As the population has grown in Canada, so have the number of bear attacks. That’s not surprising considering we are encroaching on their territory in our quest for dominance over nature.
Three Types of Bears in Canada
There are three types of bears in Canada – brown bears, black bears, and polar bears. Polar bears aren’t often found frolicking in areas people inhabit so we’ll leave them out of this article.
That leaves us with black and brown bears. (Grizzlies are the most common brown bear in our area.) It can be difficult to distinguish between black and brown bears. The North American Bear Center sums up brown bears, "Brown bears have a concave or ‘dish-shaped’ face. Brown bears have a distinguishing shoulder hump, a mass of muscle which enables brown bears to dig and use their paws as a striking force."
Black bears, in general, tend to be black all over but there are many exceptions in the subspecies. Black bears don’t have the tell-tale hump of the brown bear which is the quickest way to tell the difference. When on all fours, a black bear will have a slumped appearance with its rear end up in the air.
Are Bears Dangerous?
The North American Bear Center debunks the myth that brown bears are murderous, “In general, brown bears will flee as soon as they detect humans. Finding food, finding mates, and avoiding being preyed upon govern a brown bear's life."
Bear Aware™ British Columbia, an educational program designed to prevent and reduce conflicts between people and bears in our communities, shares their input on handling issues with bears, “Experts agree that the careful management of bear attractants is the first and most important step in controlling ‘bear problems’. In fact, the term should be ‘people problems’, not ‘bear problems’, as bears are motivated by hunger, not malice. The problem is ours. Many of us remain sceptical as to our responsibility in attracting bears. Even after we have seen the bear in the yard or had the trash raided, we often continue to deny our personal responsibility. By the time we recognize our mistakes, it is often too late for the bear.”
If you encounter a bear on your property, call your local conservation office. Of course, if it’s an emergency, call 9-1-1 or your local RCMP office.
As the Parks Canada web site points out, “Bear attacks are uncommon. Wild animals generally prefer to avoid people and bears are no exception. Most encounters between bears and people occur when the bear's natural avoidance behaviour shifts to aggression because of the following factors:
- You surprise them.
- They are protecting young or food.
- They follow food and food-like odours to you.
- Your dog provokes an attack.
- The bear you encounter is habituated to people and has lost its natural fear. "
If you come across a bear outside, what should you do? When you see a bear, stay calm and assess the situation. Do not take off running as that may trigger the chase response and he may run after you. Bears can reach speeds of up to 50 km/hr so your chances of outrunning him are almost zero. Don’t climb a tree or dive in a lake as bears are superb climbers and swimmers. If the bear is unaware of you, slink away when he isn’t looking your direction. If he spots you, don’t make eye contact as a bear might take it as a challenge. If the bear has spotted you, let it know you are a nonthreatening human. Talk in a soft tone and gently move your arms as you back away.
If the bear approaches or charges you, stand your ground and continue to talk in a soft tone. If he attacks you, lay flat on your stomach. Try not to struggle or cry out. Stay still and quiet until the bear has moved on and is no longer in sight.
Dan LeGrandeur, the president and chief instructor of Bear Scare Ltd., teaches workshops on bear awareness and management. He speaks with the authority of someone with 18 years of experience in human/wildlife conflicts, “The best way to minimize conflicts with bears is by practicing prevention. But despite the best precautions, one still may occasionally meet a bear. You should be able to anticipate the most common situations where you might encounter bears and it’s a good idea to mentally practice how you should respond. This knowledge and preparation can empower you to act appropriately around bears and avoid an attack."
Is Bear Spray Effective?
What is an effective way to protect yourself from a bear? Kendra Wiberg, BSc., the Bear Aware program coordinator with the B.C. Conservation Foundation, clues us in on bear spray, “Bear spray is incredibly effective. Law enforcement agents for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have experience that supports this. Based on their investigations of human-bear encounters since 1992, persons encountering grizzlies and defending themselves with firearms suffer injury about 50% of the time. During the same period, persons defending themselves with pepper spray escaped injury most of the time, and those that were injured experienced shorter duration attacks and less severe injuries. Canadian bear biologist Dr. Stephen Herrero reached similar conclusions regarding the effectiveness of pepper spray.”
Misconceptions About Bears
Wiberg shares an insider’s perspective, “The biggest misconception that people have about bears is that they are cumbersome, stupid creatures that should stay in the forest. In actuality, they are said to be more intelligent than a dog, seem to have the agility of a cat (they can walk on top of fences and climb three stories straight up) and have enough intelligence to realize that humans can’t figure out the only reason they are around is because they have left out attractants for them. It is up to us to secure things such as garbage, fruit on trees, bird feeders and pet food so that these opportunistic animals don’t remain in our communities.”
Resources:
Bear Scare
Toby Welch - Toby is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in magazine articles, online writing, e-books, and manuscript editing.
