Combating Fear of Bears

[Lizbert]

Hello! I love hiking and canoeing, but I am limited in terms of camping and some hiking by a fear of bears. It is really starting to cramp my style. I can't sleep when we camp anywhere near places where bears might be. I hike in bear country sometimes because I don't want the bear fear to win, but being nervous spoils my enjoyment of the hiking to some extent. And as for camping in bear populated areas, I cannot do it. I am so jumpy all night that I can't sleep at all. I don't want to pass this phobia along to my kids now that they are hiking and camping with us, so I would really like to beat it. Has anyone else had to deal with bear phobia? If so, how do you fight it?

[toedtoes]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

Some ideas:

Bring the dog. Having a dog with you gives you the warning if something is around.

Read bear research (not newspaper articles, etc.) and talk to rangers. Bears aren't wandering around hunting for humans to eat. They are mostly scavengers. Keep a clean camp and keep food put away in appropriate containers and you will probably never see a bear. When hiking, make some noise. Talk to each other and don't worry about whispering - if a bear is near and hears you, it will leave before you ever see it.

If you can't sleep at night in a tent because you feel vulnerable, then consider getting a small trailer. As a solo camper, I felt vulnerable sleeping in a tent. I first got a trailer (19ft) and then got my motorhome (20.5ft bumper to bumper). I can go most anywhere I want and I have hard walls between me and the outside world when I'm sleeping and at my most vulnerable. Add in my dogs, and I sleep through the night without any issues. Yes, it's partly false security - the doors aren't that secure and if someone really wanted in, they could get in - but it's enough to convince my brain that it doesn't have to focus on every little thing because I have the walls around me.

Camp with other people. Sometimes, similar to having the hard walls for me, just having other adults around you can tell your brain that it doesn't have to worry as much.

Talk to a counselor. If you can't seem to work through it on your own, then talking to a counselor can really help.

[Mike]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

Try to find a bear. Get your camera and make it a goal to track down a bear and take a photo.

After years of fruitless searching, you will yearn to see a bear. Bears are animals that 99.99% of campers never get to see in the wild even once in their lifetime.

[wiiawiwb]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

How does one deal with it? Knowledge is power. Knowing what to look for and how to deal with it will serve you well.

It would be helpful to tell us whether you're talking about black bear or grizzly/brown bear. If it is the former, then you have have very little to worry about. I live in a state where no adult has ever been killed by a wild black bear since they kept such statistics starting in 1830s. So, the first thing you need to do is understand just how few adults have died from wild black bear attacks. Here is a list:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._North_America

The second thing I would recommend is to read Dr. Stephen Herrero's book, Bear Attacks Their Causes and Avoidance. He is the foremost authority on bear attacks. He is available and I've emailed him several times. He graciously answered each one.

http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-C.../dp/158574557X

You can also listen to him on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7yoIheOrTc

Here is the a synopsis of the study submitted to the Journal of Wildlife Management that Dr. Herrero references. You can likely get the full article in your local library:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...mg.72/abstract

If you are worried, carry bear spray. For $50 you can have a bear insurance.

It's not the mother bear and cubs scenario that you need too worry about with black bears. It's the lone male quietly displaying predacious behavior. He'll stalk you and it's that rare event when you have to confront the bear and fight back.

In the lower 48, attacks are exceedingly rare. Just enjoy the outdoors, knowing what to look for, and bring bear spray if that will make you feel better.

All of my answers are different if you're talking about brown/grizzly bear.

[MacGyver]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

Try to find a bear. Get your camera and make it a goal to track down a bear and take a photo.

After years of fruitless searching, you will yearn to see a bear. Bears are animals that 99.99% of campers never get to see in the wild even once in their lifetime.

I'll go along with that. Where I camp in western Maryland, it's supposedly big time bear country. The ranger's station has the obligatory warning signs... I've seen more than a few tracks... but in 30+ years, I've never seen one.

[MountainMama]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

Try to find a bear. Get your camera and make it a goal to track down a bear and take a photo.

After years of fruitless searching, you will yearn to see a bear. Bears are animals that 99.99% of campers never get to see in the wild even once in their lifetime.

Excellent point.

I'll go along with that. Where I camp in western Maryland, it's supposedly big time bear country. The ranger's station has the obligatory warning signs... I've seen more than a few tracks... but in 30+ years, I've never seen one.

MacGyver, most of my camping has been done in Western MD. Rocky Gap is my all time favorite place to go. I got to see a mama bear with two cubs there once but nowhere near the camping area. Some rangers were watching them through binoculars from a bridge before the entrance. They were on the mountainside to the left.

We have hiked up to the top of the mountain to see the remains of the old homestead and I was worried about running into bear then, but never did.

We also used to camp a lot at some state parks that we (and everyone else) collectively referred to as "Savage." It's two or three state parks that are right near together along the river between Westernport and Lonaconing. I don't recall the names of the parks since we never called them by those. They were always very secluded and we were often the only ones there. Never did see any bear there either.

I did get to see some bear up close and personal in that general area, although we weren't camping. My husband was building a rural home up off Pinnacle Rd near Keyser WV (where we lived) and a mama bear and one cup helped themselves to the cooler with lunch on the deck while we were inside. After that, the cooler got brought inside!

[MacGyver]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

I don't recall the names of the parks since we never called them by those.

Savage River, New Germany and Big Run. From where I live, they're another hour down the road from Green Ridge. My group keeps talking about going there but they limit the campsites to two vehicles and six people. That wouldn't work with the usual four, five or six trucks and dozen people we camp with.

[MountainMama]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

Savage River, New Germany and Big Run. From where I live, they're another hour down the road from Green Ridge. My group keeps talking about going there but they limit the campsites to two vehicles and six people. That wouldn't work with the usual four, five or six trucks and dozen people we camp with.

Yep, those would be the ones!

There was never anyone there. Just lock boxes to leave payment in. Unless things have changed drastically since I've been there, nobody really cares how many people you have because there is nobody else there to care. I have never encountered a ranger or another camper.

[Force10JC]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

I think educating yourself about them is paramount but for some even that isn't enough. My wife has a fear of snakes and no amount of education helps her. At that point all you can do is try to keep your mind and body occupied with other things.

[Malamute]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

I've lived in bear country (blacks and grizzlies) since about 1981, and camped out quite lot. Much of it has been out on the ground. I've only seen a handful of bears.

If you really want to be sure you dont see a bear, go buy a bear tag (hunting tag). Its almost guaranteed you wont see one when you have a tag. I think they put pherimones on them so the animals wont be around.

Watch some youtubes of bears in a hammock. And swimming pools.

[Malamute]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

Thought of something else. A bear fence. They make portable electric fences for camping. First I heard of it, they were used in Russia in a research area thick with the huge brown bears, and they were way too curious and interested in the camps. They used an electric fence for perimeter. A guy said he came back some time later after the camp was gone (like the next season I think?), and saw a bear approach the camp area, and make a right angle turn and walk completely around the spot where the fence was, even though there wasnt any fence there any more. The bears were conditioned to it though, and still behaved as if it were there.

This was pretty interesting,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv2G-aRDvyY

This was interesting,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLnKBWqPcVI

and more,

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...ng+bear+fences

[Irate Mormon]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

It's kind of hard for me to relate. My background is in Zoology, so while I respect any animal that is potentially dangerous, I don't fear them. I would be much more worried about H. sapiens. Really, think about it. Which would upset you more - waking up to bear paw prints around your tent, or shoe prints (especially street shoes). I always carry a firearm when I'm car camping. I sleep just fine :-)

[Mike]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

It's kind of hard for me to relate. My background is in Zoology, so while I respect any animal that is potentially dangerous, I don't fear them. I would be much more worried about H. sapiens. Really, think about it. Which would upset you more - waking up to bear paw prints around your tent, or shoe prints (especially street shoes). I always carry a firearm when I'm car camping. I sleep just fine :-)

+1 for sure!

[MountainMama]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

Thought of something else. A bear fence. They make portable electric fences for camping. First I heard of it, they were used in Russia in a research area thick with the huge brown bears, and they were way too curious and interested in the camps. They used an electric fence for perimeter. A guy said he came back some time later after the camp was gone (like the next season I think?), and saw a bear approach the camp area, and make a right angle turn and walk completely around the spot where the fence was, even though there wasnt any fence there any more. The bears were conditioned to it though, and still behaved as if it were there.

That is seriously interesting. I wonder how long the camp has been up? I does speak to the fact that the fences work. If I were a back country camper, I would absolutely have one.

Which would upset you more - waking up to bear paw prints around your tent, or shoe prints (especially street shoes).

Holy crap! I would freak out big time to see human prints. Would make me pack up and leave intermediately. I would just be taking pictures of the bear tracks.

I wonder if an electric bear fence would work with humans too? I have not clicked on the links yet so not sure how obvious they are for humans to to step over or avoid.

[MacGyver]

Re: Combating Fear of Bears

From my last trip a couple of months ago and right on the edge of the site. Distance between prints, roughly equaling shoulder width, was close to two feet. That means a good sized bear had been there at some point. But, again, in all the years we've been camping there, we've never seen one.