I love seeing wildlife when I’m out hiking, and there is something so exciting about the possibility of seeing a bear along the trail. For many people, even the word “bear” evokes fear and anxiety, which is why I am aiming to educate you about simple things you can do to have a positive experience in the wild.
This article is Part Two of Bear Safety 101. Be sure to read Part One – Preventing an Encounter before continuing on.
Contrary to popular belief (and the way the media portrays bears and bear attacks), most bears do not want to kill and eat humans. This type of attack is extremely rare and is not something that should keep you up at night.
I always recommend carrying bear spray while you hike to minimize the likelihood of being defenseless should something happen, but in all of my years of hiking, I have never even had to pull the safety off the trigger.
Is it a Black or a Grizzly Bear?
First things first, what kind of bear are you dealing with? Educate yourself on the differences between grizzlies (aka brown bears) and black bears.
It is important to note that both types of bears come in all shades of colors, so don’t just assume that because the bear’s coat is black, it is a black bear. The size of the bear is also not a good indicator of the type of bear you are seeing. I have seen black bears in Alaska that are bigger than the grizzly bears in Yellowstone, so it really just depends!
The easiest way for me to identify the type of bear is to look at the shape of the face! A grizzly bear’s face is concave and dips down (like a bowl) from the forehead to the nose. A black bear’s face is a straight line from the forehead to the nose. The ears are also a good defining characteristic for bears — grizzly ears are usually more rounded and short, while black bears typically have taller and more prominent ears.
You will also want to look at the shoulders to see if there is a large, defined hump. A grizzly bear has a large hump of muscle on its shoulder bone that is often very pronounced and easy to see.
For more detailed information on how to identify a bear, head over to this website!
If you see a bear but the bear hasn’t noticed you…
- Keep your distance and never approach a bear
- Stay out of sight and downwind if possible
- Alter your route if you can
Sometimes, you just have to be patient and wait for the bear to move far enough away from the trail so that you can continue your hike. Never get closer in an effort to pressure the bear to move — you risk agitating and creating a defensive bear that feels threatened.
If you see a bear and the bear has noticed you…
- DO NOT RUN! Trust me, you cannot outrun a bear, and you do not want the bear to consider you prey
- Stay calm
- Talk to the bear (do not shout) and slowly wave your arms up and down to identify yourself as a human
- Pick up any small children that you have in your group (so that they don’t run or make any sudden movements)
- Move away slowly, but do not turn your back on the bear until you have moved far enough away that the bear no longer shows interest
Your goal is to look as large as possible and to help the bear identify you as a human. The absolute worst thing you can do is to run or abandon your pack. Don’t let the bear get any food from you, and don’t use food as a way to distract a bear.
If a bear attacks…..
Although highly unlikely, it is important to know what to do if a bear attacks. Sometimes, a bear will get up on its hind legs to get a better view of you or to gather information. Do not assume that the bear is going to attack you just because it is standing on its back legs.
If the bear begins to huff, woof, slap the ground with its paws, or clack its teeth, it is warning you that you are too close and it feels threatened by you. At this point, it is smart to pull out your bear spray and slowly back away from the bear. Oftentimes, putting distance between you and the bear will dissolve the situation.
If the bear still feels threatened, it may charge at you and then veer away before making contact. This is called a bluff charge. Spray the bear spray when the bear is within 10-15 feet of you and aim for the face. Whatever you do, DO NOT RUN. Stand your ground unless the bear makes contact. If the bear makes contact, drop to the ground and play dead. Cover your neck with your hands and lay on your stomach with your pack covering your back.
A defensive bear (one who feels threatened by you) will usually charge and then back off, which is why it is best to play dead in most cases. If you are dealing with a black bear, sometimes you may need to fight back if the bear doesn’t leave you alone.
A predatory bear (one who sees you as food) will likely not charge right away, but will instead stalk you and persistently approach you. This type of bear is highly unsafe and you should be aggressive and fight back if it attacks.
Please remember that it is highly unlikely that you will be charged by a bear! Most of the time on my hiking trips, the bear isn’t even bothered enough to stop eating and look up at me. A few times in Alaska, if I happened on a bear suddenly, the bear and I would look at each other, and then the bear would seem to shrug its shoulders and go back to eating as I slowly backed away.
Oftentimes, these bears are just as scared to see us as we are to see them. With a little bit of preparation and education, you will be ready to have amazing adventures in the beautiful mountains!
Happy Trails!
For additional reading, check out Yellowstone’s guide to Bear Safety. It provides an extensive guide and will answer many of your bear-related questions.
Do you have any questions or comments? Let me know on Facebook or in the comments below!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that (at no extra cost to you) I receive a tiny bit of compensation if you make a purchase. I promise to only recommend products that I absolutely love and would use myself while out on the trail! I appreciate your support and welcome any questions you may have about any products featured on my site. Thanks! Ash
I enjoyed reading your advice about hiking but my concern is walking my small dog in our neighborhood. We have heard about residents seeing a bear here in The Villages FL. Would a bear go after my dog on a leash? I hate to even think about it.
Michele
You would want to use the same strategies walking around a neighborhood with bears as hiking through a forest with bears. But yes, bears can definitely see other animals as prey, especially if your dog barks or shows any aggression toward the bear. You would want to pick your dog up and slowly back away, similar to what you would do with your small children as outlined in the article.
Hi, my wife and I will be camping at Signal Mt. Campground in the Grand Tetons this fall (2022). We originally were going to tent, but she got spooked after reading too many internet stories of grizzly attacks of campers being mauled in the middle of the night. Now she insists in sleeping in the car. The car is big enough to do this but I wanted more of a tenting/wilderness experience. Is this overkill? Or with proper campsite food management, is it safe to tent camp at a campground? We tent camped plenty of times in both the Adirondacks and Shenandoah Nat. park, and seen many black bears while hiking there, but this will be our first experience in grizzly country. thanks for any advice.
If you keep a clean camp, you should be just fine! I’ve tent camped in that area too many times to count and have never had a problem. I’ve seen bears in the area, but they’ve never given me any issues!
Wonderful, wonderful insight on bears.
Thanks!
This was a GREAT read! My family and I recently hiked gunsight pass trail in Glacier National Park and saw a grizzly with her cub about 200 yards away….She was right below the trail where we were headed to. We watched her for awhile to see which direction she headed. We put more distance between us as she headed in our general direction and altered our route to get on the other side of the trail. She looked at us every once in a while but showed no interest. My group did not run and created as much distance as possible. I think it’s very critical to keep eyes on them and not just bolt back the way you came (prematurely) because she went straight down through the center of the switchbacks from where we came if that makes sense.
That’s awesome! Seeing bears on the trail can be a great (and safe) experience if you know what to do!
You forgot to mention firearms for defense from a bear. After the bear absorbs all of the spray and is still being aggressive, what are you supposed to do? I’ve seen that charge from 15 feet!
It is actually illegal to discharge a firearm in the national parks! But I’ve never heard of a bear absorbing the spray and still coming back for more right away (not to say it couldn’t happen, especially if you don’t spray it right in the face). The purpose of the spray is to disable the bear for a little while to give yourself enough time to get far enough away.
Ash,
Thank you for the great Teton 1 day guide! With the short hikes (Jenny Lake) to Hidden Falls, etc. are these trails busy enough in summer that we should expect there might be bears? I know they usually go higher as it gets hotter.
We were planning on doing Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point but we don’t have bear spray and this is our last stop when we might need it so weighing our options! There are just two of us.
Thank you again for all your expertise!
There are usually plenty of people on those trails, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. However, I have seen bears along those trails numerous times, even when it’s busy!
Last weekend we were fishing up in the Mammoth Lakes area. I was standing on a rock in the water not far off from shore. I then heard a sound behind me and there standing on the shore edge was a brown bear. It wasn’t a cub but not a full grown bear. It could have reached out and touched me. I was shocked and couldn’t step on shore because the bear just stood there so I jumped into the lake and started swimming towards my family who were on the other side of the hill fishing. I then screamed bear and for help. The bear then headed towards them and then my husband started clapping his hand and telling it to go on. I have never been so scared before. Did I do the right thing jumping in the lake?
Wow my heart is racing just hearing your story. Glad you were ok! It’s VERY unusual to not have some sort of escape route if a bear happens upon you like that. Getting space between you and the bear is important, so I likely would have done something similar. That’s an experience to remember for sure!
I have been to Yellowstone 4 times and this summer will be my 5th. I know hammocks are not a good idea, the ranger said that lots of bison like to roam into campgrounds (which they do) and get hung up on them. A tent is best to sleep in.
Thanks for sharing!
My friends from NC and I camped Zion last April and it was awesome, now they’re coming back west (I live in SLC) and we’re planning on doing the Tetons and Yellowstone.. I have a full size truck I “camp” in.. inflatable mattress in the bed, and a makeshift frame and tarp for weather protection.. They like to hammock camp. Is this viable at the Tetons and Yellowstone.. Or is the bear “threat” too great that we all should be in something more sturdy and secure?
In those parks, open-air camping is somewhat discouraged…but there aren’t any rules against it that I’m aware of {except at Fishing Bridge…you can’t even be in tents there}. Some of the campgrounds don’t have many trees to hang hammocks from so I would imagine that would be more of an issue when deciding to hammock camp. Definitely keep bear spray with you though :)
Hi Ash,
Thanks for the advice and great website!
The few times I’ve been in bear country it’s been fine, and I’m comfortable yelling “Hey bear” and hiking with bear spray… what worries me these days is that I’ll forget to put in the bear box some piece of clothes I wore while cooking dinner and I’ll wake up to find a bear starting to claw the tent while I’m at my most vulnerable. I’ve seen plenty of advice on trail safety and cooking/food/bear box safety in your campsite, but never seen advice on what to do if something goes wrong at the campsite.
I’ve always wondered, what should one do if you’re sleeping in your tent at night and you hear a bear outside? Don’t move? Make a lot of noise? And what if the bear is starting to try to get into your tent?
Andy
Hey Andy,
Good questions! If the bear sounds close, I usually tend to stay quiet…this is because I don’t want to startle the bear with any sudden sounds or movements. They have always just walked away. Bears are naturally curious so they’re probably just being a little nosy, not looking for trouble. I do ALWAYS keep bear spray in my tent just in case. If a bear were to show aggressive behavior toward my tent, I would definitely fight back.
That’s not official instruction….it’s just what I do. I’ve never had a problem at all as long as I keep a clean campsite and don’t have anything in my tent that smells like food to a bear. Hope that helps!!
Hi Ash,
Thank you so much for all of the info you share. I truly appreciate this bear info. I grew up visiting Colorado each summer and never once saw a bear. As I prepare for thru hiking different trails and camping in wilderness areas I have to admit I’m a bit nervous about bears. Knowledge is key and comforting.
PS Congratualtions on your newest adventure bud! Many happy years ahead for you and your growing family ?
Thanks so much Kimmi! I’ve hiked and lived in many places with bears, and I often see them on the trails. I’ve never had a problem at all….usually they really aren’t interested in me. Just be sure to make enough noise so that they don’t get startled by you and carry some bear spray just in case. Have fun!