How to survive a bear attack?

Bears live in many parts of the world and even in the forests and mountains of Iran. Therefore, you may encounter them while hiking. Bears usually do not attack; But in rare cases, it is possible for them to attack and cause serious injuries and death. Although experts have provided a list of ways to deal with bear attacks, no guaranteed solution has been found to deal with the attack of these animals. However, sometimes you can prevent a bear from attacking by doing things like keeping calm, making noise, or raising your hands; But sometimes you have to fight the bear to defend yourself.

What you need to know about bear attack methods:

Avoid bear encounters

By doing some tips, you can reduce the chances of dreaming about bears. In most cases, if you eliminate the triggers of the bears, you will not face the bears.

_{Photo source: imdb.com website; Photographer: Unknown}

• Bears have a stronger sense of smell than dogs; For this reason, it is better not to prepare aromatic foods such as kebabs in the areas where bears live. In general, cook food 60 meters away from the campsite so that the bear does not attack your accommodation. After eating, wash the dishes quickly at a distance of 60 meters from the campsite and take off the clothes you used to cook with. Because their smell also draws the bear to you. In fact, sometimes bears attack humans because of hunger.
• Some materials such as toothpaste, perfume, chewing gum, etc. have a strong smell and can lead the bear to you.
• Consider closed containers for food items.
• To prevent a bear from attacking the camp, put food and garbage in two bear bags. Put these two bags on two trees 60 meters away from the campsite. Two trees should be about 6 meters away from each other.

_{Photo source: wishtv.com website; Photographer: Unknown}

• Camp in a group with lots of people. When sleeping at night, how many people should stay awake and guard; Because bears usually approach the campsite during these hours when people are sleeping.
• When hiking, make a lot of noise so that the bear hears the sound and moves away and does not face you suddenly; Doing this becomes more necessary on windy days; Because on windy days, your smell reaches the bears faster.
• It is possible to see a bear near the river, meadows, peaks, hills or near dead animals; Therefore, do not camp near these areas.
• Use an electronic fence for camping.
• In some places, you can see the signs of the presence of bears; Try to stay away from these areas. Some of these signs include footprints, feces, paw prints on tree trunks, displaced stones, disturbed vegetation, and crushed logs.

Avoiding bear rage

Bears usually do not chase humans on purpose; Therefore, in many cases, people accidentally see bears in nature; A sudden visit will surprise and frighten the bear and attack you. Therefore, in nature, you should be careful not to face a bear at an untimely time.

_{Photo source: newsweek.com website; Photographer: Unknown}

You must be careful not to enter the bears’ territory; Because this will cause the bear to get angry and attack him. If you see a bear with cubs or a female, never approach her; Being close to him in such a situation increases the risk of attack. In other words, in this situation, the bear is in a defensive mode and fights you to defend its family. Also, never treat a bear like a pet; For example, do not feed him by hand. By doing this, the bear will attack you.

Steps to deal with a bear attack

You can prevent a bear from attacking you by following some simple steps. You should also know that sometimes bears attack in a show only to scare people and do not actually harm a person. Usually, at this time, the animal first comes quickly towards the human from a distance and then stops. In this case, the bear’s head and ears are seen towards the front and up, and usually the animal looks puffy.

_{Photo source: picobino.com website; Photographer: Unknown}

Keep calm

If you come across a bear for any reason, keep your cool and don’t run away. By escaping and running, the bear’s hunting instinct is stimulated and as a result the animal attacks you. In fact, due to the physical strength and speed of the bear, you will not have a chance to escape. Despite their heavy weight, bears are fast runners; So that these animals can run 48 kilometers per hour. While most humans can only run 9.7 to 12.9 kilometers per hour.

_{Photo source: youtube.com website; Photographer: Unknown}

If there is a tree around you, don’t think of climbing it. Bears are very skilled at climbing trees and reach the top of the tree with great speed. You may have heard that bears cannot run downhill; But this belief is wrong, and bears also run downhill with great speed.

To avoid a bear attack, do not jump into the water of the lake, river, etc.; Because bears are also skilled in swimming and swim faster than humans.

To avoid provoking the bear, do not stare into its eyes

Sometimes bears sit near people and stare at them or do their own thing. If the animal is in this position, without turning your back on the bear, slowly step back to get out of the bear’s line of sight. To avoid falling down, move slightly left and right while moving.

Do not make eye contact

Pay attention to this important point, don’t stare directly into the bear’s eyes; Because this causes him irritation and anger.

Don’t act like prey

Sometimes, it is possible that a bear mistakes a human for a prey such as a deer and goes after the person. Also, sometimes the smell of the food you carry will attract the bear to you. When the bear realizes that you are not prey, it will move away. So try singing, shouting or talking. Also, produce more sound with the devices you have with you; For example, hit your climbing stick on the ground continuously and get a little closer to the bear; With this, the bear looked like a terrible hunter.

_{Photo source: kgab.com website; Photographer: Unknown}

The bigger you look, the more the bear is afraid of you. To appear taller, raise your arms above your head, stand on your toes, or stand on a hill or rock. You can even lift the corners of your shirt by hand. If you have a child with you, hold the child. By doing this, in addition to keeping the child safe, you will appear older. Also, singing loudly, together with the child, can scare the bear. In many cases, the bear panics after seeing these actions and prefers to run away.

By doing the above, the bear will find out that you are human. Usually, bears are not interested in humans, and when they feel that there is no prey, they refrain from attacking.

bear attack

One of the most effective ways to deal with bear attacks is to use bear repellent spray. When the bear is within 18 meters of you, spray it. In the meantime, walk away. The spray usually drives brown bears away.

_{Cover photo source: whatifshow.com website; Photographer: Unknown}

If you don’t have bear spray and the target bear is a black bear, you should use other methods to deal with bear attacks and attack the animal. Throw nearby rocks or your belongings at the bear. If the animal gets closer, hit it in the eye or nose. If you have a knife with you, use it to scratch the bear’s head, especially its nose and eyes.

Defense against the bear

If the attacking bear is brown and you don’t have spray, all you can do is defend yourself. If the bear comes within one step of you, lie on the ground in a fetal position. In fact, you should lie on your side and bring your knees to your stomach. then cover your face and neck with your hands; This is called “playing dead”. Stay in this position for about two to three minutes. Even if the bear licks or kicks you, keep playing dead. By doing this, the bear realizes that you do not intend to harm him and stops the attack.

_{Photo source: unsplash.com website; Photographer: mana5280}

Have you ever encountered a bear in nature? What have you done to deal with the bear? We will be happy to share your experiences with Kejaro companions.

_{Cover photo source: website stablediffusionweb.com; Creator: artificial intelligence}