There are extremely important things about bears that we forget and that neither the press nor environmental organizations are in a hurry to tell us. The bear is not a plush toy, but a wild animal. All who have been victims of bear attacks, all who have seen their cow, pig, sheep torn, or yard destroyed, understand that there are important things about bears that are silenced. Here are some of them.
The bear is an unpredictable animal
The behavior of any adult bear is unpredictable. From a peaceful, gentle specimen, who is afraid of every noise and even flees, who does not want to face man, or who, on the contrary, has become accustomed to the presence of people, and cars, it sits at the selfie with you and comes to take your apple from your hand, the bear can turn in a moment into a terrible beast, in front of which man is an extremely fragile victim, with little chance of survival.
The bear eats meat, and sometimes human meat
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There are eight species of bear in the world, of which the most dangerous to humans are the polar bear, the grizzly bear, and the brown bear. Depending on the species, the bear can live up to 40 years and can reach 3 m in height and more than 600 kg in weight. Despite its heavy appearance, the bear runs at a speed of 50 km/h, swimming very well and climbing trees. His large muscular body gives it the opportunity to travel tens of kilometers a day if needed. With its massive paws, the bear can dig its lair into the hard or frozen ground or shoot down large mammals with a paw.
The bear is an animal with a special ability to adapt to the environment, aided by two super senses – hearing and smell. It is capable of detecting very fine sounds, between 16 and 20 hertz, and can hear us even from 300 meters.
The bear only attacks people when it feels threatened. They look for food in camping places or even in tents, but they don’t look for people!
There is a risk of being attacked and eaten by a bear:
- when the bear is accompanied by cubs;
- when it is near its prey;
- when it is wounded;
- when it is angry and hungry: recently driven from a sheepfold;
- when you come across it on the path or near his lair; even if it’s not angry, it can attack you instinctually thinking you want to attack it;
- when it is provoked.
In any case, for the bear, a man is also an animal, such as a goat, cow, or sheep, a source of food or threat. The bear attacks not out of malice, but out of hunger or fear, but that does not mean that it is less dangerous.
Although omnivorous, the bear’s diet consists of at least 25% meat. The bear is a carnivore, and when it attacks, it is a fearsome predator. The shepherds and the inhabitants of bear-populated areas that have animals know it very well. As a man attacked by a bear said, those who live in villages, on the hill, or on the mountain, are literally dead at the door.
The bear has no natural predators
The bear is at the top of the food chain and has no natural predators. If the bear is protected by law and there is no intervention on the bear population, their number will increase every year. The only one who can maintain a bear population at a level that does not endanger either bears or man is still the man.
The bear is stronger than the man
The bear is a much stronger animal, faster than the human in a face-to-face confrontation. With a paw strike, it can cut off the carotid, and break a human’s bones like a child breaks a breadstick. They are victims of bears, who although had firearms, could not use them in direct confrontation.
Bears are hunted in many civilized countries of the world
There are some NGOs that propose models from other countries for managing the bear population, such as the Canadian model. What those NGOs are not saying is that in Canada, 20,000 black bears are “harvested”, with hunting permits, a year. Brown bears, grizzly bears, and even polar bears are hunted species in other countries, as their fur and meat are consumer goods. Indeed, hunting is very well regulated, and the fines for poaching are huge, but state aid for material damage caused by the bear is also substantial. For example, in France, which has only 64 brown bears, the state paid 870,000 euros to protect sheep from bear attacks and spent another 392,000 euros to compensate victims who suffered from bear attacks.
How to manage a bear encounter?
Make noise. A backpack bell or an anti-bear whistle can make a big difference. Or a cheerful song to sing; it doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to sing because the bear doesn’t realize it.
If you encounter bear cubs, don’t stop to take photos. Their mother is safe around and it will certainly attack.
Take a paralyzing bear spray with you. I hope you do not get to use it, but the thought that you have it with you will certainly give you mental comfort. In addition, it is also good for an eventual encounter with an aggressive shepherd dog or other wild animals.
Pack the food well and do not keep it near the tent if you decide to camp; it is a direct invitation for a bear.
If you see the bear in the distance, more than 40 m, retreat from the road without sudden movements.
If you have the misfortune of meeting a bear closer, do not run away. You have no chance to run faster than it. It reaches a speed of 50 km/h, while the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, reached the world record of 44.72 km/h.
Don’t climb trees as bears are very good climbers.
If they don’t leave, blow the bear whistle as hard as you can. They are sensitive to loud sounds. Also, take out the antibear spray. If you don’t have them, do a little bit with what you have, clap your hands, hit something with a water bottle, raise your hands and start waving them up.
Let go of your backpack in a different direction than the one you are retreating. It is possible that they will stay to eat what they find there, while you escape. Often, the bear runs away, but be careful to leave room for it so that it can get away. If you don’t see any solution to get rid of it, lie down face down. If they try to return, return to this position so that they do not feel your breath. I honestly doubt anyone remembers this at that time. However, try not to let yourself be overwhelmed by fear and try to be realistic. The idea is to do everything that is up to you so that you do not get into this extreme situation.
The life of man is more precious than the life of a bear
At any time when a bear enters, day or night, a settlement, the man is in danger. Whenever you go on a hike, when you are camping in the mountains, and you meet a bear, you are in danger. Remember that the bear is an unpredictable animal.
