This guide is the results of my research into black bears and how to survive when in bear country. In the first installment of this series I concentrated on how to survive an encounter with a bear in the wild. In this installment I will describe how to avoid bear confrontations altogether.
Most of the advice in this article also pertains to large cats such as pumas, mountain lions, cougars, and panthers.
Picture Credit: US Forest Service North Central Research Station
Most hostile encounters with bears in the wild are caused by bears who are surprised by humans. They don't like to be startled, especially when there are young cubs around. Attaching a "bear bell"
to your pack or clothing is a great way to alert bears to your presence. A bear bell is a large "jingle bell" type bell that will jingle when you move so wildlife can hear you coming and leave before you get around. Bears have a highly tuned sense of smell and are very curious. This will lead them into your campsite if you aren't careful. When you set up a campsite, bears should be taken into consideration if you are camping in bear country. Taking a few precautions can prevent unnecessary run-ins with bears and other wild animals that you don't want to share your tent with.
When choosing a campsite, search the area and look for any bear tracks, droppings, or trees that have had bark clawed from them. Any of these signs indicate recent bear activity and a new campsite should be chosen.
When setting up camp make sure you keep your tent far away from your cooking fire, anywhere from 30-100 feet away. Make sure your thoroughly burn all combustible trash and pack and unburned remnants out with you. Immediately wash any dishes or cooking items and dump the dishwater away from the camp. You must reduce as much food odor as possible from the camp. Keeping a clean camp is the best way to keep bears from calling in the night.
Do not bring any food or strong-smelling items (like toothpaste) into your tent at night. Wash your face and hands thoroughly after meals and before bed to remove any food smells or residue. Remove your clothing, especially if you wore it while cooking or eating, and store it outside at night in your bear bag (more on bear bags in a minute). Cologne or perfume may help mask any human scents or other odors from inside a tent, but do not use any musk-scented products. Do not cook in your tent and don't store food in your tent.
Take everything that you do not need to sleep with (basically everything but your sleepwear, a flashlight, your tent, and sleeping bag) and put it back in your pack at night. Put a large garbage bag over your pack and tie it shut so that it is airtight. Next, using rope, hang the bag from a tree branch so the bag is at least 12 feet from the ground and 10 feet from the trunk of the tree. Choose a tree that is at least 30 feet from your tent. You will want to select a branch that is at least 12 feet up, and at least 4 inches in diameter where the branch meets the trunk of the tree. If the branch is smaller than this a bear will climb the tree and break the branch to get to the bag. If the branch is larger than 4 inches in diameter it may be strong enough for the bear to climb out on.
You will want to attempt to counterbalance the bag with some large rocks so the bag and rocks hang together above the ground. If you throw your rope over a branch, hoist up your pack, and then tie off the rope to something the bears will chew through the rope to get the pack to drop. To retrieve the pack in the morning use a long stick to push the rocks up and lower the pack until you can reach it.
Picture Credit: US Forest Service North Central Research Station
You can also purchase special airtight containers made specifically for keeping items safe from bears, such as the Garcia Backpacker's Cache Bear Canister Model 812
. These canisters are unbreakable and can only be opened if the bear has a screwdriver or small coin. If a bear does wander into your campsite you can scare it away by yelling, banging pots together, or waving your arms and running at it, stopping within 15 feet of the bear. Don't overtly threaten the bear, just let it know that it isn't supposed to be there. If a bear has settled in and began to eat you will likely not get it to leave until it has eaten it's fill. You might want to pile some rocks just outside your tent so you can throw them near (not at) a visiting bear at night to scare it away.
Bear attacks are rare and deaths from attacks are rarer still. Most bears flee humans before the bear is even seen. You are 180 times more likely to be killed by a bee than a black bear and are 160,000 times more likely to die in a traffic accident than in a bear attack. So be "bear-aware" when you set up your campsite and be extra careful driving to the wilderness and back home.
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