Bear Smart – What to do if you Encounter a Black Bear
By Contributor
Nestled in the mountains, Rossland offers breathtaking landscapes and abundant wildlife. Living in harmony with local wildlife is our goal. Many of us enjoy hiking, mountain biking or simply taking a walk in the woods, woods we share with black bears. Most black bears are wary of humans and tend to avoid us, they are more inclined to retreat into the forest than engage. Always give them an exit to do so.
If you see a bear who is unaware of you, leave quietly and give them room to move. Never startle a bear. Like you, they will be on the defence if startled, so make noise as you go. Play your music or pod-cast on speaker so you can hear them and they can hear you.
If the bear is aware of you, they will be curious. They might stand up on their hind legs to get a better smell of you. Are you a threat to them? Speak in a soft but firm voice that they should continue on their way. Stand still and wait for them to move. Yelling or waving your arms around will only seem aggressive to them. If they walk towards you, use a stomp of your foot. In black bear language, a foot stomp is a warning. Keep using a firm voice.
Don’t give into the temptation to run. It might incite a predatory reaction in the bear. They can run for short distances at 40 to 50 km an hour. You won’t outrun them.
If they continue to walk steadily toward you, they may simply be using the same path as you, give them room. But they may be conditioned to know humans mean food. Use your bear spray if they come within 5 meters or less from you.
NEVER let your dog run after a bear. The two likely scenarios are: the bear takes a swipe at your dog and either your dog runs back to you, bringing the now angry bear with it, or it runs in a different direction and brings the now angry bear in the direction of fellow hikers. Bad situation in either case. Then you do need bear spray.
Bear spray is made from cayenne pepper, it doesn’t leave any lasting damage, but it really hurts the eyes and nose.
For more information go to WildSafe BC. This article is from the Rossland Sustainability Commission’s Bear Smart Task Force. See our webpage on rosslandsustainability.com
Our next article will be on how to differentiate between a black bear and a grizzly bear.
Nancy Bulman, Sue Wrigley, Cindy Loukras
