Black Bears & Humans - Tips To Follow When You Are In Black Bear Habitat To Stay Safe & Enjoy The Experience

Here in the Adirondacks bear sightings are a common occurrence. Dusk is an especially active time for them to make their rounds of all the places where they have found food before in hopes that they will find some there again.

Tourists take their lives in their hands by following the bears around trying to get a good picture. The first wild bear I ever saw was in the dumpster at a restaurant I was working at. Taking a break to watch the bear, I also watched as a couple and their two kids also noticed the bear.  They got all excited and came really close so they could take pictures, even urging the two kids to back up closer and closer to the bear so they would all be in the picture.  The bear got more and more nervous at the camera flashes and finally ran off. But the bear could have just as easily attacked those kids.

It is exciting to see a wild animal up close - especially the first time - just make sure you are doing it from a safe place and distance. Bears, no matter how easy going they seem, are nothing like domestic animals. If they feel cornered and threatened or if they're just in a bad mood, they could turn on you.

One night at camp I heard a noise on the porch. I grabbed the flashlight, shining it out the sliding glass door to see what was visiting this time. Usually it was a raccoon but once it had been a curious skunk and another time a porcupine. To my shock, it was a bear and it looked like a huge bear that close! We looked at each other for what felt like a very long time and then it jumped off the side of the porch. It didn't run away however, and it started digging at the ground where I feed the squirrels. Not seeming to find anything it finally meandered off. I kept the light on it the whole time - what a memory that experience gave me!

What I learned from this is that it is completely true about how good a bear's sense of smell is. Even though the squirrels and chipmunks had carried away all the seeds, there still must have been a scent left behind for the bear to detect. Luckily it hadn't found anything because it never came back. If it had found something to eat, I would have had a regular visitor after that.

At home keep all of your trash in bear-proof containers, don't feed the birds in the good weather months when the bears are awake and don't feed your pets outdoors. Many food related businesses around here will put electric fences around their dumpsters which works most of the time. All of the homes in certain areas are even required to have small bear-proof wooden or metal structures by the road to put their garbage in if they have trash pickup.

If you are camping, keep your site clean and don't set your tent up too near the eating area. Using bear proof containers and tying your packs up in trees are highly suggested and commonly practiced. It is important to remember that this applies to camping in RV's and trailers also. Each year I hear stories of people leaving food on the picnic tables and wondering why bears got into it, but bears frequent RV camping sites as often as tent sites.

Bears are really smart. I don't have a dog, but friends have told me that if you keep your dog tied up or fenced in, the bear will learn that the dog can't get it and it won't stay away if there's anything around that it wants. They did tell me though that if the dog is loose and chases the bear, the bear will usually go up a tree staying there until the dog is gone and then be less apt to revisit your yard. I have never heard of one turning around and attacking the dog, but it would probably be best to keep your dog inside if there is a bear around just to be on the safe side.

Whether you are coming out of your tent for a late night pit stop, taking your trash out in the morning or even leaving your favorite restaurant in the evening; if you meet up with a bear, Don't Run! By the time you realize what you are seeing, chances are the bear will already be moving off.

However if it doesn't, start talking and yelling and clapping your hands. If worse comes to worse and it attacks, fight back as hard as you can. It turns out that it is a total myth to play dead with a black bear because they will maul you.

Stay alert so that you won't end up too close to a bear in the first place and carry a self-defense spray canister with you. You most likely will never have to use it, but it can give you more confidence about going out and enjoying nature.

There are an estimated 4-5,000 bears here in the Adirondack Mountains - Tughill Region and an estimated 300,000 in the United States as a whole. I've had my share of sightings and heard numerous stories of interactions between humans and the bears. You might be more apt to see a bear too than you would think. Stay safe and protect yourself and your property so you can enjoy your own encounters with this wonderful creature.