YELLOWSTONE BEARS & BEAR SPRAY
We have guests all the time ask us if “Bear Spray” is really necessary while exploring Yellowstone National Park. Our recommendation is a firm “Yes”. We have had many, many close encounters of the Bear kinds and we always suggest having bear spray any time you venture away from your car in this region.
Catherine (my wife) and I see 20-30 bears a year in our travels. The closest we’ve ever been to a Grizzly is about 5 feet! We were camped in the Pebble Creek Camp ground a few years back and got face to face with one when it was curious about our sleeping bags (while we were in them!) Sadly, that bear ended up being put-down by the Park Service because it was to habituated to humans. Possibly if he had been sprayed by Bear Spray at some point he might still be around today. We recommend “Counter Assault” Bear Spray.
My scariest bear story happened in the Fall of 2004. I was guiding elk hunters in a Wilderness Area just outside of Yellowstone Park. We horsepacked 18 miles in to get to our spike camp. For a week straight it rained, and every night Grizzly bears had been around our camp spooking our horses. We had a solar powered electric fence set-up as a corral, and when the bears would spook the horses, they’d break through the fence and flee. So, then we (the 3 guides) would have to go look for the horses in the rain.
One night at about 3 am the horses started making crazy noises and they all busted out and took off running. I was on my cot, in my union suit and I jumped up threw on my pac boots, grabbed my headlamp and was out of the tent in the pouring rain.
I ran through the woods with a lead rope in my hand trying to catch the horses before they got to far away- in nothing but a union suit, I got to the trail that led out of camp, and walked through the mud for a couple of hundred yards until I saw a horse off the trail.
I walked up and got the horse than started leading it back towards camp. I walked a few feet down the trail, shining the light into the mud looking at my footprints. Then I came upon a very fresh grizzly bear print on top of my foot print that I had just left minutes before!
Then my headlamp went out!!!!
So, there I was standing in the pitch dark,in the rain, in my underwear, holding on to a horse and realizing that there was a grizzly within a few feet from me.
Grizzly Bears
• Color varies from blond to black. Often medium-to dark-brown legs, hump, and underparts with light-tipped (grizzled) fur on head and upper body.
• Average weight is 500 pounds for males and 350 for females. Males may weigh up to 800 pounds.
• Height is 3.5 – 4 feet at shoulder when on all fours, and 6 –7 feet when standing upright.
• Distinctive shoulder hump is actually muscle mass that enables powerful digging.
• Rump is lower than shoulder hump.
• A dished-in profile between eyes and end of snout helps distinguish grizzlies from black bears.
• Ears are round and proportionately small.
• Front claws are 2-4 inches long, usually light colored.
Black Bear
• Colors include black, brown, blond, cinnamon, and rust. The most common snout color is light brown.
• Average weight in the West is 100 – 300 pounds, with males usually larger than females. Males may weigh up to 400 or more pounds.
• Height is 2.5 – 3 feet at the shoulder when standing on all fours and 5 feet standing upright.
• Rump is higher than front shoulders. Does not have a shoulder hump/muscle.
• Face profile is straight; muzzle is long.
• Ears may be long and prominent.
• Front claws are less than 2 inches long, dark colored, sharp, curved, and good for climbing. Claw marks do not always
