As usual, Bryson’s research is at best incomplete and misleading. Dr. Lynn Rogers has studied the American Black Bear extensively, including living in immediate proximity of them. Here is a wealth of information about black bears. Here is another resource on the bears of North America.
Bears are certainly wild animals and should be treated with wariness and respect, but genuinely unprovoked attacks are rare and are usually the result of either hikers (consciously or unwittingly) baiting the bears or being inadvisidly in proximity to a bear who is desperate for protein and fat prior to hibernation, as seems to have been the case in the Treadwell incident.
Playing dead is a generally ineffective strategy, as it invites bears (who are curious animals) to come closer and investigate, placing them in the position of percieved danger if you then decide to get up. It’s likely that a bear that is defended against by playing dead would be driven off by active behavior as well. You have to remember, particularly with respect to black bears, that bears are omnivores and in an evolutionary context are far more commonly prey than predator. This is somewhat less true with the brown/grizzly/Kodiak, but deliberately predatory (rather than incidental and curious) bear attacks are rare; you are much more likely to be killed by a domestic dog or a lightning strike than a bear.
Running from a bear, however, provokes a chase instinct, as does (at least for black bears) climbing a tree. The best thing to do is to stand upright, make yourself as large as possible, and fight back. If travelling in brown bear country, a cannister of OC pepper spray is advisable, and perhaps more effective than a firearm at dissuading attacks. (Unlike a human attacker, a bear won’t understand why it suddenly has a burning sensation in its eyes and becomes avoidant of the sprayer.)
And FWIW, I found Bryson’s description of his preparation for the trip documented in the aforementioned book cringeworthy and tiresome. It’s clear that he knew little about hiking beforehand and came to many erroneous conclusions during his abortive trip. He’s the type of hiker that inclines me go off-trail to avoid.
Bill Bryson, while a very funny writer, is not a very good researcher. I’ve never found any of his books to be very factually accurate.
People who spend a lot of time around bears really do know how they react in general. Bears are individuals and no on can predict what any one individual will do, just like with humans. But you can make distinctions between different bear species, especially black vs brown/grizzly.
With Black bears, playing dead isn’t advised. You are best off preventing our quickly limiting the attack by presenting youself as a large, dangerous creature that the bear doesn’t want to mess with. If attacked (and it pays to know the difference between a real charge and a bluff charge) fight back with everything you’ve got because you can hurt a black bear and make it back off.
With Grizzly bears, avoiding contact is clearly even more important. Managing your camp is paramount. In a case where the bear is attacking, you have no serious chance of harming it without a large firearm so playing dead is really your only option.
These techniques are statistically your best bets. None of them are guarentees of safety or even survival, but that’s what’d I be doing if I had a close bear encounter.
Playing dead is perhaps a misnomer that leads to confusion. In some circumstances, it’s recommended that you demonstrate posturally that you are not a threat (to the bear’s food cache, cubs, wellbeing).
With any bear, the best course of action is to get away. If the distance from you to the bear is at least three or four times the distance from you to a place of safety, then run for it. A place of safety would probably be an enclosed vehicle or building, but for a brown bear (which mostly can’t climb), it could also be up a (tall) tree (remember to count the distance you’ll have to climb up the tree as part of the distance you have to run).
If it’s a black bear, the bear probably doesn’t want a confrontation any more than you do. If you’re not really close to a place of safety, don’t run, or the bear might tag you as prey. Make yourself look big, and back away. Don’t bother with trees: Even black bears can’t climb as well as humans, but unless you plan to jump from tree to tree squirrel-style (which is probably more dangerous than the bear, in the first place), you’re going to run out of tree, and the bear can catch up.
If it’s a brown bear, unless you have some serious weaponry, you’re probably screwed anyway. You can try backing away slowly, and if the bear’s in a good mood, you might get away with it. If it comes after you, though, pretty much your only hope is to play dead. It’s not much of a hope, and even if it works, you’re likely to get injured. But almost anything else you try will be even worse.
Playing dead is a last resort for when a grizzly is actively mauling you.
You are not trying to convince the bear you are dead, just that you are not a threat.
Most grizzly attacks are a reaction on the part of a grizzly to a perceived threat. If you read some case studies you will find that the bears still continue to swat, bite, and charge, before (if?) eventually leaving the victim.
Attacks by Black Bears are more likely to be predatorial and submissive behavior is only likely to reinforce the bears perception of you as viable prey. Fighting is your only option once you are caught. Bears are incredibly tough and you will have great difficulty inflicting any kind of significant discomfort.
A good friend of mine was seriously injured in an attack a few years ago. While the small (70kg - no bigger than him) black bear was eating his leg there were about ten people kicking, hitting with rocks and sticks and generally trying to scare the bear off of him to no avail. The bear was eventually killed with a gun.
Do not let the small, often timid appearance of Black Bears fool you. They are extremly dangerous and much more powerful than you would think.
When in bear country I make noise (talk loudly, yell out, sing) constantly to let bears know I am coming. Generally they want nothing to do with you and will leave the area. I carry a Bear Banger and Pepper Spray. These must be used properly to be effective. A shotgun such as a Defender is an option for outside of parks.
Okay, so according to the site referenced by FluffyBob, if the bear is being defensive (attack lasts less than 2 minutes) and makes contact, play dead. If the bear is being predatory (attack is prolonged, stalking, night attack) and makes contact, do not play dead but fight back and/or try to escape into a car, building, or up a tree. Never run, make noise to let bears know you are coming, travel in groups, leave bears an exit route, and speak to them when you have a close encounter so they don’t mistake you for prey.
Man, there are so many different opinions on what to do in case of an attack, it’s hard to find an authoritative one.
I think I’ll just stay inside and play Scrabble. :dubious:
ISTR reading on the Dope, no less, that black bears can be effectively kept at bay simply by making plenty of noise to let them know that you are coming - small jingly metal bells sewn into your clothing would be ideal - and you should carry a can of pepper spray for emergencies.
At this point it becomes relevant to know what kind of bear country you are in. You can find this out by looking for bear droppings. Black bear droppings smell Christmas-puddingy and contain berry seeds and nut husks. Grizzly bear droppings smell peppery and contain small metal bells.
How 'bout one of those horns in a can (don’t know what they’re called)? People keep them on boats and possibly campers could use them as distress calls.
Would something like that work on a Bear, I would think so.
I believe you have these switched. While there are anecdotal stories of unprovoked black bear attacks this is highly atypical behavior. Brown/grizzly bears are (somewhat) more likely to be predatory, but again, the actual statistics on bear attacks demonstrate that they are one of the less likely hazards of backcountry travel.
I wouldn’t advise testing that theory. Although they may appear clumsy and lumbering in their normal foraging behavior they are actually very quick and dexterous when startled or stimulated. While bears can’t maintain pursuit for more than a sprint, they’ll outrun any human within sight if they’re so inclined, uphill or downhill. (And for what it’s worth, I’ve seen a black bear running downslope–away from me–faster than I could slide or roll.)
Ooooh, bad idea. Bears take that as a challenge. And they cheat too.
A much better choice is Operation, whose red lights and loud buzzer frighten most North American bears. Except the Kodiak. Kodiak bears are afraid of Rock’em Sock’em Robots.
My family has a cabin up in black bear territory (NW Ontario) that we just returned from. In fact, we had a bear visit us during the night - it left plenty of paw prints and a big steaming pile of scat - but we were all inside asleep. Our garbage can wasn’t so lucky.
When we’re out hiking in that area, we talk loudly to let the bears know where we are. We also carry an air horn - we call it our ‘bear horn’ - (as Uncommon Sense suggested) and 6’ poles/walking sticks. We’ve never had to use them, though.
This works, of course. Bears usually dislike women’s breasts and, for that matter, women in general. They go for firm-fleshed young men as a rule, although preferences naturally vary quite widely.