However years ago I met a young man who did not recognize his place on the food chain and he decided to fight back, literally.
As the bear was approaching he kept reeling in his catch, which he described as the most beautiful Silver Salmon he had ever seen. The bear arrived on the scene just as the fish arrived onshore, and he started to lunge for it. My friend used his pole to pull the fish to him, and the bear followed the fish right up to where he caught it with his hand.
In a moment of pure adrenaline, and not an ounce of common sense, my friend punched the medium size black bear in the head, assuming, incorrectly, that it would back off.
Instead the bear reared up its hind legs and knocked the young man on his ass. Then the bear gave a final huff, and walked off with his prize towing my friend's favorite fishing pole behind him.
My friend used to be invited to schools, business conventions, and child care centers to tell that story. After telling it he would show them the scar on his left temple and remind the audience that NO fish is worth taking on a bear.
I once asked him what he would have done if the bear had been a Grizzly, and he said "I would have crapped myself and given him every fish I caught that day."
And THAT, by the way, is the appropriate response in my opinion.
Reminds me of this hilarious ad from a few years ago:
ReplyDelete"Look, an eagle!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVS1UfCfxlU
Have you seen Sunny and Levi's bear-baiting pictures? Disgusting.
ReplyDeleteC'mon Gryphen---you take on a crazed "mama" grizzly almost everyday. But I'm pretty sure the only thing she's going to eat is her own young.
ReplyDeleteSince a bear has huge claws and teeth and since a bear can't go to the supermarket and get a fish, I say let the bears take whatever they want.
ReplyDeleteDid the bear Pope the fish in Sarah's living room?
ReplyDeleteI learned long ago that I spent way more money trying to catch salmon that I do if I just buy it from the grocery store of from fishermen on the dock. We just put up a year's supply of Copper River reds in the freezer and smoked 4 lbs for dip and caesar salads. We are also too busy in the summer to spend any time trying to catch fish, I love fish, but I'm a terrible fisherperson and it takes so much time to filet what is caught that it's worth it just to support the local fishermen.
ReplyDeleteAlso too, bears, I have enough wandering in the back 40 to worry about :-)
"Gee, Yogi, I don't think Mr. Ranger is gonna like what you did!"
ReplyDelete(Tom, in FL, where our bears are smaller, but still get into mischief)
We get the small black bears in our area, there's always a clip of this scared bear up in a tree with a few tranquilizer darts and a huge net waiting on the ground - with a bunch of macho looking cops crapping their pants. The brainiacs check out the bear to make sure it's ok, carefully tag their ear, drive them a few miles up the road then release them beyond the town limits.
ReplyDeleteThen they're shocked that they caught the same bear a few weeks later in the same exact place.
Reminds me of the wack job that called 911 to put deer crossing signs in rural areas and near crossing guards so they don't get hit by cars.
I'll never forget seeing Alaska Grizzlies in the wild, what majestic, powerful and beautiful creatures!