Rabid bat(?) ... trout, deer & bear that followed caddisgirl back to camp.

[adriaticum]

I didn't want the sun to burn my beer belly.

I meant to say dress shirt.
You forgot your tie. FAIL! lol

[caddisguy]

I meant to say dress shirt.
You forgot your tie. FAIL! lol

Normally for my fishhunter costume I rock a white pepe le pew tshirt and a gilligan hat. Pepe retired early that day though.

Funny story... couple years back I woke up bright and early to fish, but one problem, my hoodie was wet. Ended up wearing my friends hot pink hoodie... wore it with the hood up and everything. Never had so many dudes go out of there way to cruise right up within normal-volume talking distance to ask if I was "having any luck?" ... reactions when I looked over and responded in a deep voice were priceless... shocked, winded, shaky voice.

And if you find the right video, you too can watch me catch fish in a hot pink hoodie ;-P

[Daybreak]

Nice videos. Not sure which posed a bigger threat ... the bear or the bat. If it was rabid it's a huge threat. You don't have to be bitten to contract the deadly disease.

Believe it or not, I was attacked by a rabid bat. Dive bombed me multiple times which dropped me to the ground so I could look up to see wtf it was. Realized it was a bat and regained my feet. It then flapped around me in close proximity while I swung at it with a toque wrench I was carrying at the time. Took about 6 swings and I finally whacked it to the ground, threw a adjacent pair of coveralls on it and stomped on it. Guys in the shop were watching from a distance and thought it was hilarious. I just went about my business while 3 others played with the dead bat. One smart fella double bagged it and took it the health authority.


Two days later the health authority was at the shop at 7:00 am to determine who had contact. Five guys were given 5 shots each on the spot and another shot each week for 3 or four weeks. You have a two week window to get treatment otherwise you are a goner. I think only a tiny handful of people have ever survived rabies.


This bat , it turns out, had been acting just like the one in your video. Lethargic, on the ground and slow. Then it took flight again and happened to follow someone into the shop through a door where it attacked me. Every torque wrench in the company was quarantined for a week because I could not identify the one I used to waste the bugger.

[Daybreak]

Here's a classic black bear stalk on a human.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PWHNIbS8cE

[adriaticum]

Here's a classic black bear stalk on a human.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PWHNIbS8cE

I hope I never have to test my theory but I think in this scenario the best thing to do is to stand your ground with something heavy in hand. Throw a good rock at the bear and whack him with a good stick.
Everything else is pure luck.

[Sofa King]

Here's a classic black bear stalk on a human.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PWHNIbS8cE

this is pretty much why we have bear spray available.
but, we also have gps, cheap and small even these days, yet yahoos on day hikes are getting lost more than ever it seems.

[caddisguy]

Nice videos. Not sure which posed a bigger threat ... the bear or the bat. If it was rabid it's a huge threat. You don't have to be bitten to contract the deadly disease.

Believe it or not, I was attacked by a rabid bat. Dive bombed me multiple times which dropped me to the ground so I could look up to see wtf it was. Realized it was a bat and regained my feet. It then flapped around me in close proximity while I swung at it with a toque wrench I was carrying at the time. Took about 6 swings and I finally whacked it to the ground, threw a adjacent pair of coveralls on it and stomped on it. Guys in the shop were watching from a distance and thought it was hilarious. I just went about my business while 3 others played with the dead bat. One smart fella double bagged it and took it the health authority.


Two days later the health authority was at the shop at 7:00 am to determine who had contact. Five guys were given 5 shots each on the spot and another shot each week for 3 or four weeks. You have a two week window to get treatment otherwise you are a goner. I think only a tiny handful of people have ever survived rabies.


This bat , it turns out, had been acting just like the one in your video. Lethargic, on the ground and slow. Then it took flight again and happened to follow someone into the shop through a door where it attacked me. Every torque wrench in the company was quarantined for a week because I could not identify the one I used to waste the bugger.

For the bear, I wasn't there when "followed" her, but I had her walk me through it afterwards and it seemed very reasonable that it was more a matter of him cruising for insects along the same route while not being very respectful of her space. It is definitely somewhat habituated to people, so it's not "as" concerned as it should be with people around. It is "possible" that it is a fed bear and was expecting a bonus snack. A little odd that it followed her all the way into our camp though. When I woke up, the tables turned and we followed it. The place it went, I had smelled bear and heard something in the bush the morning prior which leads me back to the morning routine theory. She definitely won't be taking 6am solo walks without bear spray again though. It was really neat to watch it up close. Normally I wouldn't get so close (while not hunting) as it's not the brightest thing to do and could make the bear more used to humans but I made an exception because well... "he started it".

The bat... no direct contact and likely no indirect contact. I don't think I touched the paddle, rope or spot on the boat, at least for a good long time. One part the video didn't catch is that when it first landed it was biting at the rope. Between that and being out in the daytime in hot/direct sun, it was suspicious to say the least.