Visiting Bear Country

Photo by Thomas Bonometti on Unsplash

I got into a conversation on another site about bears versus sharks (we were talking about how sharks are vilified).

On average, three people are killed by bears every year on the North American continent. This is close to an even split between black bears and grizzlies, although people tend to worry more about grizzlies. (Having seen one…)

I’ve been in bear country more than once, black, grizzly or both. I’m not particularly afraid of bears. They’re more interested in eating your lunch than in eating you.

But a lot of people are worried in bear country; and a lot of people don’t know what to do.

Why do Bears Attack Humans?

There are essentially three reasons why a bear will attack you:

1. They want your food. Or your beer.
2. You got too close to a sow with cubs.
3. They think you might be tasty.

The third reason is by far the rarest. Bears seem more inclined to see us as competition, not food.

(And no, I’m not joking about bears stealing people’s beer. It’s happened quite a few times, including bears drinking somebody’s entire stash and passing out in the middle of their campground!)