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So I’ve always read that when you encounter a black bear to “look bigger than you are”, “make lots of noise”, and “don’t run”. My wife and I ran into a mother and cub on a hike in Big South Fork this past week and I tried one of these tactics out. When I saw the mother, she was sitting up sniffing and had already spotted me. I alerted my wife and the mother got back down on all fours and started to move toward the side of the trail. When she did this I barked… like a “woof” at her to try and scare her off. She then turned around and raised up a bit to look at me. Then she got back down and left.

This begged the question; Why did she turn back around when I woofed? Maybe that was too close to a sound a bear would have made. Bears don’t have very good eyesight, so they depend on smell and sound. It probably couldn’t tell exactly what I was. Maybe when you meet up with a bear the particular noise you try to make is important. After this I’d recommend just  yelling or screaming at it. So, lesson learned I guess.

It is actually illegal to approach within 50 yards of a bear willfully. But being in the wilderness like many of us are we run into them unexpectedly. So just as a refresher course for all of us out there, here is the recommended course of action when you spot a black bear in the wild.

• If a bear spots you and watches you or changes direction, you are too close.
• Be watchful of the bears behavior for any changes.
• Don’t run, but slowly back away, watching the bear.
• Try to increase the distance between you and the bear. The bear will probably do the same.
• If a bear persistently follows or approaches you, without vocalizing, or paw swatting, try changing your direction. If the bear continues to follow you, stand your ground.
• If the bear gets closer, talk loudly or shout at it. Act aggressively and try to intimidate the bear.
• Act together as a group if you have companions.
• Make yourselves look as large as possible (for example, move to higher ground).
• Throw non-food objects such as rocks at the bear. Use a deterrent such as a stout stick.
• Don’t run and don’t turn away from the bear. Don’t leave food for the bear; this encourages further problems.

Incidentally our elderly dog, KrissyDog, didn’t even see the bears. She did smell the ground as we went by the spot they were. So much for a guard dog…

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