 |
Hiking and venturing into Bear country.
When hiking or venturing into bear country,
there are a few things to keep in
mind. First of all do not let the
fear of Bears ruin your outdoor
experience. Bear attacks are
extremely rare and over 40 years of
hiking in Bear country I have only
seen three bears, two we're Black
Bears that ran off, the third was a
Grizzly
that left us alone.
However, I'm always doing the
following to reduce my risk of an
encounter. I never sneak around in the
bush or woods, making a lot of noise
will provide a Bear amble time to
avoid you, which I'm sure 99% of
them want to do. I make a point of
blowing a whistle or yelling out
every few hundred meters or so. If
you're near loud streams or thick
bush make more noise more often. If
you hear the call of a
Raven or a group of
Ravens, beware as they often call out
when over top of other animals or an
animal kill. The
Raven's
call does not necessarily indicate a
Bear. It could be any animal, a
squirrel or maybe yourself, but take
notice. If you do stumble upon an
animal kill turn around and leave
the area immediately. If you contact
a bear, avoid eye contact, slowly
turn around, stay calm, DON'T
RUN..., keep your initial pace
turn around and
leave the area.
Running will induce a Bears
predatory instinct. If you want to
test this, try going from a relaxed
pace to
running with any dog. Predatory
animals can't resist a chase and
running will certainly, at the
least, create the idea of one. Keep
your eyes out for fresh droppings,
if it's berry season you may find a
large pile of wet berries that
looks as if someone had just dropped
them after cleaning. The berries are still
whole and appear fresh but have
passed through a Bears digestive
system. Large over turned rocks,
torn up deadwood or fresh overturned
earth is another
indicator of a bear that may be
feeding nearby.
To mention the more obvious, you
should never feed or approach
a Bear and always practice
proper food
storage. This doesn't
mean you cannot pack a day lunch or food
for an extended back county trip,
but it does mean, store it in air
tight containers and don't leave any
trace of food or garbage anywhere.
The next group of hikers could
stumble upon a Bear that has been
attracted to food bits and trash left by others.
Interesting to note that while
driving by Bow Summit I witnessed a
Mother and Father who let their
children run up to a Black Bear and
take it's picture. The parents we're
completely unaware of just how close
they came to loosing a child. Maybe
for some people the term "Park" in
"National Park" is mistaken for
amusement and safety.
M.T. |