How to Hike in Areas With Black Bears: Staying Safe and Learning to Coexist

A lady recently wrote in to our local paper here in Asheville, NC asking advice on where she and her family could hike where they could be guaranteed NOT to encounter bears.

The answer of course is that since western NC is home to approximately 8000 black bears, there is nowhere she can hike and be guaranteed to be bear-free.

So instead of worrying about bears, perhaps she and others who are afraid of bears might work to overcome their fears and learn how to hike in areas where bears might be encountered.

There are things hikers can do to lessen or eliminate their chance of having a negative encounter with a bear. 

Black bears have a natural fear of humans and tend to stay away when possible. Their sense of smell is so much better than ours that they usually disappear before we ever get to see them, and if we do see them, it is usually their butts as they hurry away, wanting only to be left alone. Did you know bears smell 10x better than a bloodhound? Or that since their nose takes up so much of their heads, they have one of the best noses in the entire animal kingdom? The area inside a bear’s nose is 100x larger than the area inside our noses.

Did you know black bears are omnivores, meaning they eat both plant and animal matter? Contrary to popular opinion, 80-90% of their diet is plant material! Not surprisingly, their diet is highly dependent on the season. They are opportunistic feeders, readily taking advantage of whatever is available, or what they come across. Black bears will eat roots, berries, mushrooms, meat, fish, ants, beetles, caterpillars, and other insects, crayfish, nuts, eggs, larvae, grass, dandelions, and other succulent plants. They’ll also eat dead animals, garbage, compost, and honey. People are not on the menu! 

So what’s a soul to do when hiking in bear country? Here are a few tips to help keep you and your pets safe: 

Always keep your dog on a leash. Every wondered why most of the National Parks forbid dogs on almost all of their trails?

 

It’s because no matter how obedient or loyal you think your dog is, you never can know WITH CERTAINTY what it will do when faced with a wild animal like a bear.

Instead, choose to be a responsible pet owner and kind human, aware that wild animals share the trails and that you have the power to avoid most encounters simply by having your dog leashed. Bears and other wildlife face a lot of challenges every day, there’s no reason to add to their problems by bringing our unleashed dogs into their forest.  And it’s not just the bears that may be affected– As a teen I witnessed an event that still haunts me to this day. I watched in horror as a dog flushed a fawn from the woods. The fawn screamed for its mother as it tried in vein to escape. Frantic, I tried to intervene but it wasn’t my dog and it didn’t listen. Instinct kicked in and the dog chased the fawn, then killed it. Then walked away, leaving the dead fawn in the suddenly silent forest. The owner of the dog probably never even knew what happened. It could have been avoided if the dog had been on a leash.

Never allow your dog to bark at, chase, harass or corner a bear (or other wildlife.) Wild animals are unpredictable. You don’t know what any animal will do when feeling threatened so avoid getting in that situation to start with. Sometimes leaving your dog at home is the best solution.

Stay alert. Pay attention to your surroundings. Limit distractions like headphones and phones. Be present. There is so much to see if you are in the moment and in doing so you won’t be suddenly surprised by a quiet bear on the trail.

Keep a safe distance from wildlife and never try to get closer for a good photo. Instead, invest in a telephoto lens, zoom in with your camera, or watch from where you are safe. Give bears space! Back away slowly if you happen to come upon a bear and it notices you. If the bear knows you are there and changes its behavior, you are too close. 

Don’t allow your kids to run ahead where you can’t see them and definitely have a conversation with them about what to do if they see a bear. Explain how to make themselves larger by waving their arms, shouting, and how important it is not to run from a bear. 

Never run from a bear. Running may trigger a predatory response in the bear, causing it to chase you. And no matter how fast you are, you’re not faster than a bear, as they can sprint 35 miles per hour. 

If a bear is aware of your presence and isn’t moving away, or is walking towards you, wave your hands over your head, make noise, try to appear larger and scare the bear away. Clap your hands and yell to make it clear to the bear that you are a human. Wild bears usually run away from humans.

You can choose to carry bear spray and know how to use it. Bear spray is highly effective when used correctly to deter problem bears. Bear spray is not like bug spray– you don’t spray it around on yourself and your stuff to repel bears! Instead, you keep it handy, only using it to spray the bear in the VERY RARE instance when a bear approaches you and you feel it is threatening you. I cannot stress enough how rare it would be for a black bear to be aggressive and actually approach a human!

If you are eating lunch or a snack while hiking, always be sure and leave no trace when you are done. This means picking up any crumbs or pieces of food you may have dropped and never leave uneaten food. These small bits of food may seem harmless but attracting wild animals to an area for a food reward is a bad idea. Leaving food could attract bears (and other animals ) and cause them to return again and again, hoping for more food. Future hikers in that area may pay the consequences; Better to leave no sign that you ate in that spot than get bears conditioned to expecting to find food there. 

If nature calls and you have to go to the bathroom while hiking, either carry your toilet paper out with you, or don’t use toilet paper at all. Human waste and toilet paper attracts bears and can make them return again, hoping for a reward.

Not surprisingly, tampons, feces, and toilet paper are harmful to a bear’s digestive system. These things could make a bear sick or even cause it to die.

We need to remember we are visitors to the bear’s space and therefore, must do our part to keep them safe.

The bottom line is that bears and other wildlife need to remain wild and keep their natural fear of humans. We humans have the power with good choices to make sure that happens.  Will you help me spread the word? 

Thanks! I know I can count on you. Thanks for reading.