Bear Safety Tips - Part 2

To read Part 1 click here!

BEAR BEHAVIOR
Each bear is different and has a different personality. They can be shy, curious, or aggressive and can possess other attributes that we can identify as human.

• Grizzly attack victims are often unaware of why they were attacked. Many attacks are caused by close encounters, where the bear has been surprised and feels threatened by human presence. A female with cubs will be especially aggressive and will defend her cubs from many possible threat.

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• Many attacks can be avoided if the bear sees a way out of the situation.
  
• Bears are basically solitary animals. Each has a zone of danger, or personal space, which varies from animal to animal. If someone invades their personal space, an attack maybe the result. This may include a bluff charge, bodily contact or an outright attack.  
• Often grizzly bears will essentially ignore people until a person enters into their zone of danger. Many bears are timid enough to flee a possible encounter if they sense the presence of something or someone soon enough to leave the area undetected. But if a bear is surprised, the bear may see you as a threat, forcing an immediate response.

• A person who runs when frightened by a bear may trigger a chase response. One bear will even chase another if it runs. Bears that stand their ground when confronted by other bears usually aren’t attached, and bears that behave submissively have a lower incidence of being attacked as well. They simply try to remove a perceived threat.

• Young grizzlies can pose another danger. Often these bears have just left their mother and rank low on the hierarchical scale. Larger, more dominate, bears often push these juveniles into marginal habitat. To survive, young bears do a lot of exploring! If these bears start using campgrounds as foraging areas, they may quickly become dangerous. In rare instances, young grizzlies will even key onto people as potential prey. Black bears seem to rely more on sheer bluffing than on charging and mauling. When black bears attack it is usually because a female is protecting her cubs or a bear has no experience with humans and may regard them as potential prey.

BEAR BODY LANGUAGE
You can learn lot about a situation if you stop and observe.

• When a bear stands on its hind legs it normally is just trying to get a better look and is smelling the air. This is not an aggressive posture it just means the bear is unsure of what’s in front of him. Though he could still drop on all fours and charge.

• When a bear swings its head from side to side or turns sideways from you, it is expressing a hesitancy to charge and is looking for a way out of the situation.

• If a bear looks you directly in the eyes and has his ears back, its warning you that you are too close and that it feels threatened. Bears also make barking, woofing or moaning sounds to indicate this. If a bear “pops” his jaws, it is very agitated and will most likely charge. More often than not, charges are a test to resolve a situation and are often a bluff. A bluff is when a bear stops short of you, veers off or runs right past you. If a bear does charge and knocks you down they are looking to remove the threat and will use as much force they feel is necessary to remove that threat.

Fact: did you know a bear can instantly read speeds up to 35 miles per hour in a matter of a split second? They can cover 50 yards in less than three seconds. Can you see why you need to have your bear spray easily accessible now?! If you try to out run a bear you will only make matters worse, so just don’t do it.
 
BEAR ENCOUNTERS ON THE TRAIL
It’s bound to happen at some point that you will encounter a bear on the trail if you are out and about enjoying the beautiful world around us. My philosophy is not to hide away in fear, but to be as prepared as you can in case something does happen in order for you to enjoy this amazing world around us!

• If you encounter a bear, STOP, stay calm and make no sudden moves.  
• Break eye contact if a bear is acting aggressively. You don’t want to stare into a bears eyes because that can be considered an act of aggression.  
• Stand your ground! Don’t turn your back on the bear, often times a bear will bluff several times. Don’t use your bear spray unless you are sure the bear is close enough to spray in the face.  
• Look for signs of aggression (read above for further details).  
• Back away slowly, speaking in a calming, monotone voice in order to show the bear that you are being submissive and want to get out of its territory. DON’T TURN YOUR BACK!  
• I can only imagine how hard it would be to keep a cool head, but that’s what this booklet says to do. It’s not helping the situation if you start screaming, running or leaving anyone in the dust. People always make the joke that you don’t have to be the fastest runner in the group, just faster than the slowest person in your group! That’s a horrible joke…even though it’s true! Ok, but seriously, don’t run away!  
• Some bears, even grizzlies will climb up a tree after you, so that won’t do you much good either. A bear can actually reach 10ft up in a tree while just standing on the ground.  
• If a grizzly or black bear makes contact in a surprise attack and you don’t have time to use your bear spray, roll into a ball or lie face down. Try to protect your neck and face. Don’t stick your arm out, kick, scream or fight, it will just make the attack that much worse. Try to remain as still as possible which will help the bear to remove the perceived threat.  
• In some instances, bears, mostly young bears, have stalked humans. In this instance you haven’t surprised the bear at all so defend yourself aggressively.  
• If a bear mauls you continuously, despite yourself being passive, you may have to fight back. Try using any available weapon – a knife, rock, fist or something like that. Concentrate on hitting the bears head, eyes and nostrils.  

BEAR ENCOUNTERS IN CAMP
And now onto my worst nightmare!

• If a bear enters your camp it is handled differently than if you encounter one on the trail. The bear may not have any fear of humans and is most likely accustomed to eating human food and garbage. These types of bears are very dangerous. Make sure your food is properly stored. If a bear doesn’t find any food in camp it is more likely to become disinterested and move on. Try to remain calm, avoid making direct contact and speak softly to the bear. If the bear is within 15ft, spray the bear with your bear spray. If you can, safely, try slowly backing out of the area while looking for suitable trees to climb. Make sure you have enough time to climb a tree before attempting it. You need to find a tree that you can climb at least 14ft before the bear reaches you. Climb as high as you can and stay there until the bear is gone. Be aware that some grizzlies can climb trees and all black bears can.

• If you are attacked by a bear in camp, it may be a predatory attack or it could see your camp as a food source and want to defend it. Or the bear could have made a conscious choice to attack you or it could see you as a threat to its food supply. Playing dead in this situation might not work. Spray the bear with bear spray. Fight the attack by punching, slapping or using an object as a weapon. Try to climb a tree or boulder to evade the bear. Sleep in tents large enough to stack gear between you and the tent wall. Spray the bear if it gets within 15ft of your tent or attempts to enter it and then fight back. Report the incident even if the bear just walked through your camp. It is not recommended to stay in that campsite another night.  
• If a bear comes into your camp at night, get your bear spray ready and then look out the tent and check out the bear with your flashlight. Make sure it’s a bear and not just a different animal or someone walking around. If it is a black bear the situation is normally not as serious if it was a grizzly. Spray the bear if it’s within 15ft of your tent. This will not permanently harm the bear but will let it know that it isn’t welcome and it most likely won’t return. If you have time, escape into a tree (see above notes about a good escape tree option). Don’t leave the tent if you don’t think you have time to get to the tree. If the bear is hanging around the food cooking area make some nice and try to scare the bear away.  
• If a bear comes into your tent this is the worst possible situation. It is very rare but does happen. Night attacks normally come from predatory bears. If you act like prey, you will become prey. Don’t panic, run or scream but DON’T remain calm. Fight back with everything you have. Don’t lie still in your sleeping bag. Don’t play dead. Use the bear spray for sure! Make loud noises, preferably with metal. Use an air horn, if you have one. Temporarily blind the bear with the flash of your camera. Use any deterrent you brought with you. Unload on the bear everything you have. Anything goes and use whatever physical resistance you can. Fight back or you could die.

 
A ton of factors play into if your spray will actually deter the bear or not. The biggest thing I took from this booklet is that it’s a crapshoot if any of this stuff actually works or not. When it comes down to it, if a bear wants to attack you, whether it feels threatened or is just a crazy bear, you can only do some much and then hope for the best.

Blog post written by Amy Karras
​www.unnamedadventures.com