Bear Safety

Trail Encounters

Most bear attacks occur because the bear is startled by your presence in an area or on a trail. Just because a trail is well used by hikers or joggers doesn't necessarily mean there aren't bears on it or around it. Would you want to walk through a bunch of trees or use a perfectly well groomed trail? One of the biggest preventative strategies to avoiding an encounter is to yell out and let the bears know you are there. Every so often just say, "Hey Yogi" or "I'm here bear" to hopefully lessen any possibility of creeping up on a bear. 

​Generally if a grizzly bear attacks you its because they are defending their territory and/or their cubs. In every encounter I have read about the people who play dead in this situation tend to be the ones that live. On the other hand you will want to fight back against a black bear, especially one that is displaying stalking behaviour. 

If you are charged or attacked by a bear there are some general things you can do: 

1. Do NOT run away! This can bevery  tempting because of the situation but try to hold your ground since bears can run up to 30 mph. 
2. Leave your backpack on. If you do end up being attacked, the pack might offer some protection against sustaining more severe injuries. 
3. Have and know how to use bear spray!! I cannot stress this enough. Don't wait until you are in a sticky situation to figure out how to pop the clip off the top of the bottle. ​
4. Do not climb a tree to escape from a black bear. They are excellent climbers. If you do not believe me watch the clip of two hunters in a tree stand below.

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Bear Signs

There are lots of signs that will let you know if a bear is in or frequents the location you are at. For example, tree markings, bear scat, tracks, smell, destroyed vegetation and overturned rocks are tell-tale signs of bear activity. If you are down wind from a bear you will often times get a whiff of something "dirty" smelling. This is important to keep in mind, especially if the wind is blowing towards you and not towards the bear. It is easy to accidentally stumble upon a bear if they cannot smell or hear you. 

Black bear track in Ocala National Forest 

Bear Tracks - This diagram is from Steven Herrero from the Western Wildlife Outreach