RussM Wrote:
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> Several years ago, I was traveling East on the
> Amtrak Empire Builder. At Marias Pass in Montana,
> we saw a grain train wreck, with the cars flipped
> on their sides. We were told that the piles of
> grain on the ground fermented, and attracted
> grizzly bears who liked to get drunk. The crew
> that was working on the site had Karelien bear
> dogs (rented) for their protection.The Karelien
> bear dog has no fear of bears, and has been known
> to nip them on their rear ends.
An old friend of mine ran a well known apple orchard in northern NM. Bears loved to get into his mash piles (from making cider) and get drunk when they fermented. As He tussled with them a few times, and as he always told me “a drunk bear, is an angry bear.” He said it was like clockwork, they’d see you from way far away and make a beeline for you.
In an entirely unrelated note, we used to have a cat that was the best bear repellent ever. 20 years old and he just sort of lumbered after the bears. I don’t know how to describe what a positively terrified bear looks like, but that cat put the fear of something into them. I don’t know if he ever caught one of the bears, but I suspect he may have, AND did some damage.
Dan