What do you do if a black bear approaches your campsite?

Answer 1

back away slowly, the more you panicked the more it will provoke the bear to hurt you...

Answer 2

NEVER RUN!!.. it will provoke an instinctual chasing response in the bear.... just back away slowly.. speak to it like a dog.. calmly, and apologize for getting in it's way..

if it advances towards you, make loud sounds, and try to make yourself appear bigger... wave your arms or pick up something above your head... a bear will back down from a fight with some huffing and puffing rather than loose to a bigger bear...

the thing you can do to make sure a bear doesn't get into your campsite is to camp smartly.. make a 300 foot radius triangle.. use one for setting up your sleeping area.. use another for your kitchen or cooking area.. and use another for food storage in a bear bag (with a rope up in a tree).... this will ensure that the bear will check out the other two places while in search of food before it ventures where you are sleeping....

Answer 3

There are several ways to avoid having a bear enter your campsite. The best thing to do is make sure they aren't interested in your site.

-Do not open packets of food you do not intend to eat completely.
-Bury what food you don't eat.
-Burn the trash from the food packaging, or store it in bags suspended from trees well away from your camp if you don't have eco-friendly packaging.
-Bathe after meals. Wash the dishes. Most bears attacks on humans are from the smell of food lingering on campers.
-Store food suspended from trees, well away from your camp. A bear trying to get the food stored 500 yards away is preferable to a bear trying to get the food stored in your tent.

If given the choice between a tasty snack, and a person in a tent, bears will go for the tasty snack every time. Even if they think the camper is the tasty snack because he didn't bother to wash the Cheetos off of his fingers.

-SD-

Answer 4

Make a lot of racket!! They'll go away. Black bears are only aggressive when it's a mother protecting her young. I've yelled at them and told them to beat it. They went away. If you're doing true camping in a remote area, you very rarely see them. When you do they're usually timid. Designated campsites are just ringing the dinner bell for them. That's when they get bold and become nuisance bears. Now if you're talking Grizzly or Polar bears...You'd better have a gun!!

Answer 5

As others have said, should a black bear come into camp, definitely make lots of noise, back away, and don't get between mother bear and cub.

In the very unlikely event that the black bear does attack you, or comes into/through your tent, fight back with everything you've got. This almost never happens, but it could. On the other hand, if a grizzly attacks, only play dead and whimper softly.

Answer 6

If a bear enters your area:

* Check to make sure all you food and food-related items are stored properly.
* Get everyone together (especially kids) and look really big and make lots of noise (bang pots and pans, etc.).
* Never surround a bear - they need an escape route!
* Never separate a sow from her cubs (sometimes cubs are up a nearby tree).
* If a bear huffs at you and shows its profile, it may be ready to bluff charge. Stand your ground or back away slowly. Do not run.
* Never try to take food back from a bear!

Answer 7

Make lots of noise, DO NOT RUN! Noise will alert them if they haven't seen you yet. Most bears will run away from loud sounds
They run like the wind & climb trees better than you.

Walk slowly backwards away from the food. Throw it to them if you can. If you can slowly back to a car, do it. Don't run, don't break their gaze, continue to make lots of noise, shouting banging pans

This is why you have to get a bear bag for food & hoist it up over a tree branch far from your tents, or leave it in a car or trailer, far from where you camp.

Answer 8

Every year, a tourist or two (or six or so...) are attacked by bears while they camp in the Rockies. I've had them come up on my porch and look in my windows before... Most bears are skittish of humans and will go away if they see one - and the ones who aren't will, probably, ignore you as long as they don't feel threatened. Best to practice your running skills, though, and let the bear have whatever attracted it to your site.

Answer 9

Pots and pans banged together or better yet carry a air horn like they carry at the ball games,just don't chase it with it

Answer 10

I think you are supposed to be absolutely still. If it tries to attack you, you are supposed to lay face down on the ground with your legs spread open and your hands clasped over your head for protection. This position makes it difficult if not impossible for the bear to turn you over and deliver the fatal bite to your neck.