Stepped in bear poop yesterday at my prospecting area, advice?

firebird

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Oct 17, 2018
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I went back yesterday to the gravel area that I had posted about in another thread. Immediately I noticed a nasty smell and just right around the paydirt area was the unmistakable sight of black bear poop. Oh crap, now I finally understand why I was finding gold here and why it hadn't been taken by anyone else before. Have you ever had any experiences with dangerous animals while prospecting?
 

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ARC

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Clad2Silver

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beef jerky, Or Donuts ...

When Game Commission sets up a Bear Cage Trap around here ,
They use Donuts . I Never heard what Type, But AM Guessing Honey Glazed
& maybe Sugar.
or maybe Blue-BEAR-ry
 

wildminer

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Bacon was the bait of choice for many hunters in Oregon when it was legal to bait bears and hunt with dogs. The decline of mule deer populations in Oregon came about when hunting with dogs to hunt cougar was prohibited and has never recovered. The cougar population soared and the deer population declined If these two species do not fear or respect man in their territory they will naturally be more brazen. I have seen both in the wild in Oregon in daylight. One encounter with a sow and cub I had mentioned here before, had the wind in my favor as I was hunting up a timbered ridge in eastern Oregon with the wind in my favor when a sow silently was running full bore down the trail and hit the skids and ended up about 25 yds. in front of me. Her cub was following to close and ran into her then did a couple barrel roll summersaults down the hill off to the side. I got the .308 up and on her nose as she was reared up on her hind legs and hollered at her to git witch she did after maybe five seconds. I didn't no whether to laugh or check my drawers looking at that cub doing the barrel rolls. This all happened in the blink of an eye. Stay alert, you never know.
 

N-Lionberger

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I talked to a bear biologist years ago and he said the bait they used for getting the bears into the traps was to mix peanut butter and honey into a can of cheap sardines and to burn it on a sterno can.
 

beekbuster

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yes theres not many dangerous encounters with animals here in california. if they hear you coming, chances are youll never know there was a bear, cat, snake, etc. they get out of the way. very stealthy critters. bang stick works great for those bears that cant figure out what you are and want a closer look. heat stroke, falling, drowning are much more real dangers
 

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bug

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Thats the California truth right there. Id say falling is the one I worry about most and got me a few times and some of my friends.
 

IMAUDIGGER

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Couple years ago (out metal detecting) I came around a corner and was face to face with a large mountain lion. It layed its ears back and stood there for a few moments deciding if it wanted to tussle with my dog.
It decided to walk away. 15’ is too close for comfort.
 

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