Will I encounter a lot of bears on my visit to Alaska?

Question

I'm visiting beautiful Alaska in two months, and i'm worried about bears. I will visit Jeannaue, Anchorage, and Fairbanks and I wanna visit the cities and go up in the mountains. Will I encounter bears? Should I go with a group to stay safe? Can I bring a Rifle?

Answer 1

Don't worry. We have a human fatality from bears on average once every two years. But in two years, we have 86 drunk driving deaths. So don't bring a gun, bring a breathanalyzer!

I saw 5 grizzlies while hiking last summer ( I hike a lot) so I made more noise this summer. Only saw one momma black bear and cubs.

Noise is important. Huge. Biggest factor. You don't want to surprise a bear. Big parties are never attacked because they are inheritly noisy. Single hikers are at most risk because some don't call out, use bells, etc. Hunters are greatest risk because they are trying to be quiet, travel upwind, on game trails, etc.

My wife is really good at noticing when there are poor sight-lines, berries, and water noise masking our conversation. Then she really steps up the "Hey Bear, Hi Bear, We don't want to surprise you!" or whatever stupid thing you say just to make noise. On one trip, we spooked three grizzlies - they were all heading away fast before we had noticed them.

If you carry a gun, it should be BIG. At 100 feet, the bear almost always has time and options to head away and no one has to get hurt. But at 20-30 feet, everything is going to happen in about one second so the first shot has to disabling. The State of Alaska recommends (for those who choose to carry a gun) a minimum of a 12-gauge with a rifled slug or Winchester .300 magnum rifle. That's bigger than a 30/06 dear rifle. For a strictly bear gun, a .338 is probably most common. A .458 would be even better, but Man! the recoil is tough to handle. No handgun has enough foot-pounds to be as effective. So that's 8 pounds of gun. Carried at the ready. So, so much easier just to make a lot of noise, IMO.

Yes, you can bring a rifle if you want. Unless you're a felon, there are no restriction on outdoor recreation with a firearm. (except in National Parks like Denali). You have to check it in a locked case with the airline - read all their rules in advance.

Academic researchers (Alaska magazine had an article on this about 2 years ago) found that pepper spray was better than a gun in minimizing human injury. Much cheaper, much lighter, about 12 ounces, much safer. Readily available up here (you can't fly commercially with it). Those researchers also documented the dramatic effects of group size on attacks. Big groups are very safe. You won't see as much wildlife of any kind (except at a distance), but you'll be safe.

Bear attacks in Alaska are like school shootings. They get reported across the country and, especially, around the state. But like kids are more risk of dying of domestic violence in their own home; your greatest risk of hiking is while driving to the trailhead. And, once on the trail, of simple physical injury or of exposure to the our changing and often cold weather.

Answer 2

If you are going in 2 months then it will be the middle of December and all the bears will be in hibernation (except polar bears but those are only around the northern border at the arctic ocean). So no, you won't be running into any bears.
Also, there are a lot of bears in Alaska but also a lot of area so you do not normally run into bears a lot unless you leave your trash out where they can get into it.
I have lived for 5 years in Anchorage, 3 in Fairbanks and I am working on the North Slope (the oilfields at the arctic ocean) and I can count the number of bears that I have seen in the wild on my 2 hands ( if I do not count bears seen on trips into Denali park etc)

Answer 3

Probably not. If a bear hears you coming it will get out of the way. Make sure to lock up your food and not leave crumbs. If you are in the woods where bears like to be, make a lot of noise. Never go anywhere near a baby bear as his mama is somewhere nearby and will attack you. A rifle might help, if you know how to use one. If you do provoke a bear, you can try playing dead and hope he goes after too long, or you can shoot him. However, you have to be able to shoot to kill. If you don't, shooting him will only make him madder. But like I said I don't think you'll have a problem. It's just better to be safe.

Answer 4

I lived alaska fro 2 years, never seen a wild bear. seen a few at the anchorage zoo