Most visitors that come to Alaska and go out into the wilderness are afraid of bears. It is very important for a guide to be well informed about how to behave during a bear encounter.
To reduce the chance of a close encounter with a bear while out hiking we make human noises. This is especially important in country that does not grant you a good distance view, e.g., forest and brush of a creek bed. We are making, human noises because bears usually try to avoid humans. Studies have shown bear bells to be, useless. A good holler (such as “Yo, Bear!”) every couple of minutes or so should do the trick. The frequency depends on your environment. The less you can see around you, the more you want to make known to bears you are there. Nothing is more dangerous than surprising a bear up close.
If you should encounter a bear, here is, the most important information: DO NOT EVER RUN FROM A BEAR. This is for two reasons; first you could never outrun a bear that has top speeds of 40-45 MPH, second, running triggers their hunting instinct, no matter how mellow they were when you first encounter them.
If you are out hiking and see a bear in a comfortable distance, watch it for a short while and alter your route if necessary to avoid contact. If the bear does not notice you, then great! If it should notice you, it might bolt right away. If it doesn’t bolt it could do several things. First, it might stand up on its hind legs to get a better view of you. It is a myth that bears can’t see very well. Their eyesight is as good as ours. The bear might then stand sideways to show you how big it is. You need to impress on it how big you are (groups have an advantage here). Stand your ground and wave your arms above your head. Speak in a calm voice, and look onto the ground in front of the bear (eye contact is viewed as an aggression), Slowly walk backwards to retreat. Do not turn your back to the bear while walking away. These are some signs of a bear in distress: drooling, huffing/barking sounds, pretending you aren’t there after it has already check you out. Give the bear space.
If a bear feels distressed enough it might charge. 90% of all charges are bluff charges the bear would veer off at the last second. Stand your gr
ound. If it should come to contact with a bear, drop to the ground into a fetal position with your hands clasped behind your neck and your elbows shielding your face. If this is a grizzly/brown bear you are dealing with (recognizable by the distinctive hump on the shoulder) it is most important to play dead. Do not make a sound or move. The bear will most likely leave if the perceived threat is over.
However, if a black bear is threatening you (no big hump on shoulder) kick, scream, punch in short: fight back. Black bears have actually stalked humans in some cases; and fighting back seems to be the most effective way to get rid of them. It is useful for black bears to display more aggressive behavior much earlier in the interaction, e.g., yell at an approaching bear, bang pots, or throw rocks.
Situations you want to avoid at all costs in bear country are:
1. Coming between a sow and her cub(s), or even getting too close to a sow with offspring
2. Walking up on a sleeping bear, or
3. Walking up on a bear kill. For the latter one use your nose. If there is something dead and stinking near by, then don’t go and investigate.
Some people prefer to carry pepper spray for personal comfort. The effectiveness of the spray has been debated. When actually using it you have to take into account the wind direction. Also, the spray only works if the bear gets a full blast into its eyes at short distance. Do not ever use the spray as a repellent, as some people have tried (with unpleasant results!). Some bear behavior observed by biologists indicates that bears were attracted to man-made objects sprayed with pepper spray, such as rafts, boats, etc.
Considering how many bears there are in Alaska and how many people move around the backcountry each summer, there are very few instances where bears attack people, and even fewer where bears kill people (and for most Alaskan cases it was the human’s fault). During the 1990s there was on average one human fatality cause by a bear per year, and another 6 human/bear incidents. 213 of those were with hunters.
For the most part bears avoid humans. The one’s that don’t have been taken out of the gene pool a long time ago.
Moose
Many Alaskans will tell you that they are actually more afraid of moose than they are of bears, and many more have been chased by a moose than a bear. Moose are herbivores and therefore there is no danger of them eating us but they are quick and have very powerful legs and can easily injure and kill by stomping and kicking. In fact, bears and wolves are extremely weary of a moose’s legs. Moose will charge when they feel threatened. What threatens them is when you enter their personal comfort zone. A moose cow with a calf will have a rather large comfort zone. Under any circumstances, stay away from a moose calf.
An agitated moose will lay its ears flat and raise the hair on the back of the neck. If a moose should charge you: RUN! Run as fast as you can hide behind a tree, a bush. If you are in a group, disperse. If the moose feels that it’s been given the space it needs it will stop the charge. There have been a couple of human fatalities in the recent past and many, many incidents (most of which go unreported).
Sources and Suggested Readings:
National Outdoor Leadership School, Leave No Trace: Outdoor Skills and Ethics.
Alaska Natural History Association, Wildlife Viewing Alaska.
Contributing Authors:
Scott Thomas and Claudi Hoefle
