[derekkite]

Without wanting to say too much about the bear documentary, I have some questions about how it was shot. Like how did the researcher find a bear who would take a half hour out of his life, which should be spent foraging for food, following him? Something is not on the up and up there. It's pretty common knowledge around here, if you want to hunt bear, you have to bait them. So I am really suspicious of this "bear expert."

From 1800 to 1986 there were 27 deaths from black bear attacks in all of north America, but this guys is telling us he just happened upon a predatory bear? Sorry, I'm not buying it. He must have been using something, some food smell or something to cause the behaviour.

But from my research, the best approach to a bear that gets to close is a big solid hardwood branch to wail on him with. A good shot to the nose, even a punch, can disable a bear for up to 20 minutes.

People have been watched by bears, people have been killed by bears, people need to respect bears. But a documentary on predatory bears where someone claims they were stalked for a half hour.. that sounds more like sensationalism. Even if true, given the number of bears, the number of people in bear country, and the number of negative interactions, that's simply irresponsible to portray that as something likely to happen.

Almost all negative bear interactions stem from a couple of factors.

1. Food. Either the bear thinks you have some or it thinks you are taking what it has. The vast majority of issues around here (we have bears wandering through our yard) have been with bears trained by carelessness that humans are a source of food. Garbage, fruit trees and careless campers train bears to follow people, break into buildings or vehicles. Proper handling along with bear bangers, rubber bullets, electric fences and worse can convince a bear that it is much more pleasant to pick berries than break into an out building and empty out a freezer full of meat, although not having the freezer out there is a better idea. Almost all the bear incidents in the interior of BC are a result of food; there was a grizzly attack last fall where hunters were dressing a carcass. Staying out of berry patches, keeping a wide berth of kills, and similar situations eliminate most issues out in the wild. I talked to a fish biologist monitoring the land locked salmon spawns and he carries bear spray. He is handling the fish, wading through carcasses, and a bear could get the wrong idea. His colleague on another river was attacked by a bear a few years ago and they post guards to watch and ward them off. We remove our bird feeders except for when they are hibernating.

2. Wrong place at the wrong time. Surprising a bear is a bad idea. They will react, and hopefully they don't run you over. Best make noise, make them aware of you. Most of the time they will keep clear. They can move extraordinarily quickly, have bad days, and can do unexpected things. So the right place is out of it's way, keeping your distance.

3. Dogs. A dog can alert and stand between you and the bear to good effect. I have a very smart female PWD that is utterly trustworthy around bears. But my terrier would get us both killed by considering it a large rodent that needs extermination until it gets on the losing end of the fight and runs with an angry bear chasing it to hide behind me. I was with my PWD once, we came across a large boar, very close. He glared at me with his hackles up. The dog was quiet and giving calming signals, eventually the bear went on it's way. Another dog of a different disposition could have ended up with a confrontation.

They are magnificent creatures, and I will be out looking for them this fall, but it pays to never forget that they are very powerful, unbelievably fast and a stupid mistake by anyone can turn into a very bad day. I don't like being around when there is a crowd; someone almost always does something stupid with unpredictable results.

[audiobomber]

I couldn't find the documentary but it was made by an expert on black bears in Ontario. He had a video showing a black bear following s guy for a good thirty minutes.

I give up, I couldn't find the video, I did find the expert, His name is Dr. Stephen Herrero. The documentary I saw is not the one mentioned in the Wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Herrero

This video is well worth watching for anyone who's interested in black bear attacks.

You Tube

You Tube

I'll stop the off-topic talk now.

[normhead]

I give up, I couldn't find the video, I did find the expert, His name is Dr. Stephen Herrero. The documentary I saw is not the one mentioned in the Wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Herrero

This video is well worth watching for anyone who's interested in black bear attacks. Beware of predatory male black bears - YouTube

I'll stop the off-topic talk now.

For outdoor photogs, knowledge of animals is necessary skill. You can never get enough angles on it.

Funny, the first thing he says is what Paul says, if you hear him he's not a danger. If he's a danger, you won't hear him.

[Weevil]

Is this thread becoming a bear documentary?
I am not saying the comments aren't interesting, but it dilute the main topic...
at least we should post photos of bears taken with the HD TC... I have one somewhere... I'll look into that soon!
;-)

[audiobomber]

For outdoor photogs, knowledge of animals is necessary skill. You can never get enough angles on it.

Funny, the first thing he says is what Paul says, if you hear him he's not a danger. If he's a danger, you won't hear him.

I agree, that's what it sounds like, but that's not what he meant. I read quite a bit on bear attacks while looking for the documentary. What he meant was that the predatory bear is not going to chuff, snort or paw the ground. It stalks without making any noise, but you will most likely see it. The average distance a predatory bear was spotted before an attack was 50 meters. The Patel case I linked above was typical. The bear follows along silently and uncomfortably close, then charges at some point. A cougar, OTOH, you won't see until it is on you.

I saw elsewhere that Herrero stated that pepper spray is more effective than a gun for preventing a predatory bear attack. He said there is not a single instance of a bear resuming an attack after being pepper sprayed. Here's some good advice for using spray: http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&ved=0CEwQFjAIa...Qq8krdT28fi1IQ

I note that all the conditions for a bear attack are present around here right now. The time of year is right, and the blueberry crop was a complete failure. I think I'll shoot some architecture and street for a while.

---------- Post added 2015-08-30 at 10:25 ----------

Is this thread becoming a bear documentary?
I am not saying the comments aren't interesting, but it dilute the main topic...

Sorry, it's a topic I have a lot of interest in because I'm in the bush frequently, and it's rare that I don't see bear sign. I have some bear photos, but none taken with the Pentax TC. Here's some other stuff though:

Redstart


Moose


Black skimmer with fish


The above were all shot with the DA*300

Little green weevil (D FA 100mm macro, 1.4:1 magnification)

[Weevil]

Sorry, it's a topic I have a lot of interest in because I'm in the bush frequently, and it's rare that I don't see bear sign. I have some bear photos, but none taken with the Pentax TC. Here's some other stuff though:

....

Little green weevil (D FA 100mm macro, 1.4:1 magnification)

No worries

at least you caught a Weevil!

[normhead]

Weevil? Is that you? Why is he posting your picture? Did you sign a model release?

[Weevil]

Weevil? Is that you? Why is he posting your picture? Did you sign a model release?

lol, No, there are too many copies of that one around, I've given up...

This is the Bear I was talking about...

Last summer, we went 30-day canoeing in Northern QC, and just at the point we had to do some portage (we needed to switch from one "bassin -versant" (catchment area / Watershed, not sure how to translate this word) to another, there was a small creek / brook full of rocks over there... where the water flows in the opposite direction where we are willing to go... Anyway, we had finished our day of canoeing, so we decided to fish that small creek to catch our dinner. Normally, these kind of creeks can hide very big brook trout. So my buddy was ahead of me, and went up the creek, while I was fishing at the downstream... He went back, after catching a couple of nice fishes... The other buddy did not had much success fishing, so both of them decided to go raise the campsite for that night... They told me that they will be about half a mile on the right, so I wanted to continue to fish a bit more, I could walk on the rocks along the shore of the lake to get to the campsite. So they left with the canoes, and I stay for fishing.

After a while (maybe 20 minutes later), I heard them yelling at me (it was hard to hear them, because of the creek with running water making quite a lot of noise) and they seemed excited, making signs with their arms: I went back down to the creek and they told me that there was a black bear along the shore to the right, so they came back to get me out of there... because the bear was coming my way.



the first 2 pics, were taken with a point and shoot , showing the creek in question
the 2nd one was taken by my buddies from the canoe, just to let you figure out how close they were and that the bear wasn't scared of us at all... but rather curious, or interested by my fishy smell ?
the other ones were taken with the DA*300mm + HD TC. No crop. except the 2nd one with slight cropping.

I had to do fast, so I hadn't time to check the settings, (I remember I was on Tav, so I may have turned the aperture as high as f16 and slow shutter speed at 1/250 unfortonately, so the ISO was cranked up at 5000... but anyways, results are acceptable, but do not show the capabilities of HD TC...

The bear seemed to behave quite strange, it walked with a bit of difficulty, seemed to had some hankle problems, and wasn't very fat, his fur wa scarce on his back. I took a couple of shot, and we observed him a little while while he was eating on the bushes (maybe on small berries?)

Anyways, we headed the other side of the creek, to the left, and about 1 mile aways, and that night, we didn't had a very profound sleep lol! We kept the pepper spray an gun not far to our pillow!

[dadipentak]

Great tale & photos, Weevil! Although I've spent a lot of time fishing in bear country, I've never encountered one--yet.

[RockvilleBob]

An early - too early - trip to Conowingo Dam. A few eagles but not much activity. Did get this one up in the trees with the Sigma 500 and Pentax 1.4TC.

[RockvilleBob]

GBH with Sigma 500 and Pentax 1.4TC - no cropping. Taken from a folding boat on tripod.

[jpzk]

GBH with Sigma 500 and Pentax 1.4TC - no cropping. Taken from a folding boat on tripod.

Looks like the HD TC works better with the Sigma 500mm (sharper) than with the DA*300/4 .... I still find the latter combo produces "soft" images.
JP

[normhead]

I am so bad at remembering to post in appropriate threads... from September.

A-400 + HD DA 1.4 TC 560mm @ ƒ8 wide open. 1/160, ISO 800, tripod mounted
Yellow Rumped Warblers





1/500s

[RockvilleBob]

Looks like the HD TC works better with the Sigma 500mm (sharper) than with the DA*300/4 .... I still find the latter combo produces "soft" images.
JP

These were among the best of a number of shots I took. Not all shots were this sharp. Overall there is no free lunch, when you add the TC you lose IQ but even a blind squirrel fins an acorn once in awhile. However the Pentax 1.4TC is a very good TC and autofocus with the 4.5 lens works well in good light.

[jpzk]

These were among the best of a number of shots I took. Notshots al were this sharp. Overall there is no free lunch, when you add the TC you lose IQ but even a blind squirrel fins an acorn once in awhile. However the Pentax 1.4TC is a very good TC and autofocus with the 4.5 lens works well in good light.

I quickly found out about loosing IQ when using a TC, any TC for that matter and, yes, this HD TC is great but it also makes me wonder if I should get the 150-450mm Pentax lens now.
A good 500mm prime, such as your Sigma, with great IQ should suffice for my needs, if I ever can find a good used one.
Something to seriously think about before spending so much on one lens.

Cheers!

JP