Bear safety information is more riddled with opinions and ego than twitter. Guns vs spray, brown bears vs black bears, run vs play dead, climb a tree vs run down hill. Let the science of bear safety clarify things for you. Kim Titchener has nearly 2 decades of working with bears doing research, education, and even babysitting the big furry animals. She lays the groundwork and dispels the myths you have been hearing your entire life. Clarity is found here. This is not your fathers bear safety tips.

Resources

Bear Safety & More

Sponsors

West Fraser

GreenLink Forestry Inc.

Damaged Timber

Forest Proud

Giveaway

Enter YourForest10 at checkout at the Damaged Timber store for a 10% discount!

Quotes

9.59 - 10.05: “It shocks me… the grace at which these animals let us continue to live with them.”

Takeaways

Finding her bearings (05.13)

Kim’s family, early jobs and education set her on the path of working with bears. 

Bear safety and more (12.41)

Kim helps industries create courses on safety with black, grizzly and polar bears. However, she has to prove her expertise as a woman, using science and experience.

Things Kim can’t bear (17.22)

Kim laments that people still think they can outrun a bear or climb a tree to escape. She points out that guns cannot be loaded and shot precisely as bear sprays can.

Bearing the brunt (21.32)

The media blames bears for any mishap, but Kim highlights that most of the time, it is the people’s fault, and she believes the media needs to be mindful of its narrative.

Bear necessities (31.15)

Be loud, carry bear spray, stay in large groups, and don’t leave children unsupervised or dogs unleashed. Avoid being outdoors at dusk and dawn, and never approach a bear!

Every season is bear season (40.53)

Kim’s course teaches about bears’ seasonal behaviours and what they feed on at different times of the year, so you can be mindful of those plants.

Defensive bears (42.21)

If you run into a bear with cubs or a carcass or if you surprise a bear at close range, they become defensive, huffing, jaw popping, paw pounding, foaming and drooling. Back away.

Bear down (48.41)

If a defensive bear is not appeased by your backing away and charges toward you, use your bear spray. If you do not have any or can’t spray it in time, drop to the ground and play dead.

Bare your teeth! (52.50)

Kim warns against playing dead in a predatory attack! Instead, use bear spray and fight back. Hit the bear with rocks or branches in their eyes or nose.

Not your average bear (57.38)

Predatory bears show different signs than defensive bears - they will approach you in any pattern - directly, zig-zag or appear next to you. They may pull their ears back sometimes.

No use bearing arms (1.06.18)

Bear bangers can further aggravate a defensive bear or go off behind them, causing them to charge toward you. Many gun encounters have led to the loss of human lives.

Bear spray for the win! (1.14.27)

Bear spray inflames the mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, mouth, lungs and skin, causing involuntary eye closure, making the bear cough, gag and have difficulty in breathing.