There was a time when a walk in the woods made for a beautiful peaceful day.Now one must watch for Black bears that could pose a problem.I like to take a walk in the woods at times.What should I have with me if smoky wants to dance ?
Usually black bears are more afraid of you than the other way around. When we were in Yellowstone hiking/camping our NPS ranger friend told us to keep something like this within reach. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/uda...I-FEhzpvRs9Aglb48_kaAkXxEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Personally I'd have a pistol with me but that may not be feasible for you, even black bears can get the courage to take a person. I don't know what Warner linked but bear spray would be a good idea, be careful storing it, I heard one story, the guy triggered it by accident getting a ladder out.
I've come across countless black bears in the woods and never worried about them. Like Warner said, they are more afraid of you than you are of them. The last fatal attack in NH was back in 1784. There seems to have been more human-black bear encounters in recent years, but almost every single one of those was in an urban environment (i.e., at someone's house/garage/etc.) when the bear was most likely looking for food (there was one incident at a campground up here in NH last year where someone in a tent was scratched by a bear that was trying to get in to get food). With hundreds of thousands of people spending time in the forests of NH, Maine, Vermont, and Mass, if black bears were a dangerous threat in New England, you would have heard about it. Just use common sense in the woods; if you see one, either make some noise and run it off or slowly back away if you don't want to chance it (do NOT run). I've walked up on a sow with cubs before with a (well trained) German shepherd and just stopped, and slowly backed out. She just went about her business. Black bears are a wild animal, so there is always the potential for danger, however the threat of an attack has been blown out of proportion by the media and myths. Way different story out west with brown bears. The only animal I ever worry about in the woods around here (well, other than ticks) is the two-legged kind.
In Mass they hate the gun lobby and make it hard to arm up.Maybe that will change since bears are now coming into the towns.
Rich L If you can't carry a weapon, consider getting a dog. Not a breed that will run off investigating every scent it comes across, but one known for loyalty and protection but non-aggressive to humans. Years ago, another member that always took his dogs hiking with him but off lease had an unpleasant experience. His 5 dogs saw someone else hiking and they all took off running towards the hiker(s). Yes, they were off lease; I would do the same thing in the woods. The person read him the riot act and he seemed to be looking for sympathy here. I told him you have to remember just how intimidating a pack of dogs running towards you can be to the uninitiated and that when dogs are in a pack, their behavior changes to the pack mentality...one trying to outdo the other sort of thing. Point of the story is if you do go with the dog option, only use one dog.
Rich L Around here you would come across a black bear quite often when hiking. EODMSgt's advice is very good. Just give them lots of room, make a lot of noise and back away slowly DO NOT RUN. Do not try to get close to get pictures.
