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11 Best Hiking Safety Tips Bears

Behold! That peak season where we all pack up to go hiking in amazing places! These few lines of hiking safety tips bears will save you from a disastrous encounter with bears. We all love hiking, who doesn’t! Yes, it is all thrilling and fascinating, especially in the months of July and August. You go hiking in those places that have made your desire to be there. You are there finally!

Safety Bear

So you are in this beautiful momentum of hiking and all of a sudden… bear! It will be very interesting to know what you would do in such an awesome scenario. But here’s what, should you find yourself in the same arena with a bear, it is very crucial to know the species of the bear.

Bears are categorized into 3 species that is the polar bear (found above Arctic Circle), brown bear, and black bear. If you are hiking in the upper Arctic Circle is only when you will have an encounter with a polar bear otherwise you will just meet the two. The black bear comes in a different range of colors jet black, white, chocolate, cinnamon, and blond.  But most are herbivores!

Brown bears are in 2 categories: grizzlies and brown bears.  Moreover, brown bears (1000lbs) are larger than grizzlies (200-800 lbs). Similarly, brown bears are larger than black bears and have shoulder humps.

hiking safety tips bears

How To Discourage Bears In Camp

Bears get audacious and avoid people as much as they can. Therefore when you are hiking, make sure you camp safely.  Do you know most bear encounters end in a peaceful way, with no harm at all! Follow these guidelines of hiking safety tips bears and you will be good, though safety is not totally assured. But first, the safest way to prevent a bear attack is via never having any encounter with any bear.

11 Hiking Safety Tips Bears

1. Let your backpacking food never get obtained by bears. Once a bear acquires food, then efforts to obtain more will be more aggressive. All types of human and animal food, oils, and cosmetics attract bears and will go to the extra extent of destroying cars and breaking things to get them. The above-mentioned items have to be kept in places that bears cannot reach like a food cache(bear-proof container) that is bear-resistant, a storage box offered at campsites, and a high granary-like structure suspended 10-20 feet above the ground.

2. Do not wear overnight the clothes that you had when cooking.

3. Always, sleep in camping tents.

4. No food in a camping tent.

5. No aromatic foods like fish, chicken, and bacon.

6. Pack out every food scrap and garbage, no burying!

7. Lash the pets while you are resting.

8. Have a flashlight at night.

9. Sleep far from areas of cooking.

10. Don’t camp near berry patches, trails, fresh signs of a bear, and carcasses.

11. When a bear approaches your camp, simply just go off to a safer place. Report if it occurs to the officers there.

Planning hiking through a bear country

Planning hiking through a bear country

Equally mentioned, when you are hiking it is advised that you know the trail under which you are going to hike. The trail shouldn’t be thick with bushes, parsnip thickets, and berry patches. In addition to knowing your hiking trail, do not go to places with loud streams or blind corners.

  • Always be alert for bear movements and sounds.
  • Leave earbuds behind.
  • Make noise as loud as you can, shout, yodel, sing clap.
  • Go for groupie hikes.
  • Have bear spray.

Dos and Don’ts during an encounter with a bear

Honestly, don’t run when you see a bear. Run and you might as well have justified its thought that you are a threat to its dominion. It’s their empire! If it wants to kill it will definitely do. It will simply sprint up to 35 mph as well as cover 100 yards in 7 seconds.

1. Honestly, don’t run when you see a bear. Run and you might as well have justified its thought that you are a threat to its dominion. It’s their empire! If it wants to kill it will definitely do. It will simply sprint up to 35 mph as well as cover 100 yards in 7 seconds.

2. Should the bear have no idea of your presence, calmly, leave. Don’t come close to taking a photo.

3. Is it aware of your presence? Talk to it calmly, as your arms are put out to a side as you move them down and up slowly. This way it will know you’re human with no bad intentions.

4. No eye contact! However, have a look at its movement. It may run, look at you and presume, approach you, or walk away. If it is unconcerned walk away without turning your back.

5. So when it approaches you, be calm. Don’t run! It will growl, bluff, woof, teeth chomp, forth and back head weaving, salivate, lip smack, slap the ground with front feet, and charge suddenly. Just talk. When it is not convinced, play dead, no breathing no moving, till it goes.

6. If it is not aggressive, yell at it, beat its head, make eye contact, and be aggressive.

Bear spray

Bear Spray For Hiking

Do you think a gun will help you in fighting a bear? Please, forget it! Statistics show that 50% of people who tried firing at a bear have all died.

Here is a helping hand. Bear spray! Yes, bear spray definitely will be your savior if you have an encounter with a bear. Now people who have ever used this product will undoubtedly second me. This content is made of a chemical present in pepper known as capsaicin which is at 1%.  Miraculously, this pepper irritates the lungs, throat, eyes, nose, and mouth. Not only does it deter it, but it also makes the bear ‘faint’.  Spray at only aggressive bears. Do not spray on clothes or people. It’s not a bug spray.

When you buy bear spray, look out for the following:

  • Clearly stating that it is only for bears.
  • Minimum 7.9 ounces net content. Bigger cans are better.
  • The spray must leave the can an expanding cloud. It must go out for thirty feet at least
  • It should have a trademark of a registered and certified company.
  • Must have a registration number. This will confirm that the product is certified. It will also confirm, that it has been tested.

Final Verdict

In a concluding statement, hiking trails are habitats for bears. Do not kill them, please. It’s simple, avoid the bears and they’ll do likewise. You have an encounter with one, know your bear. Read its emotions.  Treat it like a normal pet, talk to it, and make it calm down. It is nervous and scary that you are a threat. If it’s aggressive use the spray or acts dead. If it is unconcerned, walk away. Show it that you only love its habitat and you are only walking by. Trust me, this will be really of benefit to you.

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