How Camping Around Bears

When camping around bears caution and planning will improve your time around bears.

Or hiking in wild country, you’re are going to be around dangerous and beautiful animals.

Check ahead, research your hiking or camping site.

Whether you are in a park or backcountry, there may be requirements or warnings.

Being aware of your environment and make noise on the trail as you walk, will discourage bears.

And will help you from accidentally sneaking up on a bear.

For bears don’t want to be around people.

And in most cases, people will walk past a bear and not even know it.

Facts About Bear

• Bears are bright and always hungry.
• Looking for new food supplies.
• Feeding bears will encourage and increase bears coming into camps.
• Campers, hikers have been bringing a new flavor of foods and smells.
• And introducing bears to food not grown in a bush or pulled out of a lake.
• Letting bears have found a new taste for man-made foods.
• Making bears more likely to come into campsites for man-made foods.
• Looking for fast and easy food.

It’s recorded that grizzly bears in Yellow Stone National Park have eaten over 260 animals and plants.

How Hiking Around Bears

• Try not to surprise bears, watch ahead of your trail as your hiking.
• Most bears don’t want to be around humans but don’t want to attack.
• Bears just want to be left alone, but will attack over territory or fear.
• They will act out aggressively if surprise in their environment or mothers with clubs.
• Don’t hike at dawn or dusk, most bears are roaming at the time
• Hike in groups, numbers will keep bears from attacking
• Make noise or sing as you hike along paths or trails
• Give space to bears, don’t approach a bear
• Allow space for a bear to leave or escape at the
• Don’t get between a mother bear and clubs
• Keep pets leash or at home

Camping Bear Food Storage

Bear Canister 

Bear canisters are portable, plastic, carbon fiber or metal food container.
Designed to keep bears out of food.
And to block the odors of food or trash.

• Strong, durable
• Portable
• Keep bears and critters out of food and trash.
• You can rent bear canisters at Yosemite National Park
• Wild Ideas rents carbon fiber canisters to campers or hikers

Metal-Hard Sided Canister

Like the BearVault BV500 are metal hard sided canisters.
Most effective protection against bears
Sturdy and strong, can be used as a chair

Bear Bags

• Has 100 percent odor barrier
• Dog and bear tested
• Heavy duty plastic
• Reusable bags
• Pack of 5 bags
• FDA approved bags

 To help manage and reduce wildlife attacks and raiding campsites.

Bear Shock electric Fence

• Great used for campers and hikers
• Tested for toughest environments
• Comes in different sizes
• Portable
• Batteries

Bear Spray

• Bear spray can be a good deterrent of bears.
• Spray can be affected by weather conditions like rain and wind.
• Can be used to stop charging bears
• Can affect the eyes, nose, throat ,and lungs

How Bear Spray Works

Bear spray used capsaicin that is crushed red pepper derivative that is atomized in aerosol form.

Bear spray effects the nose and lungs.  

And causing temporary loss of eyesight and restriction of breathing.  

To be most effective, you need to be facing a charging bear and use at 30 feet or less.

Bear Spray has been proven to have had less injured people compared to using a gun against charging bears.  

And since the late 1980’s when the bear spray was invented.  Fewer bears have been injured and killed.

Even though bear spray can run off attacking bears.  

It’s useless as a repellent.  Spraying your clothes, tent, skin or campsite.  

Can actually attract bears to you.

Bear Spray Warnings

• Flammable and possible explosive
• Don’t transport in car cabin or airplane cabin departments
• Wind can affect spray strength (windy days)
• Don’t pray cloths, skin, tents to run off bears. Can attract bears to scent

Buying The Right Bear Spray

• Strength – Capsaicin 0.857 percent
• Weight – 7.9 ounces
• Spray – 8 seconds / Cone or cloud pattern
• Range – Minium 16 feet
• Type – Make sure it for bear use

Accidently Contamination

Bear spray can attack the human respiratory system like bears.

A person caught in bear spray mist. 

• Uncontrolled coughing.
• Nose will run
• Eyes will close and tear up

 How to Treat Contamination From Spray

• Use clean cool water to wash right away
• Take out contact lens
• Remove and wash effected cloths
• Take in short breaths
• Can take 15 to 20 minutes to recovery

Bear Bells

• Bear bells are small metal balls, that campers or hikers can be attached to clothes.
• Making noise as you walk or move through the woods.
• Wrap around a walking stick
• Letting bears avoid you and the noise.

What If You See A Bear

If you run into a bear in your camp or on the trail.

Stay calm and don’t run.

Get into a group and slowly back away from the bear.

If a bear starts toward you, make a loud noise.

Dogs have been hunting and protecting since man met the first dog.

Running off bears, wolves ,and any other animals.

That threaten livestock or man.

In the Arctic the Canadian Eskimo dog has been very popular for chasing off polar bears.

Karelian are well known breed of bear dog originally native to Finland.

Sharp senses and courage but not aggressive towards a man. 

Know for chasing off brown, black and grizzly bears. 

And help hunters to hunt moose, boars and bears.