Bear Safety - What you NEED to Know to Stay Safe While Backpacking/Hiking
Black bears are commonly sighted in the Rocky Mountains. It is expected to see bears around small mountain towns like Durango, CO, where I live. So learning bear safety is essential, especially when backpacking or hiking in a bear country. Always pay attention to your surroundings and be alert to wildlife.
An encounter with a bear may seem cool initially, but they are wild animals with unpredictable behavior. A bear attack can be fatal, but knowing what to do in the rare event of an encounter with a bear is essential. Here is what you NEED to know to stay safe while backpacking or hiking. By remaining calm and learning how to react, it is possible to encounter a bear without injury.
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Stay Calm
Slowly wave your arms and speak calmly to identify yourself as a human. Doing this will show the bear that you are not prey. Do not panic; even if the bear stands on its hind legs, this is a sign of curiosity, not dominance.
Most bears want to be left alone, and any sudden movements may make the bear feel threatened. Bears may exhibit defensive reactions, including growling, woofing, and snapping their jaws. Even if they display this behavior, remain calm as sudden movements or screams may threaten the bear and increase the chances of attack.
Refrain from dropping your pack. This could startle the bear and make it feel threatened. Also, keeping your club on can provide extra protection should the bear attack. Also, it will keep the bear from gaining access to your food, even if it’s stored properly.
Do Not Travel Alone
If you hike in a group, you are probably talking, laughing, and carrying on. It's just overall noisier than if traveling alone. Even if you aren’t speaking or laughing, the sounds of footsteps or shifting your packs in a group make more noise than traveling alone. Bears tend to be intimidated by groups and may hear you coming sooner. Therefore, keep a more considerable distance.
If traveling with small children, pick them up immediately and calm them.
Leave. Slowly
Move away from the bear slowly by moving sideways and trying to find higher ground. Moving sideways will decrease the chances of threatening the bear, maintain a visual of the bear, and keep you from tripping.
Resist the urge to run. It will encourage the bear to chase you and increase your chances of tripping over rocks and tree roots.
Bears can climb trees, so mounting a tree will not keep you safe from the bear. So, the best bet is to allow people to leave the area or take a detour. If you can not do this without providing the bear an escape route, keep calm and wait for the bear to move away.
One thing to be cautious of is the presence of cubs and mama bears. Never get yourself between a mama bear and her cub. If she feels her cub is in danger, the chances of an attack dramatically increase.
Food Storage
When backpacking and car camping in bear country, it is essential to properly store your food to decrease the attraction of a bear. Most major campsites will have large metal containers for food storage in car camping. If this is not available, store food in your car.
You must use a bear-safe container or a bear bag to store your food for backpacking. Both are smell-proof and designed to be extremely hard for bears to get into. Not only do you want to keep the food in these containers, but also away from your tent and in a tree if possible; for more information about food storage, read this article from the National Parks Service.
Bear Attacks
Knowing how to respond depending on the bear type is essential in the unlikely event of a bear attack.
If you encounter a Brown/Grizzly Bear, Play DEAD by laying flat on your stomach with your hands on the back of your neck and your legs spread. This will make it harder for the bear to flip you over. Resist any urge to move until the bear leaves; fight back if the bear still attacks. Find anything you can use as a weapon and aim for the bear’s face.
If you encounter a Black Bear, DO NOT PLAY DEAD. Find an escape route if possible. If an escape route is unavailable, fight back hard. Use anything can as a weapon and aim at the bear’s face.
Bear Mace
Bear Mace is a great thing, just in case, and a last resort. However, it should be used as a defensive mechanism to stop an aggressive bear attack. You want to use it as a distance to give yourself a chance to get away before the bear attacks. Some national parks may not recommend using bear mace; read this article from the Yellowstone National Park website for more information.
Remember to report any bear sightings to local park rangers. They will do their job to keep the bears and other hikers safe. Most bear attacks are rare and bears tend to be only interested in protecting their food, cubs or spaces. But in the unlikely event of a bear encounter, you can keep yourself safe, while also keeping the bear safe.
Sources National Park Service, Colorado Trail Foundation, Recreation.gov
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