What to do when encountering a black bear...


I should clarify my previous entry for those of you not from Canada who may not be aware of the recent incidents in and around a suburban area of greater Vancouver, the municipality of Coquitlam. On August 7th a black bear mauled a woman on the front step of her house within city limits. She suffered non-life threatening injuries including severe bite wounds to her arms, legs and torso, and required hospitalization. The bear was shot and killed by conservation officers.

The very next day another black bear (a large male) broke through the window of a basement suite and was killed by police when it charged them. Numerous reports of similarly bold bear behaviour in this same area continue to be reported. (You can read the full news articles on this subject here: http://www.canadaphotosafaris.com/newsreleases.htm )

There's also a very interesting account by another lady who encountered a black bear the week before in the same area...

Quote CBCnews.ca:

'Dominika Rutowski told CBC News that she and three others encountered a bear Sunday in a nearby forested area.

"It was growling at first, but then, when it was coming closer to me, it wasn't," she said.
She tried to scare it away, but it moved closer, she said.

"I kicked it in the face, because it started getting really close to me."

With the help of her dog, the four people chased the bear away, but it followed them as they left the area.'

YIKES!

Let's take a closer look at this account because I think it is a good example of two different types of behaviour that bears can exhibit when coming into contact with humans.

Dominika describes the bear as "growling at first." It is very typical for bears to growl, whoof and chomp their jaws when startled. This behaviour is usually demonstrating fear in the bear and will often occur when it suddenly encounters an unknown threat, human or, most often, another dominant and/or competitive bear. 9 times out of 10 a black bear displaying this type of behaviour will run away, climb a tree or even swim across a lake or river to get away from the perceived threat.

Dominica goes on to describe the bear as getting quiet and approaching so close that she had to kick it in the face! A bear that makes no sound and boldly approaches closer is likely demonstrating predatory behaviour.

I believe that what happened in this incident is that the bear was initially startled by these people, (possibly thinking there was another dominant bear around) but then looked up and saw that it was "only humans," a conditioned response to repeated non-threatening encounters. It then approached fearlessly, in a predatory mode, hoping to secure food either from the people (perhaps it had been hand fed before?) or by eating one of them. I think Dominica was very fortunate that she had the dog and her friends with her to drive the bear off. It seems likely that if she was alone (and worse if she is of a small stature or a child) and she had turned to run, this would have triggered an immediate "chase" response in the bear and, consequently, a mauling.

Dominica then goes on to say that the bear continued to follow them as they left the area. That's what predators do! This is not a lonely bear looking for a buddy to hang out with!

Numerous times in wilderness areas, I have had encounters with black bears that seemed to be calm and relaxed, made no sound, and would appear and then disappear into the woods, often circling, and sometimes getting closer. This is definately predatory behaviour where the bear is "sizing me up" and trying to decide if he can take me down without getting injured himself. In wilderness areas, bears have had few encounters with humans and have not been conditioned to believe that we are not a threat. They are generally unsure of themselves and not confident enough to attack.

If you experience this type of behaviour with a bear, watch out! You should NEVER, EVER RUN!! Seeing a potential meal suddenly fleeing, will instantly trigger a chase response in the bear's brain and result in a mauling. It is generally far better to stand your ground and demonstrate to the bear that you indeed are a threat. Make yourself as big and tall as you can. Don't yell or freak out (especially women with high squeeky voices!). Talk to the bear firmly and confidently. Be confident! The bear can "feel" your confidence and it will become less sure of itself. If you are with a partner or in a group you should all stay together to form a united front against the bear. If you have a dog, keep it with you, don't let it chase the bear. If the dog gets in a fight with the bear it might turn and run back to you for help!! Back away from the bear slowly and steadily, talking to it, and then leave the area. Never leave food to distract a bear. This will help to condition the bear to seeing humans as a food source.

My experience has been that a whoofing, growling, chomping black bear is not usually a threat. A bear standing up on it's hind legs is just trying to get a better look or a scent to determine what you are. Let it know what you are. Show it that you are not a deer or marmot or some other regular prey species.

I have never been mauled by a bear (thank God!) but if I was attacked by a black bear that had been demonstrating this type of predatory behaviour, I would fight for my life! You can play dead if you want to, but you might just be making his meal easier to eat.

Keep in mind that I am talking about BLACK BEARS here. Grizzly and polar bears are a very different story, but that's another blog entry.

Let me finish by saying this: Bear attacks in Canada are rare and can be avoided by the majority of people even when travelling in bear country. Some simple rules are:

1. Never travel alone.


2. Make some noise while walking through the woods so you don't startle a bear suddenly at close range.


3. Never feed a bear or leave food in and around camp.


4. Carry bear spray and learn how to use it, it works!


5. Women be extra careful when menstruating.


6. Never run from a black bear.


7. Check for bear alerts in National Parks before hiking and camping.


8. Hire a guide.

So what’s with all the bear activity in Coquitlam??

There’s a lot of chatter these days following the recent increase in bear activity and the mauling of a woman within the city limits of Coquitlam (a suburban area near Vancouver). With all the opinions and comments being thrown about, I thought I should way in on the issue…

Bear maulings are relatively rare in B.C. and an attack on a human within city limits, (it occurred on this ladies front step!!) is exceptionally unusual. Isolated incidents can happen anywhere and at anytime, but a further incident occurring the very next day resulting in another bear being shot by police, seems almost impossible to believe. Also surprising is that this second bear was a large male. Most problem bears are usually juveniles that haven’t yet been able to establish their own territory and feeding sites away from their larger and more dominant competitors. Continued high bear activity within the city would definitely suggest that something out of the ordinary is going on here. These kinds of scenarios are usually due to a combination of factors that eventually lead to a disastrous event.

It is not always easy to predict animal behaviour, or even explain it after the fact, but perhaps if we take a look at the big picture, we might understand some of the possible influences at work here. Firstly, it’s fairly common knowledge that bear populations in the west have been generally high for some years and that the west coast has always been prime habitat. As our human population continues to grow and suburbia expands deeper and deeper into bear habitat, bear-human encounters are bound to increase. It’s a classic case of the pie that gets smaller while more people (and wildlife) want to get their piece of it. Exacerbating the situation is the huge increase in human presence in the woods. There are more people than ever enjoying outdoor activities such as hiking and camping, and consequently, there are far more human-bear encounters in the woods. Also of significance, is that the kinds of encounters have changed, particularly for the bears. Historically, most people that encountered bears were experienced woodsmen, hunters, trappers, surveyors and prospectors. Generally these people carried firearms and knew how to use them. Even without a firearm these people made sure that an encounter with a human was a negative experience for the bear. Bears learn from their experiences, especially at a young age, and it significantly influences their future behaviour. It’s a simple formula: Bear + Human = Bad (fear/pain/threat) therefore Bear avoids Human. It’s a bit different these days. An individual bear might encounter humans far more often than in the past, but these encounters are often no longer negative to the bear. They may be completely neutral (the bear has no reason to assume fear) or they may even be a positive or pleasant experience if the bear receives food, pleasant odours or the human demonstrates behaviour toward the bear that is interpreted as subordinate or even “prey like”. The more encounters like this that a bear experiences, the bolder it will become. This process is known as conditioning. A female that has lost its fear of humans through this type of conditioning will teach its cubs right from the beginning not to fear humans and the cycle repeats exponentially. If you think this sounds like a bad scenario, you’d be right! But it gets worse!

For the most part bears will stay away from human “habitat,” but when external factors that are completely out of human control increase stress levels, bear behaviour can change significantly. Usually, this is due to a lack of seasonal foods within their natural habitats. Berry crops can fail when a late frost kills the flowers preventing pollination, or very cool, wet weather will reduce or stop berry production. Runs of spawning fish can be low or completely lost due to fluctuating water levels, slides, industry or disease (did I hear someone mention sea lice from farmed salmon?)

So, let’s take a look at what factors might have led to the recent occurrences in Coquitlum:

We’ve already established that the bear population is high in this area and that bear-human encounters of a neutral and/or positive nature for the bear are common. This sets the stage for potentially dangerous bear behaviour with the addition of external stress factors. We’re all keenly aware of the unusual weather patterns we’ve experienced in recent years and I believe that this is one of the major factors here (and will likely continue to influence all manner of bizarre wildlife behaviour in the future.) Western Canada experienced an unusually late, cool spring which retarded the growth of vital early season grasses and forbs. This was occurring during a critical period for bears when they emerge from their dens and attempt to replenish depleted fat reserves. I recall, during the month of May, hearing unusually high reports of bear sightings around human habitation where the only green grass was available, particularly around Whistler and Vancouver. So these bears were already experiencing the conditioning process way back in May. Later, throughout the spring and early summer, record cool and wet weather continued and reports from farmers throughout the lower mainland of total strawberry crop failures were on the news. Now I don’t live on the coast, so I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that the bears current berry supply is low due to this unseasonably cool weather and record high rain falls. I’d like to hear from someone down there what the berry crop situation is right now. In the interior where I live we’re having a bumper crop of all species of wild berry crops and the bears have more food than they could possibly eat.

There is one more factor involved in this scenario that I haven’t touched on yet. We have to wonder why we’re hearing about so many bear incidents in the city of Coquitlum and not in any of the neighbouring cities that seem to be in exactly the same situation. The reason is remarkably obvious….garbage! It seems that the city council has, for some time now, been having problems with the company contracted to pick up garbage. Apparently, IPI Industries has been acting in breach of its contract to pick up domestic garbage on its scheduled days and times. As a result, cans of deliciously stinking garbage have been sitting out on front yards and driveways for extended periods of time this summer. The smell of rotting, household food waste is more than a starving, half tame bear can resist!

I think it would be unfair to blame any one of these single factors alone for the incidents and very sad results that have occurred over the past few days. But combine them all together and you get a very clear recipe for disaster. Having said that, if I owned a company that contributed to an increased risk of public liability and a third party was hospitalized as a result of that risk, I’d be looking for a good lawyer right about now.