There are preventative steps you need to take so that you don’t have an encounter with a bear, whether you are in bear country or not. However, this is not a guarantee, but useful security measures. If you are in a bear encounter situation, what is the best deterrent. You may be surprised to know the answer to this question. Precautionary measures are a great place to start.

The basics when walking through the woods or on a trail is to make your presence known to the bear. You can express your presence by speaking, clapping, singing, or any other noise to let the bear know that you are in the area. It is essential that you be aware of your surroundings and, if possible, stay outdoors. Also be aware if there is another sound that could be drowning out the noise you are making, for example a stream or creek. If this is the case, all you have to do is turn up the volume. Climatic walks in a group or with children control everyone and as far as the children who keep them close to you. Be aware of the scents that come from lotions, soaps, perfumes, cologne, and the like. When stopping for the night, you should try to cook within a hundred meters of the sleeping area. Make sure you have bear-proof containers for food or hanging a bear bag. There are specific dimensions for hanging a bear bag, make sure you know what they are. Women who are on their menstrual cycle take extra precautions because bears have a keen sense of smell, especially for blood. These helpful tips can only help regardless of whether you are in a bear country or not. As mentioned above, there are no guarantees what will happen if you have an encounter with a bear.

Over the years, many suggestions have come up about what to do during one of these gatherings. Anything from running, climbing trees, shooting, playing dead, and now using pepper spray on bears. When it comes to playing dead, it works better with grizzly bears than with black bears. Learning that bears run much faster than we can, so this is no longer an option. That is why it is necessary to have children around because their first thought would be to run. Another defense against these encounters was climbing a tree. However, not only can you not climb fast enough to get out of range of bears, but in addition to the fact that bears can also climb trees, your chances of safety are greatly diminished. When it comes to shooting and using pepper spray, an interesting study showed that bear spray was the best option. This study is attributed to Colorado’s US Fish and Wildlife Services and, in particular, law enforcement agencies. What law enforcement wanted to study were bear-human encounters. In particular, he examined bear encounters with firearms and those that used bear spray and came up with some notable findings. The analysis began in 1992 and revealed that those who used firearms suffered nearly 50% more injuries than those who used bear spray. Closer examination showed that those who were attacked and used the bear spray suffered less severity of injuries and the duration of the assault was shorter. Canadian bear biologist Dr. Stephan Herrero did his own research with results very similar to those of the US Fish and Wildlife. It was his determination that if you are to use a firearm instead of a spray, your chances of suffering severe affliction are doubled. In closing, it seems that, at least according to these two studies, bear spray is the best defense.