I do not know what kind of bears these were. The one I saw on Thursday was reddish brown, and about the size of a large St. Bernard. The one we saw on Sunday was much larger, and the same color on the head, but blondish in the body.
I will be contacting the State Park Rangers on Wednesday to see what can be done. If this was an isolated incident, I would not be overly concerned. This section of the Tevis trail is so well traveled, that these bears are not afraid of humans. The one we saw on Thursday began coming right at us on the trail. Up until that point, it was a stand-off between it and Fellow, he was snorting and blowing, but stood still. When that "big, brown, smelly thing" came toward us, it was just too much for him to handle and he lost it. It was one of those "angels watching over me" moments we all have had on our horses.
Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway. ~ John Wayne
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> From: bigcreekranch@xxxxxxxxxxxx > To: ranch@xxxxxxxxxxx; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; Sheila_Larsen@xxxxxxx > Subject: Re: [RC] Bears on the trail > Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:20:07 -0700 > > While I've not seen the bears on the Tevis trail, Grizzles in CA became > extinct by the early 20th century. They lived right around here where I > live, on the coast 60 miles S of San Francisco. There are two notable > stories of locals who were 1) killed (in 1875) and 2) maimed for life (in > 1865) by the California Grizzly. I just hope someone doesn't come up with > the hare-brained idea of re-introducing Grizzlies to the local state park > where they roamed when the man was killed. A more stupid idea I could not > think of, considering the park is a haven for hikers, horseback riders and > bicyclists. > > Barbara > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Sisu West Ranch" <ranch@xxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <Sheila_Larsen@xxxxxxx> > Sent: Monday, April 14, 2008 5:11 PM > Subject: Re: [RC] Bears on the trail > > > > Am I right in assuming that the bears on the Tevis Trail are black bears > > not Griz? It makes a big difference. The two species react completely > > differently to human contact and the proper reaction to an attack is also > > very different. > > > > Ed > > Ed & Wendy Hauser > > 2994 Mittower Road > > Victor, MT 59875 > > > > (406) 642-9640 > > > > ranch(at)sisuwest(dot)us > > > > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > > > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. > > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp > > > > Ride Long and Ride Safe!! > > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp > Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp > > Ride Long and Ride Safe!! > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >
