Bear proof camping vault?

[rr6013]

I'll take spiders and snakes over a bear any day.

Neither bear, desert spiders or snakes bother me. Scorpions! Tham damn bastards will crawl up onto you in your bag, bed wherever. I’ve survived one bite on the neck I’ll never forget. thown off another. Bought UV flashlight to check for the buggers before sleep/ after wking to not get surprised ever again.

My lips were numb 4 days!

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[John K]

This is what cracks me up about people being so terrified of Australia. I camped all the time as a kid, teen and adult. I never, ever had to worry about being eaten by something. I'll take spiders and snakes over a bear any day. A few simple precautions like checking your sleeping bag and shoes takes care of spiders. Snakes are just not an issue.

In other countries you aren't safe from the wildlife even inside a bullet proof stainless steel quasi-tank!

Pretty sure I’ve read reports of dingos entering tents and running off with small children.

Since all of Australia is poisonous, slight exaggeration, why be frightened of anything?

 

[tidmutt]

Pretty sure I’ve read reports of dingos entering tents and running off with small children.

Since all of Australia is poisonous, slight exaggeration, why be frightened of anything?

Well... allegedly... lol

 

[FutureBoy]

Since all of Australia is poisonous, slight exaggeration, why be frightened of anything?

I think you mean venomous. If everything were just poisonous you could just avoid eating the wildlife and be fine.

 

[John K]

I think you mean venomous. If everything were just poisonous you could just avoid eating the wildlife and be fine.

I knew I made a mistake afterwards. ? if you are hungry enough, everything is food.

Takeaway, Australia is deadly and I still want to visit.

Exhibit A

https://apple.news/AiBe9cfUpT2qScSWRyfdOLg

 

[Crissa]

I think you mean venomous. If everything were just poisonous you could just avoid eating the wildlife and be fine.

Or touching it. Or being dripped on by it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchineel

-Crissa

 

[John K]

Or touching it. Or being dripped on by it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchineel

-Crissa

Proof, everything in Australia is deadly. The natives are just immune. (Said with affection)

 

[FutureBoy]

This is what cracks me up about people being so terrified of Australia. I camped all the time as a kid, teen and adult. I never, ever had to worry about being eaten by something. I'll take spiders and snakes over a bear any day. A few simple precautions like checking your sleeping bag and shoes takes care of spiders. Snakes are just not an issue.

In other countries you aren't safe from the wildlife even inside a bullet proof stainless steel quasi-tank!

Here in the US (and further North in Canada) the animal most people fear is bear (unless we are swimming in which case it is sharks). And there are multiple kinds of bears (black, brown, polar... and they are cross-breeding to get grolar or pizzly). But we also have lions. Generally a little more timid, but still an animal that will eat you if given the chance. Or in certain areas there are wolves.

But if you are just looking at what animals kill versus which ones want to eat you, bears and lions don't even come close to being the most dangerous. For that, we have to look at deer, elk, moose, and their cousins (let's add in bison here also). Most of the human deaths brought about by the deer family are generally caused by humans being either stupid/careless in their interactions or by humans speeding along through this wild territory that the wildlife is trying to survive in. Next to consider is cows/cattle which are also dangerous in similar ways but are in play because they are being brought into the territory by humans.

And of course, separate from the above 2 categories, we also have venomous snakes, spiders, scorpions, and other creepy crawlies. We don't have the concentration here like there are in Australia, but we still need to watch out for them.

Overall, Australia gets a bad rap. I think it is because there is a high concentration of animals that can kill you unexpectedly when you might not even see them. Just going about your day and suddenly you get bit/stung/etc. Overall though, here in North America we have a concentration of very large and powerful animals (some of which will actually hunt humans) that can do horrific damage. Perhaps @tidmutt is on to something.

 

[tidmutt]

Here in the US (and further North in Canada) the animal most people fear is bear (unless we are swimming in which case it is sharks). And there are multiple kinds of bears (black, brown, polar... and they are cross-breeding to get grolar or pizzly). But we also have lions. Generally a little more timid, but still an animal that will eat you if given the chance. Or in certain areas there are wolves.

But if you are just looking at what animals kill versus which ones want to eat you, bears and lions don't even come close to being the most dangerous. For that, we have to look at deer, elk, moose, and their cousins (let's add in bison here also). Most of the human deaths brought about by the deer family are generally caused by humans being either stupid/careless in their interactions or by humans speeding along through this wild territory that the wildlife is trying to survive in. Next to consider is cows/cattle which are also dangerous in similar ways but are in play because they are being brought into the territory by humans.

And of course, separate from the above 2 categories, we also have venomous snakes, spiders, scorpions, and other creepy crawlies. We don't have the concentration here like there are in Australia, but we still need to watch out for them.

Overall, Australia gets a bad rap. I think it is because there is a high concentration of animals that can kill you unexpectedly when you might not even see them. Just going about your day and suddenly you get bit/stung/etc. Overall though, here in North America we have a concentration of very large and powerful animals (some of which will actually hunt humans) that can do horrific damage. Perhaps @tidmutt is on to something.

Well I now live in the US of A so I've experienced a bit of both. Having grown up in a country without any large carnivores or even just pissed of omnivores (excluding humans) the idea of camping with stuff that can munch on your liver if it's feeling peckish is pretty damn eye opening. Dealing with blue bottles, blue ringed octopuses, sharks, red belly black snakes, death adders, stone fish, taipans, funnel web spiders and, while on holidays, box jelly fish and irukandji pales into insignificance next to the thought of having your spleen used as a garnish. And this is coming from a guy who regularly crashed on his best mates bedroom floor next to his bank of cages containing a couple of the top ten most venomous snakes.

I'm beginning to wonder if the CT parked outside of a hotel is a nice option. LOL

I should mention, hitting large animals at high speed is a problem in Australia too. That's why there are "roo bars" which are designed to push the kangaroo under the car, rather than up over the bonnet (hood). Plus there are cattle, sheep etc. I once nearly hit a wombat, a very large wombat. Myself and a couple of friends were on the road late at night out in the boonies (recently learned it comes from a Filipino Tagalog word thanks to this forum) and we saw a very large dark shape lumbering across the road. It was a wombat the size of a big coffee table. I shit you not. Something like this, but bigger...

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