Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Bear strikes hard  (Read 6109 times)

Offline hardwood

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3482
  • Gender: Male
  • Alysian Apiaries youtube.com/MrBeedude
Bear strikes hard
« on: January 14, 2013, 08:06:11 pm »
We had a bear nearly devastate one of our yards. I couldn't get them moved for two days after this video was taken and the final tally was 32 out of 80 were saved.

Oviedo bees and bear attack 009

The better news is that swarms and removal calls are slowly coming in so I'll be able to stock a a few boxes before the flow starts.

Scott
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline Kathyp

  • Global Moderator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 20359
  • Gender: Female
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2013, 08:08:28 pm »
you are having a bad year!  :-\
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Joe D

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 2246
  • Gender: Male
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2013, 08:13:41 pm »
Sorry for your loss, Scott.  Bears are protected here also.




Joe

Offline blanc

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 345
  • Gender: Male
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2013, 10:30:56 pm »
The few I lost last year kinda bummed me out after all the hard work getting them. Feel for you Scott but know you will recover quick. Feeling like bear burger?  :-D Got the gun ready!
Psalm 19:9-10
The fear of the Lord is clean,enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea ,than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Offline edward

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • Gender: Male
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2013, 11:41:52 pm »
 :-x I want to swear but I´d get into trouble with the moderator  :-x

Man, I feel for you, was thinking you should feed the bear with lead, but then you said they are protected  :-x

They visited one of my yards last year, ate a few hives, but then the bear started terrorising the neighborhood and started following mothers and children on bikes in the forest roads so they decided to hunt it down.

The bear swam 8km out in the ocean and was seen on an island, they called it in and they caught up with it just beefore it tried to swim away.

I lost at least 400kg of honey that year  :-x

They say that 8% of bears are honey bears and once they start they wont stop till the whole yard is eaten.

mvh edward  :-P

Offline oblib

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 131
  • Gender: Male
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2013, 11:54:39 pm »
If you just happen to be armed when working that yard and the bear uhh ...attacks you cough cough then you could shoot it.

Offline Sundog

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 405
  • Gender: Male
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2013, 12:35:27 am »
Wow, amazing footage!  I know you’ll recover, but I still wish you better luck.

Keep the faith, and keep having fun.

Offline Nature Coast Beek

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 124
  • Gender: Male
  • Suck it up, buttercup!
    • Both Feet In
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2013, 07:14:34 am »
Well, that sux.

I see some electric fencing in your future.

Offline JackM

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 708
  • Gender: Male
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #8 on: January 15, 2013, 08:45:41 am »
That stinks....I guess bears don't hibernate there
Jack of all trades
Master of none.

Offline Robo

  • Technical
  • Administrator
  • Galactic Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 6778
  • Gender: Male
  • Beekeep On!
    • Bushkill Bee Vac
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #9 on: January 15, 2013, 09:23:15 am »
Sorry to hear that Scott.   I know the feeling and it really sucks.   Electric fence helps, but it is not foolproof.   I don't know if it is practical at a commercial level, but I have found that keeping all my hives strapped reduces damage tremendously.   A lot of times the bears will just knock the hive over and if it doesn't open up they move on. Last fall I had one actually rip a side off a polystyrene hive that was strapped, but luckily it was the end bar side of the frames and I guess that was also enough discouragement.   Hive was knocked over and had the side ripped off, but the strap kept everything intact.      My experience has been that regardless of what you do, they will continue to return once they hit.   The only way I have found to cut the losses is move the yard ASAP.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



Offline tefer2

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 2318
  • Gender: Male
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #10 on: January 15, 2013, 09:32:15 am »
Sorry to hear about this, glad I don't have that problem here! What's your plan.

Offline Jim134

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3047
  • Gender: Male
    • Franklin County Beekeepers Association
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #11 on: January 15, 2013, 09:40:30 am »
Scott.....


  I do know Bonita and Dan Conlon of Warm Colors Apiary in South Deerfield, Massachusetts.Has about 95% of the hives fences for bears he got about (700 hives)
IMHO if the bears do hit move the hives NOW.


BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)


"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
        Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline VolunteerK9

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 1647
  • Gender: Male
  • Gamecock fan in UT land.
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #12 on: January 15, 2013, 10:09:21 am »
Bear in a crockpot with potatoes and carrots tastes amazingly just like beef.

Offline lazy shooter

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 68
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #13 on: January 15, 2013, 10:41:05 am »
We don't have bears, but we do have raccoons.  My biology pal tells me raccoons and bears are cousins, and that both species are very smart.  Once every year or two, a raccoon comes along that is athletic enough to get into my wild game feeders or calf feeders.  When that happens, I have to get the live traps out and catch it.  If not, it will come back night after night.  All this rambling gets me to the point that, THE BEAR WILL BE BACK.

I am from West Texas, and we speak slow with a horrible accent; therefore, I use the sophisticated term "raccoon."  If I said raccoon to one of my neighbors he might not know what I meant.  In our vernacular the animal is a "coon." 

On another forum, one of the old experienced northeastern beekeepers stated that, "if you put up an electric fence to put some bait on it so that as soon as the bear came back he would get his first shock."  The theory being that initially the fence would be in good working order, and at some later date the fence could be shorted out by some debris, snow or whatever. 

I am truly sorry for your horrible loss.   

Offline hardwood

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3482
  • Gender: Male
  • Alysian Apiaries youtube.com/MrBeedude
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #14 on: January 15, 2013, 11:43:01 am »
The thought of having to fence all my yards and still be able to move them about (using a skid steer w/forks) is more than I can imagine. I've moved them out of that yard for now and will deal with the bear...I just won't broadcast it over the net when he just "vanishes".  :-D

Scott
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline Jim134

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3047
  • Gender: Male
    • Franklin County Beekeepers Association
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #15 on: January 15, 2013, 12:22:11 pm »
The thought of having to fence all my yards and still be able to move them about (using a skid steer w/forks) is more than I can imagine. I've moved them out of that yard for now and will deal with the bear...I just won't broadcast it over the net when he just "vanishes".  :-D
Scott

 :shock:


           BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
        Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline BeeMaster2

  • Administrator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 13494
  • Gender: Male
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #16 on: January 15, 2013, 12:36:05 pm »
Sorry for your loss, Scott.
I see bear tracks on the farm from time to time. Last year I kept all of my hives strapped down to 2-16' railroad tracks that I use for a base. Figured if they started attacking, it would give the bees enough time to get into full attack before the hives came appart. Never saw signs of an attempted attack.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline lazy shooter

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 68
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #17 on: January 15, 2013, 01:30:23 pm »
Hardwood:

Being a hobbyist, I forget about you commercial folks that do beekeeping for a living.  You're correct the solution to your problem is SSS.  Shoot, Shovel and Shutup!

Offline AllenF

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 8192
  • Gender: Male
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #18 on: January 15, 2013, 06:00:20 pm »
Never overlook the value of a few good bear dogs.   After a few days, they should have the bear run out of the county. 

Offline jan

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 14
  • Gender: Female
Re: Bear strikes hard
« Reply #19 on: January 15, 2013, 07:59:36 pm »
In Idaho we have a saying.  Shoot, shovel, and shut up!  It would apply to this situation, I think. :-D

 

anything