An article appeared in the Sunday NY Times magazine this week, 8/20/17 on this topic, featuring advice from John Hechtel, a retired wildlife biologist for Alaska's Dept of Fish and Game who professes to love bears. His first instruction is "Help the bear identify you as human. Talk in a calm but firm voice. Put your hands above your head and wave them slowly. Avoid reacting in a way that makes you look like prey: no screaming, flailing or running." He also talks about 2 categories of attack, defensive and non-defensive and how one's strategy may differ if you can identify what type of attack it is.
A defensive bear will attack to protect its cubs or its food. It tends to look agitated, may paw the ground, roar, or salivate. The non-defensive bear wants to eat you. It tends to look coolheaded and confident and what Hechtel calls "pushy" with head held high and ears erect. In a non-defensive attack, fight for your life. Use what's handy and go for his face and ears.
He says people often remember only to play dead which may work in an attack by a defensive bear that only wants to neutralize what it believes to be a menace. He describes a woman who continued to try this approach even after a black bear began chewing on her leg. My favorite line in the article is "If a bear is eating you, don't play dead."
A defensive bear will attack to protect its cubs or its food. It tends to look agitated, may paw the ground, roar, or salivate. The non-defensive bear wants to eat you. It tends to look coolheaded and confident and what Hechtel calls "pushy" with head held high and ears erect. In a non-defensive attack, fight for your life. Use what's handy and go for his face and ears.
He says people often remember only to play dead which may work in an attack by a defensive bear that only wants to neutralize what it believes to be a menace. He describes a woman who continued to try this approach even after a black bear began chewing on her leg. My favorite line in the article is "If a bear is eating you, don't play dead."
