hsmomof6
Indiana
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I would like to know what animals we will be dealing with next spring when we camp near the grand canyon? I'm a midwest person and never camped near bears, etc.
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Sue Bee
NW suburbs of Chicago
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hsmomof6 wrote:I would like to know what animals we will be dealing with next spring when we camp near the grand canyon? I'm a midwest person and never camped near bears, etc.
Snakes (venomous and non), scorpions and tarantulas. Maybe an occasional puma, but very unlikely.
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tplife69
SoCal
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Sue Bee wrote:hsmomof6 wrote:I would like to know what animals we will be dealing with next spring when we camp near the grand canyon? I'm a midwest person and never camped near bears, etc.
Snakes (venomous and non), scorpions and tarantulas. Maybe an occasional puma, but very unlikely.
Please don't kill the tarantulas! They are harmless, won't bite humans unless you get very aggressive with them, and their bite carries no more venom than a bee-sting. They do yeoman's work eating insects that can damage crops and carry disease. They are so harmless and gentle that they make fine pets! If you see one and won't leave it alone, you can gently poke it with a small stick and encourage it to walk on your arm. They are really pretty cool! ;-)
People's Republik of Kalifornia
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Big Mike Beefhammer
Michigan
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Just put up a "NO BEARS ALLOWED" sign in your campsite
89 malibu cobra. Old and crusty, but ton's of fun!
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hsmomof6
Indiana
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Now, the no bears allowed sign is the best advice yet. Thanks!
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Sue Bee
NW suburbs of Chicago
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tplife69 wrote:Sue Bee wrote:hsmomof6 wrote:I would like to know what animals we will be dealing with next spring when we camp near the grand canyon? I'm a midwest person and never camped near bears, etc.
Snakes (venomous and non), scorpions and tarantulas. Maybe an occasional puma, but very unlikely.
Please don't kill the tarantulas! They are harmless, won't bite humans unless you get very aggressive with them, and their bite carries no more venom than a bee-sting. They do yeoman's work eating insects that can damage crops and carry disease. They are so harmless and gentle that they make fine pets! If you see one and won't leave it alone, you can gently poke it with a small stick and encourage it to walk on your arm. They are really pretty cool! ;-)
I don't kill spiders. I currently have an extra large (for Illinois) garden spider who has taken up residence on our front porch, and every night, she builds a massive web across our front door.
Just making the point that in the southwest, you're more likely to run into insects and arachnids than bears.
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Jeff10236
Annapolis, MD
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Paw Paw Festus wrote:...I'm scared to death of bears. We have a place in Red River NM and there are DOZENS of bears around all the time. I carry my .40 with me ALL THE TIME. haven't had an "encounter" yet, but I stay prepared none the less.
I'll probably never camp in AK, cuz I can't transport my gun through Canada. If we go to AK, we'll fly and stay in a hotel.
They got Grizzer Bears in AK. Little black bears just big enough to whoop a dog scare the daylights outta me.
Good luck and have fun.
Hmm, a .40S&W for bear? Might want to rethink that. Bear have a very thick skin and thick, heavy bones. If you want to use a handgun for bear protection (I wouldn't) you need a really heavy hitter. At minimum, for the lightest black bear, the least you should consider is a .357mag with hardcast lead bullets in the 180gr range. You are best off with a heavy .45LC, .41mag or .44mag load. For brown bear/grizzly I wouldn't want less than a .44mag and I'd much prefer .454Cassul, .480Ruger, .500S&W or .460S&W. Even better would be a long gun in .450Marlin or 45/70. But believe it or not, the best bear protection if you are attacked is bear strength pepper spray (a bear will take a lot longer than us to bleed out and to hit a vital area is quite difficult while under attack).
Now if your concern is cougar/mountain lion like tplife69, I'd feel fine with a .40. They are much thinner skin animals than a bear so calibers suitable for self defense should be OK, and I'd feel more comfortable with the 10 rounds my .40 has than a six shooter against a fast moving cat that weighs 150-200LBS that is charging me.
-BMW 325i
-Cheap 4-season tent
-Will buy a nice spring/summer weight tent this spring
-Starting to seriously shop pop-ups and tow vehicles (targeting for this next camping season)
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Jeff10236
Annapolis, MD
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Oh, as for answering the question as asked by the OP, I think you've had some good answers. If provided, use the bear boxes for your food. If not, keep it concealed in the car. Also, be careful not to surprise the bears when hiking, most bear attacks happen when you scare a bear or get between a mother bear and its offspring- make some noise when hiking and be on the lookout for signs that bear may be in the area.
If I was to camp in bear country I would carry bear strength pepper spray as my go to in case I was charged by the bear. I'd also keep a large caliber revolver as my last resort if it still attacked me and the spray didn't stop it, but that is me. If you aren't already proficient with a gun it is something that takes some training and experience with the gun before you should rely on it in public for defense. If you aren't comfortable with the idea of a gun it certainly isn't for you. However, the bear strength pepper spray is a must (and not all that expensive).
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Dakzuki
Carnation, Wa, USA
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It is common to use bells to alert bears (so as not to surprise them) and carry pepper spray just in case.
Somebody in Montana told me of an easy way to identify bear droppings when in the woods. It smells like pepper and has bells in it. 
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Dakzuki
Carnation, Wa, USA
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Seriously now,
We were camping in the back country year before last and hung our foodstuff to keep it from bears and racoons. What we hadn't accounted for (assuming the above needn't be an issue) was we were overrun by mice. Sitting at a creek enjoying an adult beverage we had mice running around us everywhere beginning at dusk. Next morning there were fresh mouse droppings all over our cooking/eating area. If the food was there they surely woud have chewed through the packs and packaging. I will be hanging food, bears or not from here on out.
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