Holy Mother of Fucking Christ-I Have to Change My Shorts Now

[Hockey Guy]

I'm man enough to admit I've never been this scared in my life.

Just had a big black bear try to get into my control room. They are getting ready to hibernate for the winter & they are seriously looking for food & he destroyed our BBQ outside, while we watched & tried to scare him away, before turning his attention on us at the CR.

After charging towards us, he climbed the stairs & started banging on the small door window while I was on the other side of the door crouched down so he couldn't see me while holding it shut because it can't be locked & can be pulled open easily(not a door knob) if he figured it out. We've had bears open unlocked truck doors in the parking lot before so it's not out of the realm of possibility. While I was doing this my co-worker was getting the flare gun to try & scare it away. He couldn't get in & went around the other side, climbed on some piping & starting banging on a another window, this one pretty flimsy compared to the one in the door & I was sure he was going to break it & was already planning my escape because if he broke it he was definitely coming in.

He quit that & we lost sight of him & was looking out all the windows to locate him so we could try to scare him with the flare gun. We heard a rustling outside the front door & spotted him "hiding" under the air conditioning unit beside the stairs & opened the door to scare him when he came out & came towards us again when my co-worker shot him square in the chest from 10 ft with the flare gun. He ran off after this & he chased him to the woods with the truck & even shot at him again to chase him deeper into the bush.

We now have the front door tied shut with an extension cord & waiting for the next altercation because we know he'll most likely be back because that's what bears looking for food do. My partner will now be carrying the flare gun with him at all times while I have the flare shotgun with me.

I've had lots of bear encounters in my job, although not for a few years, & this was by far the most aggressive one I've ever come across.

If you don't hear from me for the next couple days it means I've probably been seriously injured or dead. I've had a great run.

Signing out,
Hockey Guy

[4Dragons]

Can't imagine how awful burning bear hair must smell.

[Dan Druff]

Is a control room anything like a panic room?

Because it sounds like you need one.

[Corrigan]

[big dick]

would be pretty crazy if you actually got mauled by a bear now after telling us this

[WillieMcFML]

"once you go black bear you never go back there" --canadian proverb

[Hockey Guy]

For those asking what a Control Room is: It's basically a modern version of the picture Corrigan posted. Instead of all the guages I have 8 computor screens & can move around & see every aspect of what's happening in my plant & make adjustments as needed.

It was pretty scary being less than a foot from an angry bear that's not scared of you & the only way he doesn't get in the room is me holding the door shut. Bears didn't really ever bother me because they always run away when they see you but this one came after us like something I've never experienced before.

[WillieMcFML]

serious question:

if black bears are a problem, why doesn't anyone have a real gun?

you are in canada, right?

[Hockey Guy]

serious question:

if black bears are a problem, why doesn't anyone have a real gun?

you are in canada, right?

They're not a real problem. We're situated in the middle of nowhere so we have to put up with wildlife encounters but black bears will almost always run away from you if you let them know you're there. This one came after us like nothing I've ever experienced personally. I've heard of it happening but never experienced it.
I used to work with a guy who told me in all seriousness that he'd rather encounter a grizzly over a black bear because you know what the grizzlies intentions are immediately & the black bear are too unpredictable & will actually stalk you, which is what I think this one did when it hid under the air conditioning unit. I always thought this was absurd but now I understand it to some extent. This one might have been sick, although it was dark out & he looked healthy, & desperate for food before the winter hibernation. I've heard of this happening so that's my theory on why he did what he did.
As for guns, this place is fenced with a security gate & theoretically bears or intruders shouldn't be able to get in but they obviously can. We used to carry a gun at my last job when we quadded everywhere to get to our wells but that was because there were known to be grizzlies around there. Here we can't carry a gun because it's against company policy but I never envisioned that this would ever be an issue for me since I don't ever really have to leave the control room. Who would ever think a bear would try to get in my control room? Not me, that's for sure.

[RealTalk]

Hockey Guy,

this is why you need a cell phone so you could have gotten a video of this encounter.

get with the times man

[SrslySirius]

I thought this thread was going to be about an extremely hot woman.

[RichardBrodiesCombover.]

I thought this thread was going to be about an extremely hot woman.

in b4 plol thought the thread was about hairy black men.

[incognito81]

I thought this thread was going to be about an extremely hot woman.

You're not the only one

[Hockey Guy]

Hockey Guy,

this is why you need a cell phone so you could have gotten a video of this encounter.

get with the times man

My co-worker had his cell phone out to take some pictures but when it came up the stairs to the door he was too busy getting the flare gun while I held the door to take any pictures. They would have been epic though if he took some while the bear was pounding on the window while I was crouched down holding the door. The pictures he did take were too dark & all you could see were his eyes.

Another absurd photo/video-op would have been when he was putting the BBQ away to hopefully keep him from coming back while I covered him standing 40 ft away with the flare shotgun in a pair of shorts & knee high socks. I was so fucking scared that would have been funny to see that on candid camera. My co-worker said it reminded him of this:

 

We need an MS Paint re-enactment from zap but, unfortunately, he didn't read this thread.

[chinamaniac]

Why can't you get a better door? Sounds like this door is serious fail

[Rollo Tomasi]

Why can't you get a better door? Sounds like this door is serious fail

get your company to spring for one of these

[Hockey Guy]

Why can't you get a better door? Sounds like this door is serious fail

get your company to spring for one of these

The door has now been eqipped so it can be locked. This control room has been here for 20 years & over time the closing mechanism wore out but was not seen as a priority since:
A. The control room is manned 24/7.
B. The door is spring loaded so it shuts automatically & seals well to keep the weather out.
C. Nobody envisioned a bear trying to enter the control room & eat the operators especially since the plant is fenced with a security gate that's closed at night.
D.

 

We don't need a fucking D. Only Kreskin could think this would ever be an issue?

[lewfather]

Pretty crazy shit but I'd say you lucked out if it was Black Bear because the Brown Bears are the guys you REALLY need to be concerned about. It's funny because a lot of people just assume Black Bear's are some crazy beast but mostly they are after fruit instead of meat.

[Hockey Guy]

I think I'll be stashing this into the old memory banks:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/man-grabs-b...122308094.html

[Gordman]

Glad everything turned out ok

I have never encountered a bear in real life but I always told myself that if I had to, i would rather face a black bear than a brown bear or obv a grizzly. Either way if I faced any of them I would of course first and foremost shit my fucking pants before moving on to any other defensive measures.