Bear awareness
- August 7, 2008 1:15 PM |
- By Your Voice
What should you do if you see a bear? Why are they coming into residential areas? How can we become more "bear aware?"
Maggie Paquet
Maggie Paquet is a B.C. biologist specialising in environmental and wildlife issues. She is currently writing a bear-people conflict management plan for the District of North Vancouver. She asked that we include the following preface to her answers:
"First, I am not an expert in the specialised field of bear safety. I have some expertise in bear biology and in public education about how to be 'bear aware.' The basic rules when you do see a bear are:
- Stay calm, stand still and assess the situation.
- Speak in a calm but firm voice so the bear can identify you as a human.
- If you have a small child or dog with you, pick it up.
- Back away slowly and do not make eye contact with the bear.
- If you have pepper spray with you and know how to use it, get it ready.
- NEVER run; this could trigger pursuit.
- Once out of sight of the bear, get out of the area quickly.
If you want to learn more about bears and their behaviours, and on how to be safe in bear country, I recommend getting a copy of the video, 'Safety in Bear Country;' also available in public libraries. And I highly recommend buying (or checking out of your local library) a copy of the book: Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance, by Stephen Herrero, 1985, ISBN: 0-941130-82-7. That's the volume I have; but it was updated in 2002. Dr. Herrero is recognised all around the world as an expert in this field. This book is fascinating reading. In his introduction, he says this:
'...I love bears and the wildlands where they live. Bears have fascinated me, scared me 'til my heart pounded, and inspired me... They have helped me to learn about the diversity of life on earth and how nature works. Few biologists can study bears without seeing in them traits that are distinctly human. Such traits make people feel a strong attachment toward bears. Needless killing of bears elicits compassion and anger in me. We know how to do things better, how to make bear country safer for both bears and people. This book tells some ways to do this.'"
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Comments (24)
Should we try to make loud noises and scare off a bear if it comes near our house?
Maggie Paquet: Yes. Anything you can do to discourage bears from hanging around your house (whether in an urban or rural area) should be done, including keeping your yard free of all bear attractants, such as garbage, dirty barbecues, birdfeeders, hummingbird feeders, improperly used composts, pet and livestock feed, and fallen fruit from fruit trees. If you have fruit trees, grapes, or other garden berries, small livestock and chicken coops, or beehives, these can be protected to a great extent by the proper use of electric fencing. If you have wild bear foods near your home, such as wild blackberries, salal, huckleberries, etc., it would be a good idea to cut these back so they don’t encroach into your yard and so bears can’t use thick growth as cover.
Why is there a problem now, we have had contact with North Shore Mountain bears for many years garbage and all with no problems I have ever heard of, what has changed?
Is this an isolated incident, the bear was very aggressive it seems!
Maggie Paquet: The mauling in Coquitlam was an extremely rare occurrence. While it was likely a predaceous attack, I don’t think the bear was initially aggressive. I think something triggered predatory behaviour in the bear. However, a look through the North Shore News archives will tell you that bears have been entering residential areas and bothering people on the North Shore for decades. The provincial Wildlife Call Centre logs hundreds of calls every year from people on the North Shore who consider bears to be a problem. All the years of “garbage and all” (careless handling of garbage by North Shore residents) have produced a population of urban bears in which some no longer hibernate over winter because of ongoing access to garbage, fruit trees, composts, birdfeeders, and other attractants people make available to bears. These bears have become habituated to people. This is a potentially dangerous situation. In years when berries and other wild foods are scarce due to the weather, bears will go looking for food and they find it in residential areas. When non-natural attractants are available to bears on a regular basis, this can increase their reproductive rate, resulting in a larger population of bears than a natural area would support. It’s also important to remember that when bears become food-conditioned to these non-natural attractants, they will come to associate people with food. If people don’t do all they can to discourage bears by scaring them away and removing attractants, then bears lose their natural fear of people and become habituated. When they subsequently encounter a person and there is no food reward, the situation can become dangerous.
What areas in Canada do you feel human encroachment has threatened bears the most?
Maggie Paquet: Pretty much all the originally forested area of Canada was black bear habitat. Now they are restricted to where there are still forests. No forests in Toronto or Montreal, or in most of the urban sprawl and industrialised areas along the lower St. Lawrence River and lakes Erie and Ontario. Anywhere there has been long-standing and high-density urbanisation is pretty much no longer suitable to support bears. Grizzlies once occupied the prairies and other largely non-forested sub-arctic regions of Canada. Early settlers, farmers, sheep and cattle ranchers pretty much wiped them out of these habitats, driving them further into the mountains, which is where you’ll find grizzlies today.
Is pepper spray an effective defense against a black bear?
Maggie Paquet: In general, yes. But the user must know how to properly use pepper spray, know its limitations, and be sure the container has a sufficient amount in it to be of use. In very windy conditions, it could be dangerous for the person using it because they risk getting the spray into their own eyes. One of my responses below gives a good reference for learning more about the effectiveness of pepper spray.
I've had a friendly black bear and her cubs frequenting my summer home in Northern Ontario for the past few years; and my wife and I leave it scraps of food on the edge of our property away from the house. Is this a dangerous practice?
Maggie Paquet: YES! You are setting up this bear (and any people it comes into contact with) for big problems. While I understand your compassion for the bear, I think it is misplaced in that wild animals can find their own food, and are better left to do just that. You risk habituating that bear to people because it can smell you on the food you leave, even if it’s never seen you; in fact, that’s probably already happened. This bear may subsequently approach another person for food, which could result in injury to that person and/or the destruction of that bear. If this bear is female, she will teach her offspring to expect food from humans, and the problem is perpetuated through that bear’s generations.
Last weekend, some friends and I were hiking fairly deep in the bush. We came around the corner and a large black bear was waiting there. It took no notice of us as we made noise and slowly retreated. There was a cub with her and it wanted to play with my dog. I held the dog back and we retreated about 20 meters up a hill. The cub (not sure about the mother) decided to follow us, so we took off and ran about 15 minutes down the trail. We hiked back out. This is the first time I have encountered a bear and it has not ran away, but we were in a fairly remote area. What steps would you have recommended we take, and how long would it have been prudent to wait before trying that section of the trail again?
Maggie Paquet: There are six subspecies of black bears in North America. Each has more or less different physical and behavioural characteristics that have been shaped by their environment. I am only familiar with the two subspecies that occur on Vancouver Island and in BC’s South Coast region, and these are considered to be the two least aggressive subspecies. The largest black bear subspecies is in Haida Gwaii; I know absolutely nothing else about this subspecies or its behaviour. I have no direct experience with black bears in other parts of Canada or with grizzly bears, although I have done a fair amount of research about them.
Because what you did resulted in your safe exit from the situation, I cannot recommend you do anything different. Keep in mind, however, that because something worked in one situation, that’s no guarantee that it will always work again in another. I’m assuming that when you “took off and ran about 15 minutes,” the bear and her cub didn’t see you running. If they did, then you are lucky. It is usually not advisable to run away from a bear while you are within their sight. Humans cannot outrun a bear.
I wouldn’t try that section of trail again that day. I would leave the area. On subsequent days, I would try to find out from local wildlife authorities if there were still bears in that location before going back, and then returning only if I learned that the bear(s) had left the area. If there was wild food in the vicinity of that trail, the bear(s) would likely remain until they’ve eaten their fill. In most areas, it is recommended to keep dogs on leash because (a) they will disturb all kinds of local wildlife; (b) they may get into something (wasp nest, poisonous snake, etc.) that could harm them, and, (c) they can agitate a bear and in running back to you for protection, bring the bear back to you.
Sould all school,and wildernes group,be gaven
"Bear Safety" talk before heading out into
wilderness?
Maggie Paquet: Yes. Even if they’ve had previous experience, it’s always a good idea to remind people about safety practices in bear country.
1. In your experience, what are some of the best tactics to use when dealing with an aggressive sub-adult Grizzly?
2. Are you able to offer any advice on preventing a predatory attack by a Black Bear (or Grizzly)?
Maggie Paquet: (Answer updated) First off, most subadult grizzly bears are not aggressive, but if so, I would highly recommend you carry red pepper spray and use that in this type of situation as subadult grizzly bears have been known to attack people, however rarely.
A predatory attack can happen quite suddenly. One of the things to watch for is a bear following you with intensive interest, a bear circling in a still-legged manner; although these are difficult to determine. Again, your best defence is to carry some form of protection, especially red pepper spray. If you find yourself in what you think is a predatory attack and have no bear spray or other means of defence, your best chances are to fight back with everything you have.
Is it wise to simplify the rules applying to bear encouters to : Fight a black bear and play dead for a grizzly bear?
Maggie Paquet: (Answer updated) Yes, bear safety experts, including Dr. Herrero, go out of their way to advise the best means to deal with an aggressive bear encounter based on years of research and extensive experience. They advise people to learn all of the types of aggressive bear encounters and, in each type, the best way to deal with them. Unfortunately, there is much misinformation out there that makes things confusing and people have been killed by doing the wrong thing, such as using the mis-advice to “play dead” in a predaceous attack, whereas you should fight back with all you have.
Obviously, however, each situation, as well as each bear, is different, which is why this generality may not be true in every situation. But years of research by experienced field biologists and animal behaviourists strengthens this advice. Black bears are generally smaller than grizzlies. A person has a better chance of fighting off a black bear than a grizzly, but again, it depends on the bear. Then you have to consider the ecology of each type of bear. That shoulder hump on a grizzly is there for a reason: extra muscle to give it the power it needs to dig for food and shelter. Grizzlies evolved in more open areas than black bears. Their primary foods—roots, insect nests, and small mammal dens—are accessed by digging. They also dig into embankments, slopes, etc. to make their dens. That’s why they have much longer claws than black bears and that big hump. Because the areas they historically occupied had few, if any, trees, grizzlies relied on their strength to defend themselves and their cubs. Grizzly mothers with cubs are much more likely to be aggressive in protecting their cubs than black bears. Black bears, on the other hand, are truly forest-dependent critters; that’s the type of environment in which they evolved. Black bears are expert climbers—fast and agile as a monkey. A mother black bear sends her cubs packing up the nearest tree at first sign of a threat. She doesn’t feel the need to aggressively protect her cubs because threats to them don’t generally climb trees (with the exception of other black bears).
Next to firearms, the most forceful defense against an aggressive bear would seem to be the very strong capsicum spray that forest workers carry. Would you agree?
Maggie Paquet: (Answer updated) No, I don’t agree. For an explanation of why, please see these websites: the US F&W factsheet on bear spray vs. bullets can be found on the IGBC site: http://www.igbconline.org/html/safety.html and the recent Herrero paper can be found at: http://gf.state.wy.us/downloads/pdf/RegionalNews/dh-bear%20spray.pdf
In essence, the problem with firearms is that some people do not know how to use them effectively. If you use them in what you perceive to be a hostile bear attack, you run the risk of wounding the bear and escalating the attack. Even if you make a lethal shot, in the minutes it takes the bear to die, it can kill you; which has actually happened where hunters have tried to shoot their way out of a situation where a grizzly bear has claimed their game carcass.
Many believe it is better to try to neutralize the situation with bear spray first, even if you have a firearm, and use the firearm for back-up.
We live in the bush and have an apple tree in our yard. I was told by someone that this will attract the bears; that they will smell it from far away. Is this true? Should we be cutting it down?
Maggie Paquet: When the apples are starting to get ripe, any bear in the area will smell it. However, I would not cut down my apple tree just because of bears. I would, however, get an electric fence. You can get portable electric fences that are solar-powered. Google Margo Supplies Ltd. of High River, Alberta, for information. Apples should be picked as soon as they are ripe. Do not allow windfalls to lie on the ground. I like apple trees, and bees love (and need!) the blossoms in spring. If you don’t want the apples but want to keep the tree, invite a neighbour or a friend to take the apples.
I've heard that the use of "Bear Bells" when hiking and backpacking is fairly useless in warning bears that might be in the vicinity of your presence. I typically attach the bells to my hiking poles in such a way that they strike the pole and make a racket. Am I foolish for thinking I am giving bears adequate warning with this method while backpacking? What would be better?
Maggie Paquet: (Answer updated) Bear bells have proven to be useful in places like Glacier National Park in the US, but in other areas where bears do not have the opportunity to learn that bells equals hikers, they may have limited effectiveness and, in fact, may provide you with a false sense of security. I certainly don’t think you are foolish for trying, however. Please read my responses to some of the other questions for info relating to this one.
if we do bicycle as a family in a path where we come across a Bear with small children what should I do .
Maggie Paquet: (Answer updated) People have been injured by cycling too fast in bear habitat and suddenly encountering a mother grizzly bear and young. Pay attention to the bear habitats and foods you are cycling through. For example, are you in a berry patch where bears might be feeding? First of all, you should make sure your children cycle behind and close to you. Many people now carry red pepper spray for safety. When you do meet a bear, if you can, keep your group together, have your bear spray ready, and back off and go back the way you came. If possible, do your bicycling on wide, well-brushed out paths. Please read my responses to some of the other questions and maybe you can glean something useful from them.
In what sorts of habitats is it less likely to encounter a black bear? Is there any way to figure this out when choosing a hiking trail?
Maggie Paquet: (Answer updated) Depending on what part of Canada you are in, in spring be careful in meadows, wetlands, and riparian areas where bears might be feeding on their favoured spring foods, such as grasses, sedges, horsetails, and other green plants. During the season when berries are ripe (later in spring and summer and into fall), be careful in these berry-producing habitats as these are most likely where bears will be foraging. Herreros’ book is a good read in terms of getting to learn the seasonal diet of bears and the best habitats.
In general, if you are in an area that has black bears, then I don’t think it is wise to assume there won’t be one on any given trail. My best advice is to find out if there is a “Bear Aware” type of organisation in your area and, if so, ask them what they know about a particular trail. The Conservation Officer Service or the Parks Department in your province or municipality may also be able to advise you. The safest trails are those that are well brushed-out so that have you good visibility along it. Keep your children close by and any dog you may have with you on a leash.
Is behavioural change in black bears similar to that in Canadian Geese? We all see the geese flying lower and being much less afraid of humans than, say, 25 years ago. I observe similar behaviour in black bears with the exception they do not fly at lower altitudes. Do these changes are visible in their DNA? Are these "human friendly" animals the distinct "morphs", genetically distinct subgroups, or is it just nurture?
Maggie Paquet: I’m not sure I understand your question. If you are asking if behavioural modifications in bears become encoded in their DNA, I’m sorry, but I am not a geneticist, so I couldn’t say. However, bears are very smart. They have the highest brain-to-body mass ratio of all the carnivores. They learn quickly, often only require one experience to teach them something. They have an excellent memory. A mother bear teaches her cubs everything they need to know to survive. If it’s how to survive in human habitats, then that’s what the young bears will learn to do, usually much to their detriment. Bears can be taught to avoid people through Aversive Conditioning techniques; they are usually smart enough to “re-learn” how to survive.
Our strata complex is planning to start a community garden. Considering how often we are visited by black bears, what fruits and vegetables are least likely to attract bears?
Maggie Paquet: (Answer updated) Bears are opportunistic omnivores. They will eat anything and everything. The best thing is to be vigilant about discouraging bears from your property, particularly the garden. Enclose it in a high, very sturdy fence, gate it, and keep the gate latched. Make sure there are no attractants anywhere in the vicinity. Put your compost away from the garden and only compost vegetable matter. Do not put fruit, meat, dairy, unrinsed eggshells, grains, fats into the compost, keep it turned and covered with soil (some people recommend sprinkling a bit of lime on the top to help keep odours down), and put a lid on it. Ensure none of your plants grows too near the fence. Keep the area outside the fence clear so bears have no safety cover and so you can see a bear that comes near your garden. If this does not work (bears will climb fences), install an electrified fence around the main fence; often one or two strands on outriggers to the main fence will work (see www.Get BearSmart.com).
What instruction would you provide to young children regarding bear safety that they could retain?
Maggie Paquet: (Answer updated) I would suggest you make yourself fully informed about bear safety and then pass along the right information to your children. I’d say the most important thing is to teach them not to scream and not to run. These may cause a bear to interpret the child as prey. Teach the child to remain calm, to not look the bear in the eye, to back away safely, to speak firmly so the bear can identify them as a human, and, if the child is carrying a backpack or anything that may or may not contain food, to set it down on the ground before backing away. If there is something, such as a jacket, or anything, at hand that the child can raise above them to make themselves look larger, this is also a good idea. As soon as the child is out of the bear’s sight, they should get indoors or any safe place as soon as possible.
If I'm in a tent at night and hear a bear in my campsite, what should I do (or NOT do)?
Maggie Paquet: (Answer updated) I would stay calm. Of course we are assuming that you have not left any food or other attractants in your camp that has drawn the bear in. Hopefully, you might have brought along red pepper spray. I would get that ready along with your flashlight and also make sure you waken everyone else. Check Herrero’s book. At all times, it is imperative that you keep a clean campsite, cache all food away from sleeping areas, never cook near your tent, never sleep in clothes you were wearing when cooking food, never take food or cosmetic items into your tent, and always have a good, bright flashlight handy.
Is there any truth to bears being able smell women or being attracted to the smell of women in the period portion of the menstrual cycle?
Maggie Paquet: To my knowledge, it has never been incontrovertibly demonstrated that black and grizzly bears are more aggressive to women who are menstruating. Polar bears, however, have elicited a high level of response to the smell of menstrual blood (Herrero, p. 139).
Do whistles, bells, air horns work in alerting a bear that we are in his area? Do the sounds actually frighten him/her off, or would they just annoy him/her to the point of endangering our own lives?
Maggie Paquet: Whistles, air horns, singing, loud talking are all good ways to warn a bear that you are in the area, but there is some debate about the effectiveness of bells. In NORMAL circumstances, these are good practices when hiking in bear country. I’m not aware of any reports that making noise has caused a bear to seek out and attack a person. On the other hand, IF, and it’s a really big IF, there is a highly predaceous bear in the area that has learned to stalk people as a possible source of food, then possibly a noise may precipitate an attack, but I don’t know of any reports to support this. I recommend you ask other bear experts this question or look in Herrero’s book. The point is to avoid sudden encounters with bears. For this purpose, these work. Most bears will do all they can to avoid people, even in urban and other high use areas.
It seems that the number of bear attacks reported in the news is increasing lately. Is this true? And if so, is this increase caused by a larger number of bear-human encounters resulting in the bears loosing their natural fear of humans?
Maggie Paquet: (Answer updated) I’m not sure how you are defining “bear-human encounters.” If you mean encounters that result in injury to a person, then those are very rare and have always been so. I don’t believe the type of injurious encounter that occurred recently in Coquitlam BC is on the increase. However, I do believe that the potential for increased encounters exists in some urban areas where people still have not learned to eliminate garbage and other attractants from their properties. As well, largely as a result of logging, there are thousands of kilometres of new roads built in Canada every year giving more people access into bear country. Considering there are more people going into more bear habitats than at any time in the past, there are surprisingly few bear-people encounters. Mountain-biking on forested trails and backcountry activities are on the increase everywhere throughout Canada. When people don’t maintain clean, safe campsites or use trails that haven’t been properly brushed out to provide good visibility, they are more likely to encounter a bear. Bears lose their natural fear of people when they learn to associate people with a food reward, such as garbage, fruit trees, birdfeeders, etc.
I have 2 large dogs. Are they safe in the yard all day when a female bear and her cubs are in the area?
Maggie Paquet: It depends, to an extent, on what kind of dogs they are, whether or not they are tied up or loose in your yard, whether or not your yard is securely fenced, and possibly what kind of prior experience the sow has had with dogs. If you are not home during the day, I’d be tempted to ask a capable neighbour to keep an eye on them. If someone is home during the day, then I wouldn’t worry too much. Most bears avoid dogs and most sows won’t take their cubs near barking dogs. If your yard is fenced and the bear comes near and the dogs begin barking, the bear would likely not enter your yard unless there is a strong attractant present. If there are no attractants, then the barking dogs would likely deter the bear sufficiently.
What makes a bear decide to chase or walk away? We ran across a large bear near Quesnel years ago.. and made the mistake and ran.. but it didnt follow. just curious...
Maggie Paquet: “just curious…” I’m not sure if you mean you are just curious or if the bear was just curious; possibly a bit of both (?) since both people and bears share curiosity as a behavioural characteristic. In any event, I’m sorry to say I can’t answer this question because bears, like people, have individual personalities and are somewhat unpredictable and, without knowing that particular bear, couldn’t say what may make it chase after you or just walk away.
I have lived and travelled in many isolated areas of Northern Canada and have never had any problems with black bears. The procurement of food is a difficult task for wild animals and the construction of giant group campsites becomes an attractive nuisance for bears. Would it be possible for our National and Provincial Parks to build enclosures around large popular campgrounds?
Maggie Paquet: (Answer updated) Lake Louise has built a fence around the large campground there because of grizzly bear attacks. In Glacier National Park, Montana, one of the campgrounds associated with the “night of the grizzly” has a bear-proof fence around it. In some of our mountain national and provincial parks, the agencies have done bear hazard assessments and, where campgrounds have been shown to be in prime bear habitat, some have been closed down and relocated to areas used less by bears.
In most instances, it is better to ensure that food and garbage is stored properly so bears can’t have access to it. In any event, I think one of the joys and benefits of camping is being part of nature, not being fenced in. There are many other critters coming into campgrounds besides bears that are perfectly safe for campers, and these would be kept out. Fencing campgrounds may give campers a false sense of security. Most bears can either break through or climb over all but an electrified fence. People are safe in campgrounds when they have all learned to be Bear Smart, have clean campsites, and their food is safely stored well away from sleeping areas. It is not a good idea to have people think they have no responsibility for problems with bears, because we all share the responsibility.