Safety in Bear Country

Sometimes in spite of our good intentions we have unwanted encounters with bears.

Be prepared. Plan how you are going to react when you meet an inquisitive, intelligent, and potentially dangerous animal in the backcountry - or in your neighborhood.

Be predictable. Many bears in Alaska have has interactions with people. As our population increases this number will grow. What a bear learns in one encounter influences what it does in the next. Try to make every encounter positive - for you and the bear. If we want bears to be non-threatening and predictable, it is important that we reciprocate.

Be careful. Bears don't like to be surprised. If you are hiking in a place where you can't see, make your presence known by talking or clapping your hands. If you are hunting you will probably be walking very quietly. Move slowly and be especially alert.

Travel with a group. While this isn't always practical, the larger the group the smaller the risk of attack. Groups of people seem to intimidate bears. Bears are more likely to approach one or two people than larger groups. Keep close together. Being strung out along a trail created many groups of one.

Don't approach bears. Moving towards a bear is aggressive behavior - it forces the bear to react. If you inadvertently approach a bear and feel the bear is not aware of your presence, take advantage of the situation and slowly move away. Carefully watch to make sure the bear is not following.

A bear may approach you for different reasons. It might be habituated or used to people and simply walking by at a distance it is comfortable with. The bear may be curious. You may be on its trail. You may be in the bear's personal space, and it feels threatened. It may want your food. A female bear may perceive you as a threat to her cubs. A bear may want to dominate you and, in extremely rare circumstances, investigate you as potential prey.

Making eye contact with a bear is unlikely to influence the bear or to affect the outcome of an encounter. It is important to keep the bear in sight so that you give yourself the opportunity to detect important visual clues to the bear's behavior.

Keep calm. If a bear approaches, keep calm. It is assessing the situation as it moves towards you. It's picking up clues as fast as you are giving them. If you get exited, the bear could too. It may change from being curious to being frightened. A mother with cubs may change from defensively keeping you away, to becoming highly stressed and going on the offensive - attacking in a punishing display.

Identify yourself as human and don't run. If a bear becomes increasingly stressed and aggressive, talk to it in a low voice. Don't run. Bears can go about 35 mph - even the fat ones!

Increase your distance. Bears avoid antagonistic encounters by moving away from one another. If the bear is not moving towards you, very cautiously try to move away. If your movement causes the bear to move towards you, stop and hold your ground. When you do this you are using body language to say, "don't mess with me."

Bears may come quite close. Bears may come close as they threaten and decide what to do. If we behave correctly, identifying ourselves, standing ground, or giving the bear room, the bear will make the right decision - sometimes not as quickly as we would like - and move off.

If a bear persists and continues towards you - hold your ground. The bear is interested in you or something you have, and may cause you bodily harm. Yell and wave your arms or anything handy. You are trying to tell the bear you are not intimidated. Groups of people should stand shoulder to shoulder to project a larger presence.

Most charges stop short of contact if you react appropriately. A head down, open-mouthed, running charge is a bear's trump card. It is a defensive reaction to a perceived threat. The bear is telling you that it is highly stressed and you are in the wrong place. Charges happen so quickly there isn't much time for reaction. A charge almost always ends short of contact.

If a bear attacks. If and only if a bear makes physical contact, fall to the ground on your stomach and protect your face and neck. If the bear rolls you over, try to get back into this position. The bear is almost certainly making a defensive attack and will stop when it feels it has eliminated any threat. When the bear stops, keep as still and quiet as possible. Stay that way until you believe the bear has left the area. Movement and sound can initiate new attacks. If the attack persists and the bear continues to bite long after you assume a defensive posture, it is likely making a predatory attack. Fight back vigorously.

If you can positively identify the bear as a black bear do not drop to the ground. Fight back as if your life depends on it - at this point it may. You are almost certainly involved in a predatory attack and the bear is trying to kill you. Try to focus your attack on the bear’s eyes and nose.

If a bear of either species attacks you in your tent, fight back!

Deterrents. Pepper spray is a legitimate tool. However, due to misinformation it can give people a false sense of security. The effect of pepper spray in different situations in uncertain. It should not be used as an alternative to preventative measures and common sense. If you take pepper spray into the field, know its limitations and how to use it. If used incorrectly, pepper spray can disable a user. In certain situations pepper spray has been known to be an attractant, with bears actually licking at and rolling in spray residue. Pepper sprays are designed to be sprayed at bears as close range, not on tents, airplane floats, boats, and cabins - places where we don't want bears to visit or chew on.

Taken from Living In Harmony with Bears, a project of the Alaska State office of the National Audurbon Society. Distributed by the Cooper Landing Bears Alive Coalition.

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