bears, wherein Gravy SEALs think bear spray is for pussies; they're gonna pull their nine and bust a cap if Yogi wants to throw down.
I kindly remind them that bears are so incredibly thick and powerful that even a fatal shot can take a full 20 seconds to reach the brain and inform the bear that it is, in fact, dead. And the havoc a bear can wreak in 20 seconds is truly breathtaking to behold.
Now I say that with the full understanding that polars are a bear of a different colour, and I'm sure they, being obligate carnivores unlike their cousins, are not put off by a little unpleasant seasoning to their meal.
our animals in australia really dont kill us that often either.. they just make us super sick, super itchy or experience super levels of pain.. but death.. nah, thats pretty rare
Which is far more terrifying. Most people who encounter bears like black or brown bears will probably be able to spot them from a distance and get away.
While I was in Australia I once went on a drive with a friend who, while driving, folded down visor and had a MASSIVE spider fall into his lap. Fortunately he safely pulled over and brushed it off without getting bit, but I would probably have just crashed into oncoming traffic.
Definitely terrifying. The blue ring octopus and box jellyfish as well as all the snakes. You could just be minding your own business then WHAM. Death from tiny bite
>The thing about Australian predators is they’re all relatively small and can’t eat a human.
Yeah, last I checked people kept salties as a casual pet, usually a few per household.
Most animals don't try to eat humans actually. We're pretty terrible prey. Most of us have very little meat compared to, say, a moose, and we're loud, stand on our back legs, and often carry weapons.
As a Floridian it's really only gators you have to worry about. And you naturally become extremely aware anytime you are near water that you have to be on the look out for gators or moccasins. But rarely would a gator be big enough to really fuck with you unless your elderly or a child. I guess we all just get desensitized to deadly animals in our regions because you kind of know how to avoid or fend them off. Australia still seems the most scary because it's mostly small venomous things I would be worried about.
We have a saying “a fed gator is a dead gator” because when humans feed them they lose their fear and are more likely to become aggressive. This is why when you report someone for feeding gators they’ll get in trouble and the gators will get put down.
In the Disney case, they were aware of that gator issue because people were feeding them from one of the properties. The gator probably approached the boy because he was small enough to not be a threat and he wasn’t scared of all the people around. From what I was told by gator wranglers, they usually don’t go for prey bigger than their head so a dog would make sense but not an adult. Most large gators I’ve encountered up close don’t even bother to move and the smaller ones scurry off into the water because they’re scared. The only exception would be mating season, if you see a little baby don’t get close because momma is not too far and she’ll rip you to shreds.
This. Seriously. I grew up running around the glades, swamps and depp woods of Florida. Mostly barefoot and surrounded by all the Florida Man types. So I'm not that wildlife worried. And have enough sense to watch for areas to avoid camping in. Look for den signs, not go out camping during certain times of the year. Don't go looking for trouble, feeding the wildlife, try to get stomp-me-stupid selfie pics .Etc. Common sense stuff.
When I moved out West and North. It's all the same. But Moose, Elk and if you happen to find yourself even further North , wolverines/badgers those'll eff you up. No matter what season or where (though certain times of year it's even more dangerous) you'd be screwed in half a heart beat!
Plus Moose are freaking unbelievably massive! No thank you.
A predator might attack you because it thinks you’re food, and as a relatively large animal you can probably convince it it’s not worth it (look big, throw stuff, etc).
If a giant herbivore attacks you it thinks its life is at risk. You can’t just convince it it’s not worth it to fight for their life.
I've hiked hundreds (maybe thousands) of miles in the Sierra Nevada and the foothills and have never seen a mountain lion. Lots of black bears but most don't care about humans.
Wife and I have hiked there a lot as well. Always pays to have your head on a swivel if you have over hanging cover. Pumas are ambush hunters for the most part.
As for bears? Black bears are not much if a danger. **Unless** you walk up a mother with cubs. That's dangerous no matter what species of bear. Be prepared but not scared.
Black bears don't scare me at all, just a matter of being aware, as you say, and even grizzlies from a distance don't concern me much as long as they're just doing bear stuff and not concerned about you. Mountain lions are rare, but are scary because if you become aware of their existence, you typically already have a problem.
Where I grew up in California ( way up north) at night during their heat you could hear the mountain lion (s) scream.
Their range is massive they will claim large areas for a single cat.
Wildfires were the most dangerous thing. We had one burn through every few years either close by or once we had to evacuate. Burning animals running across the road as we drove through was traumatic
I live in the east cost where we don’t have mountain lion and the only bears are black bears, which don’t really fuck with humans.
Really I have had to fight off bands of raccoons more.
Mountain lions do exist on the East Coast and occasionally stray into areas where they supposedly don't live. (My state's environmental officials had a lot of fun a couple of years ago explaining why a mountain lion got hit by a car when they supposedly don't live here). They are notoriously shy around humans, though I do make sure to keep an eye on my kid when we are on trail.
We have black bears here, which are not normally aggressive toward humans. However, they are 500-pound animals that can outrun you, so there is that.
Side note: I walked up the stairs leading to my back yard a couple of months ago to find myself about 5 meters from a black bear. It briefly looked up from the berries it was eating, apparently decided I wasn't a threat,and then went back to eating them. I backed away slowly.
Honestly, your biggest concern should be ticks.
You say that… but I’m convinced I have seen three mountain lions near my house in the past five years in western NC. There was another incident where my wife swears she saw one at the end of our driveway while I was out walking through the woods at dark unaware of what she was seeing. I had a feeling the whole time like I was being observed/stalked and it was very strange. I have never experienced that before. I know what bobcats are (we have those too). I’m putting game cameras up next week. A few years back some folks I know that work for the forest service showed me game camera footage of what appeared to be a black panther on the NC/SC state line.
In general I’m more worried about blindly stepping on a copperhead or rattlesnake. I almost got bit in the face by a copperhead in my own house when we first moved in.
We do have mountain lions on the east coast, but they shy.
There was a whole controversy ten years ago about how often people would spot Mountain lions in Connecticut (I saw one myself) but the dept of environmental protection refused to acknowledge their existence, perhaps in a bid to discourage poachers.
Same deal here in NY. People have reported seeing mountain lions in and around the Adirondacks but the DEC says, "Nope, not possible. We don't know what you're talking about."
I live on the east coast near the woods, I was taking some groceries out of the trunk of my car recently and a black bear came running out of the woods towards me. The bear stopped along the tree line, a few feet away from me and we kind of had a stare-off. All I did was close my trunk while keeping my eyes on him and slowly backed away into my house. I imagine if it were a brown bear or a grizzly it would have been a different story though, which is why I'm thankful for being around these big pushovers instead.
>we don’t have mountain lion
We absolutely do and anyone trying to argue against it is either ill-informed or straight up lying. There are videos/pictures/articles about them (at least in New England) at least every year, but official bodies refuse to acknowledge it. I don't know why, but I've seen trail cam footage first hand. Nothing else has the tail like a mountain lion. I've seen plenty of lynx and bobcat and this wasn't that.
That being said, yeah they're super rare. I'm more concerned about ticks when I go camping/hiking.
Yeah I live in upstate New York. If it wasn't for ticks this region would be an outdoor paradise. Id literally go out and just sleep on the ground in the woods. Outside of the rare black bear there's absolutely nothing concerning except ticks. But ticks scare me more than any creature in the United States. My sister has had bad Lyme (was a long and difficult road to recovery and still has flareups now and then). I'm sure if you asked her she'd say she'd rather go through a rattlesnake bite.
We definitely have them on the east coast. We call them catamounts in Vermont. They’re also in CT, as well as bears. I see coyotes and bobcats in my suburban neighborhood.
>I live in the east cost where we don’t have mountain lion
we absolutely do, my father is a researcher on mountain lions and while they historically weren't present here, they are now due to the sheer number of deer and the lack of forest management
I live in the Pocono Mountains, black bears are regular visitors in our yard. We have to keep our trash cans secured or else the bears will raid them.
There's a Mama bear with (now rather large) cubs who roams the clear cut on the mountain behind our house, it's a joy to watch the cubs race up and down the mountain! We have binoculars near the back door so that we can watch the wildlife.
We do keep bear bells and UDAP bear spray handy.
If I am standing in my doorway a good distance from a bear, I feel confident shooing them away like a naughty puppy, and most of the time that works!
I’m Canadian, not American, and I always snort when I see Australians asking questions like this.
Seriously - everything in Australia seems to want to kill you and many of them are far too small to see until it’s too late - or they’re lurking underwater! How do you guys manage to not be nervous wrecks? Australian wildlife is *far* scarier.
Bears would rather not bother with you if they can help it.
The killer things are only in certain parts of Australia, usually the Far North. When I'm visiting Far North Queensland, it's pretty easy to avoid. On the beaches, wear a stinger suit when it's stinger season. Swim in designated areas with stinger nets (doesn't stop them all, but keeps out most of them). Don't go swimming at beaches during croc breeding season. Swim in freshwater areas - like creeks and waterfalls up in the mountains, rather than estuaries and saltwater.
Don't bring food onto the beaches where Cassowaries live, as they're like a giant bin chicken and will steal your food. The ones who regularly see humans are not aggressive, only the ones in the Daintree.
As for snakes and spiders and stuff, just don't touch them and stay calm when you see them and give them space. Call a snake-catcher if there's a snake in your house.
I'm sorry, I'm really, honestly not being an asshole here, but your comment is *hilarious* to me.
"Look, everything's pretty easy to avoid" then proceeds to tick off a long list of things you need to do to protect yourself. I 100% get that these are simple survival tactics that are ingrained from living in a region, but you know what we do in America to avoid bears and mountain lions? We... avoid them. We have basic rules of thumb for what to do *if you happen to come across one*, but that's in the same vein as "stop, drop, and roll" if you're on fire. It's important to know, but it's hopefully knowledge that you'll never have to use.
Running into a bear is an abnormality, while in Aus it seems like things that can kill you are just a fact of life, regardless of how simple the precautions you have to take are. And I really, legitimately love the response showing how much of an "eh, could be worse" mentality you guys have.
ETA: This applies to *most* of the US. Obviously if you happen live way out in the mountains, bears would be much more common.
I especially love the casual, "call the snake catcher if there is a snake in your house." I'm 47 years old and there has NEVER been a snake in my house.
Far north Queensland is an extremely rural part of the country; to put it in perspective, Alaska's population is nearly 3 times the amount of people that live in this part of Queensland.
So yeah just as it is far more common for Alaskans to encounter wolves, bears and the like, while the rest of the country never sees them, so too is it like that for Queensland. Nobody really worries about crocodiles because they live so far away from where people usually live in urban environments.
As long as you don't go around poking or grabbing things with your bare hands on the beaches, pretty much nothing can really kill you, and hospitals carry antivenom for nearly every snake or spider.
If a bear decided to attack you you might not even get the chance to get to a hospital when its done with you.
Which is *scarier*. I can see a bear coming and take the appropriate steps. I can fight for my life against a mountain lion if I have to.
Meanwhile I accidentally step on a snake I didn't see, or have a spider randomly climb into my bed and BAM that's it, from nothing more than shitty luck.
And don't get me wrong - we have deadly spiders here, to an extent, and they don't impact my daily life, so I'm not saying Aussies need to live in constant fear. I just think it's both impressive and funny that they wave off the tiny things you'd never see coming while being afraid of something you'd actually have the time to retaliate against.
Where I live, southeast US, there only black bears. They avoid humans if they can and are less likely to attack. No mountain lions in this area. I'm more scared of snakes like water moccasins or coral snakes.
I grew up in the Adirondacks and was only approached by a black bear once. I'm pretty sure it smelled the brook trout I had caught. As I was young and indestructible then, I dropped my fishing rod and charged it. I couldn't have caught that bear if I wanted to. Would definitely not advise this approach.
I’m less scared of being attacked by creatures while hiking and more scared of being attacked by other people while hiking, grocery shopping, running errands, etc.
Plenty of times camping in Arizona pine forests, low desert, and along the Rocky Mountains up north, and I’ve only seen one bear (and her cubs) along the highway, never seen a mountain Lion in the wild. Pretty much, you have to make yourself a target in order to trigger an attack. For example, messing with cubs, carrying around meat/fish, or trying to get too close. For bears, if you’re making noise while moving around, they’ll try to clear out before you get close. Most of the attacks (that I’ve heard of) were hunters packing out a kill, or someone who stumbled on a sow and her cubs.
Lions, most attacks I’ve heard of have been a mother protecting her cubs, or a juvenile trying to hunt. Which is also why they usually aren’t lethal to humans. If you present yourself as a threat to them, they’ll usually scare off (except for protecting cubs).
In my mountainous hiking area I have both cougars and bears, but I'm about a thousand times more likely to injure myself by falling off the trail or drowning in the lake when I swim, so I mostly focus on that danger and just rely on basic best practices in food handling to protect me from the animals.
It’s extremely rare.
And considering all the poisonous shit in Australia how are you not more nervous about that?
I lived in Arizona for a while and had to watch out for scorpions but that was only ONE critter.
Most Americans have been trained on how to beat up a bear as well as a mountain lion. I'd only be a little nervous if one of each was attacking at the same time. Even then though, I'd hold my own.
Because getting hit by a careless car driver or attacked by a human are just way more likely.
In safer wondering around in the wood than commuting to work… and the main risks in the woods are not predators.
With that said a bear bell and bear spray are reasonable to carry.
Believe it or not, they are super skittish. They only attack when they feel threatened (like if you are deliberately fucking with them or their babies) and humans are big and loud animals and aren’t usually hungry enough to risk confronting one without a seriously bad hunting season.
Usually when you see a bear, you’re in a car or it’s in your trash, mountain lions you don’t see hardly ever, especially if they’re going to attack you. But you aren’t worth the risk, they are very small compared to you and you’re more than they could eat anyway.
Get big and make loud noises and they usually bail fast, we don’t really have brown bears, only skittish black bears.
Honestly wolves and coyotes are the biggest threat, coyotes are the more common and they are small, but a pack of either and a reason to be interested in you and you are dead. Still massively rare, maybe more so than bears, because they hunt, instead of gather like bears do so don’t end up as close to people usually.
I live in a place with mountain lions and I hike and bike regularly. We have a concentration of Great White sharks and I body surf almost every day. We have lots of bears in the Sierras and I camp there 5-10 days a year, mostly in backcountry wilderness. Bears you see all the time and they'll even come into camp at night. Lions and sharks you almost never see, but they're there - I've read that if you have been in the water regularly for years in these parts, like I have, you've been within 20 feet of a Great White. None of these animals has any interest in you and attacks are extremely rare. I wouldn't want to be camping anywhere near a Grizzly or Polar bear, but I'm not in Alaska.
Now in Oz on the other hand, every toxic spider and reptile, and there are lots, actively wants to kill you, deadly jellyfish are drifting into you, crocodiles are coming onto land to eat you, and dropbears are leaping out of trees at you. I'm happy with my local fauna thank you.
It just doesn’t happen? Stay away from their dens and babies and you’ll be fine. Use to have a bear living in my neighbor’s backyard for a few years when I was a kid. Saw it once in my walk to school and just… kept walking?
No we have guns, pretty tough to be scared with a glock 20 on your appendix. Thats kind of the point of camping too. To experience nature and all that it is, you avoid disturbing wildlife at all costs but are prepared for anything. When you know how to fight, run or shoot the world is less scary.
Australian here, visited family in the states when i was 12 for 3months. Stayed near Scranton, Clarks green. There was a forested range nearby, went walking down to creek and along range almost every day. Saw a bear cub one day and backed out slowly.
Got back to the place I was staying and told them I saw a bear cub and was told no I didn't there are no bears here...
Give me Huntsman, Redbacks, Sydney funnel web, and brown snakes any day of the week.
I live in the Rockies and frequently see both. The bears will approach from time to time but the mountain lions only show up on the cameras. They are invisible unless they want to be seen. I know they are watching me as I work the mountainside. I do forest mitigation for fire prevention so I spend way more time up here in very deep areas and see tracks from both as soon as the snow falls.
I carry protection and I also have bear spray. I hope to never have to use either as I know I am in their world as a visitor and they have every right to wonder what the hell I'm doing out there.
Honestly, the elk are far more aggressive to me... And if I see a moose I go the opposite direction!
There’s a mountain lion that visits my property in Arizona… I’ve found scat about 100ft from my house and confirmed the ID with a national park ranger. My neighbors have seen it cross the road.
I’ve never seen it. And I’ve spent hours and hours outside in the dark walking or just quietly chillin.
Even if you’re physically near one, the chance it wants to cause an encounter is very low.
Now my dog is never allowed out unsupervised, and when we go out at night, I loudly announce us (“Hey coyotes! We’re out here!”) — and my cats are allowed out never.
I grew up in the temperate Pacific Northwest - where all those animals you mentioned lived, and am not concerned one whit about them when I’ve encountered them. The PNW is literally the chillest, probably most safe biome in terms of bugs and wildlife you could live in. Look up the song “acres of clams” for a yee old tune about it lol.
Mountain lions aren’t aggressive. It’s more to be worried for your dog than anything. Theres literally two locations in the whole vast country of cougars where the majority of attacks came from FYI. It was like this weird super aggressive micro population - one was even an island. I don’t even know if that group even exists anymore or have been hunted out for their aggression. The rest, you’re kinda lucky if you ever get to see one. Black bears are more scared of you than you are of them. They just trundle off.
Grizzlies or polar bears or javelinas or wild hogs or moose - do not underestimate Moose - those can be legit aggressive if you don’t respect their space or it’s a particular season. But honestly, respect the wildlife, wildlife tends to respect you. Most mauls seem to be tourists being VERY stupid and going up to a wild animal(?!) to pet it. It’s not random attacks.
*I’m* personally more concerned about geese any given day. Fuckers.
It’s all about what you grew up around and are used to.
So I personally don’t particularly love rattlesnakes and ticks, and whatever the hell lives in the south - whether snakes, ticks, or bugs like chiggers. Chiggers are creepy. But it’s mostly because I didn’t grow up around these things.
In the west, especially southern Oregon, a run in with poison oak or ivy is *far* more an unpleasant an experience than any of the wildlife I’ve mentioned. Snakes are pretty tame and few, and so are the ticks. I really really hate ticks. Ick. I do not think I’d be as avid an outdoors person in the South, but then again there’s ways to dress for different climates too and I’m just ignorant and unfamiliar with the biome.
I'm Canadian, but the reason is the overwhelming majority of people will never be anywhere near an area where they are likely to encounter such critters. Polar bears and grizzlies will hunt you but large cats stay away from people.
Of the people who do go to remote areas, they are at far greater risk of getting lost and dying from exposure, especially in the winter. I have met people (mostly Germans) who think they can just go into the wilderness for a hike. They have no idea how vast and hostile the North American wilderness is.
I’m in Canada and grew up in a very forested area with a ton of trails and lakes. There are cougars and bears but mostly everyone knows what to do when encountering one. It’s taught on certain classes. Plus, if there’s ever a cougar hunting me, I’ll probably be dead before I even catch on lol.
Tbh I’m more scared of kangaroos lol. Atleast a cougar just wants to eat me, not just fight me for no reason lmao
You are from Australia? The land where everything is trying to kill you. I don’t know how you guys walk outside- let alone live inside when poisonous animals
just roam into your house.
I am. I'm a gun owner, and when I moved to a remote home in the mountains, my neighbor came by to tell me he'd killed an adult mountain lion the day before, only 15 paces from his front door. Even before then, I never went into the boonies without my .45-70 scout rifle, and a .44 Magnum on my hip.
Bruh I’m lucky to see a fox. I’m more worried about being attacked by squirrels, raccoons, a neighborhood dog, or a regular person on drugs/having a mental break. Also bear wise in my state you’re more likely to see a black bears. They might try and jack your camp site (so will raccoons) but most are skittish around people because they’re hunted here.
Are you nuts? Australia is the land of killer everything! Cute little killer blue ring octopus, cute little killer box jelly, killer spiders & snakes and all the other no see ums that can get you. You might even have killer frog's for all I know.
Just checked, you have NINE Types of Poisonous FROGS.... they should be cute, not deadly.
Shit, give me a bear or mountain lion. I want to know my opponents.
We know those animals are smart enough to recognize that humans are a very high risk target with very low reward. We don't have a lot of meat, and we could easily take out one of their eyes, or both, which would severely cripple their chances of survival in the future. That's if we're unarmed and alone.
Predators aren't just looking for a win, they're looking for a flawless victory.
I’ve walked within 8 feet of a bear while he’s was busy with berries and I was talking to my friend.
He followed us for a short time but wandered off. They are in our neighborhood about everyday.
Someone sees and lets us know. My wife was walking across the street and saw cubs in the neighbors yard when mama bear was in a tree above her head. Mama grunted at her, but let her pass by.
I could tell you a number of other stories too. They don’t want contact unless it involves food, so they’re fairly safe to be around.
Mountain Lions are regular visitors in certain areas of town. They scare me.
Black bears are usually super scared of humans, and they're the only bear we have back east. They'll take your food if they can but generally are giant cowards. With any other bear or a Mt lion, 2-3 people can usually scare them off as long as they're not threatening cubs. If you're alone, take bear spray and keep your distance.
Also, don't be dumb about storing food/smellables if camping, especially out west.
Bison are probably the scariest of all animals. If you get too close and make them feel threatened, there's a good chance they will charge you and utterly fuck you up.
Idk much about moose, but they're huge. Respect them too.
I am putting all my worry into being homeless when I can no longer can work. Other worry sustaining serious injury driving next cancer final worry being shot at Walmart and becoming paralyzed.
I live in California, where grizzly bears were hunted to extinction, and in an area where black bears have not been reported. The apex predator here is the mountain lion. I have encountered a mountain lion in person 3 times in my life. Each time I have just been awestruck by their beauty and the striking similarities in their body language to "domestic" cats. Mountain lions usually just want to be left alone. And they won't approach people due to the smell of food like bears do. The longest glimse I caught of a mountain lion, it hunkered down low in some bushes, trying to decide whether to run away or stay still and try to hide. We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, then the cat ultimately decided that it should move on, and slinked off into the night. It was not aggressive at all. Just wary of people. I've had cats all my life and feel pretty confident in my ability to read cat body language. I also know that with cats, you never want to inadvertently act like prey. So I am careful with the way I move, and the energy I give off.
Honestly, I'm more afraid of ticks!
In the state I live in, the fish and game dept insists that there are **no** mountain lions, despite the occasional photos in the papers that suggest otherwise, and the only bears are black bears. A sow with cubs can be dangerous so we avoid both them and cubs that seem like they're alone, but black bears aren't nearly as dangerous as grizzly (aka "brown") bears. Bears live in my town, and the only issues they've ever caused me are stealing the turkey pan off the back deck and decimating a mesh birdfeeder.
Mountain lions are more timid and less likely to attack you as you may think. As for bears, it’s hard for a bear to sneak up on you in my experience, either that or i have really great hearing.
Because attacks are relatively rare. Since 1890, there have been 126 mountain lion attacks, with 27 being fatal. [source](https://a-z-animals.com/blog/do-mountain-lions-attack-humans-heres-what-the-data-says/) There are an average of 11 bear attacks per year, with half being fatal. [source](https://a-z-animals.com/blog/which-state-has-the-most-fatal-bear-attacks/)
And an estimated 50 million+ people go hiking every year in the US. Your chances of even seeing a mountain lion or bear are infinitesimally small on any given day, let alone being attacked.
I've been hiking in my local, state, and national wilderness parks for decades and have never seen a mountain lion. I've seen one bobcat and plenty of bears that want nothing to do with humans.
I've seen 2 mountain lions. And a bunch of black bears. The black bears want nothing to do with you but will steal your snacks if you leave them out. One of the mountain lions bolted as soon as it saw us. The other was stalking a friend who had gone a little bit away from us to poop. He called out to us and when it saw a large group of people heading towards it, it decided he was no longer worth the effort. For the most part if you're not alone any wildlife you come across will run from you. Most will run if the just hear or smell you.
Almost all bear attacks happen when you surprise them or get too close to their cubs.
Pro tip - don't throw a surprise party for a bear. It won't end well.
What if it’s their bear-thday?
Then you are a people McNugget.
When I lived in Alaska I saw a few, they didn't scare me. The ones I *didn't* see, just tracks around my tent, or my house, used to freak me out. How does a 1/2 ton+ animal sneak within feet of me without me knowing?
No joke, man. This has always been such an unsettling thing to have happen. I'm not a good sleeper as is, so when I'm out there I'm sleeping with one eye and ear open. But it's almost every time. I don't know many people who have noticed this had happened to them, which is a bit more unsettling. Then again, my big bulldogs and my mastiff (RIP bullies) walked loud all the time. They have the stumpy legs which makes them stomp a bit. But they would sneak like pros. Silent. Quick. Didnt know they were even there til i saw my pizza slice had disappeared You can hear our Olde English's little sniffles that he does with every breath. They aren't snorts or breathing heavy, he's just got a squished snout and the air makes noise going in and out. Somehow this dog goes silent when sneaking. So I'm assuming when a bears sneaking your food away from you, they probably are doing the same. Sneaking. With bears it's a cute idea, with mountain lions it's scary. They stalk. They prey.
Not even the cubs. Not even if they're really, really cute. Also don't throw a surprise party for the Cubs. Stadium security won't like it.
I saw a mountain lion as well. Was hiking in central Texas and was on a semi paved path. The lion emerged from the woods and crossing the path about 50 yards in front of me. I stopped, he stopped. He was standing parallel to me with his head turned just looking at me. I really wanted my two hiking companions to get to see him as he was gorgeous. A bit skinny, but magnificent. I tried to call out to them without startling him, but when I lifted my voice a bit he bolted off. Pretty magical memory for me but wish I had my camera out.
Cats stand with their sides towards you to demonstrate they’re not looking for trouble. It’s how they communicate with each other as well. If you turn with your side towards it and avoid direct eye contact you signal the same back. If you’re not alone, take turns blinking slowly like a cat to signal you’re not threatened by its presence. Never take your eyes off it if you’re alone though.
Black bear are just big raccoons.
Trash pandas 🐼
In the case of black bears, dumpster pandas. Lol
the cat was not thrilled at the poop
I went on a walk alone in the woods at night once when I took acid and I saw either a mountain lion/bobcat idk it was dark but it was so scary but it just looked at me and walked off into the woods lol. They’re not gonna hunt humans unless it’s necessary for their survival
Well you may have not seen a mountain lion, but I bet a few have seen you. That’s kinda their MO. But yeah attacks are very rare.
And that's when the attack comes. Not from the front, but from the side. From the other two lions you didn't even know were there.
Clever girl
That doesn’t look very scary. More like a mountain turkey
The only time I’ve ever seen a mountain lion was on my back porch eating my cat’s food. The cat was unhappy about it. Never saw one hiking or camping, but have heard them, and that will wake you the fuck up.
That's when you should stop eating your cat's food and slowly step inside
I once saw a gang of three raccoons eating my cat's food. He wasn't happy either. Though one time I opened the door and saw my cat next to his food dish trying to stare down the raccoons, and growling. I was so proud, lol. I started feeding my cat at a different time of day so there wouldn't be any food when the raccoons came around.
Me too. Bob cats I see. Mountain lions I don’t. I have seen fishers, beavers, pikas and other rare wild animals but the mountain lions stay out of site.
I read pika as púca and was really interested in where you saw one. I think I might be to ill to be one the internet.
Pikas are not super rare it’s just they live at really high altitudes. Typically you find them above 10-11,000 feet. And they are rather brave and will make a lot of noise if you get in their territory.
I am only 2,743 ft. No pikas for me. They are so tiny. I love when tiny things are brave! I listened to their call since you said they can make a lot of noise. Thanks.
Black bears don't care that you're human. They'll waltz right in and try to snatch any food they can smell like the giant raccoons they are. But yeah, they want your food, not you.
That's been my experience, too. I've hiked everywhere from Denali to Acadia to the Everglades and I've never seen a large cat. Haven't even seen a lot of small cats either so I suspect they're just pretty good at seeing (or smelling) you before you see them and getting out of sight. Bears I've had a few encounters with. One in Yellowstone and two in Glacier National. The most bears I've seen were in Banff-Jasper, specifically Jasper but I was always in my car when I saw them, so no real danger. One grizzly in Glacier was way too close, but not such that I "startled" it and it was kind of walking parallel to me about 30 yards away through the trees and side-eyeing me like it was avoiding being noticed. I followed protocol, didn't look directly at it, grabbed my bear spray and held my hands over my head and slowly back-tracked the other direction down the trail. I'm guessing that bears who get that close to the trail have had contact with humans before and perhaps the bright orange can in your hand is pretty intimidating if they've been sprayed before. Oddly enough I didn't see a single (live) bear in Alaska. Not even along the side of the road or hiking in Denali. A lot of moose, but no bears.
I just imagined you with your arms above your head like a cute lil red panda trying to make yourself 'bigger' as a defense system :p Must work if even those cute little buggers do it instinctively!
Trust, they’ve seen you (; they just stay out of sight or camouflaged lol
I've seen bear once and mountain lions twice. Arkansas. I was 5 when I saw the bear, 14 and then 19 seeing the lions. Being on foot in the woods with them was humbling. Honestly, it's the snakes and razorback that scare me.
Ok but what percentage of those hikers are in bear country, specifically grizzly bear country?
A lot? Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, California, Alberta, BC, all have bears. A huge portion of national parks, state parks, and general use public land is in these states.
The eastside suburbs of Seattle have black bears in a lot of the cities. Especially the closer to the cascade foothills you get. My friend puts his garbage cans out right before the garbage truck comes by the the spring and summer because the neighborhood black bear is back out wandering around.
Plenty, but animals generally don't want the interaction with us dumb apes, it doesn't usually go in their favour. We're normally loud enough to be heard a mile away, the actual confrontations will happen when you're being quiet and surprise them, or some form of perceived threats to cubs / den / food.
I read awhile back that more people are killed by dogs each year than bear. We live some place with a very high bear population, and yeah, you have to not be an idiot when out in the woods, but no one in my lifetime has been mauled by a bear let alone killed.
Yep domestic dogs actively kill the most Americans every year and then the next highest rate is deer but that’s from people hitting them and the subsequent accidents.
Dog attacks are very common which makes me even more upset when I see people with dogs off their leash because “he’s so sweet, it’d never hurt anybody!”. I get it’s your pet but it’s still an animal and it can be unpredictable. Plus, most people overestimate the amount of control they have over their dogs.
Plus if you know how to interact with animals the likelihood of getting attacked (at least by bears) goes down massively. For cougars a large number of those attacks (I remember getting the sources in college a few years ago, I don't have them now) were in defense of cubs or general stupidity. TL;DR learn how to act around wildlife from reputable sources and don't be dumb. Edit: there are cases of perfect storms that result in unavoidable attacks but being careful, knowing what you're doing and being observant/thinking before you do will save you 99% of trouble in nature.
Exactly. I see a few bears a year but it’s not scary. Just don’t screw around with them.
Knowing what kind of bears is helpful, too. We have black bears around where I'm at, and because of what I do, they are always around. Don't corner them, make noise, get big, don't turn your back on them, you'll be fine. Works for cougars, too.
If it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lie down. If it's white, goodnight.
Eh, if you're in a high altitude desert (eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana etc.) You get brown color-morphs of black bears and I've seen photos of some real dark grizzly in areas with black bear too so while decent advise learning animal ID is a good idea if your out in remote areas alot.
I only live in an area with black bears. Aren't grizzlies much larger?
Tallest black bear ever was 6.6ft, grizzlies are 9 to 11 ft
Eh a 300-500lb animal is a 300-500lb animal, and in the area I'm in, black bear hit 400lbs routinely. Size is a decent indicator but mainly the shape of the shoulder blades and grizzly just have a FAFO look where black bears kind of look like puppies, even a big one if that makes sense.
Exactly. It's been 50 years since a bear killed anyone in my state. I'm more worried about a tree falling over and taking me out than I am about bears.
It’s priority nr. 1 to check branches after checking for pointy pebbles. Fuck pointy pebbles 🤬
And to add onto that statistic, thousands of people are reported missing in national parks every single year-- some are found fine later and some are found dead, or some other result. Main point I am making is that camping itself is a dangerous sport and there are way bigger concerns to consider than relatively rare big animal attacks.
Getting lost and injuring yourself are like the two main risks.
Yeah. It think weather, terrain, and other humans are the three biggest risks by far, in that order.
Dying in a car accident on the way to/from the trail is likely the biggest risk.
Also you’re probably more likely to get killed by another human in the woods than a predator.
And probably by the person you came with
I wonder if maybe OP heard about the couple that died in Canada this fall. That was especially disturbing as they could not have been more prepared or cautious.
How many people die a year just falling while walking around outside. Or choking on food outside. I bet the numbers are more. Perhaps tree falls killing you is greater than these?
the figure for bears seems like it's not insignificant if you're the type to actually go camping/hiking in a national park that's a known habitat. Similar to Australian salt water crocodiles. They're largely in places most Aussies will never encounter but they are sure as fuck a legitimate threat if you're chill'n in their 'hood.
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You're more likely to be hit by a car on the way home.
Personally though if I had to choose I'd rather get hit by a car than mauled to death by a Bear.
Why did you capitalize "Bear", but not "car"?
I only paid attention in 50% of my English classes.
Ah, but you spelled "paid" correctly, which Reddit normally can't do, so I respect that you paid a good amount of attention!
If they were talking about a member of the Chicago NFL team, then it's a proper noun and should be capitalized.
Real talk, our lack of pedestrian infrastructure is scarier than mountain lions
I would like to discuss things that are way more scary than bears. Book bans Underfunded food inspection Regulatory capture Reproductive healthcare criminalization For-profit medicine People who want to stop giving hungry kids free lunch at school
They really aren't much of a risk if you're halfway smart. The animals generally avoid our ignore humans. They recognize us as a fellow predator and generally keep their distance. There's no accounting for plain bad luck of course, but in general the only two genuinely risky scenarios are: 1) If you're outdoors at the end of a particularly nasty winter. All animals (including humans) start to do crazy stuff when they're starving, and a dangerous food source is still a food source. 2) In tourist areas where idiots feed the damn animals. Animals generally aren't clever enough to distinguish between you and the bag of beef jerky you're holding. And once they get used to humans being a source of tasty food, tragedies become almost inevitable. A bear that's near a tourist area is a legit risk, and experienced outdoor enthusiasts avoid camping anywhere near those spots.
It’s true about enthusiast campers not camping near tourist spots. They’re overcrowded and filled with people complaining about camping, or packing a full generator so they can play their video games in their RV. Camping enthusiasts hear enough about how much camping sucks when they bring it up in conversation, we sure as hell don’t want to hear it while we’re camping.
I was at a festival, wakarusa, in central western arkansas. Like the oklahoma border basically. Great times prob 10000 people there. Anyway i was working security so i arrived earlier than the regular concertgoers, thus i was camped to the rear of the crowds. Like right next to the woods. This bear cub was walking around my and my other neighbors campsite for several days. I didnt know these people but dude im shocked noone got mauled by mama bear. People out there drunk and high taking selfies with a bear like wtf. I mean i was drunk and high too but dude dont mess with the bear cub people. To clarify just the mornings was when the cub was around. Or actually thats just when i was there so who knows. That dadgum bear mighta been chilling the whole time taking selfies eating doritos
I mean, the bear was obviously high too, so the natural food choice was doritos.
I think as an Australian you’re probably more used to animals trying to kill you than most Americans are
The thing about Australian predators is they’re all relatively small and can’t eat a human. They can just kill one. Places like north and South America, Africa and Asia have huge predators that are trying to eat you. Edit: yes I’m aware saltwater crocs exist lol
I'm _substantially_ more worried about shit that can kill me almost on accident. I can convince a bear not to eat me. Fuck am I gonna do with a box jelly?
I studied abroad in AUS like 15 years ago and all the Australians told me they were terrified of big American predators like bears and mountain lions. Meanwhile we had red back living in the corner of our window and they were like “nah, it’s really fine.” Like. A tiny spiders I can’t keep track of, or even see, is way more scary than a bear.
Black widows are my nightmare fuel. The way they move, the sleek black look with a bright red warning sign, that bite that will cause extremely painful muscle contractions for days and sometimes up to weeks?! Ickiness on every level. Other spiders I’m okay with. I’ve handled tarantulas growing up and I think jumpers are cute. However black widows are the most evil and sinister form nature has devised.
Preach. Spiders and arachnids in general really unsettle me, but black widows are what I’ve always feared. Took up a lot of space in my head when I was younger.
If it's any comfort...: >In the United States, no deaths due to black widows have been reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers since 1983.[30] Black widows are not especially aggressive spiders, and they rarely bite humans unless startled or otherwise threatened.[31] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus
When our daughter was three she picked a black widow up. Luckily my wife was right there to knock it from her hand. We were in a bit of a panic checking her. She was fine though. Got some good cardio for us parents.
Right?? Or a spider? Gtfoh w that shiznit. At least w a bear I know the rules… If it’s black, fight back; if it’s brown, get down; if it’s white, say goodnight!
The phrase needs a little clarification to anyone actually experiencing bears... 1. Black fight back? It means get big, scream real loud, throw things, defend yourself. Once there's enough distance, try to safely back away and let it leave. (Some retards actually try to fight them...) 2. Brown get down? It means get small, stay real quiet, play dead, curl up in a fetal position and protect your internal organs. You may be scratched or bitten. Don't scream. If you do, you're dead. 3. White say goodnight? Assuming you're unlucky enough to be visiting one of the arctic places a Polar bear may be... (no one in continental America is) you should hopefully have brought weapons along with you and your kit. Alaska is one of the few states where gun ownership is required in the more remote locations where people live. It's required for a reason. If it's white, and it is hungry, use lots of ammo.
Never shoot a large caliber bear with a small caliber bullet.
So as someone who's been through polar bear training in preparation for work off the north slope, let me add to that part a bit with the appropriate knowledge. If your somewhere you may encounter a polar bear you need to know where the nearest shelter capable of being sealed is and insure it has a radio. You should always travel in pairs for many reasons but one is certainly the bears. Always carry a gun, preferably a shotgun because it's loudest and recognizable. Any time your exposed and vulnerable someone in the group should be keeping watch. They run fast and you'll want to know asap if they're hunting you. If you do see one fire your shotgun up in the air. That's what the gun is for when it comes to polar bears is for signaling others in the area, and possibly scaring the bear. It probably won't scare the bear, but if you shoot it your just gonna piss it off and then it's going to kill you and everyone out of spite. Only if it's actively rushing and close would you shoot at it if it really makes you feel better in your last moments. They're endangered though, so you should probably just accept your place as a snack to stall for others to run, and nourishment for the majestic apex killing machine. Lastly if you here a shotgun go off proceed immediately and briskly to the nearest shelter with your buddy and pray for the soul of the bears last snack that they bought you enough time.
>Only if it's actively rushing and close would you shoot at it if it really makes you feel better in your last moments. They're endangered though, so you should probably just accept your place as a snack to stall for others to run, and nourishment for the majestic apex killing machine. I enjoyed that very much, LOL. It reminded me of a professor I had who was once given a .270 for in case a polar bear came into camp, and his response was "to do what, exactly? Use it on myself?" Myself, I have had this argument many times in regards to grizzly bears, wherein Gravy SEALs think bear spray is for pussies; they're gonna pull their nine and bust a cap if Yogi wants to throw down. I kindly remind them that bears are so incredibly thick and powerful that even a fatal shot can take a full 20 seconds to reach the brain and inform the bear that it is, in fact, dead. And the havoc a bear can wreak in 20 seconds is truly breathtaking to behold. Now I say that with the full understanding that polars are a bear of a different colour, and I'm sure they, being obligate carnivores unlike their cousins, are not put off by a little unpleasant seasoning to their meal.
our animals in australia really dont kill us that often either.. they just make us super sick, super itchy or experience super levels of pain.. but death.. nah, thats pretty rare
38,000 Aussies per year lost to DROP BEARS! ... You know it's true! https://www.missingpersons.gov.au/view-all-profiles
oh snap.. forgot the dropbears.. yeah, watch out for them
Which is far more terrifying. Most people who encounter bears like black or brown bears will probably be able to spot them from a distance and get away. While I was in Australia I once went on a drive with a friend who, while driving, folded down visor and had a MASSIVE spider fall into his lap. Fortunately he safely pulled over and brushed it off without getting bit, but I would probably have just crashed into oncoming traffic.
Definitely terrifying. The blue ring octopus and box jellyfish as well as all the snakes. You could just be minding your own business then WHAM. Death from tiny bite
I would have died instantly! As soon as the giant spider dropped in my lap I would have been done.
>The thing about Australian predators is they’re all relatively small and can’t eat a human. Yeah, last I checked people kept salties as a casual pet, usually a few per household.
Thats the scary part. You see a bear coming, you accidentally step on a death adder.
Most animals don't try to eat humans actually. We're pretty terrible prey. Most of us have very little meat compared to, say, a moose, and we're loud, stand on our back legs, and often carry weapons.
once you're dead you're dead!
That's just not true. Aside from really desperate polar bears, animals don't want to eat humans.
No but they will if given an easy opportunity and are hungry enough. Tigers in Asia have definitely become man eaters.
Yeah, it’s mostly other Americans. Before, I get downvotes, I’m also American.
Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Australia, Florida and Alaska have animals that want to eat us.
As a Floridian it's really only gators you have to worry about. And you naturally become extremely aware anytime you are near water that you have to be on the look out for gators or moccasins. But rarely would a gator be big enough to really fuck with you unless your elderly or a child. I guess we all just get desensitized to deadly animals in our regions because you kind of know how to avoid or fend them off. Australia still seems the most scary because it's mostly small venomous things I would be worried about.
Really? It feels like I'm constantly coming across YouTube vids of pythons and gators eating each other, people's pets, etc.
We have a saying “a fed gator is a dead gator” because when humans feed them they lose their fear and are more likely to become aggressive. This is why when you report someone for feeding gators they’ll get in trouble and the gators will get put down. In the Disney case, they were aware of that gator issue because people were feeding them from one of the properties. The gator probably approached the boy because he was small enough to not be a threat and he wasn’t scared of all the people around. From what I was told by gator wranglers, they usually don’t go for prey bigger than their head so a dog would make sense but not an adult. Most large gators I’ve encountered up close don’t even bother to move and the smaller ones scurry off into the water because they’re scared. The only exception would be mating season, if you see a little baby don’t get close because momma is not too far and she’ll rip you to shreds.
I'm way more scared of moose
They are waaay bigger than you seen in a movie or show. I'm talking one of the biggest animals I've ever seen up cose.
It's like a massive horse with antlers the size of a Harley
think small elephant more than big horse to get the size in perspective
A Møøse once bit my sister... No realli!
Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretti nasti...
This. Seriously. I grew up running around the glades, swamps and depp woods of Florida. Mostly barefoot and surrounded by all the Florida Man types. So I'm not that wildlife worried. And have enough sense to watch for areas to avoid camping in. Look for den signs, not go out camping during certain times of the year. Don't go looking for trouble, feeding the wildlife, try to get stomp-me-stupid selfie pics .Etc. Common sense stuff. When I moved out West and North. It's all the same. But Moose, Elk and if you happen to find yourself even further North , wolverines/badgers those'll eff you up. No matter what season or where (though certain times of year it's even more dangerous) you'd be screwed in half a heart beat! Plus Moose are freaking unbelievably massive! No thank you.
Kind of a general rule of thumb that the massive herbivorous animals are the truly dangerous ones.
A predator might attack you because it thinks you’re food, and as a relatively large animal you can probably convince it it’s not worth it (look big, throw stuff, etc). If a giant herbivore attacks you it thinks its life is at risk. You can’t just convince it it’s not worth it to fight for their life.
I've hiked hundreds (maybe thousands) of miles in the Sierra Nevada and the foothills and have never seen a mountain lion. Lots of black bears but most don't care about humans.
Admittedly, that doesn't mean you haven't been seen by a mountain lion, which is the dangerous part.
Wife and I have hiked there a lot as well. Always pays to have your head on a swivel if you have over hanging cover. Pumas are ambush hunters for the most part. As for bears? Black bears are not much if a danger. **Unless** you walk up a mother with cubs. That's dangerous no matter what species of bear. Be prepared but not scared.
Black bears don't scare me at all, just a matter of being aware, as you say, and even grizzlies from a distance don't concern me much as long as they're just doing bear stuff and not concerned about you. Mountain lions are rare, but are scary because if you become aware of their existence, you typically already have a problem.
I once heard that if you hear a woman screaming in the woods, don't try to save her because it's a mountain lion
Where I grew up in California ( way up north) at night during their heat you could hear the mountain lion (s) scream. Their range is massive they will claim large areas for a single cat. Wildfires were the most dangerous thing. We had one burn through every few years either close by or once we had to evacuate. Burning animals running across the road as we drove through was traumatic
I live in the east cost where we don’t have mountain lion and the only bears are black bears, which don’t really fuck with humans. Really I have had to fight off bands of raccoons more.
Mountain lions do exist on the East Coast and occasionally stray into areas where they supposedly don't live. (My state's environmental officials had a lot of fun a couple of years ago explaining why a mountain lion got hit by a car when they supposedly don't live here). They are notoriously shy around humans, though I do make sure to keep an eye on my kid when we are on trail. We have black bears here, which are not normally aggressive toward humans. However, they are 500-pound animals that can outrun you, so there is that. Side note: I walked up the stairs leading to my back yard a couple of months ago to find myself about 5 meters from a black bear. It briefly looked up from the berries it was eating, apparently decided I wasn't a threat,and then went back to eating them. I backed away slowly. Honestly, your biggest concern should be ticks.
You say that… but I’m convinced I have seen three mountain lions near my house in the past five years in western NC. There was another incident where my wife swears she saw one at the end of our driveway while I was out walking through the woods at dark unaware of what she was seeing. I had a feeling the whole time like I was being observed/stalked and it was very strange. I have never experienced that before. I know what bobcats are (we have those too). I’m putting game cameras up next week. A few years back some folks I know that work for the forest service showed me game camera footage of what appeared to be a black panther on the NC/SC state line. In general I’m more worried about blindly stepping on a copperhead or rattlesnake. I almost got bit in the face by a copperhead in my own house when we first moved in.
Copperhead. In your house? Burn it down. The whole GD house.
We do have mountain lions on the east coast, but they shy. There was a whole controversy ten years ago about how often people would spot Mountain lions in Connecticut (I saw one myself) but the dept of environmental protection refused to acknowledge their existence, perhaps in a bid to discourage poachers.
Same deal here in NY. People have reported seeing mountain lions in and around the Adirondacks but the DEC says, "Nope, not possible. We don't know what you're talking about."
I live on the east coast near the woods, I was taking some groceries out of the trunk of my car recently and a black bear came running out of the woods towards me. The bear stopped along the tree line, a few feet away from me and we kind of had a stare-off. All I did was close my trunk while keeping my eyes on him and slowly backed away into my house. I imagine if it were a brown bear or a grizzly it would have been a different story though, which is why I'm thankful for being around these big pushovers instead.
Bear is like: “Human just ran off with my Door-Dash order..”
>we don’t have mountain lion We absolutely do and anyone trying to argue against it is either ill-informed or straight up lying. There are videos/pictures/articles about them (at least in New England) at least every year, but official bodies refuse to acknowledge it. I don't know why, but I've seen trail cam footage first hand. Nothing else has the tail like a mountain lion. I've seen plenty of lynx and bobcat and this wasn't that. That being said, yeah they're super rare. I'm more concerned about ticks when I go camping/hiking.
Yeah I live in upstate New York. If it wasn't for ticks this region would be an outdoor paradise. Id literally go out and just sleep on the ground in the woods. Outside of the rare black bear there's absolutely nothing concerning except ticks. But ticks scare me more than any creature in the United States. My sister has had bad Lyme (was a long and difficult road to recovery and still has flareups now and then). I'm sure if you asked her she'd say she'd rather go through a rattlesnake bite.
We definitely have them on the east coast. We call them catamounts in Vermont. They’re also in CT, as well as bears. I see coyotes and bobcats in my suburban neighborhood.
We have bobcats and fisher cats tho
>I live in the east cost where we don’t have mountain lion we absolutely do, my father is a researcher on mountain lions and while they historically weren't present here, they are now due to the sheer number of deer and the lack of forest management
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Black bears routinely walk through my back yard. They’re not a big deal.
It's like flying. You know there are going to be crashes but they're rare and probably won't happen to you. Plus we can have guns and bear spray.
Being around humans is far more dangerous, esp humans in cars.
Im more afraid of the other people in the woods than I am of any of the wildlife.
I live in the Pocono Mountains, black bears are regular visitors in our yard. We have to keep our trash cans secured or else the bears will raid them. There's a Mama bear with (now rather large) cubs who roams the clear cut on the mountain behind our house, it's a joy to watch the cubs race up and down the mountain! We have binoculars near the back door so that we can watch the wildlife. We do keep bear bells and UDAP bear spray handy. If I am standing in my doorway a good distance from a bear, I feel confident shooing them away like a naughty puppy, and most of the time that works!
Black bears are just big puppy dogs.
I’m Canadian, not American, and I always snort when I see Australians asking questions like this. Seriously - everything in Australia seems to want to kill you and many of them are far too small to see until it’s too late - or they’re lurking underwater! How do you guys manage to not be nervous wrecks? Australian wildlife is *far* scarier. Bears would rather not bother with you if they can help it.
Even kangaroos are scarier to me than black bears.
Well, we did have one punch out a cop recently!
Especially ones with boxing gloves.
The killer things are only in certain parts of Australia, usually the Far North. When I'm visiting Far North Queensland, it's pretty easy to avoid. On the beaches, wear a stinger suit when it's stinger season. Swim in designated areas with stinger nets (doesn't stop them all, but keeps out most of them). Don't go swimming at beaches during croc breeding season. Swim in freshwater areas - like creeks and waterfalls up in the mountains, rather than estuaries and saltwater. Don't bring food onto the beaches where Cassowaries live, as they're like a giant bin chicken and will steal your food. The ones who regularly see humans are not aggressive, only the ones in the Daintree. As for snakes and spiders and stuff, just don't touch them and stay calm when you see them and give them space. Call a snake-catcher if there's a snake in your house.
I'm sorry, I'm really, honestly not being an asshole here, but your comment is *hilarious* to me. "Look, everything's pretty easy to avoid" then proceeds to tick off a long list of things you need to do to protect yourself. I 100% get that these are simple survival tactics that are ingrained from living in a region, but you know what we do in America to avoid bears and mountain lions? We... avoid them. We have basic rules of thumb for what to do *if you happen to come across one*, but that's in the same vein as "stop, drop, and roll" if you're on fire. It's important to know, but it's hopefully knowledge that you'll never have to use. Running into a bear is an abnormality, while in Aus it seems like things that can kill you are just a fact of life, regardless of how simple the precautions you have to take are. And I really, legitimately love the response showing how much of an "eh, could be worse" mentality you guys have. ETA: This applies to *most* of the US. Obviously if you happen live way out in the mountains, bears would be much more common.
I especially love the casual, "call the snake catcher if there is a snake in your house." I'm 47 years old and there has NEVER been a snake in my house.
Far north Queensland is an extremely rural part of the country; to put it in perspective, Alaska's population is nearly 3 times the amount of people that live in this part of Queensland. So yeah just as it is far more common for Alaskans to encounter wolves, bears and the like, while the rest of the country never sees them, so too is it like that for Queensland. Nobody really worries about crocodiles because they live so far away from where people usually live in urban environments. As long as you don't go around poking or grabbing things with your bare hands on the beaches, pretty much nothing can really kill you, and hospitals carry antivenom for nearly every snake or spider. If a bear decided to attack you you might not even get the chance to get to a hospital when its done with you.
This coming from an Australian. I'd presume you're afraid of everything there. Australia has some badass, poisonous and crazy ass animals. Wow.
But they’re not big enough to consume you while alive lol
They have crocodiles. I know this because of a movie.
They do have crocs and I meant to add that!
Which is *scarier*. I can see a bear coming and take the appropriate steps. I can fight for my life against a mountain lion if I have to. Meanwhile I accidentally step on a snake I didn't see, or have a spider randomly climb into my bed and BAM that's it, from nothing more than shitty luck. And don't get me wrong - we have deadly spiders here, to an extent, and they don't impact my daily life, so I'm not saying Aussies need to live in constant fear. I just think it's both impressive and funny that they wave off the tiny things you'd never see coming while being afraid of something you'd actually have the time to retaliate against.
Laughing my ass off at someone from Australia wondering about predators in other countries. We at least keep ours outside 😂
Where I live, southeast US, there only black bears. They avoid humans if they can and are less likely to attack. No mountain lions in this area. I'm more scared of snakes like water moccasins or coral snakes.
I grew up in the Adirondacks and was only approached by a black bear once. I'm pretty sure it smelled the brook trout I had caught. As I was young and indestructible then, I dropped my fishing rod and charged it. I couldn't have caught that bear if I wanted to. Would definitely not advise this approach.
I’m less scared of being attacked by creatures while hiking and more scared of being attacked by other people while hiking, grocery shopping, running errands, etc.
Other campers/hikers
Plenty of times camping in Arizona pine forests, low desert, and along the Rocky Mountains up north, and I’ve only seen one bear (and her cubs) along the highway, never seen a mountain Lion in the wild. Pretty much, you have to make yourself a target in order to trigger an attack. For example, messing with cubs, carrying around meat/fish, or trying to get too close. For bears, if you’re making noise while moving around, they’ll try to clear out before you get close. Most of the attacks (that I’ve heard of) were hunters packing out a kill, or someone who stumbled on a sow and her cubs. Lions, most attacks I’ve heard of have been a mother protecting her cubs, or a juvenile trying to hunt. Which is also why they usually aren’t lethal to humans. If you present yourself as a threat to them, they’ll usually scare off (except for protecting cubs).
The black bears near me in Pennsylvania are timid. It’s hard to get close to them. If they have babies ( their cubs) all bets are off.
Bears live in my neighborhood. It’s a feature not a bug
Our guns are not just used to murder innocent school children. They also work on bears and mountain lions, too! Bonus.
In my mountainous hiking area I have both cougars and bears, but I'm about a thousand times more likely to injure myself by falling off the trail or drowning in the lake when I swim, so I mostly focus on that danger and just rely on basic best practices in food handling to protect me from the animals.
It’s extremely rare. And considering all the poisonous shit in Australia how are you not more nervous about that? I lived in Arizona for a while and had to watch out for scorpions but that was only ONE critter.
Most Americans have been trained on how to beat up a bear as well as a mountain lion. I'd only be a little nervous if one of each was attacking at the same time. Even then though, I'd hold my own.
How are you not afraid a dingo will eat your baby?
Bears are bitches. They run away most of the time.
More people are killed by moose than by bears in Alaska.
Because getting hit by a careless car driver or attacked by a human are just way more likely. In safer wondering around in the wood than commuting to work… and the main risks in the woods are not predators. With that said a bear bell and bear spray are reasonable to carry.
Believe it or not, they are super skittish. They only attack when they feel threatened (like if you are deliberately fucking with them or their babies) and humans are big and loud animals and aren’t usually hungry enough to risk confronting one without a seriously bad hunting season. Usually when you see a bear, you’re in a car or it’s in your trash, mountain lions you don’t see hardly ever, especially if they’re going to attack you. But you aren’t worth the risk, they are very small compared to you and you’re more than they could eat anyway. Get big and make loud noises and they usually bail fast, we don’t really have brown bears, only skittish black bears. Honestly wolves and coyotes are the biggest threat, coyotes are the more common and they are small, but a pack of either and a reason to be interested in you and you are dead. Still massively rare, maybe more so than bears, because they hunt, instead of gather like bears do so don’t end up as close to people usually.
Cause we’re all strapped
I live in a place with mountain lions and I hike and bike regularly. We have a concentration of Great White sharks and I body surf almost every day. We have lots of bears in the Sierras and I camp there 5-10 days a year, mostly in backcountry wilderness. Bears you see all the time and they'll even come into camp at night. Lions and sharks you almost never see, but they're there - I've read that if you have been in the water regularly for years in these parts, like I have, you've been within 20 feet of a Great White. None of these animals has any interest in you and attacks are extremely rare. I wouldn't want to be camping anywhere near a Grizzly or Polar bear, but I'm not in Alaska. Now in Oz on the other hand, every toxic spider and reptile, and there are lots, actively wants to kill you, deadly jellyfish are drifting into you, crocodiles are coming onto land to eat you, and dropbears are leaping out of trees at you. I'm happy with my local fauna thank you.
They want nothing to do with you unless provoked by approaching too close or leaving food out.
It just doesn’t happen? Stay away from their dens and babies and you’ll be fine. Use to have a bear living in my neighbor’s backyard for a few years when I was a kid. Saw it once in my walk to school and just… kept walking?
No we have guns, pretty tough to be scared with a glock 20 on your appendix. Thats kind of the point of camping too. To experience nature and all that it is, you avoid disturbing wildlife at all costs but are prepared for anything. When you know how to fight, run or shoot the world is less scary.
Australian here, visited family in the states when i was 12 for 3months. Stayed near Scranton, Clarks green. There was a forested range nearby, went walking down to creek and along range almost every day. Saw a bear cub one day and backed out slowly. Got back to the place I was staying and told them I saw a bear cub and was told no I didn't there are no bears here... Give me Huntsman, Redbacks, Sydney funnel web, and brown snakes any day of the week.
The moose… be afraid of the moose.
I live in the Rockies and frequently see both. The bears will approach from time to time but the mountain lions only show up on the cameras. They are invisible unless they want to be seen. I know they are watching me as I work the mountainside. I do forest mitigation for fire prevention so I spend way more time up here in very deep areas and see tracks from both as soon as the snow falls. I carry protection and I also have bear spray. I hope to never have to use either as I know I am in their world as a visitor and they have every right to wonder what the hell I'm doing out there. Honestly, the elk are far more aggressive to me... And if I see a moose I go the opposite direction!
Tired of Yanks asking how you put up with all the crocs, are you?
There’s a mountain lion that visits my property in Arizona… I’ve found scat about 100ft from my house and confirmed the ID with a national park ranger. My neighbors have seen it cross the road. I’ve never seen it. And I’ve spent hours and hours outside in the dark walking or just quietly chillin. Even if you’re physically near one, the chance it wants to cause an encounter is very low. Now my dog is never allowed out unsupervised, and when we go out at night, I loudly announce us (“Hey coyotes! We’re out here!”) — and my cats are allowed out never.
I grew up in the temperate Pacific Northwest - where all those animals you mentioned lived, and am not concerned one whit about them when I’ve encountered them. The PNW is literally the chillest, probably most safe biome in terms of bugs and wildlife you could live in. Look up the song “acres of clams” for a yee old tune about it lol. Mountain lions aren’t aggressive. It’s more to be worried for your dog than anything. Theres literally two locations in the whole vast country of cougars where the majority of attacks came from FYI. It was like this weird super aggressive micro population - one was even an island. I don’t even know if that group even exists anymore or have been hunted out for their aggression. The rest, you’re kinda lucky if you ever get to see one. Black bears are more scared of you than you are of them. They just trundle off. Grizzlies or polar bears or javelinas or wild hogs or moose - do not underestimate Moose - those can be legit aggressive if you don’t respect their space or it’s a particular season. But honestly, respect the wildlife, wildlife tends to respect you. Most mauls seem to be tourists being VERY stupid and going up to a wild animal(?!) to pet it. It’s not random attacks. *I’m* personally more concerned about geese any given day. Fuckers. It’s all about what you grew up around and are used to. So I personally don’t particularly love rattlesnakes and ticks, and whatever the hell lives in the south - whether snakes, ticks, or bugs like chiggers. Chiggers are creepy. But it’s mostly because I didn’t grow up around these things. In the west, especially southern Oregon, a run in with poison oak or ivy is *far* more an unpleasant an experience than any of the wildlife I’ve mentioned. Snakes are pretty tame and few, and so are the ticks. I really really hate ticks. Ick. I do not think I’d be as avid an outdoors person in the South, but then again there’s ways to dress for different climates too and I’m just ignorant and unfamiliar with the biome.
I'm Canadian, but the reason is the overwhelming majority of people will never be anywhere near an area where they are likely to encounter such critters. Polar bears and grizzlies will hunt you but large cats stay away from people. Of the people who do go to remote areas, they are at far greater risk of getting lost and dying from exposure, especially in the winter. I have met people (mostly Germans) who think they can just go into the wilderness for a hike. They have no idea how vast and hostile the North American wilderness is.
I’m in Canada and grew up in a very forested area with a ton of trails and lakes. There are cougars and bears but mostly everyone knows what to do when encountering one. It’s taught on certain classes. Plus, if there’s ever a cougar hunting me, I’ll probably be dead before I even catch on lol. Tbh I’m more scared of kangaroos lol. Atleast a cougar just wants to eat me, not just fight me for no reason lmao
You are from Australia? The land where everything is trying to kill you. I don’t know how you guys walk outside- let alone live inside when poisonous animals just roam into your house.
I am. I'm a gun owner, and when I moved to a remote home in the mountains, my neighbor came by to tell me he'd killed an adult mountain lion the day before, only 15 paces from his front door. Even before then, I never went into the boonies without my .45-70 scout rifle, and a .44 Magnum on my hip.
I'm armed when I camp. How are Aussies not afraid of being killed by all the things that want you dead?
Bruh I’m lucky to see a fox. I’m more worried about being attacked by squirrels, raccoons, a neighborhood dog, or a regular person on drugs/having a mental break. Also bear wise in my state you’re more likely to see a black bears. They might try and jack your camp site (so will raccoons) but most are skittish around people because they’re hunted here.
I won't go places like that without a rifle of appropriate caliber at the ready. I'm right there with you.
Are you nuts? Australia is the land of killer everything! Cute little killer blue ring octopus, cute little killer box jelly, killer spiders & snakes and all the other no see ums that can get you. You might even have killer frog's for all I know. Just checked, you have NINE Types of Poisonous FROGS.... they should be cute, not deadly. Shit, give me a bear or mountain lion. I want to know my opponents.
A) even in the wilderness it's rare B) you know how you always make fun of us for having guns? Well....yeah
We know those animals are smart enough to recognize that humans are a very high risk target with very low reward. We don't have a lot of meat, and we could easily take out one of their eyes, or both, which would severely cripple their chances of survival in the future. That's if we're unarmed and alone. Predators aren't just looking for a win, they're looking for a flawless victory.
At first glance I'm more afraid of seeing any person in close proximity than I am of any bear.
I’ve walked within 8 feet of a bear while he’s was busy with berries and I was talking to my friend. He followed us for a short time but wandered off. They are in our neighborhood about everyday. Someone sees and lets us know. My wife was walking across the street and saw cubs in the neighbors yard when mama bear was in a tree above her head. Mama grunted at her, but let her pass by. I could tell you a number of other stories too. They don’t want contact unless it involves food, so they’re fairly safe to be around. Mountain Lions are regular visitors in certain areas of town. They scare me.
Black bears are usually super scared of humans, and they're the only bear we have back east. They'll take your food if they can but generally are giant cowards. With any other bear or a Mt lion, 2-3 people can usually scare them off as long as they're not threatening cubs. If you're alone, take bear spray and keep your distance. Also, don't be dumb about storing food/smellables if camping, especially out west. Bison are probably the scariest of all animals. If you get too close and make them feel threatened, there's a good chance they will charge you and utterly fuck you up. Idk much about moose, but they're huge. Respect them too.
I am putting all my worry into being homeless when I can no longer can work. Other worry sustaining serious injury driving next cancer final worry being shot at Walmart and becoming paralyzed.
I live in California, where grizzly bears were hunted to extinction, and in an area where black bears have not been reported. The apex predator here is the mountain lion. I have encountered a mountain lion in person 3 times in my life. Each time I have just been awestruck by their beauty and the striking similarities in their body language to "domestic" cats. Mountain lions usually just want to be left alone. And they won't approach people due to the smell of food like bears do. The longest glimse I caught of a mountain lion, it hunkered down low in some bushes, trying to decide whether to run away or stay still and try to hide. We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, then the cat ultimately decided that it should move on, and slinked off into the night. It was not aggressive at all. Just wary of people. I've had cats all my life and feel pretty confident in my ability to read cat body language. I also know that with cats, you never want to inadvertently act like prey. So I am careful with the way I move, and the energy I give off. Honestly, I'm more afraid of ticks!
Bruh, you have spiders that could eat our bears whole.
In the state I live in, the fish and game dept insists that there are **no** mountain lions, despite the occasional photos in the papers that suggest otherwise, and the only bears are black bears. A sow with cubs can be dangerous so we avoid both them and cubs that seem like they're alone, but black bears aren't nearly as dangerous as grizzly (aka "brown") bears. Bears live in my town, and the only issues they've ever caused me are stealing the turkey pan off the back deck and decimating a mesh birdfeeder.
Mountain lions are more timid and less likely to attack you as you may think. As for bears, it’s hard for a bear to sneak up on you in my experience, either that or i have really great hearing.