WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Results 1 to 20 of 20
  1. #1

    Default Black Bear Versus Wild Hog

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbfE_VVs1Bw

    Folks forget that the local Black Bears can be bad a**. Years ago (2003) we ran into one of the paid hog hunters in the park. He mentioned that at one point they were supposed to bury the hog after he shot it and they were not allowed to take any potion of the hog out of the park. That policy quickly got old so they just hauled the carcasses out of sight off the trail and let the bears handle it. His opinion was giving bears a taste for wild hog was good thing for hog control.

  2. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-19-2005
    Location
    Knoxville, TN
    Posts
    3,715
    Images
    3

    Default

    yeah.....

    i've run into one hunter....

    and have heard gunshots late at night when i was at CS 52, coming up from the deep creek-ish area.......


    im in the middle of reading an old book about hunting in the tellico/joyce kilmer/citico area and the author talks
    about bears and pigs getting into fights.....


    years ago, i was doing some off trail and saw a bear running up the gully that was below the roadbed i was on....

    the bear would stop, look back, then keep running....

    all i could think was "what would spook a bear like that?"

    i stood still-----the bear then turned towards me and ran up the hill, getting to about ten or so feet from me...

    finally saw me and then bolted off.......

    next thing i know, i see a family of hogs running the same route as the bear.......

    here's some video i go off my point and shoot of them...



    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4uMQQKFYDE&t=8s

  3. #3

    Default

    On one cool, overcast, drizzly morning on a FL trail hike I was going through a section that winds around several small ponds. The ponds were low, due to lack of rain, which made the muddy rings around them ripe for rooting. As I rounded the bend, approaching one of the bigger ponds on this section, I noticed a large black animal digging in the mud ring. It's back was facing me but it was so large (at least 300lbs.) I was convinced it was a bear. I stood there watching it for a minute and noticed it's ears were flopping as it dug. It then dawned on me that this was the biggest wild pig I had ever seen. No black bear was going to be messing with this pig. To this day, one of my dreamed-up-worst-case scenarios on the trail would be to run into one of these.

  4. #4
    Registered User JNI64's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-23-2019
    Location
    Harpers ferry wv.
    Age
    60
    Posts
    2,087

    Default

    Wow that's crazy and very brutal! It's amazing that hog was still alive it wasn't going anywhere but good Grief.

    I'm sure glad they like ham better than human!

  5. #5
    Registered User
    Join Date
    06-12-2006
    Location
    northern illinois
    Posts
    4,532
    Images
    2

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by JNI64 View Post
    Wow that's crazy and very brutal! It's amazing that hog was still alive it wasn't going anywhere but good Grief.
    I'm sure glad they like ham better than human!
    Looks like at least 3 cars parked right next to the bear on the road interferring with the bears action to do a quick dispatch of it's prey.

    screen shot

  6. #6
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-19-2005
    Location
    Knoxville, TN
    Posts
    3,715
    Images
    3

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by zelph View Post
    Looks like at least 3 cars parked right next to the bear on the road interferring with the bears action to do a quick dispatch of it's prey.

    screen shot




    yeah.......i didnt watch the whole video, but it seemed like both animals were not phased
    by the cars and humans.....

    havent heard any reports of humans getting out and trying to stop this wildlife encounter,
    but it has happened in the past...

  7. #7

    Default

    It is my understanding that bears prefer to eat their food alive.From what I could tell in the video,that appears to be the case.

  8. #8

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Five Tango View Post
    It is my understanding that bears prefer to eat their food alive.From what I could tell in the video,that appears to be the case.
    I don’t know where you heard that, but it is not true.

  9. #9
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-19-2005
    Location
    Knoxville, TN
    Posts
    3,715
    Images
    3

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Five Tango View Post
    It is my understanding that bears prefer to eat their food alive.From what I could tell in the video,that appears to be the case.


    bears in the GSMNP are opportunistic....

    they will eat whatever is easiest for them-----whether it be some sort of mast, some sort of fruit, or some sort of meat---living
    or dead.........

    but, i would tend to think that they would first kill the animal before eating it...

    i cant imagine a bear trying to eat a pig while it's still fighting to stay alive when it would
    be more efficient to kill it first...

  10. #10

    Default

    My guess is any black bear is opportunistic.

  11. #11
    Registered User
    Join Date
    06-12-2006
    Location
    northern illinois
    Posts
    4,532
    Images
    2

    Default

    To me it looked like the bear was trying to keep it as far away from the parked cars as it could. If the cars weren't there it would have killed the pig and consumed as much of it as it could. The pig would not have suffered very long.

  12. #12
    ME => GA 19AT3 rickb's Avatar
    Join Date
    12-12-2002
    Location
    Marlboro, MA
    Posts
    7,145
    Journal Entries
    1
    Images
    1

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by zelph View Post
    To me it looked like the bear was trying to keep it as far away from the parked cars as it could. If the cars weren't there it would have killed the pig and consumed as much of it as it could. The pig would not have suffered very long.
    Not experienced as a carnivore, perhaps?

    A big cat would have gone for the windpipe, rather than the back of the neck. Not having the overwhelming mass of a grizzly, the that bear needed better technique.

    Amazing video.

  13. #13
    Registered User JNI64's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-23-2019
    Location
    Harpers ferry wv.
    Age
    60
    Posts
    2,087

    Default

    Maybe a combination of the last two posts.

    The people were only 20' in their cars and you could see the bear kept stopping and looking around nervously like something was gonna take his food.

    And I was thinking the something rickb said if that bear would have went for the throat and not the back of the neck that bear could have ended quickly.

  14. #14

    Default

    While black bears will feed on dead animals they find, and kill newborn fawns, or elk calves, it is unusual for them to hunt large adult animals.

  15. #15
    Registered User
    Join Date
    12-01-2014
    Location
    bronx
    Age
    61
    Posts
    512

    Default

    Bears, like wild boars, are omnivores and they compete for the same food sources. Hence the ferocity of the bear. I understand that wild hogs are an invasive species in the Smokies and they cause a great deal of damage to the park but still, it is hard to watch.

  16. #16

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by gpburdelljr View Post
    I don’t know where you heard that, but it is not true.
    here's a link https://io9.gizmodo.com/9-predators-...ques-510100768

    Just scroll down to the bear section and read the comments about not waiting for the prey to die before eating it.
    Sounds like being eaten alive to me...............

  17. #17

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Five Tango View Post
    here's a link https://io9.gizmodo.com/9-predators-...ques-510100768

    Just scroll down to the bear section and read the comments about not waiting for the prey to die before eating it.
    Sounds like being eaten alive to me...............
    The only bear mentioned in that article is the grizzly bear, not the black bear. The grizzly bear often hunts large animals, the black bear rarely does. This thread is about black bears.

  18. #18
    Registered User
    Join Date
    09-28-2015
    Location
    Spring, Texas
    Age
    69
    Posts
    960

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by zelph View Post
    To me it looked like the bear was trying to keep it as far away from the parked cars as it could. If the cars weren't there it would have killed the pig and consumed as much of it as it could. The pig would not have suffered very long.
    I agree with you. Seemed to me that in the beginning the bear was trying to drag the pig up the embankment rather than kill it and gave up when too many people started gathering.
    If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.

  19. #19
    Registered User
    Join Date
    11-01-2014
    Location
    Anchorage, AK
    Age
    62
    Posts
    2,500

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Five Tango View Post
    It is my understanding that bears prefer to eat their food alive.From what I could tell in the video,that appears to be the case.
    I saw a bear trying to kill a wild hog. I did not see a bear feeding on a wild hog.

    Quote Originally Posted by gpburdelljr View Post
    I don’t know where you heard that, but it is not true.
    Yeah, actually most of the meat bears eat is small game, carrion often stolen from other predators, or young and/or sick larger animals.

    Quote Originally Posted by gpburdelljr View Post
    While black bears will feed on dead animals they find, and kill newborn fawns, or elk calves, it is unusual for them to hunt large adult animals.
    Too true.

    Quote Originally Posted by gpburdelljr View Post
    The only bear mentioned in that article is the grizzly bear, not the black bear. The grizzly bear often hunts large animals, the black bear rarely does. This thread is about black bears.
    And who anointed you definer of this thread? To most of us, I think, this was a bear taking on a wild hog.

    To my knowledge, both black and grizzly bears eat berries (bearies?), roots, and small game as their primary food sources in most ecosystems. Both are also opportunistic hunters, willing to take down small, young, or sick game. Neither are known for hunting significant numbers of larger game. And, when hunting, most predators I am aware of, disable their prey (often this involves killing them) to the point they can start feeding safely. Most predators I am aware of eat their disabled prey dead, alive, or stinky and rotting. Either way, if it's not dangerous to start feeding it doesn't matter much.
    I'm not lost. I'm exploring.

  20. #20

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by nsherry61 View Post
    I saw a bear trying to kill a wild hog. I did not see a bear feeding on a wild hog.


    Yeah, actually most of the meat bears eat is small game, carrion often stolen from other predators, or young and/or sick larger animals.


    Too true.



    And who anointed you definer of this thread? To most of us, I think, this was a bear taking on a wild hog.

    To my knowledge, both black and grizzly bears eat berries (bearies?), roots, and small game as their primary food sources in most ecosystems. Both are also opportunistic hunters, willing to take down small, young, or sick game. Neither are known for hunting significant numbers of larger game. And, when hunting, most predators I am aware of, disable their prey (often this involves killing them) to the point they can start feeding safely. Most predators I am aware of eat their disabled prey dead, alive, or stinky and rotting. Either way, if it's not dangerous to start feeding it doesn't matter much.
    The title of the thread is Black Bear Versus Wild Hog, and it is in the Great Smoky Mountains forum, where no grizzly bears exist, so I assumed we were discussing black bears specifically.
    Last edited by gpburdelljr; 03-29-2021 at 18:21.

++ New Posts ++

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •