You might be looking at a bluff charge. The bear might run towards you, but at the last second, veer off to the side. This is the bear sizing you up. Running from a bear can be deadly, but it’s not the worst thing you can do. In this episode, we’ll show you how to avoid any fatal mistakes if you find yourself face to face with an angry bear.
I was badly mauled on Kodiak some 25 years back. I researched hundreds of maulings in Alaska and elsewhere and later wrote a book using the actual data that I could glean from accounts. “Mama with cubs” are not actually more dangerous than lone bears, though are more likely to puff up and act aggressively without actually attacking. I can only make an educated guess that they don’t want to expose the cubs to danger by attacking you, a perceived predator, but just want you to back off. Sometimes they will attack, but not nearly as much as people think. Most attacks are by young (2-3 year old) male bears. They are in their first year or so away from mother. They are hungry, still learning to feed themselves and are often frightened.
Another thing I learned after perhaps a hundred encounters on Kodiak with brown/grizzlies is to NOT to meet their eyes as the vid suggests you do. A brown/grizzly bear that is making a threat display (popping their teeth, puffed up, making sounds) is actually in a moment of indecision. Looking them in the eye is a challenge, so avert your eyes toward the ground while backing away. Black bears and brown/grizzly bears are completely different animals with different modes of attack and different triggers that cause them to attack. A close encounter with a brown/grizzly that makes a threat display will almost never result in an attack if you just look down and slowly back away.
Black bears are different. Blacks will follow you, push and provoke you looking to see if you’re weak. Challenge them. Meet their eyes, yell, wave your arms. Blacks attack from hunger, but only if they evaluate you as low risk. Brown/grizzlies attack because you’ve invaded their space, so backing down in a submissive manner is the right tactic.
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