Canadian checking in! I’ve been face to face with black bears, grizzlies, bobcats, cougars.
In Ontario, the black bears were the most common. When we would go camping in the summer in the 80s, my parents were given a tip that driving to a local town dump in evening was a sure fire way to see bears from thhe safety of your car. It worked. 5 or so were feeding and would try to get through the closed window. At the same time, we would see bears in the waste bins at the park.
As I got older and did interior camping and true wilderness camping, we would encounter bears often. We practiced extreme camp hygiene and would not have food out, without fire. They would poke around the edges and see more trouble than its worth and leave.
As a working adult, I saw a blackbear on a bc highway and pulled over to take pictures. It ran away from me and I chased after it. Never got the photo.
I also saw two grizzly cubs walking along a B.C. highway. Cars pulled over would roll down their windows and feed the bears. A conservation officer pulled up, brought out his rifle and shot them both dead. The tourists formed an angry mob yelling why did they kill the bear. The CO said I didn’t, everyone who fed the bear killed it. They became habituated and a nuisance bear in that moment and the ministry is obligated to kill them before they inevitably attack people.
Only seen a wolf once, but we have coyotes everywhere. Really only a threat to pets and small children.
Yes. Many times. The closest I ever got was in Algonquin park, in a canoe maybe 30 ft. It was in kneee deep water feeding as my friend and I and his dad approached quietly. We could see it getting nervous when it peed in anticipation of fight or flight, and we gently backed off and watched from 100 ft or so. It calmed down once we pretended to be interested in the weeds, not it.
I also have family who hunt, so…
I once saw a spirit moose (white, but not albino) in New Brunswick on the highway near Miramichi.