What if bear attacks

Stand tall and look it directly in the eye. For more information on how to deter black bears, click here. Never try to move a grizzly bear! This is often the case with a mother bear with cubs, a bear defending a food source, or a surprise encounter. It is simply trying to communicate that you are too close.

Try to appear non-threatening by remaining still and calm. Ready your bear spray by removing the safety lock. Speak in an appeasing voice and back away, increasing your distance from the bear. Leave the area immediately. Defensive responses that result in physical contact almost always involve grizzly bears surprised at close range, on a carcass or protecting young. The very few defensive attacks by black bears have been females protecting cubs but these are very rare. If the bear is about to make contact, use your bear spray.

Do not play dead and do not act aggressively. Get as far away from the food cache as possible. If a bear that is behaving defensively is intent on making contact, your first line of defence is always your bear spray. That should be enough to discourage it and send it in the other direction. Click here to learn more about how to deploy bear pepper spray. When the attack stops, remain still and wait for the bear to leave. If you are being attacked by a grizzly bear, Goldes said, your best option is to play dead.

Generally, bears only attack humans to protect their food, cubs, or space so fighting back against a grizzly bear will typically only worsen an attack whereas playing dead may help the bear believe you are no longer a threat. Bears are smart enough to know that you are faking it if they haven't touched you and you suddenly collapse," said Goldes. When trying to play dead, fall onto your stomach and use your arms to cover your head, using the ground to protect your face and stomach.

Keep your legs spread wide apart to make yourself more difficult for the bear to move. Goldes said it is likely that the bear will try to flip you over or play with your body. If this happens, you should allow the bear to flip you, but roll all the way over so you end up face-down again. Black bears are generally timid animals, according to the North American Bear Center.

This means that they may be less likely to charge at you aggressively but if they do attack, there's a good chance they're quite determined to hurt you. This usually only happens if the bear is sick or if it feels cornered. If this is the case, you must fight back with whatever tool you have available. Aim for the eyes and the nose," said Goldes. He said it's important to make sure the bear has an escape route — cornering the bear may only make it more aggressive.

According to the US National Park Service, playing dead will likely not be very effective if you're attacked by a black bear. Instead, you may want to fight back with all your strength, aiming direct blows at the bear's face while using any weapon or object available to you.

One of the best ways to avoid encountering a bear in the wilderness is to store your food and trash correctly. Bears have a great sense of smell and may be attracted to a campsite by the scent of food. All food and smelly items need to be kept in one place, preferably in a smell-proof container. This food should be far away from your tent. If you use containers, it is a good idea to keep them in your car. Do not place your tent near hanging food or a car where food is stored.

The smell may still attract the attention of a bear, and if it does, you want the source of that food smell to be a fair distance from your tent. The suggested distance is yards. Food wrappers, leftovers and dirty dishes can also put the scent of food in the air.

Do not keep them near your tent. You should also place your tent in an area where you will have good visibility. Avoid placing your tent in heavy brush, as you will not be able to see an approaching bear. Polar Bear: The polar bear is the largest bear species in North America.

If you spot a bear in the distance simply back away, at least a few hundred yards, and find another route. If another route is not available, wait 20 to 30 minutes before heading back down the trail. While going back down the trail, be sure to make noise to announce your presence.

This will allow the bear to know that you are coming and not to frighten him into attack mode. It will also give him ample time to move out of your path. A close encounter is when you encounter a bear close enough to get both the bear's and your own heart beating at a rapid pace.

Here is where being able to identify the bear is very useful - because your actions will be different for each type of bear. During a close encounter with a black bear while you are walking down a trail, you should stop, stand your ground, and assess the situation. If the bear does not instantly come towards you, it is best to slowly back away while keeping an eye on the bear to make sure it isn't following you. If a black bear starts to come towards you, make yourself as big as possible and in a stern voice tell it to go away.

If the bear continues to come at you, use your bear spray when he is about feet away to deter it from coming any closer. In the case of a close encounter in your campsite and you know it is a black bear, try to convince it to leave. Once you know the bear has a clear escape path where it won't encounter other humans, stand tall and look at the bear while saying "Get out of here bear" with a stern voice.

Keep doing this until the bear leaves. Have bear spray or a strong stick with you in case the bear gets too close. These will be used to deter the bear from an actual attack. If you have any close encounter with a grizzly bear, remember that they are much more aggressive than black bears and more difficult to discourage. Stand still, keep your eyes on the bear and wait for its reaction. If the grizzly comes too close for comfort, you can try your bear spray to stop it from making contact with you.

If it keeps its distance, slowly back away from it while keeping your eyes on the bear. Remember to never turn your back on or run from a bear. The National Park Service breaks bear attacks into two groups: 1 defensive attacks and 2 predatory attacks. Throw stones, hit them with a stick, anything you can find.

Black bears are excellent climbers and they will catch you. Many reading this may never come into contact with a polar bear, but if you ever plan to take a trip up north into the tundra , you better go prepared. Nonetheless, learning how to survive a bear attack from the largest land carnivore on Earth will surely help if you ever find yourself with cold feet:. Note: The Manual does not condone hurting animals in the wild.

Always do what you can to avoid such attacks in order to preserve your own life, as well as the lives of animals in the wild. Cougars — also known as mountain lions, pumas, etc. You can find them as far north as Canada and as far south as Patagonia, make the cougar a true, transcontinental American species. According to the Mountain Lion Foundation , cougars tend to hunt their main prey at dusk or dawn.