Dealing With Wildlife Encounters While Ebiking

[Hairy Pete]

Here in the UK we dont see many Bears in the woods but the odd Bull can be a bit intimidating when crossing his field and our not so freindly dog walkers who leave small black pouches hanging from trees... hit your head on them at your peril!
Personally I have never encountered any dangerous wildlife but I have noticed something of interest.. Most of my rides take me allong the canal side where normally wildife keep a respectable distance but for some reason when on the bike I can almost get within touching distance, even if its only Herons, Swans and Kingfishers, with an ocasional Deer if there are no walkers about. You would think a fast moving noisy ebike would scare them off but for some reason I am not seen as a threat, until I dismount that is, and the only Gun I am likely to see is Ben in his Coracle....

 

[steve mercier]

sheesh there are so many black bears in my area that I dont need to fertilize my lawn ,I just let the bear scat do it for me ! They hold their weekly wrestling matches in my backyard. I am not kidding...how about this bike horn.https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5053-...pTJ4BcDhv5S4Editxa6jKIgU7jgAewTBoCCvgQAvD_BwE

 

[steve mercier]

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5053-...pTJ4BcDhv5S4Editxa6jKIgU7jgAewTBoCCvgQAvD_BwE

I also have my concealed carry permit and sometimes ride armed in certain areas of my home state. It definitely solves the wildlife issue locally. The problem is, I often ride in other states where the permit is not valid. Maryland for example is one of my favorite states for trail riding. Their gun laws are among the toughest in the country and concealed carry permits are extremely difficult to get. The same is true for other states where I ride including New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Getting caught there with an "illegal" handgun involves some serious penalties including jail time.

wow ...you need a gun to ride your bike .....that is whacked

 

[Feliz]

sheesh there are so many black bears in my area that I dont need to fertilize my lawn ,I just let the bear scat do it for me ! They hold their weekly wrestling matches in my backyard. I am not kidding...how about this bike horn.https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5053-...pTJ4BcDhv5S4Editxa6jKIgU7jgAewTBoCCvgQAvD_BwE

I'm also from Coquitlam and moved to Vernon three years ago. I lived by the powerline and it was like a freeway for animals. I once had a cougar in my back yard he took off when my dog ran at it. I had bears sleeping in my yard many times but never felt the need for a gun.

 

[Jerry LM]

A grizzly can run 30 mph...

Agreed and if that was the case and situation a .400 gr. bullet traveling at 1400 fps would win every time! I am a animal lover and don't hunt anymore, but if it were me or him I would put my faith in S&W.....not my Evelo!

 

[Feliz]

I worked in the bush doing mineral exploration all my life mostly in remote areas only accessible by horse or helicopter and never felt the need for a gun or knew anyone that did. The motorcycle forums are full of "how do you carry when riding" threads I guess we can expect that here soon.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Agreed and if that was the case and situation a .400 gr. bullet traveling at 1400 fps would win every time! I am a animal lover and don't hunt anymore, but if it were me or him I would put my faith in S&W.....not my Evelo!

Please. With all due respect, you are discussing something that is vanishingly unlikely to ever happen to you in the field. Kind of like winning powerball and getting struck by lightning at the same time.

Like I said earlier, if you are likely to be in a serious bear situation (and from a practical standpoint that really only includes bear researchers and bear hunters) you need to get expert advice and training. This website can provide neither.

 

[Jerry LM]

I think it all depends on where you live, ride, your right in the wild it's security for the rarity of wild animals being aggressive, in the city in some areas it's a matter of survival and keeping your bike. The animals that worry me most are human, many of that species can be very aggressive !! Just like knowing self defense is an option.

 

[steve mercier]

Here in the UK we dont see many Bears in the woods but the odd Bull can be a bit intimidating when crossing his field and our not so freindly dog walkers who leave small black pouches hanging from trees... hit your head on them at your peril!
Personally I have never encountered any dangerous wildlife but I have noticed something of interest.. Most of my rides take me allong the canal side where normally wildife keep a respectable distance but for some reason when on the bike I can almost get within touching distance, even if its only Herons, Swans and Kingfishers, with an ocasional Deer if there are no walkers about. You would think a fast moving noisy ebike would scare them off but for some reason I am not seen as a threat, until I dismount that is, and the only Gun I am likely to see is Ben in his Coracle....

I would be way more afraid of a bull than a bear since I am around bears weekly

 

[Cowlitz]

When I moved to a very isolated part of N. California, I was asked what kind of gun I had and I did go buy some bear shot for it. The house I was moving into had actually been broken into before by a black bear and the bear was shot in the doorway. Bears were plentiful and they were larger than normal black bears. But most of the incidents were caused by people leaving food in their vehicles. I guess the former residents of my house had actually left quite a bit of sausage in their car and the car was totaled. My "gun" was never taken out of the closet.

My Golden Retriever went to work and chased the bears out of the neighborhood. When we moved away, the bears came back. In fact, within the first week of our absence, a hot tub cover was ripped up. Guess bears like the fragrances that people put in their water.

Having retired from working in the woods, I do NOT miss the every hunting season questions --Don't you carry a gun? Aren't you afraid to be out here all alone?

Anyway, back to the topic. I haven't been able to sneak up on critters like on a regular bike. My Radmini is noisy. There is a nut that used to hold on the headlight (it broke off quickly) that rattles and I forget about it until riding. I've also added another tag to my dog's collar and those act like bells. I sometimes ride with a friend who is afraid of bears so she sometimes attaches a bell to her bike.

 

[steve mercier]

When I moved to a very isolated part of N. California, I was asked what kind of gun I had and I did go buy some bear shot for it. The house I was moving into had actually been broken into before by a black bear and the bear was shot in the doorway. Bears were plentiful and they were larger than normal black bears. But most of the incidents were caused by people leaving food in their vehicles. I guess the former residents of my house had actually left quite a bit of sausage in their car and the car was totaled. My "gun" was never taken out of the closet.

My Golden Retriever went to work and chased the bears out of the neighborhood. When we moved away, the bears came back. In fact, within the first week of our absence, a hot tub cover was ripped up. Guess bears like the fragrances that people put in their water.

Having retired from working in the woods, I do NOT miss the every hunting season questions --Don't you carry a gun? Aren't you afraid to be out here all alone?

Anyway, back to the topic. I haven't been able to sneak up on critters like on a regular bike. My Radmini is noisy. There is a nut that used to hold on the headlight (it broke off quickly) that rattles and I forget about it until riding. I've also added another tag to my dog's collar and those act like bells. I sometimes ride with a friend who is afraid of bears so she sometimes attaches a bell to her bike.

you nailed it with bears... dont leave food around and make a lot of noise when biking around blind corners in the forest. The dummies in my area leave garbage cans outside and unlocked all summer and bears remember where they found food and so It is a bear freeway through my yard , which backs onto the forest . I got tired of repairing my fence so often ( bears just smash right though a wood fence ) that I decided to just leave both gates open , and now they just pass through on their way to hunting garbage. Then they drag the garbage bags into my back yard and eat it there . Bears are slobs !

 

[Jerry LM]

you nailed it with bears... dont leave food around and make a lot of noise when biking around blind corners in the forest. The dummies in my area leave garbage cans outside and unlocked all summer and bears remember where they found food and so It is a bear freeway through my yard , which backs onto the forest . I got tired of repairing my fence so often ( bears just smash right though a wood fence ) that I decided to just leave both gates open , and now they just pass through on their way to hunting garbage. Then they drag the garbage bags into my back yard and eat it there . Bears are slobs !

You hit on the head, we have the bears here almost every day, they have destroyed many of our bird feeders so we take them down at night now. Ripped a Neighbors garage door apart because he had garbage cans in there that smelled. Three were shot here last year as nuisance bears so far this year none I know of. They are not aggressive but we bump into them out back all the time. Never had one come at me they just walk away. Have encountered three Cougar so far. One less than 50 yards crossed in front of me and my dog and one last year in a tree behind the house. I don’t trust those suckers and he could kill my dog so I still carry. And will continue to . Not a gun discussion at all just common sense around here.

 

[steve mercier]

You hit on the head, we have the bears here almost every day, they have destroyed many of our bird feeders so we take them down at night now. Ripped a Neighbors garage door apart because he had garbage cans in there that smelled. Three were shot here last year as nuisance bears so far this year none I know of. They are not aggressive but we bump into them out back all the time. Never had one come at me they just walk away. Have encountered three Cougar so far. One less than 50 yards crossed in front of me and my dog and one last year in a tree behind the house. I don’t trust those suckers and he could kill my dog so I still carry. And will continue to . Not a gun discussion at all just common sense around here.

yeah they destroyed all my bird feeders .......I give up on feeding now and I still have a 50lb bag of feed in the garage ...come and take it. I never see cougars but I see their foot prints in the sand by the river I carry dog pepper spray and that is all ever since I had a Rottwieller sink his chops into my thigh....... much PAIN for 3 weeks! I am more afraid of large jawed dogs than bears and cougars. I sometimes hear the pack of coyotes at night and its chilling but in the daytime I have never seen more than one at a time so not scary

 

[6zfshdb]

I much prefer this type of wildlife encounter



This guy thought he owned the place.



Wrong time of year for a turkey to be playing chicken with people on the trail!

 

[fst]

My list of encountered wildlife...
bunnies
squirrels
chipmunks
cats (Maybe feral? Stalking the above!)
deer (both does and bucks, though this is in suburbia)

For a while talked about my commute by saying it was "a two bunny ride" or a "four bunny ride", etc.

I like your sense of humor!

 

[Jerry LM]

My dog just had a fit here about an hour ago, 7 deer with fawns walked by the window! he goes nuts, we love the wildlife here, saw a couple of Bald Eagles over the house a while ago and while out Salmon fishing this year. We had a pod of Killer Whales come into the harbor earlier in the year, looking for Seals most likely.
My wife and I were passing a large pasture area this week and spotted over 70 Elk laying about, that was just a quick count of what I could see from the road, beautiful to see.
As far as Cougar they are hunters and in the right circumstances and hungry enough they will track you, they have been known to kill a few backpackers and runners over the years. Very dangerous animals, sometimes just sit and watch and sometimes run off but can be very aggressive. Fortunately we don't have droughts here and food in the form of cats, rabbit, deer are available all the time so humans are mostly safe.
My wife photographed one sitting along the highway watching cars go by, we stopped , backed up, she took her picture and it never moved, we were amazed it didn't run off. Beautiful animals but wouldn't want to confront one in a bad mood!
Incidentally our Fish and Game officers All carry firearms here in Or and would not be out tracking trouble animals unarmed, and I have been up on logging roads alone and isolated and would feel very unsafe without some sort of protection. I know of no one around here who trails or packs in wilderness areas without protection. Better safe than sorry.

 

[AHicks]

We went on a ride yesterday (just north of Tampa) on a paved trail that leads out to a pavilion on the Gulf Coast. Sunny, high 60's pretty much perfect weather, and despite this, we had the trail pretty much to ourselves . Our "wildlife" encounter involved seeing 2 bald eagles eating carrion, and later, a deer that thought she had her "invisible cloak" or "statue mode" turned on, but didn't. She was standing in the shade so seeing her was difficult, but she couldn't have been more than 3' from the trail! She never moved a muscle or even blinked. Thought was the electric bikes and the lack of noise confused her maybe.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

I live near a large National Forest - well, swamp - where I've spent untold hours hiking, hunting, and general woods loafing. Lots of wild life, including black bears which are generally but not predictably docile.

None of the various species recognize the boundaries of the Forest and show up just about anywhere, like my backyard. I am aware but not alarmed.

Under most conditions I don't take a firearm unless I'm hunting. Sometimes I do. Not because I'm scared, but because circumstances call for it.

Having this option does not exclude using other, less drastic options. If the discussion is framed in terms of either-or, then even to me guns can come in second best - most times. But it's not either-or. It's a spectrum. Which pro-gun people overlook as often as anti-gun people.

Also, I don't recommend large-caliber handguns to people who haven't had training and a lot of practice. It is not a point-and-click device.