Bears are strange creatures for me to think about. I guess I’ve known them my whole life. I killed my first bear several years before my first deer. Whenever I go bear hunting, I get a few butterflies during the preparation. Up here, that means while walking the 3-5 miles to my spot in the dark. It’s the idea of them that gets me anxious, but when I actually encounter one, I’m never worried.
Last year, I was sitting in a logging road, waiting for daylight when a bear “barked” about 30 yards away. Then for the next ten minutes, he, or she, sat there growling at me. I remember nocking an arrow, backing into the far side of the trail and smiling the whole time. It was pretty cool to me.
Another time, sitting over a bait in Canada, I had my biggest bear ever stand up against the tree I was in and sniff at my boots through the stand.
Black bears are nothing to fear, except in the rarest of situations.
I only have limited experience with lions, but I’m not too worried about them either. Grizz might be a different story. Grizz might get my hackles up.
