IN LIFE AS IN THE DANCE : GRACE GLIDES

ON BLISTERED FEET.
---Alice Abrams

Monday, April 30, 2007

Grizzly Bear Alert!

The Colorado State Department of Fish and Wildlife is advising hikers, hunters fishermen, and golfers to take extra precautions and be on the alert for bears while in the Dillon, Breckenridge, and Keystone areas.

They advise people to wear noise-producing devices such as little bells on their clothing to alert but not startle the bears unexpectedly. They also advise you to carry pepper spray in case of an encounter with a bear.

It is also a good idea to watch for signs of bear activity. People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear droppings:

Black bear droppings are smaller and contain mountain berries and possibly squirrel fur. Grizzly bear droppings have bells in them and smell like pepper spray.

10 comments:

Michele said...

Yes, you need to be alert at this time of the year. These little critters are smaller than the brown ones but no less dangerous. They rarely attack but will if they are very hungry. But because of their size, they can get very aggressive. But with known facts, playing dead with black bears does NOT work. In BC here there is about an average of 7 bear attacks each year and we need to be aware... great post.

Sarge Charlie said...

I had to stop and laugh out loud when I got to the pepper spray, I will be sniffing that out.

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

good one gracie! ha ha ha

we have black bears in podunk and one idiot neighbor that feeds them! how dumb do you have to be to feed a bear in your own yard??? yikes.

smiles, bee

Queenie said...

Whats that I hear the 'Bells the Bells', now who said that,Qwazz, Qwuizy, what was his name????

Linda said...

Oh, how funny. You really had me going there until I got to pepper spray. Good one.

Sandee said...

Gracie...Pepper spray my behind. A shotgun perhaps, but not pepper spray.

I have been hit a few times with pepper spray, but there is a small percentage of folks that pepper spray just makes them mad... I am going to err on the side that a bear might just get pissed off...

Good post though :)

Barb said...

Hahaha! You got me on this one!

Linda said...

I was beginning to think I should write you a comment complimenting you on your great public awareness post when I got to the end and broke into a big smile at the bells and pepper spray! Thanks for the laugh!!

Mrs Xoke said...

That was hilarious!

Anonymous said...

Hehehe.... you had me going there. That was cute!

On the serious side though, we live with them all around us. Regular black bears don't worry me much, unless they are mamas with cubs, but the grizzlies are scary - gorgeous, but scary. My uncle was actually attacked by a grizzly a few years ago - it's a miracle he survived - hunting by himself too, the idiot! He has some pretty horrible scars, but he's alive thank goodness :-)