Bears in NJ

[jersey joe]

Dang.... From Springer to Kathadin I've only seen 1 bear in PA and 0 rattlesnakes.

I specifically have went out of my way looking for rattlesnakes and still haven't seen one.

I'll probably get bit now that I've said that.

On my 02' thru hike i saw exactly one bear and one rattlesnake. On a two day trip this past summer I saw five bear and two rattlesnakes. It really is just plain dumb luck stumbling upon wildlife. I have to say, almost stepping on a rattlesnake leaves you looking down a lot more for the rest of your hike...and makes me seriously reconsider any trail running or hiking with headphones on.

[DapperD]

This is my first post on this site and I'm hoping some of you can help me. My husband and I are planning a thru hike next year, so this year to prepare we are doing a series of short hikes that last a few days. We live in the tri-state area so our first section was going to be from the Delaware Water Gap in PA to Bear Mountain in NY. Every time we mention this to anyone we know all we get is warnings about bears!! These are from people who have not hiked the trail!! My question is: How bad is the bear situation in NJ? Is this something we really need to be extremely concerned about? Should we choose a different section for our first hike to avoid the situation? What can we do to ultimately prepare for this section if the "bear scares" are true???

Thanks for any help in this matter in advance!

I don't think I would be overly concerned about hiking on the trail in N.J. because of this. Using common sense, not leaving food laying about, being careful about cooking and consuming food, etc...I would think would go far in keeping out of trouble as far as the bears there go. I have been on the AT at Culvers Gap, and that part of the AT in my opinion is really nice. I have seen bears in the woods there, but as other's have said they most likely will probably just run away if you get too close.

[mick2360]

My wife and myself are in this section several times a week from spring to fall. We have seen one and it had no interest in us at all. On the other hand, I see a 400 lb'er transiting my yard on an almost daily basis in season...once again, no interest in us, he is a very shy boy. While the bear population is significant, basic precautions and use of readily available bear boxes will keep you in a safer position.

We all have our fears. I am afraid of heights, yet I find bears interesting and, at times, amusing. Everyone has something. If you are concerned, tie a pair of bells on and whistle while you walk. Feel free to shoot me a pm if you need any help while you are in the Vernon, NJ/NY area. Enjoy your hike.

Mick

[Colter]

Is this something we really need to be extremely concerned about?

No. Statistically there is almost no risk, even in New Jersey.

[Appalachian Tater]

It's exciting to see bears. I saw three between Delaware Water Gap and Sunfish pond. If you get to see some, consider yourself lucky. Hang your food or put it in the metal bear boxes and don't try to feed them or pose with them for photos or pet them and you should be fine.

[Colter]

If you're in New Jersey backcountry -- the most dangerous mammal isn't a bear -- it's a human that's a hunter. To be more afraid of bears than of hunters is to not correctly assess risks.

You're partially right. People are far more dangerous than bears. But people who die in hunting accidents are usually hunters and hunting is relatively safe. For example, there are far fewer fatal hunting accidents than swimming accidents. 100 people die nationwide in hunting accidents each year, more than 1,500 die in swimming-related incidents.

During that 11 year period there were 3,872 murders in New Jersey. There have been several hikers killed by fellow hikers on the A.T. and no hikers killed by hunters on the AT in history, to the best of my knowledge.

Regardless of what statistics any of us throw around, hiking on the AT is a relatively safe activity.

[Appalachian Tater]

A teenaged hunter shot and killed a hiker in Washington a couple of years ago. It does happen if infrequently.

[Blissful]

I only saw one bear, a medium size one,in NJ and he skedaddled. No problems at all. Just use the bear proof lockers.

[Colter]

A teenaged hunter shot and killed a hiker in Washington a couple of years ago. It does happen if infrequently.

I think it's safe to say that one clown killed more people than all the hikers killed by all the hunters in the history of North America.

If you Google "hiker killed by hunter" you get pages of the same story, the one you mentioned. That's because it almost never happens.

Google "mother killed son" and there are dozens of stories, because it happens a lot more often.

A baby sleeping in it's crib is in much greater danger than a hiker on the trail is from a hunter. We tend to be bad at evaluating relative risk.

[earlyriser26]

Saw 5 bears in the SNP last spring in only 3 days. Guess you have to get lucky. Going out saturday to SNP again, less likely this time of year, but who knows.

[Pedaling Fool]

The whole issue of bears in NJ is not so much on the AT, but a problem with bears coming into neighborhoods. Yes, some of these neighborhoods are very close to the AT, but you have just as good of a chance of seeing bears in other parts of the AT, such as down south, through SNP or GSMNP.

So in a sense, the NJ bear issue is irrelevant to AT hikers or at least not more relevant than other sections of the AT.

I disagree with this. You are more likely to run into a bear in NJ than most other places on the trail. Because of this, you should take precautions, like protecting your food.

You say you disagree with me, but then a sentence later you say, basically the same thing I said. And that is, in NJ you are no more likely to run into a bear than other areas. But I do agree that your chances of seeing a bear are far greater in NJ than many other places on the trail, especially northern areas.

I know not scientific...but look at the poll on the first page here: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...ight=bear+poll

I didn't say anything about NOT taking precautions, just that this is ONLY an issue (on this website) because we hear about it so much in the news. No one can put a percentage on this question, but all-in-all, I'd say you'd have about the same chance of seeing a bear in NJ as you would in SNP.

That is partly true. But another big reason for the exploding bear population in NJ is the fact that Moms are having on average three cubs instead of the national average of 2. Also, survival rates for cubs is also much higher. This is partly because of the abundance of food sources/garbage.

Usually garbage-diving bears are considered less healthy, what are you'll throwing away

What's the deal on a higher than average birth rate in NJ? You got a link?

[mbeattie]

Read some of the bear facts here
http://bear.org/website/

Basically the bears are more afraid of you than you are of them. They tend to run away when they see you and if you act threatening, even more so. The fear of bears is that they are large, strong, and they like to go into places people live because there is food and they are overcrowded. At least in NJ they are.

[fredmugs]

Dang.... From Springer to Kathadin I've only seen 1 bear in PA and 0 rattlesnakes.

I specifically have went out of my way looking for rattlesnakes and still haven't seen one.

I'll probably get bit now that I've said that.

I have a pretty good total going so far:

13 bears
2 timber rattlers
3 moose
2 (dead) porcupines

But the thing that scared me the most was when 6 baby skunks walked across the trail in front of me into some high grass and then stopped. Can't remember exactly where it was but it was somewhere in PA right before a road crossing.

Had a pack of wolves and a lot of bison around our camp in Yellowstone. Still wanting to see a bighorn sheep.

[ERNMAN]

As Long as your at least the second slowest in the group you have nothing to worry about....

[jersey joe]

Usually garbage-diving bears are considered less healthy, what are you'll throwing away

What's the deal on a higher than average birth rate in NJ? You got a link?

Good article here...Second paragraph...

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...bear_popu.html

Another reason I see in this article is that they start having cubs earlier and the survival rate is higher.

[Pringles]

I was told to watch for rattlesnakes. I saw neither bears nor rattlesnakes. I would have liked to see a bear. :-).

[sly dog]

I saw 5 bears in PA and none in NJ and all but one ran away faster than a grayhound. Before ya know it you will sooner be reaching for your camera instead of a new pair of underwear once ya start seeing bears in the wild.

[hikerboy57]

I was told to watch for rattlesnakes. I saw neither bears nor rattlesnakes. I would have liked to see a bear. :-).

next time, try watching for moose.

[Namaste]

I can only add that I also have seen bears on the trail in NJ but they clearly were not interested in me. My house in PA is near the trail and I had a bear come through my backyard last summer. He was a big guy but I wasn't worried because I kept my distance and watched him saunter off into the woods. He was tagged. Best advice...keep your food in the bear boxes or hung away from your tent/hammock/shelter.

[Tinker]

I encountered a bear near the Pochuck Mt. Shelter at night. I got up to "visit the woods" and was standing near a tree in the dark with my headlamp on. Then I noticed two lights which I thought were in the valley. Then a dog barked somewhere down the mountain. The two "lights" turned toward the sound momentarily, then back at me. They were too high off the ground to have been anything else than a pair of bear eyes. I was more surprised than afraid. I finished up and went back to my hammock near the shelter. It turns out ( I noticed in the morning) that I had been about 15 feet from the bear box and had probably interrupted the bear while he was poking around at it. Oh, the bear was probably 40 feet or so away.