Animal Encounters

Byron Eby

Byron Eby

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Sacramento, CA
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Although I have never personally encountered an animal, face to face, I have had them rummaging through my camp at night. Tearing up trash, hiding things from you, and destroying our food containers(if it was left out). My question is, who has encountered an animal, in any situation, and what is/are the best things to do? By animal, I mean a larger predator than we are, wolf, or mountain lion.

Any personal experiences?

I would like to know some tips.
 
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Well it wasn't a predator, but around 2 am a couple years ago I awoke to the definite sound of an animal inhaling (sniffing) the side of my 2 man tent. I picked the approximate area this was happening in and SMACKed the tent side. The very next sound was the noise made when I shin my receiver hitch, then the snorts of a deer for what seemed like an hour.
 
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How timely, the COs just took care of a cougar here in town. Here were their tips;

According to the Ministry of Environment, here are some tips to consider if you come into contact with one of the cats:

• Never approach a cougar. Although cougars will normally avoid a confrontation, all cougars are unpredictable. Cougars feeding on a kill may be dangerous.

• Always give a cougar an avenue of escape.

• Stay calm. Talk to the cougar in a confident voice.

• Pick all children up off the ground immediately. Children frighten easily and their rapid movements may provoke an attack.

• Do not run. Try to back away from the cougar slowly. Sudden movement or flight may trigger an instinctive attack.

• Do not turn your back on the cougar. Face the cougar and remain upright.

• Do all you can to enlarge your image. Don’t crouch down or try to hide. Pick up sticks or branches and wave them about.
 
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One year I was driving home on a dirt road from a backpacking trip south of Yosemite. At one point I couldn't see the dirt road due to the sun in my eyes, dirty windshield and the dark shadows covering the road from the trees. I then slowed down to 5 mph just to be safe and then all of a sudden a heard of COW's come walking out of the forest! I then hit the brakes and right before a cow appeared right in front of my Honda Prelude. Cow's aren't predators but they can do some damage if your not carful. :tonguewink: With all my years of backpacking, I've only come across a few bears, wild pigs and coyotes which all ran away when they seen me.
 
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I ran into a coyote once, probably 50 lbs . The whoa I let out cuz we surprised each other, spooked him cuz he bolted .
Hope I never run into anything larger
 
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I have run across bears, coyotes and boar in the past but they always left the area once they sensed we were around. Used to get bears in my back yard from time to time at my old house but they never stuck around either.

Not a predator but on a trip a couple of years ago a friend who was with us woke up in the middle of the night to his wife rubbing his head. Guess she does this some at night and it puts him to sleep. Laying there enjoying it he started to notice his wife breathing pattern, she was obviously asleep. He jumped up and heard scurrying around outside the tent. It was a raccoon rubbing his head through the tent :grinning:
 
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pigs.... in south Texas we have pigs. they give no F&^%'s about your camp. your food. your rig or your sleep and they will kill your dog or other pet.. generally speaking they run off when spooked, but they can turn and gore you and your animal to death just as easy.
 
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MarkW said:
I have run across bears, coyotes and boar in the past but they always left the area once they sensed we were around. Used to get bears in my back yard from time to time at my old house but they never stuck around either.

Not a predator but on a trip a couple of years ago a friend who was with us woke up in the middle of the night to his wife rubbing his head. Guess she does this some at night and it puts him to sleep. Laying there enjoying it he started to notice his wife breathing pattern, she was obviously asleep. He jumped up and heard scurrying around outside the tent. It was a raccoon rubbing his head through the tent :grinning:
Click to expand...

Hahaha! That is perfect.
 
IronPercheron said:
pigs.... in south Texas we have pigs. they give no F&^%'s about your camp. your food. your rig or your sleep and they will kill your dog or other pet.. generally speaking they run off when spooked, but they can turn and gore you and your animal to death just as easy.
Click to expand...

You're talking about them wild bores right? The ones that look like murderers?
 
I've had a few black bear encounters recently. No more then them just being curious and checking out the camp site from a distance.

image.jpeg
This guy just strolled through while we were making breakfast and kept on his way down the trail.
 
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Generally from my experience and education is anything black bear and down except wolves are very skidish. I have been face to face with mountain lions and just watched and walked away,been within 10 feet for coyotes just watched em play. Black bears minus a sow with cubs or a feeding bear you can generally scare off fairly easily by getting big and loud. I am just speaking from experience.
 
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The bear I've come across have been very skidish, but the mountain lion thing...they creep me out. They don't seem to care what so ever how big, bright, shiney or loud you may be.
Oh...and leave skunks alone✌
 
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Moose. Man, there is nothing that scares me more than chronically pissed off megafauna from the last ice age with hooves the size of dinner plates, the ability to kick in any direction, and has no problem stomping a pack of wolves into red ooze. I try to keep my distance, but they can move incredibly fast. Whenever I am in moose county I carry a rifle no smaller than a .44 Magnum and I plan to buy a .45-70 Government rifle as soon as I am able. That caliber is favored by Alaskan guides for being able to put down a charging Kodiak Grizzly and by big game hunters. For deserts, I will usually have my 5.56 or at least a pistol. Trash gets tied up in a tree away from camp to reduce animals looking for a free meal. A fire helps too, some people see their dogs as a deterrent, but mine are small enough they would only make a nice snack for a mountain lion or coyote.
 
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Maybe not in Sacramento, but moose and bear are not uncommon in the Sierras; plus Nevada isn't far, coyotes and rattlesnakes are quite common there.

This is why I take different rifles depending on the habitat I'm visiting. A 5.56mm AR-15 is a great coyote gun for the desert (and there is a bounty on them in my state, a lower jaw will get you $50 - not that I hunt) but won't do much to large predators. For that a .308, 7mm Magnum, .30-30, .30-06, .45-70 gov't, or a .44 Magnum is really more appropriate. Since my .308 is a long-range build and weighs as much as a VW, I don't like hauling it around, so the .44 Mag works for now until I can get that Henry .45-70.

Now, I should say: I'm not a hunter and I certainly don't want to shoot an animal if it can be avoided. Good discipline with food and garbage will do a lot to prevent animals from coming into camp. I'd much rather take photographs of the critters than look at them down the barrel of a gun.

Here's an encounter I had last year while exploring the Uintah Mountains

oTjtNDn.jpg


I stopped and took some photos, but even though he was across a stream and down an embankment, I was never far from the car and ready to run at a moment's notice. Moose can run at over 30 mph through 5' of snow, so crossing a small creek would be nothing for a guy this size.
 
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