Grizzlies follow hunters

[xd ED]

There isn't much in the MN woods that can/ will hurt you unprovoked, except for deer ticks. Carry some DEET.

[Grayskies]

There isn't much in the MN woods that can/ will hurt you unprovoked, except for deer ticks. Carry some DEET.

Allergic to DEET...

[smurfman]

Short of buying a .454 with a wrist brace so my wrist doesn't shatter on the 1st shot, and since my income is not huge, and my wife loves off-roading the toyota (not entirely a bear safe car), what can I do legally?

There are two things you can do to guarantee NOT seeing a bear in the woods:

1) Buy a bear hunting license
2) Buy a good camera, carry it with you at all times, and call yourself a "nature photographer."

Or,
You can continue to roam the woods as you have with the realization your odds of even seeing a bear rate just a bit ahead of winning the lottery. Twice. In a row.

Your "concern" over black bears is a bit over the top. The risk of being attacked by one is extremely low, much lower than your fears merit. The only places I would have any concern would be the BWCA and maybe some state parks. The former due to the number of people using it, how careless far too many are in keeping their camps, and the remoteness as it increases the time between when problems occur and when the authorities are notified and can respond. To a much lesser extent are state parks with my concern being more on damage to my property than my person.

Bells are meant more for grizzlies than black bears. Bells are not to scare off bears but to lessen the chance of provoking an attack due to surprising a grizzly. In other words, if a grizzly comes after you and you are wearing bells, it is an intentional attack.

Problems from 2 legged critters are so much more likely and even they are rare. Tooling around in the Toyota is by far your most likely source of woe.

[Grayskies]

Probably, but I seem to be talented at wild life encounters.

Oh the last wild life photographer I remember was eaten with his girl friend by Grizzlies while the cameras rolled...
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Treadwell

I know it is irrational, it will not keep me out of the woods, giving in to a fear like this lessens a person.

Oh, I only hunt Zombies, unfortunately (or fortunately) I have yet to find any.

[smurfman]

A couple things:

First off, Treadwell was not a nature photographer nor any kind of naturalist. What he was, was a recovering addict who had no sense nor understanding of bear behavior- particularly grizzlies. Best case scenario, he was a person with a drug damaged mind who gambled with lives- his, those of bears, and ultimately other people. Worst case he was an imbecile who gambled with the previous mentioned lives. In any case, he certainly held little regard for the bears.

As someone who disregarded pretty much every safety procedure including regularly entering a bear's "personal space" in spite of warnings from the bear, camped and cooked on their travel paths, and believed the bears "understood" him the only thing surprising was how long it took for him to meet with his demise. It was unfortunate his actions also brought about the death of another person as well as two bears.

Another point is that you are referring to grizzly bears, something which are not found closer to here than western Montana or northwestern Wyoming these days. The first known contact with grizzlies by Europeans occurred near Lake Winnipeg so it is possible grizzlies roamed to northwestern Minnesota but that was at least a couple hundred years ago.

There have been attacks by black bears but extremely few considering the number of bears and their location (many exist in close proximity with people). I am more worried about the neighbor's Golden Retriever than any black bear even though the latter have been seen around my home and they definitely roam around the cabin.

You don't need to hunt the bears, just having a license seems to greatly reduce the odds of seeing one. Especially during hunting season.

[Grayskies]

You don't need to hunt the bears, just having a license seems to greatly reduce the odds of seeing one. Especially during hunting season.

[Grayskies]

jersey-bear-hunt-fueled-emotion-over-mauling-death
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/jersey-bear-h ... 44394.html

Animal rights activists have been calling bears "the dolphins of the forest"

[Rip Van Winkle]

The attack on Patel while he was hiking in New Jersey's Apshawa Preserve, some 30 miles west of New York's bustling Times Square, marked the first fatal mauling ever recorded in the state.

Bears in New Jersey? Who knew?

Wasen't it just a few years ago the animal rights nut jobs we're trying to claim black bears were an endangered species?