Topic: PLEASE READ: Bears at the Springs Campground

[BigMike]

IMPORTANT NOTICE!

I just got off the phone with the Vice President of Jeep Jamboree USA who informed me there is a female bear with two cubs who have been active at the Springs Campground.

Those who attended last year should remember bear reports & sightings as well. We even had a few rigs with her bear prints on the dash and seats so she isn't afraid to jump up in your cab if you've got half doors.

Therefore, PLEASE take precautions to store your food and not leaving anything out. Please see the below threads and links for more information on how to camp with the possibility of a bear encounter.

This bear is not afraid to walk into camps but fortunately she is startled easily and retreats. Clap your hands and make some noise and she will run away.

I wish it was needless to say but PLEASE DO NOT SHOOT HER. I know there are some people who enjoy bringing firearms on wheeling trips, but her cubs are very young and they will surely die without their mother. PUT YOUR FIREARMS AWAY PLEASE. I don't want the Marlin Crawler Round Up to be responsible for a dead mother and then also two dead cubs.

We are camping in nature so please respect the nature!

There is also a large male black bear however he has not been spotted for a while now and seems to stay away from the camp.

Thank you for your understanding and please post up any questions that you may have!

And lastly, please spread the word about the possibility of...
1) a bear encounter,
2) to not shoot the bear if encountered, and
3) store your food properly.

Regards,
BigMike

[BigMike [OP]]

Here are some sites I found with good information.

Please watch this short 2 min video and visit at least one of the below links to familiarize yourself on how to plan and prepare for a possible Bear encounter!

HOW TO BEARPROOF YOUR CAMP
Link: http://www.cliff-jacobson.com/bearproof.shtml

WHAT TO DO IF A BEAR COMES INTO CAMP
Black Bear Encounters

Stay calm. It's your food he wants, not you. Over the years I've confronted a number of black bears and my nonchalant procedure goes something like this:

First I yell or blow a whistle. A wild bear will usually hightail it at the sound, but an experienced camp bear won't even look up. Secure in the knowledge that my food has no odor and is out of sight beyond the camp boundary, I maintain a safe distance and watch the show. After the bear checks all the usual places and finds nothing, he will move on in search of more productive fare.

What to Do if You See a Bear (from Yosemite Nat Park)
Link: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/scarebears.htm

f you are in a developed area (e.g., campground, parking lot, lodging area) or if a bear approaches you, act immediately to scare it away: make as much noise as possible by yelling very loudly (don't worry about waking people up if it's nighttime). If you are with other people, stand together to present a more intimidating figure, but do not surround the bear.

Bears and Food Storage (from Yosemite Nat Park)
Link: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/bears.htm

Always keep your food within arm's reach and don't turn your back to your food; never leave food unattended. Bears may investigate picnic areas or backpacks for food even in your presence, so be alert.

How to Make Your Food Bear Safe when Camping
Link: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Food-Bear-Safe-when-Camping

If you're camping in bear country, take appropriate precautions to keep your campsite as unattractive to bears as possible. A key element here is to keep your food out of the reach of bears, whether you are cooking, eating, snacking, performing other camping duties or sleeping.

• Put the food away in a suitable shelter or container.
• Create a bear hang.
• Handle food with care.
• Avoid cooking strong smelling foods.
• Dispose of all food scraps, food particles, leftovers and containers properly.

Camping With Bears
Link: http://www.yellowstone-bearman.com/campw_bears.html

Check your campsite out carefully before spending the first night. If you do find garbage or other food items on the ground left by the previous campers, it would be recommended that you increase the distance you set your tent from the cooking area at least double. Remove and secure any garbage left behind by the previous irresponsible campers and report the incident to the nearest Yellowstone Park Ranger Station on your return.

[madhunt]

when hanging you food in a tree remember bears climp trees too, it has to be a distance from the trunck and limb your hanging it from and be really loud when scaringthem away, and a little pine sol in a pie plate helps detier the bears away it covers up the food smell

[Slolyfe]

When we were in the springs 2 years ago the bears broke ratchet straps to get to coolers. The solution seemed to be putting them under your rig and deflating the tires. Just my 2 cents.

[BigMike [OP]]

Update on this...

To put the seriousness of this into context, here are some replies on our Marlin Crawler Facebook regarding this:

"Last week we encountered papa bear mama bear and baby bears at buck. They seem to be comfortable with people as they harassed us for four hours...loud noises (pots and pans, yelling etc) only keeps them away temporary."

"saw bears at buck and one at observation point couple weeks ago"

"out there last week.the bears are realy bad.4 out of 5 night had to keep them away.1-4am .not fun"

Be safe, keep your camp clean, don't leave any food or trash out, and keep your flashlight with you at night!

[BigMike [OP]]

Good news, as far as I know there were no bear sightings in the main springs campground. I heard people at Buck Lake encountered a bear and that a bear was seen near the Rubicon River bridge, but as for the main campground it was nice and peaceful

BigMike

[hansi530]

we had a bear roaming around buck island on saturday night

[GraniteGirl]

We had several at Spyder Thursday night that were stealing food from rigs as soon as it got dark and wreaking havoc through the camps all night along the slabs and winter camp.

We'd hung our food about 15' out from the upper part of a tree on the winch cable and ours was fine all weekend. 

A group that was broken in the box that night said they looked up and there was a cub walking right towards them down the box.  They didn't care about dogs or anything else and the ones spotted that night were huge.

In all the years I've been up there I've never seen or had a bear issue at Spyder.  They'd been causing trouble back at Merlin's cabin too the night before we were told.

[BigMike [OP]]

Wow, thanks for the updates guys and to everyone else be safe out there and keep your campsite clean and trash free!

BigMike

[mudaddict]

i had a bead trying to get my cooler sat night at buck when we got back scared him away after sitting watching him for a minute. but people around us were not so lucky one persons trasharoo was tore up and another guy caught the bear inside his fj and it took a bite out of his oj container lol.

[zukkev]

What a sight to see, only 1/2 hr after getting back to camp, eh Curtis?!!?!

[mudaddict]

indeed it was just looked so cuddly.

[crazywb]

One of the cubs ate my KFC right out of my buddies jeep Thursday night at the box.

[Slolyfe]

WTF are you doing leaving KFC in your rig. This is the reason bears come after our food, irresponsible campers.

[NorCalPR]

Seriously. People thought I was dumb for tying up my stuff...

I got lucky last year when the bear came into the springs. 10 minutes before I was passed out with cheese its in my lap. Soft cooler and some food got taken


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BigMike [OP]]

WTF are you doing leaving KFC in your rig. This is the reason bears come after our food, irresponsible campers.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA sorry had to laugh on this one CJ I hope you your buddy