Imagine waking up one morning to find bear tracks by your camp site and thinking "oh shit! What do I do now?" There are plenty of things you can do to prevent these encounters on your own. However, there are times a bear’s curiosity will get the better of all involved. Since I live in Utah, this topic will mainly refer to black bears. Here are a few tips to ensure you have taken all measures to be safe.
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| Photo taken by Scott Mogilefsky during an elk hunt in 2011 Black bear track found on the trail |
Keep your camp site clean: Clean up after each meal, wash your cookware away from camp, store food and food scented items in your car or truck or store food in bear proof containers, hang food and trash at least 15 feet off the ground from a tree and never leave any food in the tent. Wildlife is food driven so do not reward them with anything. They will come back to the same location later on looking for an easy meal since they found one there once before. Be sure to take the trash out daily. If you’re in the back country, then burn non-toxic items and use Ziploc bags to help conceal the scent.
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| Photo taken by Scott Mogilefsky: Elk camp 2014 Camp site planning: Plan your campsite accordingly. Walk around the perspective camp site to make sure there isn’t any trash left from previous campers. Also check for signs of dead animal carcasses that could attract the locals. Make sure you are not camping on any game trails. The tent should be a minimum of 100 feet from where you eat and cook your food. The same distance applies to where you hang your food and trash. Solar powered electric fencing can also be used to protect horse corals or the perimeter of the camp. |
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| Photo taken by Scott Mogilefsky: Elk camp 2014 |
Clean and wash before going to sleep: Brush your teeth and then wash your hands and face before going to sleep for the night. This will help get any food smell off of you prior to calling it a night. Never keep any food in a tent!
So what do you do if you encounter a bear? Simple, stand your ground! Do not run away or try to climb a tree to escape it. Bears are excellent climbers and will certainly out run you as well. Try to look at tall and big as possible, flare out you jacket and wave your arms around. Be sure you are giving the bear an avenue in which to leave. Just remember to stay calm! Be sure to report the bear encounter to local wildlife law enforcement or campground manager.
If the bear does not leave and continues to pursue you by stalking mannerisms should be considered as a predatory threat. If the bear is aggressive anyplace in your campsite, this should also be taken as a predatory threat. Defensive confrontations with black bears are not as likely, but can take place. If the bear is guarding a cub, territory or food it will attack because it feels threatened. If a bear stands up, grunts, woofs, and moans or makes other sounds, it’s not being aggressive. These are ways a bear gets a better look or smell and expresses its interest. Study, learn and understand the behaviors of all wildlife before going. It will make it a more enjoyable trip for everyone.
Bear spray is your best chance of surviving a bear attack. It’s basically pepper spray on steroids that is contained in various canister sizes. What makes bear spray more effective than regular pepper spray that is used for self defense? It’s an ingredient called capsaicin and capsaicnoids that make bear spray different. If you look at a bottle of bear spray and you do not see either of these ingredients on the bottle, then it’s nothing more than typical pepper spray. Another way to verify the bear spray is legit is to check for an EPA number that is usually located at the bottom of the label on the can.
Most experts recommend deploying bear spray when the bear is a minimum of 25 feet away. Not a lot of time when you think about how fast they are. Spray in the direction of the charging bear for a minimum of 6-8 seconds. The spray will cover a large area, due to its expanding cloud, and create a barrier between you and the bear. Aim for the bears face or just in front of it. The spray will affect the bear’s nose, eyes, lungs and throat to deter the attack. Be mindful of the wind direction, weather, other people with you and the direction you are pointing it when deployed. These same experts also claim you are more likely to survive a bear attack with bear spray than you are by shooting it.
Bears are able to control their heart beats by at least 75% for their hibernation cycles. Shooting a bear will be less effective unless there is a well placed shot. IA majority of people will not always get a well placed shot when they have a charging bear headed their way. Besides the adrenaline flowing, the other issue will be the type of ammo the person has in their firearm. Most concealed carry holders are taught to use hollow points or hydro shoks. These would not be as effective on bears as they are bad guys. Due to the bears thick tissues and bone density, regular ball ammo would be more ideal than self defense ammo to get the deeper penetration. However, shooting a bear should always be the last resort!
If you do shoot a bear in self defense, you will need to call DNR and report the incident. A Conservation Officer will come to the location to investigate the shooting to make sure it was justifiable.
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| Photo taken by Scott Mogilefsky: Elk camp 2014 One thing I find interesting in my hunter education classes is people seem to think black bears are always black. A black bears fur can be bleached by the sun. Much like human hair can be naturally lighter in the summer months. The common colors can be blond, cinnamon, reddish brown and even a white color. This is one of the reasons some people think there are brown bears in Utah. It’s just mistaken identity. |
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| Photo taken by Scott Mogilefsky during an elk hunt in 2011 Black bear track found on the trail |
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