The Forest Service sent out this advisory:
SANTA FE, NM – July 22, 2020 – A bear encounter on the Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) last Friday went terribly wrong, leaving a Los Alamos woman in the hospital with a collapsed lung, several broken bones and multiple bites.
Although relatively rare, close encounters between humans and large predators like bears and mountain lions can occur on the SFNF, especially when drought conditions bring wild animals to lower elevations. You can minimize the possibility of a confrontation by following some basic guidelines. Keep your distance, and don’t give the animal a reason or an opportunity to attack.
SFNF forest biologist Daryl Ratajczak, who has studied large predators for years, says that if you encounter a bear or cougar at close range, “it is NOT a one-size-fits-all response. Your reaction should always be based on the behavior of the animal.”
If the animal is reacting in a defensive manner, the most common situation, they are upset at your presence. “More than likely you entered their personal space, they have offspring around, there is a fresh food source nearby, or your dog is intimidating to them,” Ratajczak said. “They just want you to go away.”
Bears may become very blustery and vocal, huffing or popping their jaws, and may even do a bluff charge. A cougar hisses or snarls to let you know it is upset by your presence. “Do not run, do not turn, simply talk quietly in a calm voice and slowly back out of their space.” Most of the time, that successfully ends the encounter for both parties.
If, however, the animal is acting in an offensive manner, it usually means they are in predator mode in search of food. “If they see you as prey, they will become silent and sneaky, keeping their head down low and their eyes on you.” This behavior warrants a completely different response.
“You must show the bear or cougar that you are the dominant animal. Stand your ground and talk or yell in a loud, firm voice – no high-pitched screams,” Ratajczak said. Grab sticks, rocks or bear spray and be prepared to use it. Do not turn or take your eyes off the animal threatening you. A hard stare will often slow or stop its approach.
“It’s your time to put on a show and let them know who is in charge. In most situations, once the animal recognizes you mean business, it will back down. In the worst-case scenario, be prepared to aggressively defend yourself,” Ratajczak said.
The woman’s big mistake was to turn and run, but that’s a natural response. Screaming is another natural response that’s dangerous. I don’t know how the bear that attacked the woman was acting…she and her husband were sitting and the bear came within about a foot of them, which is way too close for comfort! I’m not sure how you would protect yourself if it was on the offense and you didn’t have bear spray or something you could use as a shield or weapon.
Apparently planning ahead and having bear spray handy is the best idea.
Any chance Andy will start carrying bear spray? Probably not, but as far as we know no one is feeding the bears, either on purpose or by leaving garbage out, up around our land.
July 23, 2020
Not something I ever want to encounter but we do have bears spotting very near where I live one or twice a year, usually males looking for a new territory we’re told. They almost always end up in someone’s yard up in a tree and the DNR comes to tranquilize them move them away from the city. The bears out your way are much bigger than MI bears.
We have more bears than that down here in town. So far no attacks, so it was surprising what happened up on the ski hill.
Not something I want to encounter either…
Years ago I was walking down to our garden when I heard a crashing in the trees and bushes. I quickly walked away from the noise. I thought I was being silly, remembering that Andy saw a lot more elk than I did… when he heard noises like that he would walk over to see the elk. A few minutes later he yelled, “Hey, Jean! Did you see the bear walking down the road?” I’ll stick to my instincts of walking away.
I’m content to read about them and leave their beautiful habitat alone for them to enjoy! but that was a good video put out by Canadian forestry dept.
They did a great job with that. 😀
thank you! We have bears around here, and I did not know most of this! I am already scared just reading this!! Wonderful advice!
I hope you never need it!
I never want to find out if I have to determine if a bear is in defensive or offensive stance:) I sure hope that lady will be OK.
Yes, that was my reaction to that part of the advice too.
no bears here…but I will bare that in mind – carry a bear spray – and the clip gives you so much more than just the encounter.
They did a great job with the video. I especially like him singing. 😀
I am socially distancing myself from bears and everything else these days so I guess I don’t need to worry.
Wise decision!
When we used to hike in Alaska, I remember seeing fresh bear-scat and that we never saw the bear it came from – I was always glad about that, because I think I know what I’d do, but the reality could and probably is totally different!
If a bear were to start coming towards us, it would be hard not to panic and run.
For the average person I think it’s easy to forget the proper procedure in a situation like that. I can’t say that I would remember the right thing to do.
The main thing is to go over it before you go to bear country. I agree, if you don’t, you won’t be able to remember it when you need it.
It is good that you posted this because we all need to be aware of what’s around us and we never know when one might show up even here in Florida there are bears even though I have never seen one myself. Herein are crowded little town where more likely to get views of possums and raccoons and occasional dogs that are not contained. Stay safe and thanks for the information
I’m surprised you have any bears at all. Thanks for that information!