Dealing With Wildlife Encounters While Ebiking

[6zfshdb]

My trusty old MTB and now my new ebike get me into some very remote areas where encounters with wildlife are common. I've noticed the increased speed and relative quiet of the ebike often gets me much closer to animals before they alert. Much more so than was the case with the MTB. Encounters with small animals are for the most part pleasant (for me anyway). Occasionally though I'll spook a deer or bear at an uncomfortably close distance. This fall, I came around a bend and encountered a Whitetail Buck blocking the trail. I managed to stop and we stared at each other from a distance of about 10 feet. After a few seconds, he leapt to the side but in my direction! Fall is rutting season for Whitetail and bucks can be unpredictably spooky. I've had many encounters with deer but not at this close range. I'm not sure who was startled most!

What concerns me more is a close encounter with a bear. The Black Bear we have here in the northeast are mostly docile except when startled or have cubs. Under these conditions, they can be very unpredictable. The encounters I've had were mostly at a distance and the animal just walked slowly away. At least that was the case until this happened.

I emerged from a heavily wooded section into a clearing and saw a sow with two cubs eating cherries under a tree. I always keep the camera handy so I stopped and started taking pictures. I was down wind about 200 feet away so they didn't notice me at first.



At some point, the sow got wind of me, stood up and looked around



She saw me and started to approach in a rather aggressive manner! Fortunately for me, she didn't do it at a dead run!



I turned around and got the hell out of there!

I usually carry a can of pepper spray on the handlebar, mostly for stray dogs. I realized, this would be totally ineffective on a larger animal due to it's limited range. I talked to a local animal control officer and was told bear spray isn't readily available here on the east coast. He laughed when I told him I wanted to carry it on my bike. He showed me the one he uses and it was the size of a small fire extinguisher. It was bulky, heavy and totally unsuitable for bike use. He advised the best thing to do when riding in remote areas is to make a lot of noise to avoid startling animals at close range. I now make it a point to use my bell and horn when riding in these areas.

I'm curious what cautions you riders out west use. Running afoul of a grizzly would be a far more serious encounter!

 

[JRA]

Some big animals about as far west as you can get but peaceful for the most part.

 

[Jerry LM]

Here in Oregon I have seen many Cougar but they are usually moving across the trail or sitting watching. They run off and so far have not felt threatened by any. Bears are almost a daily occurrence here in our yard and the woods behind us but have never been aggressive. I to carry pepper even when not riding, and being a ccw holder am always armed when riding.

 

[6zfshdb]

Here in Oregon I have seen many Cougar but they are usually moving across the trail or sitting watching. They run off and so far have not felt threatened by any. Bears are almost a daily occurrence here in our yard and the woods behind us but have never been aggressive. I to carry pepper even when not riding, and being a ccw holder am always armed when riding.

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.

 

[Jerry LM]

Good points, being retired law Enforcment I have multi state carry and badge so it’s not an issue here.

 

[Cowlitz]

I retired from working "in the woods" for over 30 years. I've never been bothered by bears. Here in Washington, we may have a grizzly or two near the Canadian Boundary although a guy I know claims to have seen one in the South Cascades. Could be. We do have black bears but I have only seen their butts as they are running away. Bears are hunted here and that keeps them shy. I have come across a sow and cubs while walking with my Lab. He galloomped after the sow for a bit, and the cubs went up trees. I got my dog back and walked back up the road and waited a bit. Then we went on down as all bears were gone.

We do have problems with "fed bears" once in a while. The state game people usually end up killing those.

On my e-bike I have only had close encounters with bunnies. When I'm riding in the woods, my little dog is out scaring everything away. We do ride through slow elk herds (domestic cows) sometimes and once one of those looked like she was going to do something after we interrupted her cud chewing time, but it turned out OK too.

I do have a can of bear spray for hiking. We now have wolf packs in the area. Oh joy...Not. Bear spray is easily found in stores that sell outdoor gear.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Just a bit of background: I worked several seasons for the National Park Service. I also go on long-distance backpacking trips most summers. In a typical year I will have about a dozen bear encounters -- that has applied for the last 30+ years. In all of those hundreds of bear encounters (both black and griz) in exactly two of them did the bears display any aggressive behavior at all, to whit, the bears growled and snorted and stomped their feet. That's it. In the vast majority of the remaining cases the bear skedaddled as soon as it got wind of me (literally), and for the rest the bear was much more interested in eating than it was in me.

Over the last 100 years in the lower 48 and Canada we have averaged one fatal bear attack per year. That compares with about 25 people a year being killed by cows (they are more organized than you think!), 50 people per year being killed by bees, and over one thousand cyclists per year being slaughtered by motorists. So a rational cyclist should be one thousand times more concerned about automobiles than bears.

If you live in or are going to visit an area that is a notorious bear freeway I recommend you get expert advice. This forum in no way qualifies as expert advice.

On the issue of bear spray and firearms I have never felt any particular need to carry them, and the extreme rarity of bear encounters where any aggression at all is displayed indicates to me that that is a quite reasonable course. Stephen Herrero, in Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance (great read), posits that only a well-trained expert is likely to increase their safety with a firearm. There is also a great discussion in that book about what kinds of firearms are likely to be effective (12-gauge shotgun with slugs, big-game hunting rifles, a 30.06 is of questionable effectiveness and a handgun is useless) and how they are likely to be used (engagement ranges are likely to be very short and there will probably be only seconds to engage and dispatch the charging bear, so there won't be time to engage the sights and you will likely be shooting from the hip -- literally).

 

[indianajo]

Fortunately there has been only one bear seen here, the wrong sex to have cubs.
I'm more worried about deer. My car was butted by a buck, left a big dent in the door. One reason I quit riding out to my summer camp in October, there are dozens of deer out there until after hunting season. Bucks weigh about the same as me, and the supplies on the back of the bike would just cram me harder into the antlers as I'm coming down the 15% grade.
Horses in pastures react to my bike as if I am another horse. I would hate to know how bucks see me.

 

[ebikemom]

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.

 

[6zfshdb]

Over the last 100 years in the lower 48 and Canada we have averaged one fatal bear attack per year. That compares with about 25 people a year being killed by cows (they are more organized than you think!), 50 people per year being killed by bees, and over one thousand cyclists per year being slaughtered by motorists. So a rational cyclist should be one thousand times more concerned about automobiles than bears.

If you live in or are going to visit an area that is a notorious bear freeway I recommend you get expert advice. This forum in no way qualifies as expert advice.

On the issue of bear spray and firearms I have never felt any particular need to carry them, and the extreme rarity of bear encounters where any aggression at all is displayed indicates to me that that is a quite reasonable course. Stephen Herrero, in Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance (great read), posits that only a well-trained expert is likely to increase their safety with a firearm. There is also a great discussion in that book about what kinds of firearms are likely to be effective (12-gauge shotgun with slugs, big-game hunting rifles, a 30.06 is of questionable effectiveness and a handgun is useless) and how they are likely to be used (engagement ranges are likely to be very short and there will probably be only seconds to engage and dispatch the charging bear, so there won't be time to engage the sights and you will likely be shooting from the hip -- literally).

Thanks for the reference and the benefit of your experience!

Due to the docile nature of the bears around these parts, I never gave encounters much thought until the incident mentioned in my original post. It was the first time I had ever experienced aggressive behavior and it left me with a healthy respect for these animals.

Keep in mind a bear encounter doesn't have to be fatal or even injurious to ruin a ride. Your point about a handgun being ineffective on a large bear is well taken. I think it makes a better noisemaker than anything else. Black bears are frequent visitors to the bird feeders in our back yard. The report from my .45 ACP aimed at the ground always sends them running.

I totally agree about the appalling number of cyclists killed each year by vehicles. This is why I'm strictly a trail rider and rarely if ever use a road.

Again, thanks for your post.

 

[6zfshdb]

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.

!

 

[Jerry LM]

Hi My on bike carry in the handlebar tote is a .45 cap and I mainly ride roads in very rural areas , I never leave home without it truck or bike and so far in over 30 yrs of carry and working for LE have never needed. But would feel very vulnerable without it. More danger from crazy drivers than animals!

 

[Jerry LM]

As far as handguns my S&w 500 mag revolver will handle anything up to a Cape buffalo, but need to keep it in the trunk so not as ready for use. A .45 is more than adequate for black bear, if we had Browns here I would not confront one. I would be using that 25 mph throttle!

 

[erider_61]

As far as handguns my S&w 500 mag revolver will handle anything up to a Cape buffalo, but need to keep it in the trunk so not as ready for use. A .45 is more than adequate for black bear, if we had Browns here I would not confront one. I would be using that 25 mph throttle!

A grizzly can run 30 mph...

 

[Feliz]

It's predictable it would turn into another gun thread.

"Have you seen my .44 sweetheart, I'm taking the Trek to the store for milk?"

 

[Cowlitz]

This is also the time of year when my nose detects an odor while riding and the game of is it a skunk? Or pot? is played. Mostly pot, I think. It gets grown legally in these here parts.

 

[nelzea]

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.

Ha that is quite like my commute.

So far:
A very close encounter with a low flying shag.
Low flying kaka.
Two big fat kereru.
A cat with a blackbird in its mouth.
An enormous beetle straight in the face.
Pooped on by a bee (again, in the face).

Not quite up there with bear encounters...

 

[Mr. Coffee]

This is also the time of year when my nose detects an odor while riding and the game of is it a skunk? Or pot? is played. Mostly pot, I think. It gets grown legally in these here parts.

I find it ironic and humorous that Okanogan County is a right-to-farm county except, apparently, where cannabis is concerned.

 

[linklemming]

I ride in Colorado just outside of Boulder. Do ALOT of MTB nightriding and have for the last 10 years(only ebiking for 3 months)

Skunks
Racoons
Squirrels
Prairie Dogs
Coyotes
Mule Deer
Crazy Rabbits
Elk
Owls

Lots of interesting encounters.

1.) First night ride on the ebike, came across a herd of about 30 elk which is a rarity this close to people. I had no idea until a buck decided to do a warning bugle to the herd about 20ft from me. Scared me so much I almost crashed and I had earbuds in listening to a podcast. When an elk bugles, its LOUD.

2.) Prairie dogs are very unpredictable but are usually slow enough to avoid. They bed down after dusk so not problem then, I did encounter a pup once at night that was running right in front of me on the trail, I swear it wasnt any bigger than my thumb.

3.) Racoons are just plain creepy.

4.) Coyotes are EVERYWHERE, sometime encounter them within a block of my house and I live in a normal neighborhood. Lots of open space out here even in the cities and the coyotes use it well. On one ride, I stopped in an openspace area on a hill overlooking my town and a firetruck went down a road about 1/2 mile away. The sirens made all the coyotes in the area howl. I heard about 20, it was creepy. On quiet nights I can hear them howling only a few blocks away while inside my house..

5.) Encountered an owl just a week ago going thru an underpass/tunnel, at one point it was about 10ft directly in front of my face.

6.) Rabbits are the worst, totally unpredictable and sometimes will come right at you, one of these days Im going to hit one. Like coyotes, rabbits are everywhere in the city, sometimes I find them in my yard. Craziest bunny thing I ever saw was a bunny just freaked out on the side of the trail and decided to jump straight up 3ft right in front of me. In the air, it was trying to run, kicking like mad. Funniest thing I have ever seen.

 

[6zfshdb]

It's predictable it would turn into another gun thread.

"Have you seen my .44 sweetheart, I'm taking the Trek to the store for milk?"

Although I was a hunter for many years and fully support the sport, these days I prefer to do my shooting with a camera. My intent in starting this thread was to share ways to manage encounters with wildlife, not dispose of it. I apologize if it has turned into a gun discussion.

I was hoping others might share experiences, as some have, and maybe post pictures.