I seen that same doco a while back on pay tv and thought that it was very interesting. A local grower told me that Bromeliads taste very sweet to Animals like Bears and Dogs.

Hi Blue Heeler,
I think Phil had the same problem with his dogs in a previous post. It's probably the smell of the soup in the vase of the broms that attracts the animals in the first place.

All the best, Nev.

What naughty little bears...lol
When my pup first came to live with us she would go directly to the same bromeliad " Orange Glow" and drink from its cup. Never from any other neo. In fact she would take the effort to walk half way into the brom house just to drink from Orange Glow. Now that Orange Glow is down in the brom retirement villiage and the cup is not holding any water she has found new ones to dring from. Never does she pull out centres to destroy them though....so glad about that.She is not too fussy with which brom she drinks from just as long as it tasty i guess....LOL

Your local hardware store should carry a product called "Bear-Be-Gone. Works great! Just a few spritzes in the face of a charging Grizz and presto! No more problems.

And my accountant has a product called "Taxes-Be-Gone". Just a few spritzes on your tax return and presto! No more taxes.

No way! Really?

Hey Gonzer.
Went to the Bunnings hardware store on your advice. They don't really carry products to deter Grizzlys in Australis and were upset at the thought that I wanted to poison our cute little Koalas. LOL Did you see Sam the Koala re the Victorian bushfires and how a firefighter shared his bottled water with him and Sam put his paw in the firefighters hand. He is our current national hero. Only joking about visiting Bunnings - thought I'd give our Aussie contributors a laugh.

Hubby's contribution. Go to Bunnings and ask for a product called .22 Be-Gone.

Hi All - I know they're not Broms, but as they have been mentioned, I though you may be interested in these pic's which I received via email.

It's unusual for Koalas to drink like this as they usually get suficient water from the leaves they eat. However, drastic times call for drastic measures during times of bushfires when the leaves are all gone.

Maybe they will start eating Broms??????

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What amazing photos! Sure brings a lump to the throat. Thanks for sharing Splinter.

Re my original posting about the Bear documentary. Could someone from the land of Stars and Stripes please give me a basic geography lesson? Do you have grizzlys in America as well as Canada? I have seen photos of broms hanging from trees in South America. The doco showed trees in the wild laden with Neoregelias and Tillandsias that the bear was eating. Do these occur in North America as well, maybe Florida (seen lots of photos of Spanish Moss in trees from there). The same brown baby bear (definitely not a Panda) was also eating bamboo growing in the wild so maybe the film was shot in Asia. Perhaps our Asian contributors could give us some idea if Bromeliads grow in the wild there?

absolutely amazing shots
makes ya wanna just give him/her a warm squishy cuddle

As far as I can think there shouldn't be anywhere that grizzlies and bromeliads should overlap (other than when the grizzlies get into houses?). Grizzly bears are in Alaska and in the Rocky Mountains (Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, maybe a few more). And in the North Cascades of Washington, possibly some in Eastern Oregon and California (if they are in the Sierras). But still can't imagine any bromeliads surviving there other than possibly some puyas. The brown bear which are much smaller are definitely in the Appalachians and in the Carolinas and possibly down in Florida(?). But I am really not sure about the fauna of the southeast so I will not make any definitive statements about them...

Bromeliads and bamboo form part of the diet of the Andean (or Spectacled) Bear which is found in Venezuela, Equador and Peru, etc. Perhaps this is the bear featured in the documentary you saw, Blue Heeler?

Here is a link that might be useful: Andean Bears

And this...

Here is a link that might be useful: Bears eating broms

Actually, Grizzly bears are a type of brown bear. It's the much more common black bear that ranges from Canada down into Mexico.

Ah, thanks for catching that slip on my part bromadams. Being sick, my mind is a little all over the place. And cold medicines don't help that part much...

Hi all, interesting thread. I missed the doco, so bromcrazy - thanks for that link - great viewing. Talk about brom trees! Cheers, Paul

No worries Paul,

It's not Attenborough, but it is a bear eating a brom. In hindsight I probably should have tagged the link with a warning that it may trigger a traumatic response in brom lovers. My palms were sweating profusely watching that, not to mention the hyperventilation...

Very similar to the PTS I suffered after coming across the this:

My Labrador pup took on a half grown tiger and won... LISA, DON'T LOOK!!!

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Bromcrazy,

Interesting link on the bears.

My Lab also liked eating broms - they only seem to eat your favourites. You need to buy a ball and put the Broms up high for the first couple of years.

Thankfully they grow out of it.

Rick

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She is beautiful, Rick How can something that cute be so EVIL?

My boy is 16 months old now, and yes, he has grown out of devouring plants. Just as well because, due to necessity, 90% of my broms are in the garden. You are right, only my favourites were picked on, and I noticed it was the ones I had touched. He didn't want me 'patting' them.

Sorry for hijacking your thread, Blue Heller.

I mean Blue Heeler. Sorry.

Seems like one opportunity to proof read is not enough for me. How I wish we could edit our posts. :(

No worries Bromcrazy. I love dogs as much as I love Broms (as I allowed to say that on this forum?) I had a chuckle at your lab experiment with the ball. Can't get mine to play with balls but they do enjoy a spot of gardening. My big Blue Heller (no typo) prefers dried spikes from agaves.
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That is really special!

Coastal bears in Alaska and Canada are referred to as brown bears, while inland bears and those found in the lower 48 states are called grizzly bears.
Grizzly bears have well-developed shoulder muscles for digging and turning over rocks. This is what gives the hump and the back coupled with the white tipped hair on the shoulders giving them the grizzled look.
And they are endangered in lower 48 states.

I remember seeing an anteater thrashing around with a bromeliad in a tree in Costa Rica. Shredded the brom badly, but the broms were abundant in the trees, absolutely covered with them, and apparently full of good things to eat!

Oh, and no grizzlies in California for many decades now. Their present range is mostly confined to the wilds of Montana, Wyoming, the tip of Idaho, northern Washington, Alaska, and large parts of Canada.

blue heeler i think you need to go back to the begining & do some reading if you think broms grow in the wilds of asia (unless they escaped). lower nth america,central america, south america & one in africa, being pitcairnia feliciana.
the bear is commonly known as a sun bear in the doco i saw.
orange plant put orange drinking bowls around etc. etc.
the more bowls of water around for them the less they drink from broms.toys help as they do get bored just like us.

Hi and welcome to this forum, so glad you took the trouble to join. Don't quite know what you are on (about). For your info.
broms do grow in Florida = Tillandis Usneoides at least
South America in the wild by the thousands - that's where broms originally come from
I didn't mention Africa, I did enquire about Asia to expand my knowledge. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask.
You are right though about the bowls. It is common practice for people to run around with different colour bowls in the forest, putting them near different coloured plants to deter bears who are bored. I think I've found my calling in life. I am off to buy some bowls and an plane ticket. Want to come with me?

sorry, i thought you would have followed all that,shall please explain. bromeliads grow only in lower north america as mentioned(thats where florida is), central america,south america & i mentioned africa to let you know one brom grows there as mentioned. NO broms grow in the wild naturally anywhere else in the world unless escaped from someones collection.a listing that i have indicates 15 tillandsias from the u.s.a, also guzmania monostachia, hectia texensis should we go on. read before you ridicule as i could help your forum or forget you.
someone mentioned bears & dogs eating broms, oh, i did read in this particular 'bears eating broms forum'," my dog drank from my neo. orange glow", hence the orange bowls suggestion,just trying to be helpful for bromaloonie.
blue heeler you obviously didn't ask too many questions before you answered.
if i bother to follow this forum i shall "please explain" as simple as possible, i was told this forum was for people asking for help & i was told i could help, but i'm not so sure now, thank you blue heeler.
a simple question as to which other broms grow in lower nth america other than till. usneoides would have been more constructive for your forum, which is what i thought the forum was all about.

Hi pinkbroms,
Sorry your introduction to our group was a memorable one.Actually one we'd all like to forget!
I would like to see more of you on this site as you are obviously very knowledgeable and we all love to learn.
I think we all just have to respect each other and think about what we write and how it comes across.
Anyway welcome pinkbroms and please stay tuned
Cheers Fran

pinkbroms,

It sounds like you are way too intelligent to learn anything from this forum.

Thanks for the lesson, by the way your i's should be capitilised.

Rick

Hi all,

Blue Heeler, Fran and Rick - kudos for standing up for the qualities that make this forum a pleasant place to come.

There are many people here who possess vast knowledge about broms, and what I know by comparison could be written on the back of a postage stamp. At no time have I felt those with knowledge were condescending or sarcastic, and the fact that they also use correct grammar and punctuation lends credibility to what they have to say. They are the ones I can learn from.

On a sillier note, below is a picture of my "pup". As you can see, he has the potential to completely destroy my broms as he is big and the broms are quite vulnerable. I am glad he is an intelligent boy and has learned to be respectful.

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Thanks for your support Rick. What an amazing thread this has been and very light hearted up till now. It's all getting a bit messy so perhaps we'd better end it. I have learned a lot about bears and their habitats, thanks HDD, sdandy, bromadams. Heart wrenching photos of koalas, thanks splinter. Amazing video Bromcrazy, sure brought a few gasps of horror among our contributors. Loved the dog chat and photos Bromaloonie (a good mate with a great sense of humour LOL) and Bromcrazy. Even learnt about where broms grow in the wild)definitely not in Asia - won't make that gaff again. Learnt a bit about broms in Africa - once I translated pinkbroms input,(any connection to Big Pink One or was that another forum)? What a crazy mix of bears, broms, dogs and even a spiny anteater this thread has been). Anyway we had better stick to the serious business of bromeliad talk. I am just get a bit sick of being labelled the baddie (thanks Fran).

Great minds think alike, Blue Heeler. Within two minutes of each other to boot.

Agreed, it is time to move along...