[Re-published from July 21, 2021]
I can't help being concerned that irresponsible misinformation is so widely dispensed. As a hiker/ naturalist BCer for whom encountering bears - in the wilderness & at home - is an almost daily summer occurrence, I feel the need to set the record straight.. & hopefully prevent any more unnecessary attacks!
First, let's debunk the most obvious falsehood making the rounds: the "make-lots-of-noise-to-scare-off-a-bear-as-soon-as-you-spot-one" approach. In my experience, this tactic is much likelier to provoke a bear attack than anything! This is borne out in at least one recently-reported attack on a camper, who when questioned afterward said they "did the right thing & made lots of noise by banging on pots & pans" when they saw the bear. Luckily they weren't harmed. But if they hadn't followed such bad advice in the first place, chances are the encounter would have been uneventful.
Making yourself visible to a bear - without making unnecessary noise - is, I've found, the best & easiest way to ensure any encounters with bears are incident-free. Usually bears will either keep doing what they're doing, or turn & amble off in the opposite direction as soon as they see you.
It helps to know that bears are considered 'apex predators' (although black bears - most often seen here - are the shyest & least predatory of all bears). Which brings us to the next misconception rattled off in the rags: that mama bears are especially vicious with their young in tow. Of course mama bears are protective of their cubs. But unlike prey mammals (eg. deer/ mice) bears live a relatively threat-free existence; hence their laid-back demeanor. That doesn't mean a mama won't lash out if you try to approach and/or lure one of her roly-poly cuddle-cubs (which is not only illegal; it's dumb AF!) But as long as you keep to yourself, you won't be seen as a threat.
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Bears' biggest threat is habitat loss by human industries like logging, as they need intact old-growth forests to thrive & hibernate in dens over winter. Join groups like Wilderness Committee & Sierra Club & Wildlife Foundation to help campaign our govts to prioritize BC nature & #SaveOldGrowth & #SpeciesAtRisk+++. & vote for the party that serves peops not pulluters: i.e. GREENS. (The rest are corrupt/ criminal)
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Another thing to remember is that bears are omnivores, so they'll get used to eating whatever's most abundant & available - including human food, unfortch. It's sad when people think it's OK to offer food to wild bears - despite being repeatedly WARNED NOT TO FEED WILDLIFE. Inadvertently (by leaving garbage accessible/ BBQs uncleaned etc.) or not, feeding wildlife can quickly turn them into nuisances, & more likely to be killed by authorities.
So it's CRITICAL to keep your home & yard free from food, scraps or waste - & to NEVER offer food to a bear: once they equate humans with reliable food sources, they lose their fear of people & will return to the same spot yearly to forage, often becoming aggressive when defending food.
You can find out more fascinating facts about these solitary creatures here:
treehugger.com/surprising-facts-about-black-bears
If you DO startle a bear at close range (uncommon, as their hearing is better than ours - & with their excellent vision they'll probably see you first & will likely lumber away) DON'T make lots of noise - that may provoke her! It's best to STAY CALM & let her wander off. If she doesn't, or moves toward you, don't panic. Back out of her way, while talking in a low steady voice & facing her the whole time.. without making a fuss!
Bears are experts at sensing fear & threats: as long as you don't run at it or start screaming or some other startling behavior, bears will in most cases go about their business & ignore you (unless you have unwrapped food on you - NOT recommended!) Chances are, they've a date with a berry bush/ mulberry tree top of mind & won't be easily deterred: give it a wide berth/ get outa the way & you should be OK!
After countless positive encounters with bears, I can vouch for these tips to ensure your (& bears') safety here in Bear Country:
(a) REMAIN CALM at all times.
(b) Remember you're in their territory (even at home), so be aware & respectful always - of ALL wildlife. If you have fruit trees they can access, leave them alone if you don't mind bears on your property (you can't blame them for finding their very fave desserts to eat!) Believe me, coexisting is your least stressful option - & bonus: they're fun to watch from afar.
(c) When on hikes/ walks in the woods, never stray from designated paths & walkways. Talk in a normal voice to alert bears of your presence. Just like you, bears can find loud obtrusive noises irritating, esp. around their young. From their p.o.v. the goal is to silence the noise - by attacking it!
(d) Just because a bear lumbers away on first seeing you, doesn't mean it's afraid: it's instinctual. So if you try & intimidate a bear by confronting it/ imitating it/ roaring loudly/ standing up to it (as some dumb sites advise) the bear may take your behavior as a challenge/ threat, & be provoked to attack!
(e) Keep all food well-wrapped, & use bear-proof bins & garbage cans outdoors. At home, decommission bird feeders & bring indoors until fall, when bears go to hibernate over winter.
(f) The main thing to keep in mind is: yes bears are bigger & stronger than you, but their chief concerns are food (& more food) & their own families. As long as you don't deter their access/ attention to either, there's no need to freak when encountering bears - say hi & move on.. & they'll likely do the same (even acknowledge you with a lazy 'wassap' nod before resuming as before)🌳
(g) DON'T push your luck by trying to get a snapshot if it's close enough to lunge at you/ your camera: you're still a potential intruder in its space! Best to keep your distance when photographing these gorgeous critters - you can always ZOOM IN. Or wait until next time, when you're more prepared.
BillyGoat, you possess a particularly enticing writing style –-esp. your visceral descriptions placing yourself in the thick of a landscape where close contact with the earthy, heady ecology of ‘mixed farming’ inspires your most poetic efforts; ALL V. historic, raw & seductive —tinged with an old-timer’s wisdom of the land.. That is, until your brutally opinionated attempts to turn vegans/ vegetarians into the ‘misappropriated scapegoats for heart disease’ whom you blame for this ‘Brave New’ chemicalized monoculture of vegetable farming..
First, the knowledge that monocropping is an ‘ecologically malignant system’ is surely widespread among farmers (even non-farmers!) everywhere-!?That this most basic of farming fundamentals is ignored –-along with pollinator-starving herbicide spraying & other diabolical insults to key wilderness ecosystems-– has little to do with ‘veganic fanatics’ & more with corporate homogenization driven solely by profits & sales. Most vegans i know are among THE most conscious/ conscientious consumers of all –-at least in Canada, where vegans actively generate ‘continuous learning’ groups/ platforms to share info on ethically-sourced/ non-GMO/ organic/ regenerative farming (markets that continue to expand due to their efforts).
Suggesting vegans ‘unknowingly’ cause ‘degradation of soil fertility’ belie their core beliefs, which are rooted in compassion, evolution & science-forward learning —as opposed to corps laying waste to healthy ecosystems via mass applications of toxins to yield crop outputs & nothing more.. (& there’s NOTHING beneficial/ worthy about corps' undue influence on global food production/ security: theiR scourge of the Earth needs to die out along with their murderous influence on the future of farming!)
While i empathize with your nostalgia for mixed farming’s magical symbiosis of yore (how can i not, given your expose of modern-day monocrops draining soils of their natural nitrogen-rich healthfulness?), I'm certain most vegans/ vegetarians would prefer to preserve that ‘ethereal relationship flowing between the soil, the crops, the livestock and the landscape’ than support monocropping -- iF the ‘livestock’ in question weren’t destined for inevitably violent, bloody ends on slaughterhouse assembly-lines bereft of an ounce of the compassion needed to bring that idyllic vision to life-!?
The reality today is that meat-eating has become such an aggrandized ‘staple’ in people’s diets that animal-protein-related diseases abound –-including heart disease & obesity.. & in Asian cultures, encroachment on wildlife habitats is widely affirmed to bring contagious pandemics like COVID-19 into human populations. And that’s nothing to ignore. Whereas, even the most small-scale farmers on the planet have learned that the oppressive 'Big 3' demands of modern corporate farming --fungicides, herbicides & pesticides-- are degrading healthy plants & soils with long-term harms such as acidification & pollinator wipeout, which could well NiX the idealized goal of global food security.. & herald worldwide famine instead..
Here on Canada’s west coast, my vegan peers bear no resemblance to youR mistaken IDs of blind but well-meant NAiFs. So I must refute your view that vegans finagLed these sweeping veg-over-livestock revisions by making meat/ dairy 'the misappropriated scapegoats for heart disease'. Being vegan myself, i know firsthand that veganism's core raison d'etre revolves not around myopic obsessions with human health --but rather, abhors the way humans have corrupted their innate Dominion over all non-human beings, & thus REJECTS & BOYCOTTS aLL cruelty & disrespect of those whom WE see as our EQUALS who deserve to live happy lives free from oppression by heartless 'humans' who treat them as objects to use & abuse at will, without any thought of their inmates' feelings/ desires..
So while vegans eschew the products of human-inflicted oppression --including animal-derived clothing, 'entertainment' et al-- we welcome all efforts to better animals' lives & ease their pain. Sadly, the dynamics of yore --wherein humans may have taken to heart their roles as stewards respecting Mother Nature in taking from her what was needed to live (while replenishing that which was reaped--hence, 'SOW WHAT YE REAP') are mostly NO MORE.. Such lofty limits on human consumption/ exploitation, demanding CAREFUL BALANCE in managing nature's abundance, are RARE --if nonexistent-- in today's economics, wherein thoughtless acquisition/ extraction/ harvesting/ mining is the name of the game.. Sadly, it's a 'game' in which animals used for human consumption (of any kind) are condemned to unspeakable cruelty/ discomfort/ violence not of their choosing, from birth to death. Veganism aims above all to create a world that respects nature's laws & frees all living beings from the misery of entitled human enslavement..
False characterization aside, being a vegan consumer in a largely non-vegan world entails witnessing --daily-- the suffering of those that long to be free of human tyranny (alongside much opportunity for improvement, which i create/ take when i can).. Residing in Canada means sharing this country with miles & miles of treeless prairie grasslands eaten up (literally) by beef cattle ranches providing fast-food outlets with their best-selling menu items –still, despite the growing trend of their meatless/ ‘plant-based’/ vegan burger sectors: {YUP} BeeF burgers..
So much for the runaway, tyrannical success of veganism flooding the globe..😔 YES, in a way you’re depressingly right about the viral ignorance of the consumer majority: even during the most stringent lockdowns forced by COVID-19, they emerged in droves in single-driver bliss to line up end-to-end idling emissions at ubiquitous A&W/ BurgerKing/ McDonalds/ ETC. across North America in ‘social-distancing’ obedience with a renewed catatonia glazing over their short-lived eco-idealism that had so adrenalized NY’s 2020 with promises of rising collective Climate Action — only to be shot down by the sobering (almost freezing) new ‘normal’ of pandemic-paradigm rigidity. A giant PALL over ALL has STALLED the PROGRESS presumed to bring new hope for future gens with the influx of heartrendingly enthusiastic YOUTH to science-based Climate Activism. & THAT's a CRippLing SHAME..