Contrary to popular belief, bear attacks are quite the rarity, but when they do occur, they can cause serious injuries or even death to any unsuspecting or unprepared person.
Whether it’s during a hike, a camping trip, or a visit to a natural park, a bear encounter can be unnerving to anyone. Luckily, most bear encounters end with no injuries, with both sides moving on to other things.
But still, “rarity” doesn’t mean “zero”. Everyone might think that there is a low chance that they will be attacked by a bear, not knowing that they might be part of the percentage of that low chance, and when they do get attacked by a bear, it comes as a shock, and by that point, it’s too late.
One thing to also note – bears, like any wild animal, are unpredictable. There is no one size-fits all strategy that will work against all bears, even those in the same species, and guarantee your safety, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Following proper guidelines and keeping important tips in mind about what to do when a bear does attack you may save your life.
With all that said, what should you do when a bear attacks you? This article will seek to answer that.
Use weapons
This should not come off as a surprise, but when walking in bear country, one should not walk in without at least a weapon to fall back to. This does not necessarily mean a firearm like a pistol or a rifle, however. In fact, studies suggest that a bear spray is a much better weapon to use against a bear than a firearm.
This is good for the average person and the bear. A regular person does not need training with firearms, such as aiming and shooting, to be able to properly aim a bear spray at an angry charging bear, and anyone can wield a bear spray to use defensively.
Not only that, but you also lose the risk of potential collateral damage when shooting. You might hit a nearby human, for instance, while aiming at the bear.
You might also end up killing the bear. It’s good to stop a bear if it’s close to mauling your face, but killing it may be unnecessary, especially if bear spray might do the same thing as a firearm would but better.
Still, both are valid options when it comes to survival, but you may want to consider opting to your bear spray instead of your gun when a bear approaches you next time.
I don’t have anything on me, what do I do?
Ideally, you have a weapon on hand, but life isn’t always so nice. You can’t always be carrying your gun or bear spray, especially when you have to focus on other tasks, such as fixing up your things while camping, or navigating while hiking. Having them nearby is the best possible thing you can do, but there is the possibility that you get caught with your pants down, putting you in an extremely vulnerable position with no access to your weapons for defense.
Or maybe you just didn’t bother to bring anything to defend yourself against bears, which you shouldn’t have done.
As you can probably already tell, fighting bare-handed against a bear with bear hands is very much a bad idea. Bears are physically stronger than any human and will easily topple you to the ground. By that point, you’re at its mercy, and if it so chooses to end your life then and there, it will.
So, what should you do if don’t have a weapon?
It depends on the type of bear you’ve encountered.
No matter the species, a bear that attacks might either be doing so to defend itself, or to prey on someone. For defending bears, this usually occurs when a mother bear tries to defend its young against humans that it believes to be attackers or bears that think that humans are trying to take its hard-earned meal away. Basically, any bear that is trying to protect something will be placed on the defensive, where their main goal is to drive you away, and not necessarily kill you.
This means that their main actions will involve doing things like making a lot of noise, doing false charges, and clacking its teeth. It’s trying to scare you off. If you want to survive, then follow its instructions. Maintain eye contact while you back away. Never turn your back on them as well. Finally, make sure that if you’re near a mother bear, you’re not accidentally moving closer to one of her cubs.
Next are the predatory bears. These bears are hunting you and will not stop until you lie dead for it to eat, which means that it will not be trying to threaten you or make a lot of noise. Instead, it will try to be quiet while it stalks you. If you’re confronted with this type of bear, the maintain eye contact while you slowly back away, the same way as a defensive bear. The difference is that a predatory bear will be following you. You are its dinner, after all. And of course, make sure that you don’t run, as the bear can and will outrun you,
Now, if it comes down to it and you actually have to fight either type of bear, then do whatever you can to dissuade it from attacking. Throw rocks, grab a stick, and yell at it. If it still decides to attack, then fight dirty. You’re literally fighting for your life here; take whatever advantage you can get. Go for the eyes and the nose, and fight like you want to survive. Playing dead isn’t a recommended tactic, especially if you’re fighting a predatory bear, as it will simply continue to eat you.