We have been truly blessed with adventures we get to go on while on horseback. However, with that blessing comes the responsibility that we owe to ourselves to complete our rides in the most safe way possible. We are fortunate enough to encounter quite a few wildlife sightings while out on the trail. These can include moose, deer, elk, wolves, and of course bear. We have encountered bears on the trail and have been lucky that they were more afraid of us and have run off. While it is an amazing site to get to see these animals and of course get that picture of these beautiful creatures, we also need to be safe in doing so. That is why we attended a few Bear Aware presentations that have been quite educational. Our local Fish and Game organization puts together an awesome free presentation that is full of great information. In this post we will share with you the most valuable information that we took away from these presentations. However, if this is something you want to know more about after reading our blog, then we highly encourage you to contact Fish and Game in your area to see if they too hold the Bear Aware presentations.
Sociology of a Bear
Bears are programmed to survive. There are things they do automatically in regards to food and mating. A female’s job is to mate and reproduce. A female will mate with as many males that are around as long as she doesn’t have a cub or yearling. If she does, a male will come around to kill the cub to get the female bear to go into heat. This can happen in one day because the female will want to replace that cub. Once a female is impregnated she will go into the den and the gestation period is 2 months. When a female gets pregnant, she could have 4-5 cubs inside of her, all from different fathers. At birth, a black bear is about half a pound and a grizzly will be about a pound. Bears can be cannibalistic and a female will eat the cub, if the cub is in bad shape before winter. The female makes the choice to eat her cub so that she can survive and keep the species going. Bears tend to be solitary animals. The moms will hang out with their cubs or hang out with their daughter’s cubs, or they will share cubs.
How to Avoid Problems With a Bear
In Idaho we have been fortunate in the fact that we can say there have been no bear fatalities. Our neighboring states cannot say the same thing . There are a few steps you can take to avoid having an encounter with a bear. Bears usually think we are bad news so they will avoid us unless we surprise them or have something like garbage that they want to get into. 90% of bear attacks are caused because the bear was surprised. If you clean up after yourself and use a bear approved food storage box you are less likely to be bothered by bears. Also if you are out hunting and you want to protect your kill, bears don’t like electricity so a portable electric fence would be a good tool to keep your stuff safe. Also, don’t hike alone, it is good to hike in parties of three or more. If you do happen to come across a bear, don’t run. If you run their preditorial instincts will kick in. Your chances of outrunning a bear is zero. Bears are also excellent climbers, so if you climb up a tree both a grizzly bear and a black bear will be able to get you . You can also not out swim a bear.
What to Do if a Bear Attacks
If a bear stands up on its hind legs, that doesn’t always mean they are going to attack. Bears rely a lot on their smell so they are just getting a better smell of the area. However, if a bear doesn’t like what they smell then they may shake their head, slap their jaw, or slobber. Then you may have problems. A grizzly bear will do a bluff charge because they want to see what you will do. The reason for doing this is to let you know that they are tougher than you. Whatever you do, don’t run or shoot cause you will just anger them. If a grizzly bear comes after you, know that he can kill you, and he knows he can kill you. If a grizzly bear comes at you and he isn’t doing a bluff charge, you are going to drop to the ground on your stomach and put your hands over your neck. The bear may toss you around and hopefully walk away. If a black bear is charging you; yell, throw sticks, or even punch the bear. You can intimidate a black bear. Do not lay down and play dead for a black bear. If you play dead for a black bear then he thinks he has won and he will eat you. If you are in your tent and a grizzly or black bear comes after you and you have done everything right, meaning you don’t have any food in the tent with you, then the bear has gone preditorial. He has decided that he wants you. At that point do whatever you need to do to get the bear away. The chances of a bear coming into your tent is slim but it has happened.
Bear spray is the best tool to keep you safe in an attack. A gun is not the right tool, it has killed more people in an attack than a bear. Bear spray has to be accessible and it is a good idea to wear it in a holster. It can’t be in a backpack because you won’t have enough time to get to it there. Bear spray works instantly and creates a pain in the bear’s brain that is unlike anything they have ever dealt with before. Horses are a good thing round bears because bears will generally not attack a person when on a horse. We create too big of a picture, however we still carry bear spray on us while horseback riding.
There are also a few other items you may want to consider packing along for the ride in case you get caught in a storm. These are a hat cover, cowboy hats can often get ruined in the rain or lose their shape, waterproof pants, or rain ponchos. No matter what the weather is like, Maggie is always taking pictures. The Olympus Tough Camera is waterproof and has gone through many of our torrential downpours and is still taking its amazing photos. This camera really does stand up to its “Tough” name. In some of our rain pictures, you will see water spots from the rain, which would ruin most cameras. The Tough camera keeps on kicking and after drying out it’s like brand new.
