Wild Animal Encounters

It happens all the time — people drop their guard while out wandering through the wild outdoors, and they get into trouble with animals.

Part of the problem is the Hollywood-spawned mentality that humans and wildlife interact peacefully, as long as you approach the animals with good intentions. Somehow, the wild animals are supposed to understand that you mean them no harm — all you want to do is cuddle.

Boy, that's a load of trash. Let me put it this way, if someone wandered into my home uninvited, the last thing I'm going to think is that he wants to cuddle. Well the same thing applies to wildlife. That's their home you're wandering into.

Survival as a wild animal demands that these critters live in "red alert" mode all the time. The minute they let down their guard, they become someone's lunch. This becomes the most important concept in their life, so when a threat appears they will either run away or fight for their life.

Then you show up with your camera and snacks, hoping to feed one of these cute creatures. Next thing you know, you're in a hospital bed with injuries or perhaps disease you received as a result of your adventure.

So here's the deal — If you encounter a wild animal:

• Keep your distance — there is no valid reason to approach a wild animal, no matter how cute they are.
• Even small critters like chipmunks and raccoons can carry disease that can be easily transferred to humans (plague, rabies, virus and bacteria).
• Bears are predators who sometimes injure or kill humans during encounters. If you are going into bear country, know about it beforehand. Maintain a constant watch for evidence of bears. Keep all food and garbage in bear-proof containers. If you encounter a bear, back away slowly, keeping an eye on the bear. Do not run, as that will spark an attack response. Just calmly move out of the area, so the bear doesn’t consider you a threat.
• Cougars — they will stalk humans, follow them for miles, and take them down from behind when least expected. Best not to travel alone in cougar country. Always be prepared to defend yourself in an attack, using a knife, stick, rock or whatever you have. Never try to run. Face the cougar, make yourself look big and dangerous. Don’t loose your feet during the battle.
• Moose, elk, deer, bison — all are dangerous to humans, so keep your distance. If you are approached or attacked by big game, keep something solid (tree, boulder) between you and the animal until it loses interest in you and goes away. You can’t outrun them, so don’t even try unless you have a vehicle or building very close at hand that you can scramble into.

Ten Essentials

You've probably seen the credit card commercials with the message "Don't Leave Home Without It."

Well, that concept ought to apply to the outdoors. There are some things you should always have with you when you venture beyond the borders of civilization. Some outdoor organizations have proposed their list of Ten Essentials, but here's my own list.

Actually, this is a list of the Ten essential categories, and you'll notice that I've added the stuff I use to fill those categories. Feel free to modify this list to suit your own situation.


Shelter —

• Tent
• Emergency blanket or bivvy
• Rain poncho

Insulation —

• Appropriate clothing for the season
• Sleeping bag

Fire —

• A Bic lighter (or similar)
• A fire striker
• Prepared tinder and/or accelerant product

Water —

• A canteen or water bladder system
• A water purification system to keep you going when the initial supply runs out

Food —

• Energy bars
• Trail mix, GORP

Navigation —

• Map of the area
• Compass
• GPS and extra batteries

Signaling —

• Signal mirror
• Signal whistle
• Cell phone
• PLB or Spot

Tools —

• Knife
• Flashlight and spare batteries
• Multitool
• Cordage
• Toilet paper

Medical —

• First aid kit and manual
• Personal medications

Environmental Protection —

• Insect repellent
• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses

Woman Attacks Bear

A woman who couldn't figure out how to load the family's shotgun, so she could use it to save her husband who was being mauled by a black bear, decided to beat the bear on the head with the gun.

Not exactly the most effective method of using a firearm for self protection, but it worked.

Here's what happened — the couple and their dog were enjoying a vacation in their Wisconsin cabin when a year-old black bear started chasing the dog. Gerre Ninnemann said, "I came running out into the yard, shouting, waving my arms at the bear, thinking that would scare him away. But it didn't. All it did was leave the dog and come right for me."

Ninnemann ran for the corner of the cabin, but the bear caught up with him and started mauling him. His wife, Marie, found the shotgun but didn't know how to load it. So she took the gun outside and beat the bear on the head, which gave her husband a chance to escape into the cabin. But the bear wasn't done with them. He charged right up to the door, then started circling the cabin and looking in the windows. Ninnemann called the sheriff, who sent a deputy to dispatch the bear.

Ninnemann ended up in the hospital with bites and claw marks from his waist to the top of his head. His wife's quick thinking probably saved his life.

After Ninnemann recovers, I believe a session at the shooting range is in order. If you're going to have guns of any type, it's critical to be well trained in their use. That goes for everyone in the family, because you never know when the defensive use of a firearm will be needed by someone other than the primary gun owner.

Wildlife Attacks

Are you ready for this? Out of Belarus comes a story about Attack Beavers that kill people.

Sounds completely bogus, and some folks in the "nature is warm and fuzzy" crowd will rise up and claim that beavers don't kill people. These are the same folks who staunchly proclaim that wolves don't kill people. Unfortunately, they grew up watching too many Disney movies and reading books by Farley Mowat.

Well, let's see what this story is all about. It turns out that a 60-year-old man wanted to have his photo taken with a beaver he spotted alongside the road. He stopped the car and approached the beaver. As he tried to grab the animal, it defended its position by biting the man several times, slicing an artery in his leg, causing him to bleed to death.

According to the report, this isn't the first time a beaver vs. human encounter turned out badly for the human. Although this is the first report of a person being killed by a beaver attack, there has been a string of attacks reported, as the beavers have become increasingly aggressive when confronted by humans.

And who can blame them? I wouldn't want some guy stopping his car and grabbing me just because he wanted a photo either. I'm not sure if I would bite him, but I would certainly do everything I could to discourage the fellow. So I'm not blaming the beaver.

I'm also not blaming the wild goat that killed a man a couple years ago on the Klahhane Ridge trail in the Olympic National Park. Nor do I blame the bears, cougars, wolves, deer, elk, moose, or any other wild animal who dispatches a human who is misbehaving in the animal's territory.

What I blame is the stupidity of humans who put themselves in a position to be confronted by wildlife. Sometimes it makes me wonder how we (humans) ever ended up at the top of the food chain. And it only reconfirms my rejection of the Theory of Evolution that has a foundation based on Survival of the Fittest. Humans are NOT the fittest — we are among the most frail, least naturally prepared to survive in a harsh environment. And sometimes we prove to be too stupid to save ourselves, or prevent our own death.

Okay, rant over.

So, here is the #1 rule about human survival when confronted with wildlife. LEAVE THE ANIMALS ALONE!

Don't try to pick them up. Don't try to hug them. They don't want their picture taken with you. They consider you a menace, an intruder, a threat. It's like you've invaded their home, and they have every right to defend it. LEAVE THE ANIMALS ALONE!

Alright, second rant finished.

Seriously, if you want photos of wild animals, use a long telephoto lens. The best wildlife photographers are so adept at capturing their subjects in their natural environment that the animals never even knew the photographer was there. It takes skill and finesse to locate the animal and then sneak into position to take the shot without disturbing the animal. That is so totally different than finding an animal along the road, stopping the car, scaring the crap out of the little beast, then trying to grab it so your buddy can take a photo.

You see the same kind of behavior in places like Yellowstone Park, where a traffic jam clogs the road because tourists screech to a halt and jump out of their cars to approach and photograph some poor animal that just wants everybody to go away and leave it alone.

Humans should follow a certain wildlife etiquette, a code of behavior, when in the back country.

• Unless you're hunting game, don't pursue animals you encounter. Enjoy the fact that they're sharing their backyard with you, and respect that.
• If you're on the same trail as the animal, divert your path rather than forcing the animal off the trail. 
• Back off and keep your distance.
• Don't make any threatening moves, such as trying to approach the animal.
• Don't inadvertently attract animals into your camp by leaving bits of food or garbage around. Secure all food and trash in animal-proof canisters.
• Leave your pets at home. A dog might go nuts when it spots a wild animal, giving chase, or perhaps attracting the wild animal toward you (think hungry bear or cougar wanting a bite of Fido).

If there is unprovoked aggressive behavior on the part any wildlife, report it to authorities as soon as you have an opportunity. There might be a disease situation that has caused the animal to become aggressive.

Prepare

It isn't a matter of "if" … it's only a matter of "when."

Know Where The Exits Are

More than a thousand victims have been discovered so far, and there is no end in sight, as authorities try to estimate the ultimate death toll.

Disaster struck when a fire broke out somewhere on the lower floors of an 11-story garment factory. Smoldering acrylic material created a lot of smoke that rose through the upper floors of the building, setting off a panic among workers. They rushed for the front stairwell, but the toxic fumes overwhelmed them, and the victims suffocated.

Mamun Mahmud, deputy director of the fire service, reported that the building had two stairwells at the front and an emergency exit in the back. "Had they used the emergency stairwell, they would have survived," he said.

"They also would have likely survived the slow-spreading fire had they stayed on the upper floors. We found the roof open, but we did not find there anybody after the fire broke out. We recovered all of them on the stairwell on the ninth floor."

This tragic incident points out the importance of always knowing where the exits are, and having a plan to use them in an emergency. It doesn't matter whether you're in a garment factory in Bangladesh or a nightclub in Rhode Island (the 2003 Station nightclub fire comes to mind), or your own home — your ability to find a way out is a primary survival strategy.

Whenever you enter a building, make yourself aware of every possible way to get out of that building. Be especially cognizant of the "secondary" escape routes, because human nature will cause most of the people in the building to attempt an escape through the front door. In the case of the garment factory fire, all of the victims were found piled up on the primary stairwell, and according to the authorities, if the workers has used the secondary (rear) exit, they would have lived.

Realizing that most people trapped in a room will rush for the main exit, plan your survival strategy to use a secondary exit — be it a door, a window, or another room (or a different floor, such as the basement or roof) that gets you out of the way of the immediate danger.

In the Station nightclub fire, the crush of people trying to flee out the front door became an immediate gridlock that trapped 100 victims inside. Others were injured by being trampled in the stampede.

Switch on your situational awareness whenever you enter a room, and have an escape plan in mind so you can get out alive.

Guns — Time For The Truth

Here's the truth.

• A policeman is not your personal body guard. 
• The police department is not your personal security force. 
• Cops are not hired to protect your life and property 24/7 from the bad guys.

Lest you think I'm bad-mouthing the police by writing these things, let me quickly set the matter straight, nothing could be farther from the truth. I used to work for a major city police department, and have nothing but respect and admiration for the men and women who put on the uniform and risk their lives daily in the battle against crime.

But the reality is that, as well-trained and dedicated as they are, they can't be with you every minute of every day to protect you against criminal acts. Your personal protection is your own responsibility.

When it comes to personal protection, there are two things to note about police officers and sheriff deputies:

1. They carry firearms.
2. They know how and when to use them.

There's a reason for that. It's not that they're afraid, and it's not because they hope to shoot some bad guys. The reason they carry firearms is because the bad guys carry guns. The old adage holds true — don't bring a knife to a gun fight.

If you hope to survive against armed criminals, it's necessary to be at least on equal footing. When I say "at least" on equal footing, I allude to the other old adage, "if you find yourself in a fair fight, there's something wrong with your strategy." Always be prepared so you will have the advantage.

In other words, you don't want to find yourself less than totally capable to take care of your own personal protection. Whatever it takes to protect yourself, that should be what you do. That doesn't mean that you have to carry bigger weapons than the bad guys. What you do need is superior training. I believe everyone should participate in a combat shooting course, learning to recognize the difference between the good guys and the bad guys in a heartbeat, and take appropriate action. If you're going to carry a gun, you really ought to become proficient in its use.

You know what they say, "When seconds count, the police are just minutes away." Actually, the average response time for a 911 call is 23 minutes! If you're satisfied to wait for the police to show up and start an investigation after the fact, well, good luck to you.

Note that when they do show up, they'll be packing guns — which should be a clue as to the value of being armed to stop a perpetrator.

"Ah," some might say, "but the police have to carry guns, because it's part of their job. We don't have to carry guns, because the police will protect us."

Really? Do you want to guess about the percentage of retired police officers who carry firearms for personal protection? And just why do you suppose they do that?

Is your life any less valuable than theirs? Is your family any less valuable than theirs? Are your rights to self protection any less valid than theirs?

After reviewing statistics about tragic shootings, it's impossible to come to any other conclusion than the fact that the most dangerous place to be is a "gun free zone." That's where the bad guys can carry out their evil deeds without resistance. For them, it's like shooting fish in a barrel.

How long do you think that would last if the fish could shoot back?

My opinion.