There seems to be a fair amount of confusion regarding what to do when you encounter a bear. It's actually amusing to hear what some people think is a correct response.
One tourist recently informed me that when traveling in a group and you encounter a bear, your best option is to drop your packs and run screaming in different directions.
I suppose this would work for personal safety if you are not the slowest person in the group following the old adage that "you don't have to outrun the bear, just the person you're with".
In truth, running in any bear encounter is almost never a good option. Bears can charge up to forty-four feet per second, uphill and downhill, and that is far faster than the fastest human can run.
Bears, like dogs, can also be triggered to chase if something runs from them. It can potentially turn a harmless encounter into a dangerous one. The best advice I can give is to arm yourself with knowledge.
Living in Squamish, we all live and play in bear country. It is our responsibility to know how to behave correctly and appropriately to any bear encounter we may have.
Of course, avoiding a bear encounter is the number one priority but this is not always possible. Knowing how to read a bear's body language is something you should know and this will help determine the appropriate response.
If a bear is stressed or feeling threatened it may pop its lips and/or teeth, swat the ground, salivate, yawn out of place, huff or bluff charge.
In this case, talk calmly and slowly move away. A bear may boldly approach you showing no signs of stress because it is curious, looking for food, used to people, testing its dominance or, rarely, predatory. Remain calm and move out of the bear's path and let it pass. If the bear persists in it's approach you must assert your dominance, make yourself look big, yell and wave your arms. The more the bear persists, the more aggressive you should be.
The "playing dead" debate has shifted as our understanding of bear behavior has evolved.
Now the loose rule of thumb is to play dead in a grizzly attack and fight for your life in a black bear attack.
The reason for this is that grizzly attacks are almost always defensive and black bear attacks are almost always predatory. Black bears have been known to attack in defense of their cubs after they have become human food conditioned or habituated and in this case, playing dead would be the best option. Anytime an attack is thought to be defensive, playing dead should be your response.
This is a very brief outline of response to bear attacks and is only intended to encourage you to learn more about safely living and moving around in bear country.
I will be showing a video called "Staying safe in Bear Country" all day at the Brackendale Fall Fair on Sept. 10 so please take the time to come and watch it.
A garbage patrol was done in Brackendale last Thursday night and the results were eight households had their garbage out the night before collection day.
Although this is not yet zero, Brackendale has come along way from the fifty we recorded in the spring. Thank you Brackendale, you rock!
Kriss Hopping is the Bear Aware coordinator in Squamish
