Tumbler Ridge Grizzly visit

[.330 Dakota]

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/u380/bradgrant1/bear%20hunt%202013%20015_zpsa0e775ec.jpg

This is a pic of how we found our camp at 10;30pm,,,had a visit from a large grizzly sow and her 2 cubs

[BigfishCanada]

Wow, did you see her? What was it like sleeping that night, I would have gone in the truck.

[.330 Dakota]

Out hunting for the day, we returned about 10:30,,good thing cause we usually returned and were in bed by then. The 14x16 wall tent and fly were totally destroyed as were 3 gas cans, 3 large ice filled coolers, and many other items.
We slept in the trucks that night and one of my buddies was awakened at 5;30 am to the big sow standing on her hind legd shaking his truck while peering at him in the window. He reached for his rifle in the back seat but by the time he was ready she had gone back into the bush. We spent the next 3 hours cleaning the site and burning the tent and ruined items.
This happened on Kinnusso Creek rd in Tumbler Ridge.

[325]

Impossible! David Suzuki told me there are almost no grizzlies left in BC!

[.330 Dakota]

Would have loved to have Super Dave along,,,bait

[AltaElkhunter]

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2012/09/18/man-with-potentially-life-threatening-injuries-in-hospital-after-grizzly-bear-attack-near-swan-hills

Second attack in Alberta in the past 2 weeks, the first one the hunter killed the bear with one shot in the head, at 6 meters.

[835]

Wholly man....
Glad yer ok!

[Ron.C]

Gald to hear none of you were in the tent at the time!

out of curiosity, Is that a bag of Ruffles chips in the bottom right corner of the pic? And was food being stored in the tent?

I'm not trying to be a dick, I have been guilty of doing that before myself my in my early years of first hunting on the BC mainland. I was just LUCKY enough not to have a problem. I was educated in that lesson the easy way, off a fellow up in the Bowron lakes who had his camp destroyed in a similar fashion

[Jagermeister]

Any guides working in that area? The gas cans and coolers have teeth marks.

[Jagermeister]

I guess you will be buying a Pack Alarm to use from this day forward.

[.330 Dakota]

Good eye Ron C,,,ya thats the only food in the tent, and it was un-opened and they never touched it...go figure.
Jagermeister,,yes there is a guide in that area,,not sure what your implying though,,we did see the bear eventually.

[.330 Dakota]

All of our food was with us in a bar fridge and freezer on our quad trailer/generator.
The only food in camp was a can of coffee, mustard,ketchup,relish,,2 bags of hotdog buns, and yes Ron,,,that bag of uneaten Ruffles, lol. These bears were bent on destruction not food.
They ate my frikin gas cans, bar soap,toothpaste,my big jar of Tums,my Zantac, my Tylenol, and wrecked coolers that only ice in them. They unedible stuff and smaked our firewood pile down the hill into the creek. Strange behaviour I thought.

[835]

All of our food was with us in a bar fridge and freezer on our quad trailer/generator.
The only food in camp was a can of coffee, mustard,ketchup,relish,,2 bags of hotdog buns, and yes Ron,,,that bag of uneaten Ruffles, lol. These bears were bent on destruction not food.
They ate my frikin gas cans, bar soap,toothpaste,my big jar of Tums,my Zantac, my Tylenol, and wrecked coolers that only ice in them. They unedible stuff and smaked our firewood pile down the hill into the creek. Strange behaviour I thought.


Well at least they wont get a hedache and indegestion from the gas.

[.330 Dakota]

Ya thats true,,,

[835]

That realy does seem strange though. Im not experianced with Grizzlies but that sounds like them saying "Get out now" rather then looking for food.
i mean shaking the truck?!

Again just glad you guys werent there when it happened.

[LeadSender]

That sucks about the tent and stuff good thing u guys had a late night getting back to camp could have ended up disasterous for u guys .

[.330 Dakota]

Thanks for the "glad your'e okay wishes" guys. It would have been really scary fighting a griz with the tent on top of you...we probably would have shot each other

[solo]

Did you let the RCMP know? Would hate to hear of somebody else running in to those bears unaware. Glad you guys are ok.

[.330 Dakota]

We talked to a member in Tumbler on the way out, and his attitude was "why tell the CO"s, they will just assume its your fault somehow" so I am guessing they dont get along in that area.
The RCMP we spoke with didnt really seem to care. We also told the Medic that was stationed at the intersection of Kinnuso and Hart hwy, so she could warn workers going in there.
She said that the local outfitter has 34 griz sightings in 2 weeks in that area.

[mudbud]

I have found the CO's excellent in this area. I know of other problem bears in the past that were dealt with promptly by the CO. Definitely worth the phone call IMHO.

[scoutlt1]

Agree with 835....sounds like a "get the f***" out of here more than anything.
Sounds like a lot of grizzes around there, and frankly surprised nobody responded more "appropriately" as I'm sure you explained what happened well.

Glad to hear you are safe and sound....scary for sure!

[.330 Dakota]

I have found the CO's excellent in this area. I know of other problem bears in the past that were dealt with promptly by the CO. Definitely worth the phone call IMHO.

I am going back up in a week or so, I will look up the CO while I'm there...the RCMP werent helpful at all

[Spokerider]

My guess is that this momma bear has gotten food [ even just toothpaste ] from a camp before. She will do it again, and is teaching her cubs where dinner is served.
As luck would have it, you drew the short straw and happened to camp where she was.
I recall a show on TV where a grizz stomped a backpackers tent........because it could smell the tube of toothpaste left inside. Their sense of smell coupled with desire and experience = carnage. Glad you both made it through unscathed, well, short of a skid mark or two on the shorts.

That could have been my camp......... guilty. I don't take every last tidbit of *food* out when out hunting either. I might now however.

[pappy]

Not the first time I have heard of alot of grizzlies in that area. Glad everything turned out safer than it could have gone. That earlier post about the bear attack in swanhills involved my sisters good friend. He is a good guy, its unfortunate that this has happened to him. Thanks for letting us know the particular area as I'll let the guys at work know, some sort of heads up anyways.

[lunatic]

4 years ago in the same general area, our camp got harassed all night long by 2 grizzlies. They also did a lot of damage to vehicles and rv's we had. CO's were called and permission was granted to destroy these two problem bears which we promptly did. No food or other attractant was left out to provoke them. There was several thousand dollars damage done to my truck and rv alone! I do believe that sometimes these problem bears are around. These two particular bears had about 30 "warning shots" and a can of pepper spray to the face with little to no affect!

[.330 Dakota]

4 years ago in the same general area, our camp got harassed all night long by 2 grizzlies. They also did a lot of damage to vehicles and rv's we had. CO's were called and permission was granted to destroy these two problem bears which we promptly did. No food or other attractant was left out to provoke them. There was several thousand dollars damage done to my truck and rv alone! I do believe that sometimes these problem bears are around. These two particular bears had about 30 "warning shots" and a can of pepper spray to the face with little to no affect!

Glad to hear no-one was hurt and that the CO's were decent enough to allow you to shoot them

[Getbent]

Thats some crazy chit!

About twenty five years ago, we were in the flathead valley, we were watching a field one night and unkown to us at the time, there was a gut pile and the front quarter of a moose that two grizzly had been feeding on. Well we are sitting there in the truck, taking it easy one night (we had two deer and a moose hanging already) and out walk these two 2 year old cubs, 1 with a collar on, and they just walked right up to the truck. The one stood up and put its paws on the window and just stared inside. It was kinda cool at the time.

Back in camp, we talked to one of the bear biologists in the area and told her about the bears and she told us that their mother had been shot during a "bluff" charge. She also said all of the Blackies were denned up already. This was the last week of October, I remember well when we were carving pumpkins with our 300's. Our game pole was very high and very long. We ended losing half a deer over two nights to what we thought was a black bear, but they were all denned up...She said it had to be the cubs, which were over 20 miles away feeding on a moose carcasse.

She was young and hot, so we cut her some slack, but that is my closest encounter with a grizz, didnt mean to sidetrack the thread, just to say holy chit, rocking the truck after destroying the camp!!!

Getbent

[lunatic]

Glad to hear no-one was hurt and that the CO's were decent enough to allow you to shoot them

Yes luckily no one was hurt and I'm sure the CO granted permission for two reasons. 1) he knew who I was so knew I would not be B.S' ing and 2) the bears had ear tags and he believed they had trouble with these two before.

[doubled]

My dad works in Tumbler and he has said their job site is run over with Grizzs. They have to stop and shut down all their machines until the bears leave. Good thing he is locked inside an excavator.