Yeah that makes the point.

maydanlex I’ve never heard that. Awesome saying, really highlights the capabilities of these animals.

Rabbits can hear better than deer though.

@@stellarwind1946 Won't dispute what you're saying but with all the rabbits around my area these days makes me wonder if they can't hear me or that they're ignoring me.

Thanks Cloaker! My channel growth is slow but steady. Your comment is much appreciated.

Thanks John!

This might dumb ? Can bears smell wifi

LOL, thanks Jim. I've been using that dog argument to explain bears smell to people for years. Yes, very good idea to watch that cross contamination.

They are the complete package.

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks Kelly!

Awesome! Thank you!

Thanks for sharing your story Lesley. Amazing experience and glad everything worked out for you. It is quite possible/probable that bears find processed foods interesting. As you were out hunting it is a good chance that bear wasn't habituated and decided to come and check out the interesting smell.

Thanks Susan, they certainly are. One last push before hibernation.

Thanks Joel!

Thanks Florida Bear.

Thanks J Renne, that is a great idea!

My pleasure! I appreciate that!

Thanks for the tip!

Thank you kindly!

Thanks so much!

Thanks Jon, I am testing out some 'scent proof' bags right now with some sardines and my trail cameras. The results I have so far with this particular bear are a bit surprising. That should be out in a couple of weeks.

Thanks Jake!

They really do seem to know when they can prowl.

My pleasure!

Thanks for watching!

Glad you like them!

Thanks Kevin.

Great story Roland. You can never bee too careful. That's a park I should check out some time.

Thanks for the visit!

Thanks Carpo!

the bloodhound has about 60 times more than humans (5m and 300m) still amazing

You're welcome!

Thanks Wade! 👍

Glad you enjoyed it, curious if you watched Canoehound's Adventure show last night on KZfaq? I was on it talking about bears.

Thanks Craig!

Glad it was helpful!

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks Stephen, Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks Justin, you are welcome!

Thanks Earl!

Thanks 👍

Thank you kindly!

Very welcome, glad you liked it!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Exactly, you are just reducing the chances of attracting a bear. A bear that has been rewarded before will cause the most issues.

Thanks!

My pleasure!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Glad you like them!

Thanks 👍

Well that's one way of being safe. 🙂

but... bears can swim😊

Thanks!

No problem, my pleasure. 👍

Thanks, a few more ideas in the pipe.

@@KevinOutdoors That's good to know, looking forward to them. ☺

Thanks, I love the comment, Glad you like the book!

Thanks Kioti, Bear spray affects the mucus membrane, both in the nose and eyes.

Awesome, thank you!

Kevin Outdoors You’re a naturally gifted speaker/instructor. There are a lot of people who have an extreme amount of knowledge, but don’t possess the talent to impart it to others. I don’t know if you give classes in anything, but people’s learning would be enriched by whatever subject. Not to go on and on, it’s just that people like you don’t come along everyday.

Thank you! Cheers Andy!

Thanks Trebor, there is probably something to that, again, this is an area of science that is very difficult to understand.

😝

Thanks Becket!

Thanks Outdoor Seeker!

It would be great, and we wouldn't need a SWAT team to follow them. :)

That would be amazing.

You are so welcome glad you found the videos useful. Here are some answers to your questions... Step one in managing leftovers is to try and portion your meals properly so you don't have leftovers. This is challenging, I know. So yes if you do have leftovers the best thing is to burn them up completely, if that is an option or dig a hole. Bears are still going to smell the food (especially if you burn it) so these options aren't optimal but for me they fall into the category of 'do all you can do and that will have to be good enough'. If you have a bear resistant canister then just keeping it a safe distance from your tent ~>40 ft should be good. You want enough space between your tent and the food so that when you hear a noise you are able to get out of your tent and back away safely, or engage the bear, depending on the situation. I am actually taking a look at data of bear attacks in preparation for another video. I am not seeing a strong trend regarding what time of year is most dangerous. If anything there are slightly more attacks in summer and fall than spring.

@@KevinOutdoors Thank you that is great info. I was feeling okay about bear safety ... until today. I just read of a predatory attack by a black bear last week that killed a woman in Colorado who was walking her dogs. The article says "Wildlife officers said they found signs of consumption on the body and an abundance of bear scat and hair at the scene." ... they tracked down and killed the sow and 2 cubs. The whole story is super tragic. From everything I've learned from your videos, this kind of event is supposed to be really rare... RIGHT?!?!! yikes...

Yes, that is what I meant about spills etc and in using a barrel as a cutting board. Keep everything clean and un-interesting to the bear.

You bet! Thanks PLP, more to come! 😀

Transferring scent when handling food while camping is a challenge. All anyone can do is their best. Keep a clean campsite and store your food and toothpaste etc. securely and you should be fine. Also I recommend carrying bear spray if you are going to be alone or in small groups in bear country.

Thanks for asking John. I hope it is out before Christmas. I'll do an update next time I speak with the publisher.

I don't think so. They might be able to smell it if they are close enough but they aren't sharks, the scent of blood doesn't trigger an attack.

There is no guarantee that bears avoid bad smells, in fact they are intelligent creatures and have been known to be curious of new scents.

Excellent question Lesley. My answer is that it probably makes a difference but we really don't know. It is amazing how we can know the chemical composition of stars light-years away but we don't really know what a bear can smell. This is all speculation, but given the capacity of their nose and olfactory bulb I presume they understand us on a different level with smell. I would presume a bear close enough to your campsite would somehow get that you have gone to some trouble to mark the perimeter of the campsite with your scent. What they do with that info is another question, but I would presume if they aren't looking to get into trouble then that would be helpful.

It so would! I was thinking the same thing when I was making this. If only we could properly domesticate bears!

They did so in earlier times. Gypsies and other travelling merchants letting kids and other people ride on domesticated bears for pay, the selling argument being it made them less afraid of the bears. So I guess it’s doable. But I guess it’d make animal wardens into a whole professional occupation, something we’re not used to. Dogs are easy enough to handle, police and others use them as pets in their off time. So it becomes much cheaper.

Maybe use Koala bears? 😁

@@garyseven4441 - Nah, they only go for eucalyptus or Vegemite : )

LOL, not a great idea. :)

They would be much better than dogs and dogs are great at it.

Sad, but probably very true in some areas.

Good questions Sara. I would say that in general dogs are beneficial. They bark and that alone will scare off most bears. A barking dog has kept bears out of our yard for years. You do want to be careful not to let your dog chase a bear. Unless they are working with other dogs and trained for the purpose a lone dog chasing a bear will often return to the owner with the bear chasing it.

Kevin Outdoors thank you so much Kevin!! 🙏🏽😊

Thanks Brent, I am not really familiar with 'archival sense of smell', I can't find it with a search either. But based on your description of using scent to recognize others of the same species I would say yes that is highly likely. Bears are known to mark their territory. I am sure they recognize their neighbours this way.

No blueberry soap. I am going to remember that one! 😃

Good question! It would seem that they are the most startled when the wind is in the wrong direction or when the surprise is rapid, like you come out of your house when they are already on your deck. They probably know you are inside or around but if you move quickly it likely is too quick of a change for them to pick up with their nose.

God bless

It is pretty incredible. Thanks!

That is a good question. I have limited experience with this but I did once light a fire in the middle of the night to keep a problem bear away from our campsite. The bear lurked around our campsite all night so the smell didn't send it away. I suspect the light has more impact than smell. I think they feel they have an advantage in the darkness.

You aren't wrong on any of those points but at some point we all need to accept some risk and balance what is practical. e.g. it is really hard not to camp near water.

I don't really know but fire (smoke or flame or light or all) does seem to keep them away. Also people say that Pine Sol has a negative effect on them. I am not 100% about that.

For sure!

That isn't a bad idea but I don't bother hanging mine. I wash it out.

Good question. I am not aware of anything that will deter them. Bears are reasonably intelligent and find different scents interesting.

Well now you can visit North America once this COVID stuff is over! 😀

Great questions. Some people (I have friends) take a very reductionist approach and analyze every little detail and action regarding food smells in camp. I find I can only take that approach so far before it infringes on the purpose of being in the backcountry. I have a buddy who triple bags all his food then seals it in a food barrel, he pays strict attention to all drips and even has techniques for spooning jam and peanut butter to minimize smells. I can only take that approach so far. You will hear different options from different people and these different approaches can all be right. Sometimes, the right method will depend on where you are. Basically my goal is simply to minimize food smells, but recognizing that you can never be perfect. OK, here is what I do. For my clothes, unless I am on a long trip (more than a week) I don't wash them until I get home. You can only do so much and I don't think food smells in clothes (that aren't food soiled) are high on the list of priorities. On a longer trip I'll often do some clothes washing on a rest day if I feel there will be nice weather to dry them in the afternoon. If I was to spill something smelly on my clothes I would certainly wash at least that part of the garment. Dishwashing is another good question. I try my best to measure my meals properly and not have any leftovers and I clean out the pot as best I can while eating. If I am on a canoe trip I will likely bring a wash basin but if I am backpacking I won't. For backpacking I'll boil water and poor a cup or less into my pot, then I add a small drop of bio-degradable soap. I'll wash my cutlery first then the pot and I'll toss the waste water as far from camp as practical and not into a water body. Then I will rinse the cutlery and pot with the remaining water. Yes, I don't keep my cutlery or pots in my food bag. On most trips space in the food bag is at a premium. I've had bears in camp before and they always know where the food is, they don't go for washed pots. Bear behaviours change when you get deeper into the backcountry. Bears that haven't been habituated to campers aren't looking at your campsite as a source of a meal, unless you are leaving food or fish guts completely out. This is a whole other topic but on longer backcountry trips with multiple people the food barrel can get very large and be difficult to hang. In those situations, again only in the backcountry, I will tie my food barrel to a tree and stack my pots on top of it as an alarm. I have never had any issues with bears in the backcountry (except one), all problem bear encounters were in car camping or front country locations. The one backcountry 'problem' bear was a juvenile who swam out in the middle of the night to an island I was camping on. I don't think he was looking for food but was probably curious about me and my dog. We scared him off a number of times but he never left the island, so I just went to bed. I'll never know for sure but I don't think food attracted that bear. It wasn't showing any interest in my food hang.