Walk In Woods And “Carry A Big Stick”
October 8, 2008
During last night’s presidential debate (for lack of a better term), Sen. John McCain fumbled and bumbled while trying to promote the wisdom of Theodore Roosevelt, and ended up saying, “Talk softly and carry a big stick.” Teddy Roosevelt first used the term during a speech in Chicago, I think, and quoted an old proverb that says, “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” Us rough and tough Americans have morphed that into, “Walk tall and carry a big stick!”, as in Buford T. Pusser.
A man in British Columbia, Canada went for a walk in the woods with his two black labs and was attacked by a bear in the company of two cubs. You can read all the details at Canada.com but in short, he ended up finding a stick at the scene after being attacked twice and he beat the bear to death.
Here’s an interesting bit of information that appeared at the end of the article. Officials went to the scene where the guy clubbed the bear. They ended up shooting the two bear cubs and according to the article, the conservation officers said the bear acted “unnaturally, overly aggressive”. They also said this:
The mama bear’s two cubs had to be put down in case the aggression had been passed down in their genes.
Really? Any bear experts want to weigh in on this? Is it unnatural behavior for a mother bear with two cubs to act to protect her young? I’m guessing the bear was surprised, not just by the man but his two dogs as well.
Conservation officials should do what their policies dictate they should do in cases such as this but I question some of their reasoning.
Tom Remington
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This is what mother bears do(protect they’re young) The dogs propably were considered a threat by the sow to her cubs and she reacted.
I am glad the guy is okay.
I think this man should be fined. The bear was at home and this man should have left after he was attacked the first time. If the mother black bear wanted him dead, he would have been dead–she simply wanted him to leave. The fact that her babies were killed too was just someone having an excuse to kill…It’s sick all around…
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I spend a lot of time in the woods here in new jersey and I’ve seen my share of black bear and coyotes as well. ‘Carrying a big stick’ has always been a good idea in the Pine Barrens…roughly one million acres of largely unpopulated woodlands/wetlands. The terrain can be very varied, sometimes difficult. Add to that the high water table and the comparatively high presence of marshland and ’sucking bogs’. and you have plenty of practical application for a good long stout hiking staff…with or without black bears and coyotes. I’ve had coyotes get what I felt was too close to me, and never a problem. Then too, an adult male human is likely too large to be seen by a coyote as a prey item. The black bears I’ve seen were from a good bit further away and if they didn’t run away as soon as they saw me, they ran very quickly as soon as I yelled ‘HEY BEAR!’
I should point out that this was not during cubbing season…a very different protocol obtains then.;) Black bears are arboreal, so forget about climbing a tree. They get up a tree nearly as quickly as a squirrel will if the mood takes them. The populations are getting larger…I suspect it won’t be long before I add Bear Spray to my ‘big stick’, especially if I choose to walk in the woods in cubbing season. For those who take the position that I (or anyone) is walking in’ the bear’s home’ and thus must take responsibility for any unpleasantness that may occur, all I can say is that we as humans are the top of the food chain.
That being so, I’ll walk where I like, when I like. It’s important (IMO) for us to remember that MAN is the single greatest threat to any facet of wildlife that you might care to name, NOT the other way around. When we manage our wildlife properly, everyone benefits. Otherwise, ‘the other way around’ comes back to us in the form of roadkill accidents, which kill people every year, as well as the loss of livestock, small pets etc. Coyotes are not gray wolves…we’ve demonstrated our ability to scourge wolves to the very brink of extinction.
Coyotes are far more adaptable, far more resourceful than their larger cousins.
Once the coyote has reached a sustainable population in any given area, I suspect that they’ll be there for the duration. Wiping out Norway rats would be easier….and that’ll never happen either.
Enjoy the woods….gaze with awe and appreciation upon the wonders of nature. Take a ‘big stick’ with you…just in case.
Don’t forget the sun screen
Well, said!
My “big stick” comes in various calibers….especially since now that wolves and coyotes are interbreeding and with wild dogs as well…”Never leave home without it” (works well with two legged variety, as well..)