![]() “Nothing has changed over the past 20 years,” Herrero told me by phone from his home in Calgary. In two studies published in 20 by bear researchers Tom Smith, a professor at BYU, and Stephen Herrero, professor emeritus at the University of Calgary and author of Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance, the profound efficacy of bear spray versus weapons has been proven beyond a doubt. Forget it.Īccording to research by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, of those who defended themselves against a bear attack with a weapon, 50% sustained serious injuries – compared to very few injuries incurred by those defending themselves with bear spray. In this trigger-happy society where there are over 300m guns – one for every man, woman and child – the most common myth is that you can protect yourself from a bear with a gun. Photograph: Galen Rowell/Stock Connection/Alamy Think you can protect yourself with a gun? Forget itĪn Alaskan brown bear standing and growling: don’t run. If the bear charges, aim the nozzle of the spray just above the bear’s head and give a sustained blast.Do not use your pepper spray unless the bear is within twenty-five feet. It may also lunge toward you in a bluff charge. An agitated grizzly may pop its jaws and pound the ground with its paws.Speak in an appeasing voice and very slowly back away.Properly position the bear spray in your hand. If it’s a grizzly, remain still and calm.If it is a black bear, gather together, stand tall and make lots of noise.Slowly pull out your bear spray and remove the safety lock.Do not try to get closer to take a picture!.If you do everything right and you still run into one. Hike in groups of at least three people.Beware of blind corners and loud streams where a bear may not see or hear you.Unfortunately, hiking quietly endangers you. Leave your damn earbuds in the car and be alert to every sound and movement.The last thing you want to do is startle a bear. Bears like thick brush, berry patches and parsnip thickets, but also regularly use hiking trails. The best way to handle a bear encounter is never to have one. Be alertĪ brown bear enjoys a morning bath. Of the estimated 32,000 bruins, only a couple thousand inhabit Yellowstone and Glacier, the rest are in Canada and Alaska. Although they come in the same variety of colors as black bears, grizzlies/brown bears are easily distinguished from black bears by their greater size, large hump at the shoulders and massive head. Grizzlies are smaller than brown bears, weighing 200-700lbs, where the coastal brown bear can easily weigh over 1,000lbs. The good news? Many are largely vegetarian.īrown bears are divided into two categories: brown bears and grizzlies. ![]() Weighing in at 200-500lbs, black bears can be white, blond, cinnamon, chocolate or jet black. Unless you’re hiking above the Arctic Circle, you’ll likely only meet one of the first two. There are three species in North America: the black bear, brown bear and polar bear. ![]() If you come into contact with a bear, it’s important to know what you’re dealing with. Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images A grizzly bear mother and her cub walk near Pelican Creek in the Yellowstone national park in Wyoming. ![]()
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