Grizzly Bear Risk in Wind River Range and other Wyoming Areas

Yes - I have a Grizzly experience - we camped in Cirque of the Towers, found a super-cool campsite with a cave, two nice flat spots and a 5.7 boulder problem we could climb to put our food on top of the said boulder - nice setup. We experienced two Grizzlies the first night when we were in our tents, all of our stuff was stashed on top of the boulder which they couldn't get to, they sniffed around, one was just beyond the tent fabric sniffing my face, none of us moved. The bears eventually left and never came back in the week we were there. We are High Sierra veterans so we know how to stash smelly things away from the bears. Two ladies camped lower down from us were not so lucky - they were sloppy leaving their food out when they were in camp and a bear came in to their camp, picked up the stuff sack full of food and walked away.

Jaren Watson wrote:

Sure they weren’t color phase black bears?

Yeah we saw a few black bears as well, 2 of which were dark brownish. no, the grizzly's were way larger, seemed almost twice as big, had had long bristly hair, and a different face and body shape.The two types can be similar color but shape and size wise are clearly different. We saw 2 fully grown brown bears and one younger smaller one, all on separate days. We ran into the smaller probably adolescent brown bear (still about as big as a fully grown human male) in the middle of the trail in the south fork of Cascade Canyon behind the Tetons and we backed away a number of paces before reacting poorly and hiking away from it and it followed us for 10 minutes. It was horrifying. I learned a lot that trip, like don't turn your back on a bear, but especially I learned the importance of bear spray. It might be your last and only hope.

Can your wife run faster than you??? if so she is all set ;)

You should definitely give the Winds a try. They are gorgeous!
 
I think the risk from a bear attack is quite low, if you do everything wrong, and becomes incredibly low if you are careful. Just to make a guess I have probably encountered around 100 brown bears. I am guessing I have seen 50+ brownies in Alaska, either in Wood Tikchik Park, or Denali. Maybe 30 grizzlies in Yellowstone (all of them in about 3 or 4 different spots), maybe 10 in the Canadian Rockies, and 3 in the Tetons. Zero in the Winds, despite being on the lookout and hoping to spot one. Some of these encounters were close enough to take pictures like the ones below... But none of them really scared me, although I have often been a bit nervous in brown bear country. I was once startled pretty good while carrying a cooler full of lunches and some fresh sockeye and Arctic char when a bear appeared on the trail maybe 15 feet in front of me. He was startled too, 'cause he immediately turned tail and ran the other way. I also watched a guy on a scooter get bluff charged by a grizzly near Lake Louise. He had on a sound dampening and vision obscuring full face helmet, so I am pretty sure he didn't even see the bear, nor realize he was being charged, as he tootled on by. This is fortunate, as he wasn't wearing brown pants. I have also seen too many black bears to count. This includes black bears on the porch of my residence in two different states as well as one that tried to crawl through the window into bed with my girlfriend. I actually didn't see that one, so maybe she was just trying to make me jealous by telling me. At any rate, be smart about where you store your food, food smells around your tent and sleeping bag, and making noise in places where you think you have a chance of surprising a bear. You'll be just fine.

I hope you get a chance to see one from comfortable distance!

Old lady H wrote: thanks for the responses so far. we would get spray and we have bear cans and would be really good about food prep and storage. We are used to black bears but the grizz puts the fear in my wife. :) Good suggestions to go to more popular places. we would plan to go Notepad++to the cirque and titcomb basin. Hey, Google grizzly bear playing in sprinklers! Several videos, one from Island Park Idaho,   iTunesnot far from Tetons/Yellowstone. They're just another critter to consider, after all. My bike commute through downtown Boise puts me in mountain lion territory! Best, Helen Oh, and don't leave your rope/shoes/soft [Vidmate goods where rodents can get to them.

my wife wants to pull the plug on our wind river trip this August because she is worried about grizzly bears.

I need to alleviate her concerns because I really want to go there to backpack and climb.

Any experiences with grizzly bears in the wind river range? or tetons? or other areas in Wyoming?

Worse or better than other areas?

this is the only prior thread on the topic that I could find  

DADY ANILIYATSA wrote:

my wife wants to pull the plug on our wind river trip this August because she is worried about grizzly bears.

I need to alleviate her concerns because I really want to go there to backpack and climb.

Any experiences with grizzly bears in the wind river range? or tetons? or other areas in Wyoming?

Worse or better than other areas?

this is the only prior thread on the topic that I could find  

I think it has all been said except for - go by yourself and leave your wife.

I am by no means a wildlife or Grizzly Bear expert, but when it comes to the question of whether Grizzly Bears are in the Wind River Range...??? If they are not supposed to be, I can't help but wonder what would be stopping them. If you look on a map... at least... of where they are known to be, and where attacks have even occurred...there does not seem to be much but mountains and open country between those places and areas like... around Green River Lakes. I have read multiple articles about how the Grizzlies are "fanning out" from their known areas in search of food and new habitat due to increasing populations along with human encroachment. Like I said I am no expert, but I can see how an interstate or major highways...towns...or areas with a lot of people might discourage them. However, what is there to stop them from traversing the open country and mountains between areas where they are known to be and have been recently sighted...like Jackson Hole...and areas like...around the Green River Lakes.  https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/grizzly-sightings-prompt-upper-green-river-closing/article_80ad5eb0-8bd3-11df-92dd-001cc4c03286.html 

Cee:

Did you notice that the article is from 2010?

Grizzlies have been sighted in the northern Winds for many years. For a while, Game and Fish tried to keep them from moving farther south because of all the ranching, but changed that policy.

It is natural for them to expand into any habitat suitable for them, which includes the southern Wind Rivers.  And now they have been verified in the Southern Winds.

The Winds are a Wliderness area, so people shouldn't be surprised that wild things live there.  People who are inexperienced in the wilderness freak out and grossly overestimate the risk of bear encounters.  

Proper camping and travel methodology in bear country is well documented.  If you follow the recommendations, the risk is very low - but NOT zero.  The only way to get bear risk to zero is to kill them ALL - is that really what people want?

We accept risk in everything we do.  As an example, we don't think twice about jumping in our cars and accepting the risk of being in a serious or fatal accident.  That's because the risk is low, and we can take measures to reduce that risk. We are experienced in driving, so we understand the risk.

I assert that the same applies to camping in bear country, and with safe camping techniques, it is lower risk than what we accept every time we hop in our cars...

DADY ANILIYATSA wrote:

my wife wants to pull the plug on our wind river trip this August because she is worried about grizzly bears.

I need to alleviate her concerns because I really want to go there to backpack and climb.

Any experiences with grizzly bears in the wind river range? or tetons? or other areas in Wyoming?

Worse or better than other areas?

this is the only prior thread on the topic that I could find  

DADY:
Go and read my prior post about my encounters with bears in 49 years of camping/climbing in the Winds.  I tallied up the days spent camping in the Winds and it adds up to 2 and 1/2 years!

The highest likelihood of bear encounters is the Green River Lakes area due to proximity and connection to the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.  This is true for all of the northern Winds.

The second most likely spot for bear encounters is east of the continental divide.

The least likely place for an encounter is the southern Winds west of the divide.

Another way to decrease the chance of an encounter is avoid habitat that the bear like.  I think one of the reasons I haven't encountered many bears is that I'm a rock climber, so I'm often camping at or above timberline, in one of the many, many cirques in the Winds.

If you look at the geomorphology of the Winds, there is a broad relatively flat, heavily forested peneplane along the western flank of the Winds.  This is better bear habitat than in the high cirques along the divide.

I think one of the reasons there aren't more grizzlies in the Winds is that the forests are mostly lodgepole and alpine firs.  Grizzlies prefer whitebark pine.  But it's great habitat for brown and black bears.

People worry about grizzlies, but satistically there are more encounters with black and brown bears.

As I advised in a prior post, call the forest service in Pinedale and the Great Outdoor Shop and ask where there have been sightings.  Then you will know what your chances of an encounter are.

Another useful thing to know is how to recognize bear scat and other signs.  I've been in areas where I haven't seen any bear sign.  Where I've seen sign, it was very old, perhaps from even over a year.

Arlo F Niederer wrote:  But it's great habitat for brown and black bears.

People worry about grizzlies, but satistically there are more encounters with black and brown bears.

Grizzly bears are brown bears (Ursus arctos).

Skibo wrote:

Grizzly bears are brown bears (Ursus arctos).

Not as a subspecies.  Grizzlies (horribilis) are quite different than a coastal brown bear in Alaska.

Black and brown bears in the rockies are Ursus americanus.  Coloration can be quite varied...I've seen a gorgeous cinnamon colored bear in the southern winds.  Really reddish.

Brian in SLC wrote:

Not as a subspecies.  Grizzlies (horribilis) are quite different than a coastal brown bear in Alaska.

Black and brown bears in the rockies are Ursus americanus.  Coloration can be quite varied...I've seen a gorgeous cinnamon colored bear in the southern winds.  Really reddish.

When you're talking about brown bear as a species and not morphology, then you're talking about Ursus arctos  or a subspecies. And middendorfi and horribilis  are actually quite similar, apart from size. Also Ursus arctos horribilis , like Ursus americanus, are found throughout most of the Rockies. They are only absent in Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, but present in Wyoming, Nevada, Montana, Alberta and British Columbia.

Brian in SLC wrote:

Not as a subspecies.  Grizzlies (horribilis) are quite different than a coastal brown bear in Alaska.

Black and brown bears in the rockies are Ursus americanus.  Coloration can be quite varied...I've seen a gorgeous cinnamon colored bear in the southern winds.  Really reddish.

There are black grizzly bears and brown black bears.  Both grizzly bears and coastal brown bears are considered brown bears (as are the brown bears in Europe)--all are Ursus actos. The accepted common name for Ursus arctos is "brown bear".  Yes, there are subspecies as you note, but they are all brown bears.  Black bears (Ursus americanus) are black bears whether they are blonde, brown, or black.  The Rockies includes Wyoming and Montana, where there are both black (U. americanus) and brown (U. arctos) bears.  So, your statement "Black and brown bears in the rockies are Ursus americanus" is incorrect.

No one refers to grizzlies in Wyoming or Montana as brown bears.  Well...maybe folks who don't know better.

University of Montana's mascot?  Hint:  not a brown bear.

Ok guys, just because U. arctos horribilis is called a "grizzly" doesn't preclude it being classified as a brown bear among biologists (i.e. folks who know better).  See https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180543#null which is the standard reference for biologists.  Brown bear is a general term used (among biologists, taxonomists, etc.) for Ursus arctos, which includes grizzly bears.  Black bear (whether black, blonde or brown) is the proper/common name for U. americanus.  Where both U. arctos and U. americanus occur, you have to be careful in using "brown" as a color descriptor or as a species descriptor.  Niederer states "People worry about grizzlies, but satistically there are more encounters with black and brown bears".  This implies a distinction between black bears, brown bears, and grizzlies.  He also says "Grizzlies prefer whitebark pine.  But it's great habitat for brown and black bears."  Again implying that there are grizzlies, blacks, and browns. He does not say "brown black bears" which would be more accurate. If you're going to present yourself as an authority, you must use accurate terminology.  And yes, I live in grizzly country, and I call them grizzlies.  I also lived in Alaska, where grizzly bear is not used as often as brown bear, even in the Interior.

Hey, call 'em what you want!  If you're chattin' up a local who lives and works in Wyoming or Montana, I'm sure they'll appreciate being corrected.  Ha ha.

Just for fun....some info on bears:

Here's a quiz from Montana Fish and Game.  Note how they refer to each type of bear.  Take the bear identification test!  (I passed with flying colors!).

http://fwp.mt.gov/education/hunter/bearID/

http://www.craigheadresearch.org/grizzly-bears.html

RIP John (I grew up just down the hill from him):

https://missoulian.com/news/local/legendary-wildlife-scientist-john-craighead-dead-at/article_1228eede-70b7-5c45-92cb-0e1b71af9d4e.html

Fun video...Ben Moon!

Good times...

Brian in SLC wrote: Hey, call 'em what you want!  If you're chattin' up a local who lives and works in Wyoming or Montana, I'm sure they'll appreciate being corrected.  

I'm not saying they're not grizzlies, as that is the standard name for brown bears in the Rockies and some other Interior areas (and that is supported by the ITIS taxonomy link I provided) , what I'm saying is that "brown bear" denotes a species that includes grizzly bears as a subspecies.  And I am a local in Wyoming and Montana, and yes, as I said, I call them grizzlies, as that is the accepted term.  But they are brown bears as a species, just like a brown or blonde U. americanus is a black bear as a species.

Brian in SLC wrote: Black and brown bears in the rockies are Ursus americanus. 

I've seen the video, I've read the book, and quite a few more besides. Cool that you know Doug Peacock, I hear he is quite a character.

The only people I have heard refer to Ursus americanus as "brown bears" were people that didn't know what they were talking about, but maybe your experience is different. I think we are on the same page in knowing that in the Rockies a brown colored bear can be either Ursus americanus, or Ursus arctos horribilis. Grizzlies can be black as well, although I've never seen one, and Doug Peacock writes about a big black Grizzly which I think was in the Mount Washburn area of Yellowstone. It's been quite awhile since I've read that book.

I don't know that living or working in bear country particularly means that a person knows what they're talking about as you seem to hint at. But on the off chance that it does... I lived in Idaho, where there are both grizz and black bears, for almost 40 years. Just this week I've seen two black bears at my house. I recall grizzlies have been extinct in Utah for about 100 years. But I have seen some bears in the Wasatch and Uintas. Do you see many bears around your house, Brian in Salt Lake City?

Edited to say: Sorry if that seems antagonistic. It rained last night and is supposed to snow a foot or so in the next few days. No climbing is making me grumpy.

Ryan Pfleger wrote:Do you see many bears around your house, Brian in Salt Lake City?

Just the girlfriend.  Ha ha.  Still get a chuckle out of that video of the gal gettin' her kayak eatin' by a bear...so, we annoy each other around the house by saying "bear...no bear"...and on and on.

Still makes me laugh!

Edit...no worries!  My point is/was that folks refer to grizzlies as grizzlies in Wyoming and Montana.  Not brown bears.  Sure, they can be brown colored.  Got it.  Brown-phase black bears...you can call them brown bears, but, I agree its confusing if you really mean black bear or grizzly.  No biggie.  Good entertainment to chat about bears.  We like seeing those bears.

Born and raised in Montana.  Spent a bit of time there in the backcountry.  

Bit scarce for bears here in the 'burbs of Salt Lake County...  Been charged by a "brown bear" (ha ha) in Alaska (Chichagof Island).  Spent time on Kodiak dodging bears (them fellers are HUGE).  And in the arctic.  And in Denali.  Etc.

Most people at a glance can't tell the difference between black and grizzlies.  And, that's ok.  Give 'em some space and respect.  I don't think they really deserve their "boogeyman" status but get why folks get nervous when they're not at the top of the food chain at night, in a tent, in bear country...  

Back to the OP, I think if you're "bear aware" and practice good camp habits, your risk is pretty darn minimal.  And, what a treat to see a bear in the wild!