The above bear contact behavior and human interaction chart is posted in Alaska State Parks and other Alaska recreation areas. If anyone knows bears, it is the people in Alaska who are constantly vigilant of bear activity and know preventive measures. See “Bear Behavior and Senses” for avoidance defensive actions I have gleaned from the literature. Alaska bear expert biologist John Hechtel studied bears and human interactions eighteen years and delcares that understanding bears and respecting them is the best defense against attacks. His credentials for this attitude are laudable. He had to kill only one dangerous bear in thirty years as a hunting guide in Alaska’s remote bear country . He sees a lot of people invading bears’ habitat with poor attitudes towards bears and with sloppy habits that lead to “food conditioning” bears. All most all bears that learn to equate humans with an easy food supply will gradually become increasing nuisances and threat to future humans interactions and property. “A fed bear is a dead bear” is the adage, because 95% of fed bears will eventually have to be destroyed. The basic tenent in bear country is to respect the bear’s personal space . Bears are naturally curious. Take actions to let them know you are approaching and that you are human. Human-Bear Conflict Management: Wild bears habitually avoid humans if they can. They will move away from approaching sounds, smell and sights they believe are threatening – if they are able to in time. This assumes you have not cornered them in cabin or garage, a narrow ravine, along a fence or on a thicket-bordered trail. Stay in the open as much as possible. Talk or use bells to announce your presence. Hikers should group up and combine efforts at scaring away any belligerent or curious bears encountered. Plan your hiking day so that the wind is at your back; this will carry your sounds and scent farther in the direction you travel. Avoid bear travel and lounging areas like thickets, deep timber or where there are bear trails (similar to man trails, but with bear scat and footprints). Use extra caution when hiking or fishing along streams; the water noise can prevent bears from hearing you. Bears communicate with body language. Do the same. STAND YOUR GROUND (WITH BLACK BEARS)! Make yourself as large as possible with raised arms and drawn up coat. Face the bear and talk forcefully, loudly, but not in a frightened or antagonizing voice. Slowly back away if the bear shows restraint and becomes bored with the situation. Photographers: use your telephoto lens instead of approaching a bear. Your slow steady advance and perhaps crouched posture may give the bear the feeling you are inferior, weak and perhaps stalking it. This is not a good impression to give the bear. Do not turn your back on a bear. Like many large predators, the lack of eye contact indicates inattention and subordinate rank. Never run! Bears may instinctively be incited to attack. You will be physically smaller if knocked to the ground, and you will be because a bear easily can outrun any human. Do not count on firing a gun to scare away bears. The surprise gun blast may elevate bears’ adrenalin beyond its composure restraint point. Bears will continue to fight until they feel reduced danger and no longer feel threatened. Playing dead might be OK as a last resort with black bears. (It is the first ploy for grizzly bears). Fight for your life if the bear starts to chew on you. Focus hitting the bear in the eyes, nose, and snout with whatever you can lay your hands on. I review the use of guns and pepper spray in the Hunter Safety and Welfare section. I capsulate a warning: using a gun to stop a charging bear is very difficult, and often the shooter or bystanders are shot. There is also a chart of bear encounter behaviors, their meanings, the degree of potential threats, and the best appropriate responses. Bears protect their young and food sources to which they have become used to and claim with their territory. It is not good to unknowingly walk between the sow and the errant cub. Stop your advance and analyze the situation. Since sows commonly have two cubs, visually search for another cub if only one cub is in sight. If you see a bear- molested carcass, immediately move away from it in the same path you came (you know that way was bear-clear). Abandon the meat, because it is probably already spoiled. The meat should have been immediately carried away from the gut pile in the first place. Gut pile and spilled blood attract even distant bears. Yearling bears pose extra attention. These curious, frisky, partially-trained teenagers are prone to test their abilities. They may approach and bluff charge. They are more likely to wander into a camp site. It is best to stand your ground and immediately frighten them away with shouts, pot banging, rock and stick throwing and arms waving. They need to learn they are encountering something frightening – humans. Back Country Hunting Bear Safety Rules Bears are intelligent but naturally wary of and will avoid humans. The invader hunter or fisherman is responsible for not attracting bears. Here are some basic, common sense rules for backcountry sportsmen. Make noise when traveling. Groups are less likely to have a bear confrontation than a lone individual. Walk with the wind at your back. Your scent and noise will be carried forward and the a bear gets an early warning and leaves. Bears can see almost as well as humans, so stay in the open and out of thick brush. Scout your potential campsite before choosing it. Make sure there are no animal carcases, gut piles, fish offal, or remnants of previous messy campers and their cooking litter. Notice the activity of scavengers which may indicate these nearby bear food sources. Avoid camping along trails and roads; bears use them too. Adult boars actually favor roads and major paths. Keep your camp clean. Immediately place trash in bear-proof dumpsters. Immediately (don’t delay after dinner) put food in bear-proof lockers if they are available, or in your car. Keep your car clean of fast food litter and food smells. Highly attracted bears can easily peal back a car door like a kid peeling a banana. Hang your food in mid-air on a rope between two trees if in the back country. Simply tying food high in a tree is not much deterrent to a climber. Avoid greasy and highly aromatic foods like bacon or smoked fish. Wash dishes after burning food scraps. Practice the 100-yard separation triangle camp plan. Sleep at one up-wind location apex. Cook and dine down wind in the open where you see an approaching bear; brush teeth there. Store food and toiletries at the third location, which should also be downwind from the campsite. Each location should be visible from the other two, so that people do not absentmindedly surprise a bear loitering at a site. Avoid campsites near running water in bear country. Noisy water may mask human activity noise, and a bear may be surprised and reactive. Bears also scavenge-travel along streams. Never store gear, gear bags, backpacks, food or snacks in your tent! That includes insect sprays, cosmetics, sun lotion and fuel cans. Bears easily puncture fuel cans with curiosity prowling. No fuel, no hot meals, great fuel smell on clothing and equipment. Do not clean fish in camp, nor near water where entrails will teach bears to prowl the shore (from where you fish). Leaving fish on stringers in the shallow is not a good idea; bears may be attracted by fish odors. Splashing fish on a line may attract a bear; slack off or cut the line if a bear is near. Bears easily learn to associate fishermen with easy meals and they may scout stream/river banks. Do not become fixated with fishing or hunting along streams and water. Bears may not hear you and be startled. You in turn may be startled and make the wrong responses to the encounter. Do not use bear spray to “protect” a camp. Pepper sprays are not a deterrent when used as a fence. They may actually attract bears when the spray’s pepper capsicum decays into its more basic food source smell. Pack out all trash. Buried trash is easily found by keen bear noses. Clean your car of “kiddie trash” before the hunt. All those loose fruit loops, candy, potato chips and french fries have caused more than one bear to trash a vehicle. Know that bears actively use their noses to search for food, even over fairly long distances. (Note: my son learned this warning; a bear entered his car at night and cleaned up the children’s snack scraps.) ALWAYS APPROACH YOUR KILL SITE WITH EXTREME CAUTION IN BEAR COUNTRY! Bears defend their claimed carcasses, especially if you surprise them at the kill. If you see your meat has been moved or damaged, immediately leave BY THE SAME TRAIL YOU CAME (you know that trail was safe). Remove your game meat as soon as possible. Do not leave it near brushy sites. Remove game meat from the immediate area after skinning and before opening the gut cavity (which has stronger bear-attracting aromas that should not get on hung meat). Never provide a scent trail by dragging game into camp. Remove blood stained clothing and store with the meat away from your tent. Remember that other outdoors people (including families with curious, wandering children) and sportsmen may later use your campsite. Keep it clean and bear-safe for the next people. It is your ethical responsibility to track and kill any bear that you wound. A wounded bear is a definite hazard to you and others. Please see your state laws concerning killing a bear to defend your meat cache. This may be illegal in itself, and this action may be construed as baiting a bear with meat. I consulted numerous citations to construct this list of back country bear rules. DNR.alaska.gov/parks/safety/bears.htm , Blackbears.org Colorado parks and Wildlife, and Westernwildlife.org were particularly informative. Link to these sites to get more bear information, including videos and audios of bear vocalizations. Please see the “Bear Behavior” page to better understand these wonderful animals, and how they think and act when encountering prey and humans. There is a black bear attack story on the page “Hunter Fiascoes” Bear Electric Fence: You may want to consider a new technology electric fence to if there is a high concentration of bear in your hunt area and you want to prevent bear camp pillage. They use wire in a plastic mesh that rolls up and they are powered by batteries. Check out the requirement at the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) before you invest time and money. Fence systems must be sufficiently energized to shock a bear. Go the IGBC’s website http:/igbronline.org. The Forest Service approved products are at http:/fs.fed.us/t- d/pubs/htmlpubs/html07232305 Death by Black Bears: For every black bear human fatality, there are: 17 by spiders 25 by snakes 67 by dogs 150 by tornadoes 180 from bee stings 374 by lightening 90,000 homicides Colorado Department of Wildlife, 1994, Fall Compendium Bear Trivia: Bears are the most recently evolved carnivore. The genus Ursidae   split off from canines only 20-25 million years ago. The subspecies Ursinae evolved 2-5 million years ago now has six species, and Tremarctos has two species in the southern hemisphere.