Thursday, July 27, 2006

The Bear Necessities



Wyoming US Fish and Wildlife Service issued advice to visitors about what to do when faced with a bear. There are two kinds of bear in the region: the brown bear and the black bear. The advice included such sensible tips as "Don't run" and "Stay perfectly still". It also suggested that it might be possible to scare the bears off by the use of small mirrors and the ringing of a bell.
The notice continued with advice on how to judge which bears were in the vicinity by examination of their droppings. Black bears are largely vegetarian so their droppings tend to be dry, crumbly and full of berry husks. Brown bears are omnivorous so their droppings tend to be dark and slithery and often contain small mirrors and little bells.

2 comments:

Chas S. Clifton said...

I am afraid that your leg has been pulled.

It is the scat of grizzly (brown) bears that contains small bells and smells of self-defense pepper spray.

Bears are not notoriously vain, so I do not know where the mirrors come in.

Jake Allsop said...

Thanks, Charles, but I never let the facts get in the way of a good story!
Cheers