Bears

[Festus]

Why do you (or anyone) think the bear trashed your tree stand? I'm certainly not doubting that it did occur, but it makes me wonder why the bear did it. Pissed off because he couldn't open your thermos and decided to retaliate (ha ha)?

A few weeks after this encounter, I found out that a cabin owner a half mile away was hand feeding bears off his deck. A friend of mine showed me pictures of it. I'm convinced that the bear that I had the run in with was one of those bears, and he associated a human in a treestand with a human on a deck, and pushed the envelope toward getting fed. That's what I believe.

 

[J55tyger88]

Festus,
Thats a crazy bear story.
Anyone ever see the movie The Edge? Your bear story reminds me of that movie, but not so Baldwin-esque. I just had a snake shoot out from a rock i put me hand on 5 min prior to him slithering into the water. Woulda rather seen a tick...

 

[sandfly]

porkypines love to eat treestands, more likely than a bear.

 

[Festus]

Based on previous assumptions, I'd say the latest assumption is based on complete lack of knowledge and amounts to what comes out of the tailend of a bear

 

[WingQuill]

Very interesting thread on a hot summers eve. As a former PGC land manager in the NC region for quite a few moons, I've been witness to quite a bit of porky and bear damage. First of all, porkys are chewers and gnawlers and don't rip and tear as is witnessed on the material in question. Secondly, porkys don't chew metal as is witnessed on the thermos and on the metal frame of the stand. Bears do. That is precisely why, as anyone even vaguely familiar with living with porkys in the NC area knows, campowners and homeowners line the bottom of their wooden structures with metal flashing to prevent porky damage.

Interesting photos Festus. I believe that I remember reading an article in the Potter Leader about an encounter like that a few years back.