Need tips ASAP! Black bear tried to break into my house last night.

Last fall in Porthill, Idaho-by the boarder-was a very scary bear attack.
The Auntie was babysitting the little twins, and their 3 or 4 year old sister. They were right in their back yard.
The little girl came running, hollering "A bear, a bear!", with the black bear right behind her, charging to grab her.
The Auntie grabed up the little twins and the 3 or 4 year old sister, and galloped into the house, closing the glass slider nearly on the bear's chasing nose. Auntie took the children down the hall, shutting them in the room farthest away from the glass door. On her way back through the house, she grabbed her new 7mm.
Meanwhile, the bear was pounding on the glass door, then went to trying to peel open the kitchen sink window. Then back to pounding on the glass door.
The Auntie watched for her chance, and when the bear paused and looked down, Auntie notched open the slider and shot the bear dead.
Auntie even had a bear tag. cool.
The little girl, when recounting the horror tale, said that she and her twins could hear the bear pounding the house from way back on the other side of the house behind the closed door.
This adventure had our whole area in an uproar, most of us heroizing the undaunted Auntie with accolaides.
Here in North-est Idaho, we have all the BIG game on the North American continent. Moose are a huge issue, and lions stalk everywhere. A woman in Elmira had her two mature geldings attacked and ripped up badly by a lion earlier this spring.
I sell a lot of Fila puppies to the neighbors for protection.

chris, i live in nj, where over building has caused a bear problem. there are two kinds of black bear, a wild, people weary bear, and a spoiled, no fear, used to garbage bear. the later being the most dangerous. he's not afraid of humans, and most likely doesn't even know how to feed in the wild, having grown up on human garbage and other "handouts".

we had one come right up to our door. my cats were looking out the window, like something scary was out there. and me in my ultimate intelligence, just opens the door to look. i was looking directly at a bear. i slammed the door closed, (alot of good that would do, the window next to it was wide open). i got lucky, very lucky, and did everything wrong.

when he came the next night, i had an airhorn in hand. the kind with a pressurized can attached, that makes an ear piercing noise. i squeezed it a few times, and he was off, and we haven't seen him since (knock on wood). but he was a little one, and apparently just being curious. (again lucky). we now take the chicken feed in!!!!!!!!! but the chickens are still out there, only protected by a house.

i have learned that if he is atleast a little wild still, the mere sound of the gun should send him off. the pitchfork is a very bad idea. not only do you have to get toooo close, but he will just snap it like a toothpick, and then head for you. but if he's thouroly (sp?) peopled, not even the sound will scare him.

the best thing you can do, is set up an escape plan. if he comes in, you go out the other way. have several routes available to you. and use the dog. let him loose, chances are he will either scare off the bear, or at the very least, the bear will chase him and not you.

THOSE WHO THINK BEAR PROBLEMS ARE OVERATED, ARE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE.!!!!!!!!!

hope it helps
jesse

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Until you've been around them, you'd never believe what they can do, and how different they are from almost anything else you can encounter.
For one thing, they have no "scatter factor", like to scare them away, or turn them away. Moose believe they are bigger than anything, and therefore won't startle back like a cow, horse, elk, etc will do.
Their conformation is such, that they can punch you out with their front hooves from 10 feet away. Then do a trampletapdance on you after they get you down.
They're the shadow behind the tree you're walking past.
They itch their hair on the side of the cabin on moonlight snow winter nights.
They are right outside the door in winter, when you are going to stoke the shop's woodstove at 2 AM.
Moose yard up and become constant presence in your driveway and yard during winter, if you have the twigs and bushes handy that is their winter browse.
I've sic'd a herd of Filas on moose, who've stared them down, and come on a'punchin', til they finaly break and run in whatever direction that they are facing at the time.
I love moose, and from now on always want to live in moose country.-but I'm sure cautious of them!

Ah, Filas, YOU know!

You may love moose, but I don't.

Did you know they're rather stupid? If you hide behind a stump just as they charge they can't figure out where you went.

I love moose too but they are unpredictable and dangerous, particularly during the rut. A big bull nearly killed my elderly neighbor when he was out getting his mail from the box. After that, he always carried a .45 to get the mail. They aren't bothered in the least by my Pyrs and they love to break down my gates and fencing to get to the horse's salt blocks. The horses are terrified of them. A couple of years ago the local scuttlebutt had it that 3 hunter's horses were killed by a moose while they were hobbled in camp.

My daughter and I were riding on the road last week and looked up to see a moose silently watching us from the roadside in the shadows. The horses didn't even notice him. It was kind of weird...how he just watched us.

I'd make sure not to have anything good smelling out in the kitchen. I saw too many movies where bears want that apple pie on the window ledge :P

And I dont know muc helse. We dont have bear problems around here. I'd probably not sleep too well for the next few nights but just make sure your trash etc is farther from your house maybe.

At the other house at the mouth of Pack River Canyon, I was sledding along some dog crap to dump-knee deep in snow-and suddenly was almost surrounded by cows with big calves. Well, I dumped the sled, and cruised on back to the house.
From the window, I kept watching and admireing the moose, when I realised back in the thick dog hair trees, I could see the golden curve of a huge antler, WAY up high off the ground! He kept hidden back in the dog hair. But his family stayed right lively eating those shiney leaved bushes that keep their leaves all year.
My mare, Camel, was solitary at that house, and liked the moose. Those bushes they eat in winter were all around her corral, and the moose would stand nose to tail with her on each side of the pipe corral. Camel is nearly 17 H, and the moose looked as tall and as large as she is.

Thanks everyone for all your grate advice and tips, I knew I could count on you all. There was no bear last night luckily. I had different weapons beside me, and I don't have a gun. I just moved out to the boonies 7 months ago, so maybe it's a good idea to take a course and buy a gun incase something like this happens again, maybe to a worse degree. I will keep my fingers crossed he doesn't return. The dog and I have been on alert ever since though. Thanks Chris

Did you call and make a report to the Fish and Wildlife people? If not you really should. And I'm sorry but I cannot resist. I must ask... Can ya skin grizz' Pilgrim?

Glad there was no problem last night but don't let your guard down,
Black bears do pretty well what they please and travel a lot. If he remembers an interesting place he will re-visit on his way back from wherever he went.

I grew up in bear country and my farm has more bear than it should. I've spent the last two weeks getting pictures of them.

I like bears but don't give them a chance for them to make me not like them. You've gotten some good advice here and some bad advice from people who don't know their butt from biscuits.

Advice from me....They can be very dangerous when they feel like being. BUY a gun, learn to shoot, keep the gun handy...It doesn't matter if your in the city or deep in the sticks, the phrase " wait a minute and I'll get my gun" will get you killed quick.

If he comes back, kill him, right then with no hesitation or shouting or clapping sticks together. Just shoot him. He is much more likely to break in to your cabin and make a mess than hurt you but hurting me or breaking in either or both will get something shot in my world.

Just in case the taking pictures comment gave you the wrong idea....I take pictures wearing a Dan Wesson 44 mag and have a Marlin Guide gun in 45/70 stuffed with hand loads that shoot a 405 gr bullet at almost 2000 fps. on the ATV.
I repeat....BEARS CAN BE DANGEROUS WHEN THEY WANT TO BE.
Last weeks Bear

http://www.udap.com/default.htm

MIL lives in NJ. She just said yesterday that they had to shoot yet ANOTHER bear in the area. The bear had cubs, which were taken into rescue. I understand the need to kill an unafraid bear (I would!), but it's still sad that the cubs lost their momma.

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Before you marry someone, ask yourself, "Will they be a good killing partner during the zombie apocalypse?"
-someecards.com

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True story:

It was on the news showing a moose and her calf standing in front of a post office in a town and a man came out looking at his mail and not looking around.

The moose charged the man and knocked him down, and started stomping him with her back legs.

She would do this over and over stopping every little bit to turn around and look at the man to see if he was still moving.

She keep stomping until the big man was killed.

The crazy part is there was a person standing by, and taped the whole thing on a movie camera and did nothing to try to stop the slaughter.

That is where the news tape came from,
the person who watch it all and got it on tape.

Moose will kill you ! ! !

bumpus
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Agreed! Contact the local wildlife agency, get a gun and have it loaded and carry it with you when you are outside!

I would call the game warden. Although it would be best to just shoot the thing some places don't allow shooting bears off season for any reason and could land you with a huge fine. For the record Nusiance bears shouldn't be confused with normal black bears, they have no fear of humans and are extremely dangerous. A black bear in the wild will 99 times out of 100 run away when he gets a whiff of you.

Did you read the OP?

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A bear no matter what color trying to get into your house is not a Nuisance bears,
It's a killer so kill it.

Don't worry about a fine. Is it more important than you live and property.

Also a bullet shot in the wrong place on an animal will not stop them it will only make them mad-er and more dangerous.

This is not a little puppy either.


bumpus.

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I can see the news papers now.

Woman mauled half to death by bear, one arm torn off, and house ripped to peaces.
Asked why she did not shoot the bear and her reply is I did not want to be fined for killing a bear out of season, like some people said I would be.

bumpus
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LOL reminds me of a conversation with a native friend of mine. we were discussing how in the past more polar bears had been shot with a .22 than anything else.I made the coment that a .22 wasnt much,he looked at me like a was a nut and said "SURE BEATS THE ---- OUTTA A SHARP STICK"

I guess its all in your pespective.