UNDP/GEF
Conservation of Biodiversity on Kamchatka's 4 Protected Areas

Safety in bear country

 Tips for safe travel

BE PREPARED.
Plan how you are going to react when you meet an inquisitive, intelligent, and potentially dangerous animal in the backcountry.

BE PREDICTIBLE.
Many bears have already had interactions with people. What a bear learns in one encounter, influences what it does in the next. Try to make every encounter positive-for you and the bear. If we want bears to be non-threatening and predictable, it is important that we reciprocate.

BE CAREFUL.
Bears don’t like to be surprised. If you are hiking in a place where you can’t see, make your presence known by talking or clapping your hands. If you are hunting you will probably be walking very quietly. Move slowly and be especially alert.

TRAVEL WITH A GROUP.
While this isn’t always practical, the larger the group the smaller the risk of attack. Groups of people seem to intimidate bears. Bears are more likely to approach one or two people than larger groups. Keep close together. Being strung out along a trail creates many groups of one.

DON’T APPROACH BEARS.
Moving towards a bear is aggressive behavior-it forces the bear to react. If you inadvertently approach a bear and feel the bear is not aware of your presence, take advantage of the situation and slowly move away. Carefully watch to make sure the bear is not following.

A BEAR MAY APPROACH YOU FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.
It might be habituated or used to people and simply walking by at a distance it is comfortable with. The bear may be curious. You may be on its trail. You may be in the bear’s personal space, and it feels threatened. It may want your food. A female bear may perceive you as a threat to her cubs. A bear may want to dominate you and, in extremely rare circumstances, investigate you as potential prey.

MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH A BEAR IS UNLIKELY TO INFLUENCE THE BEAR OR TO AFFECT THE OUTCOME OF AN ENCOUNTER.
It is important to keep the bear in sight so that you give yourself the opportunity to detect important visual clues to the bear’s behavior.

KEEP CALM.
If a bear approaches, keep calm. It is assessing the situation as it moves towards you. It’s picking up clues as fast as you are giving them. If you get excited, the bear could too. It may change from being curious to being frightened. A mother with cubs may change from defensively keeping you away, to becoming highly stressed and going on the offensive-attacking in a punishing display.

IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS HUMAN AND DON’T RUN.
If a bear becomes increasingly stressed and aggressive, talk to it in a low voice. DON’T RUN. Bears can go about 35 mph-even the fat ones!

INCREASE YOUR DISTANCE
Bears avoid antagonistic encounters by moving away from one another. If the bear is not moving towards you, very cautiously try to move away. If your movements cause the bear to move towards you, stop and hold your ground. When you do this you are using body language to say, “don’t mess with me.”

BEARS MAY COME QUITE CLOSE.
Bears may come close as they threaten and decide what to do. If we behave correctly, identifying ourselves, standing our ground, or giving the bear room, the bear will make the right decision-sometimes not as quickly as we would like-and move off.

IF A BEAR PERSISTS…and continues towards you-hold your ground. The bear is interested in you or something you have, and may cause you bodily harm. Yell and wave your arms or anything handy. You are trying to tell the bear you are not intimidated. Groups of people should stand shoulder to shoulder to project a larger presence.

MOST CHARGES STOP SHORT OF CONTACT IF YOU REACT APPROPRIATELY.
A head down, open-mouthed, running charge is a bear’s trump card. It is a defensive reaction to a perceived threat. The bear is telling you that it is highly stressed and you are in the wrong place. Charges happen so quickly there isn’t much time for reaction. A charge almost always ends short of contact.

IF A BEAR ATTACKS…If, and only if, a bear makes physical contact, fall to the ground on your stomach and protect your face and neck. If the bear rolls you over, try to get back into this position. The bear is almost certainly making a defensive attack and will stop when it feels it has eliminated the threat. When the bear stops, keep as still and quiet as possible. Stay that way until you believe the bear has left the area. Movement and sound can initiate new attacks. If the attack persists and the bear continues to bite long after you assume a defensive posture, it is likely making a predatory attack. Fight back vigorously.

IF A BEAR ATTACKS YOU IN YOUR TENT… FIGHT BACK!

BEARS AND FOOD
Keeping bears away from human food is perhaps the most important thing people can do to prevent conflicts and confrontations between bears and people.

REMEMBER: A FED BEAR IS A DEAD BEAR.
Bad habits are hard to break and bears are creatures of habit. Bears seek out the same wild foods in the same places year after year. Bears conditioned to eating human food behave the same way. They keep returning to the same neighborhoods, camping areas, dumpsters, until food is no longer available or until they get killed. A person who allows bears to feed on improperly stored food or garbage may well be putting other people at risk.

KEEP A CLEAN CAMP.
Don’t leave unattended food where bears can get to it. If you leave camp, don’t leave anything a bear might like to eat. If food or garbage cannot be secured it should be placed far away from human and bear activity.

COOK WHERE YOU CAN SEE.
This gives you time to see bears at a distance. Many experienced outdoors people eat early so that they’ll still be awake if a bear comes to investigate dinner smells. Some backpackers even stop and cook en route to their campsite so that there are no food odors where they sleep.

DON’T COOK SMELLY FOODS.
Bacon can bring in bears from a long way—especially if they’ve had it before. Bears have an incredible sense of smell.

DON’T SLEEP WHERE YOU EAT AND COOK.
Moving off 100 yards or more is helpful. Keep snacks, toothpaste, cosmetics, and any clothing that has been soiled by food or game butchering out of your tents and with your food supply.

DON’T FISH AROUND BEARS.
Do not fish when bears are close enough to notice a fish splashing on your line. This may mean a distance of several hundred yards or more. If bears are fishing where you want to fish, sit down and do some bear watching. Don’t let bears get your fish. If you make a mistake and a bear runs after the salmon you have hooked—cut it loose. Bears are quick to associate fishermen with easy fish meals. If you clean fish next to a salmon stream you are likely to attract gulls. Be aware that bears know calling, circling, or feeding gulls mean food. They may come at a run. Discard fish guts into deep or fast-moving water, and place butchered fish in plastic bags. Keep your catch with you. Do not leave it unattended on the stream bank.