I was badly mauled by a bear here on Kodiak about ten years ago while deer hunting. For several years afterward, I was very nervous about bears and for good reason - there is about 1 bear per square mile here and they’re all grizzlies... We usually hunt blacktails by climbing up a mountain pre-dawn and glassing for them on the ledges below us when the sun comes up, to ambush them as they move from feeding to bedding areas.
Those climbs in the dark made me more than a tad "heeby-jeebyish" for a while after the mauling, I can tell you! I'd actually sweat, which is quite an accomplishment in Alaska at night. In the gloom, my eyes would turn every flit of a chickadee into a bear's twitching ear. My ears changed every dashing bunny into a bear. The first time I actually encountered a bear after the mauling made me feel weak and nauseous – and that bear was a good 150 yards away and going in the other direction!
At some point though, I just realized I wasn't afraid any more. Moving around at night makes your senses hyper-aware and after a while I was "tuned" again and felt comfortable. I could again accurately categorize sights and sounds with the rational parts of my brain, rather than simply puckering up and letting emotions rule me.
When I see a bear now, I get out my camera (but keep my firearm handy!). I’m not nervous at all – I’m the guy with a .350 Rem. Mag, not him! I don’t approach grizzlies, but sometimes they approach me. Bears are like dogs in that they telegraph their attentions. We all know instinctively when a dog is dangerous, and we need to take a look at bears and think “if that was dog, would I consider it a threat?” Most of the time, the dog is not a real threat and we accept that and act accordingly. If it is dangerous, we pick up a stick and let him know not to trifle with us. The same rules apply with bears.
Often, when bears approach, they don’t meet your eyes which a clear signal of “
Let’s pretend we don’t see each other” – a clear sign of non-aggression and peaceful intent. Such a bear is a safe bear, and the thing to do is just to edge away at an angle (not directly away). The other tip-off to a (relatively) safe bear, is the threat display. These can be terrifying, but just like dogs it’s the barking dog that usually is the least threat – as long as you respond appropriately. 99% of bear encounters can be scary, but in reality they are relative harmless unless you run away and set up a prey/predator response – things that run away are prey in a bears mind - or shoot them and make them angry. Things (people) that stand their ground, are dangerous and not worth messing with in a bears instinctive behavior. Grizzly maulings are set up by running away or by surprising a bear (as in my case) at close quarters, or shooting without killing it – generally without cause, since if you follow the rules it should almost never come to that.
Actually grizzly attacks (generally) come from the bears you don’t see. These attacks are faster than you can imagine and come by surprise. These are generally starving bears, or bears previously perforated by toy hand guns like 44’s. Sometimes you never know – he’s got a tooth ache or is just in a bad mood after having his ass kicked by a larger bear.
My experiences are mostly with grizzlies/Kodiak browns and I’d have perhaps a hundred close encounters, all but one resolved peacefully by simply understanding the situation and responding according.. Black bears act differently, but most of the same rules apply. Stand your ground and speak gently. Bow your head and don’t meet their eyes. If the bear escalates into a threat display, it’s a test of your resolve, and at that point it’s time for eye contact, harsh guttural yelling and threat displays of your own. Fire rounds into the ground or over his head – zap him with pepper spray. 99.9% of the time he’ll get the message, and back down. They’ll usually edge away at an angle instead of directly away – in an attempt to keep his dignity, if you’ll excuse the anthropomorphic term.
On a personal level, I figure; "
What are the odds I'll get mauled again?" And also, I figure I'm smarter about it now, which further reduces those odds. I don't repeat mistakes like stalking silently through brushy areas. Bears are pretty easy to live with if you just follow a few common sense rules – their rules.
Oh, one more point about bears. 90%+ of the bear attacks in Alaska (a dozen or so a year) happen in Spring and late Fall, before and after the berries and salmon have come and gone. They’re hungry and cranky then, and far more prone to attack.
Personally, I'd be a lot more nervous about stepping on a snake in the dark down where some of you guys hunt! I don’t think snakes have any rules about when they bite.
A high-country Kodiak blacktail, just big enough to shoot - with a camera:
A kodiak from 15 yards away. Taken last summer, a few hundred yards from my house. He's playing the "I don't see you" game, which means he's safe to be around as long as you don't do something stupid:
over it.
