Although the chance of encountering a bear while camping is statistically very low, it’s important you know how to keep bears away while camping! Black bears are the specieis you’re most likely to encounter when camping and fatal black bear attacks occur less than once per year. Despite these statostocs, it’s a good idea to prepare for your camping trip like you might just have a bear visit your camp.
The thrill of camping under a blanket of stars can quickly turn into a spine-chilling encounter when a curious bear decides to investigate your campsite. These powerful animals are naturally drawn to human food, and an unexpected visit can be both dangerous and disruptive. To ensure a peaceful and enjoyable camping experience, it’s crucial to understand bear behavior and implement effective deterrents. This guide will equip you with the knowledge and strategies to keep bears at bay and safeguard your camp from these magnificent creatures.
Understanding Bear Behavior
The most important thing is to understand bear behavior be species. Knowing their activity pattens and how to react if you do encounter one will ensure everyone has a safe, enjoyable experience in the great outdoors!
Types of Bears
The type of bear matters! Your potential danger is increased based on the surrounding bear population and which species you’re most likely to encounter.
- Black Bears: The most common bear in North America ranging from the State of Florida north, into Canada and north to Alaska, you’re most likely to encounter the omnivorous Black Bear while camping. The black and brown coloring of the black bear is common, while the white color phase is more rare occuring in north western British Columbia, Canada.
- Grizzly Bears/Brown Bears: These two are the same species, but often refered to by different names based on their geographical location. Found in coastal areas, brown bears have darker fur and can weigh up to 1,000 pounds in the fall due to their diet of fish and other marine life. Found more inland, grizzly bears are typically a little smaller than brown bears and have distinctive blonde-tipped fur on their shoulders and back.
- Polar Bears: A bear you likely won’t encounter, Polar Bears are the largest bear and land carnivore on the planet. They live in the snow-covered Arctic ice of Alaska, Canada, Russia, and Norway. So unless you’re doing some hiking in those epic locations, your chances of seeing a Polar bear are petty low.
Bear Activity Patterns
- When are bears most active?
Bears are most active in the early morning and late evening during the spring and summer because they’re searching for food. As they enter fall, they may be active up to 20 hours a day in October trying to bulk up for winter hibernation. In the winter most bears are hibernating, especially in very cold climates. However, not all bear hibernate! Bears in more mild climates might wake from their slumber and leave the den if distured or temperatures trend warm. - What attracts bears to your campsite?
Food, scents, and gear that is associated with food can attract a bear to your campsite. Keeping a clean campsite with your food and coolers properly stored should deter bears from an unwanted visit! - How do you identify signs of bear activity?Look for Bear tracks. They have five toes and sometimes, you can see their claws as well. Grizzly and brown bear toes create a straight line whereas black bear toes create more of an arch. Alongside their tracks, bear scat is often found along trails and in open meadows.
While you’re hiking, you might notice uprooted logs, turned over rocks, or large dug up areas. This along with carcassas might indicate a bear is nearby!
Essential Bear Safety Tips
If you’re trying to learn how to keep bears away when camping, these essential tips will help you do just that!
1. Food Storage
Food storage is key! Luckily, in many National Park’s you’re educated on this when you enter the park. How you store food will determine whether or not you are keeping bears and other wild animals out of your campsite.
Proper Food Storage Techniques at Campgrounds
Depending on where you decide to visit and what types of bears are present there, regulations differ for how best to store your food. Some parks require food lockers or bear resistant food containers (AKA bear canisters), while others allow visitors to hang food from a tree in a bear bag. Food storage areas differ on location so it’s important to look into the rules and regulations of where you plan on visiting.
In some places, food may be stored inside your car as long as it is out of sight, with windows completely closed, and doors locked; bears are smart! They have figured out how to open unlocked car doors and pull down windows if they can smell or see food in your vehicle. Never store food in a pickup truck bed or strapped to the outside of a vehicle.
In other places, all food must be removed from your vehicle and stored in bear lockers. Remember to clear your car of food wrappers, crumbs, baby wipes, and even canned food and drinks because in the areas where bear activity is high, they are intelligent enough to pull out all the tricks to steal your food.
It’s important you always check with the parks and areas you plan to visit to learn their regulations. Not following those rules may result in fines, confiscation of food, and endangering yourself, those around you, and the wildlife.
Food Storage when Backpacking
It’s definitely a bit trickier to find an appropriate food storage area when camping in the backcountry, however, there are proven strategies on how to keep bears away when camping in primitive areas as well. Check with the local regulations before taking food into the backcountry. Where some areas deem a food bag properly hung adequate, other’s may require a bear canister or keg for safe food storage.
A bear-proof container is what we use most often; it’s important to choose foods that are compact and to remove food from its original packag ting to fit more food in your canisters and reduce garbage. Pack a garbage container that will fit in your bear canister to contain crumbs and grease that can leave odors in your backpack.
Bear-resistant containers only work if they are closed and locked. Be sure to keep the container closed and locked even while you’re around your campsite. When storing your bear-proof container, choose level ground 100 feet or more from your campsite. Do NOT place containers near cliffs or any water source, as a bear may knock the container around or roll it down a hill trying to open it. Remember that all scented items need to pack into your container; this includes toothpast, deoderant, babywipes, and other toiletry items.
Please do not dispose of food waste in the wilderness. Treat food wrappers and other garbage the same as food and pack out all uneaten food and food particles.
2. Campsite Hygiene
Campsite hygiene is important when factoring in how to keep bears away when camping. Differentiating your cooking area from your sleeping area and keeping an overall clean campsite should do the trick!
Keeping your Campsite Clean and Free of Food Scraps
Never leave food or dirty cookwear unattended at your campsite. While preparing your meals, keep all food within an arms length and don’t turn your back on your food. If you’re camping at an established front country campground with trash cans, utilize those regularaly to keep food scents and scraps out of your space.
If you’re backcountry camping you should cook at least 100 yards from your sleeping area. Your cooking area should be strategically located downwind of your campsite in an open area with good visibility. Carry bear spray with you at all times and make sure it’s always in reach while you’re backcountry camp cooking.
Proper Disposal of Food Waste
If you’re front country camping where there are dumpsters, you need to bring your garbage after each meal and throw it away. If your campsite is located in a carry in carry out facility, you’ll need to store your garbage in a trash bag (I would double it up) in your locked vehicle after each meal until your departure.
When backcountry camping, carefully choose your food amounts based on what you know you can consume. You have nowhere to leave your unwanted food scraps other than packed in bear hangs or bear canisters which isn’t ideal. Anything you pack in needs to be packed out.
Do not attempt to burn excess food in a fire. Thoroughly burning organic matter requires a very hot fire, hotter than most campfires. Which means your partially burned matter will still draw wildlife into camp.
3. Camping Etiquette
Some things that might keep bears away from camp aren’t always the best for camping etiquette.
Loud noises to deter wildlife from entering camp, however, many campgrounds have quiet hours and generally speaking noone wants to hear your speaker throughout your stay. If you are going to play music, keep it intimate. Loud enough for you to hear and for wildlife to notice, but not so loud everyone in the campground can hear it to.
Bears are generally indiffierent to light sources, however, the light will help you spot a bear close to camp. Annoyingly bright or flashing lights around camp are not stellar for everyone around you. The light of a few string lights, campfire, and a lantern should be bright enough for you to see around your site without distracting other campers nearby. Always keep your headlamp or flashlight within arms reach incase you need someway to brighten up your space temporarily.
4. What to Do During a Bear Encounter
Bear encounters can be really cool and equally terrifying. This is especially true if you stumble upon an aggressive bear. How you react in these kinds of situations differes based on the type of bear, but you should always use bear spray if it comes down to it!
Black Bear Encounter
If you encounter a black bear, you should remain calm, back away slowly, and give the bear a route to escape.
- Stay calm: Don’t run, as you can’t outrun a bear and it may chase you.
- Back away: If possible, slowly back away from the bear and leave the area.
- Make noise: Repeat “Hey, bear” while backing away.
- Make yourself look bigger: Raise your arms to make yourself look larger. If the bear charges you, deploy your bear spray once the bear is withing 60 feet. If it attacks you, you should immediately fight back focusing your blows on the bear’s face. If you experience an aggressive bear, you should report it to the police or Department of Enviornmental Conservation, ranger station, or national park service.
Grizzly Bear Encounter
If you encounter a grizzly bear, your steps are a bit different that it’s black bear brother.
- Avoid direct eye contact and speak softly, letting it know that you’re there and you don’t want anything to do with it
- Don’t run but slowly wave your arms to look bigger while making your presence known
- If the bear is stationary, move away slowly and sideways but if it charges stand your ground and use your bear spray once the bear is within 60 feet
- If the bear makes contact, try your best to curl up into a ball on your side, or lie flat on your stomach covering your head and neck
- Remain as quiet as possible until the attack ends and be sure the bear has left the area before getting up to seek help
Grizzly bear are larger, with longer claws, are more powerful and tend to have a more aggressive demeanor than black bear which is why these lists are different.
If you experience an aggressive Grizzly bear, you should report it to the police, local ranger station, or national park service.
5. Choosing a Safe Campsite
Selecting campsites away from water sources, berry patches, and dense vegetation should help you steer clear of unwanted bear encounters. Definitely avoid areas with signs of bear activity like tracks, scat, and claw marks on trees.
It’s also important to avoiding areas with recent bear activity. Whether these are signs you notice or posted signs by local authorities, how to keep bears away when camping won’t matter if the bear population is aplenty and active in the location you’re at!
6. Camping with a Group
Camping in a group plays to your advantage when it comes to how to keep bears away when camping! Bears generally don’t like large groups of campers because the increased noisemakes them feel more threatened and more likely to avoid the area. Bearsare naturally cautious creatures who prefer to stay away from significant human activity. The larger group is more intimidating and easier to detect from a distance, encouraging bears to move on from your campsite.
Aside form noise, more people means a stronger collective human scent which bears will detect and perceive as a potential threat. Large groups of humans are often perceived as a dangerous leading bears to retreat and avoid the area. Additionally, if a bear were to make its way into camp there is safety in numbers.
7. Using Bear Deterrents
Although there is mixed research on certain bear deterrents such as the bear bell, other means of protection such as bear spray are highly effective. Here’s a list of the typical bear deterrents and how to use them.
- Noisemakers: Use noisemakers like air horns or pots and pans to scare away bears from a distance. However, noisemakers may not work if the bear is already familiar with and not startled by them.
- Bear spray: Use bear spray when a bear is close by and demonstrating aggressive behavior. Practice using bear spray with a training canister so you can quickly get it out and spray when the time comes!
- Smells: You can always try and use smells that bears dislike, such as ammonia, vinegar, bleach, or pine, when camping. You can soak rags in ammonia or cider vinegar and hang them on lines around your campsite or place cups of ammonia around your site.
- Electronic repellers: Use an electronic repeller that emits ultrasonic sound waves to irritate bears. You can also combine an electronic repeller with a light or laser device like the Bird-X Laser for Outdoors. This ultrasonic device utilizes ultrasonic sound waves to irritate and disorient while the strobe light device acts as a visual scare that frightens animals through startling patterns and colors.
Conclusion
Successfully deterring bears at your campsite requires a multi-faceted approach. By practicing diligent food storage, maintaining a clean camp, and employing bear-resistant techniques, you can significantly minimize the risk of an encounter. Remember, bears are wild animals and should be treated with respect. Never intentionally feed a bear, as this can lead to dangerous habituation. If you do encounter a bear, remain calm, back away slowly, and make yourself appear larger. By understanding bear behavior and implementing these preventative measures, you can enjoy a safe and memorable camping experience while respecting the natural habitat of these magnificent creatures.
Ultimately, preventing bear encounters is a shared responsibility. Campers must adhere to best practices and minimize their impact on the environment. Land managers play a crucial role in educating visitors, providing adequate bear-resistant facilities, and managing bear populations responsibly. By working together, we can ensure the coexistence of humans and bears, allowing both to thrive in their respective habitats. Remember, every encounter with a bear is a learning opportunity. Observe their behavior from a safe distance and appreciate the wonder of these incredible animals in their natural environment.
I never want to lead you astray so I was sure to do my research for this post!
Here are a handful of the resources I used to write this post:
https://bearwithus.org/8-bears-of-the-world/
https://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/nature/black-bears
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/safety