Bear Safety 101:
On every wilderness experience you have in Alaska, you will be entering the world of the
bear. In fact, in the state of Alaska there are nearly 100,000 grizzly and black
bears, a mark of true wilderness. We are the visitors, and they rule the area.
However, you won't likely get a chance to see one, because scouts typically make noise and
noise gives bears a chance to move away. They don't like humans, and given half a
chance, they avoid us 99% of the time. However, its still important to know
what to do if you do see one, and what NOT to do if things start to turn bad. The
following is a good review for all Alaskan scouts, and is something all the scouts
visiting us should understand. So, here is Alaska Bear Safety 101:
There are two types of bears you might encounter in your hikes and campouts in the areas near Eagle River. Grizzly/brown bears are the most widespread, but black bears are also spotted in the region. Grizzly bears weight from 200 to 1200 pounds and stand 3 to 4 feet at the shoulder. Omnivorous and opportunistic, they eats lots of stuff, including great quantities of plants, fish, and even moose, caribou, deer, marmots, and ground squirrels. Black bears are much smaller, weighing from 100 to 400 pounds and stand 2 to 3 feet at the shoulder. They can appear to be the same color, although Grizzly bears have a dish shaped face, a rounded head, and a distinct shoulder hump, which black bears do not. Bears are potentially dangerous, and highly individualistic. Here are some important things to remember:
1. Avoid Baby bears. Cubs are a bad deal, because mom likes to protect them. Sure, they are cute, but you don't want to see one. If you do, retreat from the area immediately.
2. Avoid Smells. If you encounter a dead animal, i.e. a possible bear kill, avoid the area as the bear may defend his food cache. Don't bring smelly food with you, so no bacon, sardines, perfume, etc. Strong odors attract bears.
3. Don't be Alone. Don't even think about traveling alone. Don't get too far ahead of the group when you are hiking.....attacks on groups of humans where the party size was 4 or more are undocumented. We will have a group size a lot larger than that.
4. Be careful with Food. Don't dump food, pot scrapings, etc; -- better to let the river wash them away. Try and eat what you cook, and cook away from where you sleep. Hang food and other smelly items out of reach of bears at night. Don't SNEAK food---i.e. don't leave snacks in your pack at night or put them in your tent. You might not like the visitor that smells them out.
In summary, BeSAFe
If you do encounter a bear....
1. If it is a surprise, let the bear know you are human. Speak to it in a normal voice, as you would to an agitated dog. Face the bear, DO NOT RUN. If he is stationary, try a slow, backing diagonal retreat.
2. If a bear approaches close to you, stand your ground. DO NOT RUN---bears will chase a running animal. Shout, wave your arms or your coat, stand tall, bang on pots, and it it continues towards you throw pots, pans, etc. If a bear charges you hold your ground.....DO NOT RUN. Almost (hey, what do you want---a guarantee????) all charges are false charges----the bear runs up, stops a few feet away, snaps its jaws, and then walks away. No doubt it would be memory of a lifetime....
3. If a bear gets so close contact is imminent, at the last second drop to the ground, cover your head and neck with your arms, leave your pack on for protection, and PLAY DEAD. Chances are the bear will break off the attack when it perceives the threat is gone. Don't get up when the bear appears to leave--if it senses movement it may return and attack again. (You can't outrun a bear---they can do 40 miles per hour. I guess you might outrun the other scouts, but then again you might not.....so DON'T RUN!!!!)
4. In extremely rare circumstances, attacks by bears, usually black bears, may be predatory. If you suspect a predatory attack (that means you think he is trying to have you for lunch--yuk!!!), or if the bear is still attacking 20 to 30 seconds AFTER you are playing dead, then fight back with fists, a finger or stick in the eye, a limb, knife, or whatever.
Don't be BEARANOID. I have been backpacking in Alaska since 1984, and have been
fortunate to see wild bears on about 6 occasions. They were beautiful animals, they
saw me and I saw them, and we gave each other a wide birth. With common sense, a
large group size, and the proper care of our food and campsite the chances of us being
lucky enough to even see one of these magnificent creatures is very slight.