Dangerous Animal Encounters – Section 3.1 Bear Encounters



In this section you'll learn everything you need to know about bear behavior and best practices for staying safe in bear country.

« Back to the table of contents

Want to listen instead?

Bears

Humans find bears quite fascinating. One hand, they are arguably one of the most feared creatures in North America. On the other, there is no creature that people report wanting to see more in the wild than a bear. Perhaps it is the roller coaster phenomenon, attached to human’s long history of seeking thrill through the exposure of our own mortality. Or perhaps it’s just that bears are super cool. Who knows? I have had many close encounters with bears in the wild over the years and it has in fact been thrilling every time. And though I can’t quite pin down the thrill. I can say with complete confidence that neither I, nor you, will ever be killed by a bear. That is statistically speaking of course.

What are the changes of dying in a bear attack? 

In our culture, the more captivating, brutal, and rare a death is the more attention it draws. Perhaps we can blame this on sensationalism in the media, or maybe there is some little dark part of ourselves that feeds on it. In the United States in next year, around 600,000 people will die from heart attacks. Around 40,000 will die in car accidents. Less than 400 will die in plane crashes. Around 90 will perish after being stuck by lightning. And 1 or 2 people will be killed by bears. The strange thing is that our interest in these statistics generally occurs in the reverse order. With bear attacks toping our list of interesting things to read about and/or fear, then lightning, followed by plane crashes, car crashes, and finally, oh yea, guess maybe I shouldn’t eat so many burgers and fries (but they are so damn good!).

What are my odds of spotting a bear? 

There are over 600,000 black bears and 60,000 grizzly bears in North America that come into close contact with humans on millions of occasions each year and no threat or injury occurs. You should fear bears only to the point of respect for the power that they hold. A bear can certainly kill you, but there is only a one in several million chance that it will. It is also important to note that there has never been a recorded bear attack on a group of 6 or more people.

What makes bears a threat to humans?

Bears are incredibly powerful creatures. Bear leg power comes not just from dense muscle mass but from the orientation of their scapula, which gives them much greater leverage than a human. There are reports of black bears flipping over 300lb rocks with a single swipe of a front paw. Bears also have an incredible amount of bite force due to well developed temporalis and masseder muscles in their heads and thick well developed neck muscles. Bite force, along with neck and leg power combined make them a creature that can cause a lot of soft tissue damage very quickly without much effort. Bears are also incredibly fast and can run up to 35 mph, albeit for relatively short distances. This is faster than any human on earth has ever run. So don’t think you are going to outrun a bear no matter how fast you think you can sprint.

Common bear behavior 

Bears are omnivores and eat a very wide variety of foods including meat, however the vast majority of a bear’s diet is vegetation including nuts, berries, grasses, bean pods, seeds, and insects. Bears are opportunists though, and generally will not pass up an easy meal. In the vast majority of situations bears want nothing to do with humans and generally will run or disengage given the opportunity. That being said, though it is rare, there are plenty of records of bears attacking humans either in defense or predation. By far the bears that pose the greatest threat to humans are mature adult male bears but female brown bears also have been known to fiercely defend cubs. It is extremely dangerous to be in the immediate vicinity of brown bear cubs. Black bears are much less likely to defend cubs with aggression than Brown bears but is still important to avoid interactions with bear cubs of any species. That being said, the last thing a female bear with cubs wants is a confrontation that puts her own safety or the safety of her cubs at risk. She will do everything in her power to avoid threats.

Best practices for staying safe in bear country

In fact, most wild non-habituated bears would prefer not to be in close proximity to humans. So the first step to staying safe around bears is to make your presence known to them. Startling a bear is never a good situation and it can lead to an unpredictable result. Bears have a great sense of smell, but their eyesight and hearing is not spectacular. Therefore when in the backcountry you must at all times remain aware of the wind direction. Walking with the wind in your face in bear country is dangerous because it increases the chances that you may accidently stumble upon a bear that is unaware of your presence.

Unfortunately it is not always possible to keep the wind at your back when hiking, and it is certainly not advised when hunting. But paying attention to wind direction is vital even when it isn’t blowing the way you prefer. If the wind is at your face you should proceed even more cautiously and with a conscious understanding that animals to your front will likely not smell you in advance of your arrival.

Making your presence known

Making noise is also a good idea when trying to avoid close bear encounters. When hiking in locations with bears it is a good idea to make some noise before coming around blind curves, entering the woods, or any kind of thicket. Basically, if you can’t see clearly that there is no bear in the immediate vicinity make noise to make your presence known. Some people like to wear bells, I personally just clap loudly or let out loud whistles and call out in a commanding voice “Hey Bear!” “Hey Bear!.” I know it might sound silly, but it’s not, it’s smart.

Pay attention

Also, you should always remain aware when out hiking, remember awareness is natural law, those who are unaware perish. Chatting it up with a friend, listening to headphones, or just staring at the ground or the backpack in front of you is not advised. Keep your head up, engage your senses, stay in the moment and pay attention! It is also important to note that all bear encounters are different and each individual bear is a unique creature who will have its own unique reaction. As with any encounter with a dangerous animal, you need to stay sharp and remain willing to adjust to unusual or unique circumstances.

Bear spray

I encourage you to carry bear spray when traveling in bear habitat. Bear spray is extremely effective at deescalating bear encounters. In fact, recent studies have shown that bear spray is up to 94% effective at getting bears to disengage with humans when it is used properly, and in none of the studied cases did bear spray cause the bear to act more aggressively after it was sprayed. It is very arguable that bear spray is more effective than a gun during aggressive bear encounters. If a bear is truly being aggressive and has heightened adrenaline it is possible that shooting a bear will not stop an attack as effectively as bear spray. Bear spray is relatively inexpensive and relatively easy to use.

 

Next Lesson

READ MORE:

Share

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU