Welcome to CoveBear.com! - Brown Bear Safety

Hiking in Bear Country! - Don’t Surprise Bears! Bears will usually move out of the way if they hear people approaching, so make noise. Most bells are not enough. Calling out and clapping hands loudly at regular intervals are better ways to make your presence known. Hiking quietly endangers you, the bear, and other hikers. A bear constantly surprised by quiet hikers may become habituated to close human contact and less likely to avoid people. This sets up a dangerous situation for both visitors and bears.

Don’t Make Assumptions! You can’t predict when and where bears might be encountered along a trail. People often assume they don’t have to make noise while hiking on a well-used trail. Some of the most frequently used trails in the park are surrounded by excellent bear habitat. People have been charged and injured by bears fleeing from silent hikers who unwittingly surprised them along the trail. Even if other hikers haven’t seen bears along a trail section recently, don’t assume that bears aren’t there. Don’t assume a bear’s hearing is any better than your own. Some trail conditions make it hard for bears to see, hear, or smell approaching hikers. Be particularly careful by streams, against the wind, or in dense vegetation. A blind corner or a rise in the trail also requires special attention.

Don’t Approach Bears! Bears spend a lot of time eating, so avoid hiking in obvious feeding areas like berry patches, cow parsnip thickets, or fields of glacier lilies. Keep children close by. Hike in groups and avoid hiking early in the morning, late in the day, or after dark. Never intentionally get close to a bear. Individual bears have their own personal space requirements which vary depending on their mood. Each will react differently and its behavior can’t be predicted. All bears are dangerous and should be respected equally. Bears may appear tolerant of people and then attack without warning. A bear’s body language can help determine its mood. In general, bears show agitation by swaying their heads, huffing, and clacking their teeth. Lowered head and laid-back ears also indicate aggression. Bears may stand on their hind legs or approach to get a better view, but these actions are not necessarily signs of aggression. The bear may not have identified you as a person and is unable to smell or hear you from a distance.

BEAR ATTACKS - The vast majority of bear attacks have occurred because people have surprised a bear. In this type of situation the bear may attack as a defensive maneuver. In rare cases bears may attack at night or after stalking people. This kind of attack is rare. It can be very serious because it often means the bear is looking for food and preying on you. If you are attacked at night or if you feel you have been stalked and attacked as prey, try to escape. If you cannot escape, or if the bear follows, use pepper spray, or shout and try to intimidate the bear with a branch or rock. Do whatever it takes to let the bear know you are not easy prey. If you surprise a bear, here are a few guidelines to follow that may help:

Talk quietly or not at all if you suddenly come upon a bear; the time to make loud noise is before you encounter a bear. Try to detour around the bear if possible.
Never run or climb a tree to escape a bear! Back away slowly, but stop if it seems to agitate the bear.
Assume a nonthreatening posture. If it is a brown bear, turn sideways, or bend at the knees to appear smaller. If it is a black bear, group together to appear larger.
Use peripheral vision. Bears may interpret direct eye contact as threatening.
Drop something (not food) to distract the bear. Keep your pack on for protection in case of an attack.
If a bear attacks and you have pepper spray, use it!
If a grizzly bear makes contact, protect your chest and abdomen by falling to the ground on your stomach, or assuming a fetal position to reduce the severity of an attack. Cover the back of your neck and head with your hands. Do not move until you are certain the bear has left. If a black bear makes contact, you must fight that bear with whatever you have, make lots of noise, throw rocks, look as large as you can - do not ball up unless there is nothing else you feel you can do. You must fight off black bears, remaining passive could get you killed. Pepper spray is allowed in this national park - know how to use it properly.

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