Bears Safety
The term "Bears Safety" is ambiguous. We assume you're concerned not about the safety of the bears, but about your safety while hiking in bear country. If so, you'll find the following information helpful. We will, however, continue using the term "bears safety" in case, for whatever reason, you searched those specific words.
There are three aspects to bears safety: (1) how to avoid a bear encounter, (2) how to respond if you do encounter a bear, and (3) how to handle a bear attack.
You can learn it all by listening to the Bears Beware! MP3. More about that later. For now, let's assume you know little about bears safety. You've gone hiking. You've encountered a bear. And the bear attacks you. This is highly unlikely. But it's possible, and your survival depends on your response. So consider the following bears safety facts:
(1) How was the bear behaving immediately prior to the attack? If it was traveling with its young or simply feeding, and it was unaware of your presence, you probably surprised it. This is the most common reason for a bear attack: the bear feels threatened and is acting in self defense. Use your pepper spray to turn back the charging bear. If the bear keeps charging, play dead.
(2) Play dead by dropping to the ground: on your stomach, with your legs apart, your hands clasped behind your neck. This makes it harder for the bear to flip you over, and it protects your face, neck and stomach. Defensive bear attacks typically last less than two minutes. Do not move until you're certain the bear has departed.
(3) If the attack continues, the bear is not acting defensively. This is now a predatory attack, and you must fight back. Get up. Shout. Be aggressive. Keep spraying the bear with your pepper spray. Hit the bear with rocks, sticks, anything. Try to intimidate the bear by proving you are not easy prey. As a last resort, some attack victims have escaped by climbing trees.
Bears are as individual as human beings, and the circumstances of each encounter are unique. So it's impossible to prescribe exactly what you should do. That's why it's imperative you learn more about bears safety. And the easiest, quickest, most convenient way to learn more is by listening to Bears Beware!
Bears Beware! is the 30-minute bears safety MP3 that could save your life. Visit http://www.hikingcamping.com/bear-safety.php to download Bears Beware! now.
Because you can listen to Bears Beware! while doing something else (exercising, working around the house, etc.), it's more time efficient than reading about bears safety. You can even listen to Bears Beware! while driving to the trailhead, so what you learn will be fresh in mind.