Holy crow I'm with ya!Keep them up there!!
Bears in Texas
- Thread starter Pearl
- Start date
Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:
You eat bear?
O my yes!!! Very good meat.
Good Lord thanks for the heads up. I thought they were just in FL.
I wonder how you "feel" eyes on you? Maybe it's something that has to be developed? I find that fascinating. Maybe one has to become more attuned to their environment?
I'm seriously considering a dog because their senses are far better developed than mine. Hubby doesn't want one but I like watchdogs.
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2013
- Messages
- 16,225
These things happen. How many more people are killed by pet or feral dogs? Coyotes kill a huge number of mice and other rodents, so do fox, bobcats, badgers and snakes. They are worth having around. We have over 60 chickens and ducks here, and have never lost one yet to a predator. Of course I have good strong fencing and secure buildings. I see fox, coyote and bear tracks around the chicken run and the coop all the time. They can't get in.
Bears are unpredictable Black bears more so than Grizzlies. You know what a Griz wants to do rearrange your pretty face but Black it's hard to tell. I've seen house cats run off big Blacks.
The sow and cubs ran up the tree because a boar came on the scene. That boar would kill the sow and cubs and eat them. That wasn't papa bear. Bears are solitary creatures except during mating season.
Shoot, shovel, and shut up means exactly that but now days with phone cameras and drones that is real hard to do even in Montana.
I see in our local paper that in 25 the Fish and Wildlife Service might delist the Grizzlies. The Griz should never have been listed in the first place damn bears are everywhere. Damn Eastern kooks who think they are just really big dogs want everything listed. You ought to see all the Eastern kooks who think they can walk up to a Bison and pet the darn things. GEEZS!
Last edited:
Where the heck do you live that you can't shoot the vermin? Coyotes are vermin around here and fair game to shoot year round.
With traps and guns. Get a predator rifle and have some fun. Shoot them in the winter time when their furs are prime and skin and sell the furs otherwise just leave the carcasses for the other vermin to eat.
Coyotes are predators and keep the small game populations in check. It's the city coyotes that are the real problem as their natural source of food is very limited so the go after the next best thing, dogs, cats, children, and even adults if they can get away with it. We have a lot of coyotes out here but there is an ample food supply for them so they are not much of a problem except during calving season.
If you get a dog get a big one that can fight back. An Airedale is hell on coyotes. A full size Poodle (strange I know but full size Poodles were bred for hunting) Great Pyrenees, etc. Also if you have the room Donkeys make great guard animals and will lick just about anything you have around there.
I didn't know they killed mice. I feel bad for mice as they are always victimized by prey but they are pests. We catch them in the house. I think fencing is great and that's what we need. I want to be able to go outside without fear of coyotes or bears coming upon me. This is where I think a good dog can help. Do you use any dogs on your farm?
Yes I was shocked the mother ran - I thought they always fight. They have some kind of terrier mix dog that wandered onto the property and it's the best dog they have. It went right up to a bear and was barking at it.
I never knew that boars can kill a bear. I'm wary of them too.
I'll keep that little bit of wisdom tucked away. The elderly woman in CA was pestered by the bear but she should have taken action about it, but didn't. It broke into her house and ate her. Dear God. Shoot, shovel, and shut up.
We can shoot them but you must realize that we're city people unused to dealing with wildlife. Hubby has a shotgun and probably will do something at some point. They love our persimmon tree. But the law here is you're not allowed to kill bears. I think it's ridiculous.
Eeek! I never killed anything in my life! My husband used to hunt and then he said it didn't feel right. But I'm sure when we get a little more settled he'll shoot them.
Male bears are called boars. Female bears are called sows. Bears being much smarter than humans know that no female bear will survive a fight with a male bear. Male bears are bigger and stronger and much more aggressive.
Around here if you see a very nervous Black it usually mean a Griz is nearby.
Yes - that's what they did. I don't like hearing them! A train runs behind us and when it does it sets them off and they howl. I guess I'll get used to it?
Heck even in Montana you can kill a Griz if your life or livestock is attacked. Blacks no problem. Not a good idea to kill Blacks out of season but you can to save a life.
But this is Montana, gun and hunting country. Montana has more guns per person than any other state.
a bonus to hearing coyotes close is that they indicate that big cats aren't too close around.
Thanks - I'll look into those breeds. I think I'll feel safer with a good guard dog. I'm afraid of snakes and read that some terriers were bred to kill snakes. We have a spring fed pond on our property that the moving guy told me probably has copperheads. So that's another thing I'm wary of! But a dog has good senses and usually can pick up on things that we may miss. I noticed people around here have donkeys.
Good thing you don't live in Montana. We have deer and just about everything else right in the city. The high school in Bozeman had a Griz wonder through the school during school hours.
oh I thought you meant wild pigs. You think bears are smarter than humans? Why would a male bear want to fight a female?
Grizzlys fight black bears?
Pigs are good for snakes. For some reason the venom doesn't hurt them and pigs love to eat snakes.
Because she is in his territory and because he can and of course for food. Female bears are smart enough to know they are no match for males.
Oh wow. That would make me nervous.
I wonder if it would be good to get a few pigs. I don't know anything about farm animals unfortunately. I'm in a learning curve.
I think pigs are pretty easy to take care of. Look at the wild pigs they are tough as nails.
Montana is known for wildlife and independence. I'm just wondering when they're going to enact Agenda 2030 and not let people on the land.
