How to Survive a Bear Attack

Can anyone camping think of anything more terrifying than a bear entering your tent…especially at night?  I have run out of beer while car camping before and it was frightening, but a bear running loose looking for food has to be right up there.  It got me to thinking about this coming Labor Day weekend and the number of people who will be heading outdoors to camp and right into the heart of bear country…like myself.  People get the sweats just thinking about a bear encounter, but what our minds come up with and what reality is are two different things.  The reality is that somewhere south of 100 people have been killed by bears in the U.S. since 1900.  The number of people wounded from an aggressive bear is another matter altogether.  This number, of course, is undocumented but surely in the 1000’s.  All that said there are 2 main scenarios to consider when trying to figure out what to do with a bear.

The first scenario simply involves encountering a bear.  Be it along the trail, out in a meadow, or maybe up in a tree, the thought of running into a bear sends most people for the hills.  The thing about bears and what to do generally involves going against natural human instinct which is…wait for it….run like hell!!  On the contrary.  If you are in situation where you saunter up to a bear, or ones saunters up on you, the best advice to date is to make yourself confident and even a little intimidating.  This would hold true for both of the main bear species we might encounter in the lower 48 which are the Black and Grizzly Bears.  Here is a to-do list in the order they should be tried:

1)  Stand Tall with Arms stretched out.  Be as big as possible.  Show your strength and that you won’t be intimidated.

2) Make noise without screaming.  There are many reports of bears running away from the sound of a harmonica, whistles, clanking pans together, air horns, and even lit firecrackers have shown promise as a bear deterrent.  Bear Bells hooked to a backpack act as a deterrent.  The key here is using an unnatural forest sounds.

3) Throw a rock or large stick.  Use this as a last resort, but this has proven successful in many cases especially if the bear looks to be non-threatening.

These might all seem to be scary tactics to use, but they are proven to work in almost every instance.  Bears standing up on all fours might appear frightening, but they are just trying to clear you out of the way or are trying to get a reaction that they can act on.  Don’t give in.

Even more frightening is the “fake” charge and the sound pumping grunts that can make mere mortals succumb to the pressure.  More times than not, a charging bear will pull up short, trying to induce a run from you.  This is when you need to stand your ground more than ever.  Be loud and be big.  Easier said than done, but all we’re doing in this exercise is increase the odds to our favor, not the bear’s.  This is the situation where a can of Bear Spray can be extremely useful.

Bear Spray is generally in the form of highly concentrated Pepper Spray and some sprays, like Counter Assaults 10oz Can of Pepper Spray, can reach 30 feet in distance for a total of 7 seconds.  That amount might just clear an angry mob in Syria, let alone a bear.

The last and final stage of bear encounters are the attack itself.  This would generally occur because of any number of scenarios including leaving food around your campsite, in your tent or backpack.  It could be that the bear is trained to look for campers because they associate campers with food.  To help avoid this scenario try this:

1) Keep campsite clear of any remnants of food.  This includes actual food, dirty plates, food wrappers, food containers, etc.  If you are car camping, lock up any remnants in said car.  If you are backpacking, bring rope to sling over a high tree branch.  Better yet, put and keep all food in a bear proof container like the Counter Assault bear Keg 

Counter Assault Bear Keg

As seen to the right, these containers are bear proof and can hold up to 8 days worth of food.  In many National Parks these days, this is a required piece of gear to hike and backpack into the backcountry.  You will need to show proof before you will be allowed too.  These can bought from us here at Next Ascent, but most parks or shops close to National Parks will have them to rent.  Contact Recreation.org if you have questions, or contact us via our Facebook Page  (Facebook.com/nextascentoutdoor) and post a question to our wall or send a message privately and we will respond quickly.

Even if food is not present, bears will still attack, even unprovoked ones.  Although this is rare, it can and does happen.  Now, and finally, lets look at what to if attacked by a bear.

As many of us live in areas that are close to Black bear habitat, we’ll start there.  Black Bears are ones who love to make the charges and growls that keep people up at night.  Again, these are generally bluffs.  So again, make your big with arms outstretched.  Even use your backpack or tree branches to appear bigger.  They can and will make these Bluff charges more than once so hold your ground…literally and figuratively.  In other words, do not run and please, do not climb a tree.  Black Bears can climb anything and will pull you down in no tie at all.

If a black bear is not bluffing, or maybe they attack while you are in your tent sleeping bag you fight back like you have never fought before.

Bite, scratch, claw, poke, jab, punch, scream, smack, and anything else that comes to mind.  If you can aim, aim for the eyes.  Give everything you got and there is a good chance you will survive.

If you are in a position to discern the type of bear based on geography or appearance, and your attacker is the renowned Grizzly, try something completely different.. If the above tactics do not work, especially the pepper spray, Play dead!!

What does playing dead really mean?  It means staying on your stomach, head down, and either lying flat on the ground or rolling into a fetal position.  The bear will generally try and flip you over.  Get back to your stomach as quickly as you can and use your hands to cover the back of your neck.  And lay still.  This could mean laying still for up to 30 minutes in some cases. No matter, lie still until you know for certain that the bear is gone.  From the bear’s perspective, a dead or still target is a non-threatening target.  Movement equals threat to a Grizzly Bear.

Play dead!

 

This illustration shows what to do.  Again, this will all go against your natural “Flight” instinct, but that will almost always do more harm than good.

All we are doing is trying to increase the odds of survival.

There is no reason to be afraid to go into the mountains, but just know there will always be threats looming, and preparedness and knowledge can always save your life

 

 

 

 

Other extremely important survival pieces which are the bare minimum if you are going to be in the wild this weekend, or any weekend for that matter include the following:

1. Map
2. Compass (plus optional GPS)
3. Sunglasses and sunscreen
4. Extra food and water
5. Extra clothes (including raingear), Please do not use 100% cotton WHENEVER
6. Flashlight(plus optional headlamp)
7. First aid kit
8. Fire starter
9. Matches
10. Knife/Multitool

One final piece which can be the ultimate survival tool in any situation which I’m sure Aron Ralston can attest…Tell someone where you are going all the time.  Not only that, tell them when you expect to be back.

Let us know if you have questions about this article or about any of the products listed in this article.

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