View topic - Bear Spray in Ontario

Just got back from a week in Temagami and never even seen a Bear or any signs of a bear.
Heard there were many around.
Take your chances.

Bill

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I like the idea of the .30-06 / 220 gr Nosler bear banger - but I think it wouldn't just penetrate the bear skull, I think it would penetrate the bear end to end

and loved the story of peppered balls - before a business competitor removed him from the picture, there used to be a gangster in Toronto known on the street as No-wang Tranh - he had had an unfortunate experience shoving a pistol into the waistband of his pants with his finger still on the trigger

have no personal experience of using bear spray, always carry it holstered on my belt when mountain biking in bear habitat, but the few bears I have seen got off the trail when I rang the bell so I just kept on riding - when canoeing, it's usually buried in my pack so I think I would run into the same problem with lack of access as mentioned by previous posts

The only time I illegally carry a magnum pistol (in Canuckistan carrying a pistol is always illegal), is in a PP. Outside a Provincial Park never had a problem with bears.

Friggin' coons is something else, but bears where they are hunted tend to leave people alone.

When I stayed in LSPP and Ojibway PP(Sioux Lookout) I noticed a big difference in the way people treat the threat of bears from the way they are handled in Southern Ontario.

When we stayed at Bruce Peninsula a few weeks ago I was told in no uncertain terms that anything deemed to attrack bears on the campsite would be removed by the rangers and we could retreive it from the office.

When staying at Algonquin I was awoken one night by the rangers telling me to put the cooler inside my truck. It was closed up tight with the picnic table on top of it. Not good enough!

When we stayed in the northern parks the warning were posted but no park ranger threatened or warned about the imminent danger of being eaten by a bear. Coolers were left out at just about all the campsites. I saw my first bear ever no more that 5 kms from Ojibway PP and yet people seemed no more worried about a bear than they were mosquitos.

All I can attribute this to is that in Southern Ontario bears are more dangerous becasue A. they are lsing habitat and therfore losing food sources. B. the increased exposure to humans has made them more aware that they can find food near humans and becasue of point A are taking a risk by persuing human activity to get food. In the north they don't need to look for food where the humans are and actually avoid human contact at all costs.

I could be way off base by there was definately a difference in "Bear Awareness" from the north to the south.

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Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of wishing the past from the disposal--wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it for more than it's worth.

Strange about telling you to put the cooler in the car.

I know that in US parks like Yellowstone they specifically tell you NOT to put food in your car. There are bear proof lockers to put your food into at night.

Bears have been known to totally destroy a car getting in for an empty pop can or candy wrapper they could smell or even see through the window. The rangers go around the parking lots at night and will come and wake you up if they see food in your car.

One of our school buses was parked over night at the Bruce while the kids camped. The coolers were put in the compartments over night. The bear lifted the flushmount handle, turned it and dined away.

A cottage on the Bruce had the wall on the outside of the kitchen ripped off so the bear could get into the back of the cupboards.

Yes the car trunk works...for now.

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"Nature used to surround us, now we surround nature and the change hasn't necessarily been for the better."
Margaret Atwood

just a quick one. I was at a cottage in the north Kawarthas this past weekend and something, it must of been a bear, broke into my car. It actually opened my car door at the handle. Now, it may have been a racoon but the door is really heavy so I doubt it. Also the area is known for problem bears. Interestingly, and a first time sight for me, on the way home we saw a dead young bear on highway 118. Sad really.
As for pepper spray i have never used it or seen it used. We bank on being relatively clean campers and strumming the guitars at night for a little noise factor. It has worked so far. However, when out with my kids I might consider a little extra precaution in the future.!!

I'm on the Yes side of carrying it. Between the noise of the rivers and the smell of fish on your hands when your fishing for specks, I always feel a little better with a can of bear spray near by.

Just my 2 cents.
Karma

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Last year there was a woman that was killed by a black bear. Has there been a summary of that fatality?
Has it been released?

Is or was there a coroners inquest into the (bear attack) fatality?

Doug


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"Some people hear the song in the quiet mist of a cold morning..... But for other people the song is loudest in the evening when they are sitting in front of a tent, basking in the camp fire's warmth. This is when I hear it loudest ...."

I always carry spray when I'm hiking or paddling in bear habitat. But like others have stated, it's gotta be treated like any other weapon. Mine is carried in a holster on my side with the safety cap attatched and covered by the holster. It's still quick enough for me to flip the velcro on the holster and have ready fast though...........There's no point in taking it if it's not handy and fast to get at. I've never had to use it in the woods but I have used three bottles up in practise to make sure I know the spread pattern and limits to it's use. Some companies sell "dummy" cans to practise with too, I just buy expired ones cheap and use them though!

Have a good day!

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Stop planning the rest of your life, And LIVE it!

Kawartha bears must be more genteel than Magnetawan bears because the one that was breaking into cars a couple of years ago at the access parking lot just peeled the doors down on two cars and popped the rear window right out of another friend's pickup truck. The rangers trapped and relocated the bear several hundred kilometres away but unfortunately it returned and so they shot it.

What I got out of this:
1. Don't leave food (or fast food wrappers) in your car. I know a bear can learn that cars may contain food but unless there are odors I doubt it would rip one open out of curiousity.
2. On a cold or rainy day, a roll of clear packing tape comes in handy if your car is missing windows.

Nothing to report in WCPP

Except for the cub on the loggin road driving in.

B

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It's all about forward progression!


"Preservation of our waterways comes from those with little voices, big paddles, strong backs, weak minds and thick hides with which to ignore the bug bites." Organizer of "The Wabakimi Project"

At the border crossing into Ontario I've been asked if I have any mace or pepper spray, so I thought bear spray was illegal in Canada, or at least Ontario. Can you purchase it in Ontario but just not bring it across the border? What about going back into the states with it, I wonder? And is it legal to carry in National Parks (Pukaskwa) as well as all Provincial parks?

I guess it's legal to carry pepper spray, at least in Provincial Parks--the 2006 Six Mile Lake PP Information Guide has an article "Camping in Black Bear Country" and it says, "Use bear spray if you have it and if the bear is within range. You should know how to properly use, store and carry this product. Bear spray… is to deter bears when it is sprayed in their eyes.”

I've never carried pepper spray. Well, bears occasionally came to our campsites, some were gone the instant they saw us, others were more curious and observed us from a distance for a while. But if a bear suddenly charged, I can't imagine having the time and composure to use bear spray anyway, especially spraying it in its eyes!

Jack

I was under the impression that if the can specifically states bear spray then crossing the border is not an issue.

If your going to a park not heavily used, i do no think bears are a problem.

B

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It's all about forward progression!


"Preservation of our waterways comes from those with little voices, big paddles, strong backs, weak minds and thick hides with which to ignore the bug bites." Organizer of "The Wabakimi Project"