Bears are still out and active throughout big game hunting season in much of Montana and they are extending their ranges in some areas where populations are growing.

Hunting is a prime time to encounter a bear, especially if your are calling game, using scents or have harvested an animal. Here are a few important safety tips for hunting in bear country:

• Always carry bear pepper spray, have it close at hand and know how to use it.
• If you are going to be alone in bear country, let someone know your detailed plans; better yet, don’t go alone.
• While hunting, pay attention to fresh bear sign.
• After making a kill, get the carcass out of the area as quickly as possible.
• When field dressing the carcass, keep your can of bear pepper spray within easy reach.
• Use special precautions if you must leave and then return to a carcass, including placing the carcass where you can easily observe it from a distance when you return.
• Do not attempt to frighten away or haze a bear that is nearby or feeding on a carcass.

For details on how to hunt safely in grizzly country, check the Deer, Elk and Antelope Hunting regulations available online and at FWP offices, or go to FWP’s Living with Wildlife web page.

MISSOULA, Mont.—Flu is on everyone’s mind this autumn. So for hunters who start feeling lousy upon arrival in elk camp, the diagnosis may seem obvious. But, like skiers and mountain climbers, elk hunters at high elevations also are prone to altitude sickness with symptoms that look and feel like the flu—headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, coughing, shortness of breath and trouble sleeping.

Ways to prevent the flu are well publicized, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is offering the following tips for avoiding altitude sickness.

Altitude sickness is caused by thin air at high elevations. Your body must work harder to maintain normal oxygen levels in the blood. Breathing and pulse rates increase. Still, the lack of oxygen can knock a hunter down especially if they go too hard too soon.

“Most of us live at a much lower elevation than elk do. That alone puts many hunters at a disadvantage even before they begin their first stalk,” said Cameron Hanes, a fitness and bowhunting authority as well as TV show host and columnist for RMEF.

Hanes says most sufferers adapt to high altitude by the fourth day. The following tips can help you make better use of your first three days in elk country.

• When you arrive in high country, avoid physical exertion for the first 24 hours. This can be tough when you’ve been looking forward to the hunt all year, so if you can’t or won’t take a full day to adjust, be smart. Don’t go full bore right out of the gate.

• Hunt high, sleep low. At elevations above 5,000 feet, try to gain no more than 2,000 feet per day. You can hunt higher as long as you go back down 2,000 feet to sleep.

• Ascend very slowly past 8,000 feet. Acclimatize yourself. Acclimatization helps cells get along on a smaller oxygen budget. By gaining altitude slowly, your body will adjust gradually with few if any symptoms of altitude sickness.

• If traveling by air to a hunt above 8,000 feet, try to incorporate a layover of one to two days at an intermediate altitude.

• Drink water copiously and constantly.

• Avoid alcohol for the first few days. Alcohol dehydrates you and drinking at high altitudes amplifies its affect.

• Consume a high-carbohydrate diet. Lots of granola bars, trail mix, etc.

• The prescription drug acetazolamide (Diamox) can be helpful as a preventive treatment but always consult with your doctor first.

• Fitness at sea level doesn’t guarantee an easier time when you’re at 10,000 feet, but being in good shape makes it more likely that your lungs can cope with the challenges of the high life.

If these tips don’t work, and if your symptoms persist even at lower altitudes, you may indeed have the flu.

Hanes serves RMEF as host of “Elk Chronicles” on Outdoor Channel and as a columnist for “Bugle” magazine. His second book, “Backcountry Bowhunting, A Guide to the Wild Side,” is currently in its fifth printing and is available at www.cameronhanes.com.

As hunters venture into the woods this fall, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is asking them to be mindful of their food and garbage.

The same cautions apply to homeowners in bear country.

The past two weeks, local Fish and Game officials have relocated several young bears that have become accustomed to living off garbage and scraps left by campers and even homeowners.   Most bear complaints happen in later summer and early fall when bears are traveling in search of food.

“Anyone who leaves food out are actually baiting in hungry bears,” said Barry Cummings, Fish and Game conservation officer based in Deary. “Bears have a tremendous sense of smell, and once they get used to finding an easy food source, they’ll keep coming back and problems will occur.”

Tips around camp:

• Keep a clean camp. Pick up garbage and store it in a closed vehicle, bear- resistant container, or in a bag tied high between two trees. Store all food the same way. Coolers are not bear-resistant and never keep food in a tent.
• Don’t cook near tents or sleeping areas, and never wear the clothes you cook in to bed.
• Don’t bury food scraps, pour out cooking grease, or leave anything that might be tasty on the ground or in the fire pit. Also, store barbecue grills or other smelly cooking gear inside your vehicle or within a sealed bear resistant container.
• Make game meat unavailable by hanging it at least 10 feet high and 4 feet from the nearest tree.
• If you see a bear, watch it from a distance and leave it alone. Black bears are not usually aggressive, but the danger may increase if a bear loses its fear of humans.

Tips around home:

• Keep garbage in bear-resistant containers or in a closed building.
• Empty and remove bird feeders during the summer months when songbirds are able to forage on food provided by nature.
• Clean up fruit that has fallen in your yard. Rotting fruit will attract bears as well as raccoons and skunks.
• Feed pets inside or during daylight hours; don’t leave pet food or food scraps outside of your home or camp, as it can attract bears, raccoons and skunks.
• Store horse and livestock grains inside closed barns.
• Keep barbeque grills stored in closed buildings.

Many people enjoy seeing all the wildlife Montana has to offer. And some people think they’re helping out by giving them something to eat. But the fact is feeding wildlife places the animals at risk and puts them on a collision course with humans. The problem of feeding wildlife has become such as issue across the state that the Montana Legislature recently passed a law with penalties for feeding wildlife.

Here are some facts about feeding wildlife:

• Supplemental feeding encourages wildlife to become dependent on handouts that are not part of their natural diets.

• Human foods are usually nutritionally inadequate for wildlife and may lead to subsequent health problems.

• Young animals that are taught to depend on humans sometimes never develop normal foraging behavior, and could starve if the artificial food sources are removed or more likely become nuisances and come in conflict with humans.

• Wildlife lose their fear of humans and learn that they can boldly forage for human food, consequently conflicts, nuisance behavior, and risks to human safety are sure to occur.

• Wild animals being fed by humans may congregate in unnaturally high numbers, and this is the perfect opportunity for diseases to spread. Disease such as rabies, distemper and many others which are dependent on high animal populations.

• Feeding wildlife, especially prey species such as deer, squirrels and rabbits, often causes a domino or food chain effect. Due to such feeding, the prey densities increase, which in turn attracts predators such as coyotes, bobcats and mountain lions. Example: Increase deer numbers in your yard and you may be inviting a mountain lion for a free meal.

If these facts aren’t enough, a revised state law passed during the 2009 Montana Legislature, adds ungulates—deer, elk, moose, and antelope—and mountain lions to the list of animals that cannot be attracted to an area with any kind of food.

Once limited only to bears, the revised law is aimed primarily at feeding to purposely attract certain wildlife to a particular area with things like grain, seeds, and salt licks, but also includes negligently failing to properly store supplemental attractants, including garbage.

Offenders could be charged with a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and six months in jail. The penalty also could include the loss of hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges for a year or more.

The law does not apply to normal feeding of livestock, backyard gardens, most recreational bird feeding, or to commercial processing of garbage. It does, however, apply to those who continue to feed birds after receiving a warning by FWP that the feeding is unlawfully attracting big game and other wildlife.

Do your part to help keep wildlife healthy and prevent them from coming into conflict with people. For more information and tips about living with wildlife, visit FWP’s Web site.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee recommends the use of bear spray and reminds hunters and others that despite its proven effectiveness, it is not a substitute for using proper bear safety techniques in the first place. The IGBC provides these guidelines:

When to use bear pepper spray:

Bear pepper spray should be used as a deterrent only in an aggressive or attacking confrontation with a bear.

How to use bear spray:

Each person should carry a can of bear pepper spray when working or recreating in bear habitat. Spray should be tested once a year and the expiration date checked. Do not test spray in or near camping area.

Selecting a bear spray:

Purchase products that are clearly labeled “for deterring attacks by bears,” and that are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

No deterrent is 100% effective, but compared to all others, including firearms, bear spray has demonstrated the most success in fending off threatening and attacking bears and preventing injury to the person and animal involved, said the IGBC.

For more on living with bears and being bear aware, see the FWP home page at fwp.mt.gov and click on Wild Things then Be Bear Aware. For more on bear resistant products, go to the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee Web page.

Many die-hard hunters say they would never rely on bear spray to do the job of a gun.   Others counter that a gun can possibly maim a bear, causing it to ferociously settle the score.

What position do bear biologists take in this debate?   I can’t speak for others, but after studying more than 600 Alaska bear attacks, I’ve learned:

• In 72 incidents of people using bear spray to defend themselves against aggressive bears in Alaska, 98% were uninjured, and those that were suffered only minor injuries.
• In 300 incidents where people carried and used firearms for protection against aggressive bears in Alaska, 40% were injured or killed, including 23 fatalities and 16 severely injured persons. Another 48 people suffered lesser injuries.

In my research, hunters were generally unable to fire a shot before the bear slammed into them.   Some hunters couldn’t get the safety off, others short-stroked the bolt and jammed the cartridge, yet others, out of habit, tried to ‘scope’ the bear, losing critical seconds while failing to zero in.

With a can of bear spray on one’s hip or pack strap, it is simply a matter of pointing and shooting.   One thing bear spray and a rifle do have in common however is that success depends on practice. Learn how to use bear spray, including adjusting for weather and wind direction.

I tell my fellow hunters to pack bear spray when they hunt. Keep it ready when you are hiking, butchering the meat and packing it out—times when a gun simply isn’t convenient to have in your hands.   Your family will thank you!

Photo by Lance and Erin

Those who crave the huckleberry are already scouting their favorite berry patches.

In fact, some folks can smell huckleberries even before they spot them on the bushes. These experienced berry pickers know that they aren’t the only ones with their noses in the air. Montana’s black and grizzly bears savor the purple berries and will eat their way through a good patch of berries for days.

During late July and August, berries of various kinds make up to 80 percent of a grizzly bear’s diet in Cabinet Yaak ecosystem, said Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks bear manager Kim Annis.

When bears take a break they tend to remain in the area.

That means huckleberry pickers need to be on the look out for bears at all times, and be prepared to yield the berry patch to a bear.

Here are some tips on how to stay on the right side of the huckleberry bush:

• Pack bear spray with you and know how to use it.
• Avoid picking berries in the early mornings or late evenings when bears are likely to be more active.
• When you find a patch of berries check the area for bear sign, including bear scat with berries in it and upturned rocks.
• Make human noises, talk, sing, whistle or clap so you can be heard as you walk.
• Avoid picking huckleberries alone if possible.
• Keep a conversation going as you pick to stay in touch with your picking partners and so bears can hear you.
• Talk to yourself aloud if you are picking berries alone.
• Remain aware of your surroundings as time passes—use your senses of sight, smell and sound.
• If you see a bear in the distance, move quietly away.
• Avoid getting between a bear and the berries.
• Avoid getting between a female bear and her cubs.

Remember the bear was probably there first and there are many other berry patches.

Kenneth Knight, 41, of Ann Arbor was found about 5 p.m. Saturday near Snowdon, said Randy Sutton, a spokesman for the Blue Ridge Parkway. Knight was last seen several miles away on April 26. Friends reported him missing when he failed to meet up with his hiking group and then missed his flight home Wednesday.

Knight, an editor for Backpacking Light magazine, set a brush fire to attract the attention of firefighters, said Ryan Jordan, the magazine’s chief executive officer.

Knight was found at least 5 miles from the shelter where he was last seen.

This would have been a great use of the SPOT satellite messenger. But, it was still great work by the search and rescue team.

Read the full article here.

Name: Ken Knight
Height: 5′4″
Weight: 180-200 lb
Point Last Seen: Punchbowl Mountain on the Appalachian Trail in VA
Time Last Seen: Sunday, April 26, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Unique Characteristics: wearing a dry-bag style backpack with a bright orange packbag, hiker is vision-impaired.

Knight is an editor at Backpacking Light.

Photo above taken Wednesday, April 22 on the Appalachian Trail.

If you have info, please contact us: publisher@backpackinglight.com.

Reno, Nev. (AP) — There has been a recent study on fatal encounters between humans and mountain lions, suggests one conventional wisdom – never to try to run from one of the big cats!

Staying put may make a person more desirable as potential prey and prompt an attack, said researchers at University of California, Davis.

This is some very useful information, especially as the Mountain Lion’s territory is spreading at a fairly rapid pace. There have been numerous sightings as far east as Michigan.

Read the full article here.