Bear Safety
Some Very Important Bear Safety Tips
For the active outdoorsman, and for those who enjoy deep trekking and hiking adventures, bear safety tips need to be clearly understood and adhered to. Nobody wants to see a person in danger, and most of us don’t want to have to destroy a magnificent creature such as the bear, so maintaining a safe distance and having a smart emergency plan are crucial to a successful trip. We have to share the woods with the creatures who belong there, and we sometimes forget to be respectful. The first rule of thumb when advised by a scout or a guide is to never head out into the great unknown alone. Safety in numbers always applies to the outdoors, even if you know exactly where you’re going and how to get back.
Bear safety has everything to do with awareness and prevention. When camping, when hiking, when canoeing, or even living where bears are known to gather, it is of the utmost importance that food and rubbish be concealed and properly put away to avoid luring them in. Recent documentation has shown a full grown grizzly bear puncturing a car roof like a tin can and pulling it up to get to the food left on the back seat. There are just some things that are not indicative of bear safety, and improper storage of food is probably the most common thing that we do to invite trouble. Unfortunately, there are rarely second chances when it comes to a bear encounter, so getting it right the first time is crucial.
It is common knowledge that most bears, aside from the polar bear, will not hunt humans as a food source. Bears, for all of their size and might, are really not big hunters at all. They are omnivores, like humans, and forage for naturally occurring nutrients from a vast number of plants. They are also astute fishermen and can eat 15% of their body weight per day. But when talking about bear safety, it is very important to stress the fact that the bear is an opportunistic feeder. You will rarely find a bear actively hunting prey, chasing down a deer, or pouncing on a squirrel. He will steal the kill of another predator, and he will fish all day long, but he is primarily a scavenger.
This said, bear safety has much more to do with human behavior as it has to do with that of the innocent bear. We should fear our own mistakes, as the bear is much more predictable than given credit for. If he sees you as a threat or if he senses that there is an easy food source in your midst, then you have failed to utilize the proper bear safety judgment.