Maxine's Encounter
This is an edited version of a message I sent to friends in 2022. Of the commentary I've made about bear incidents, I think this one is the most useful for most people. Even among serious backcountry travelers, only a minority will ever have to use bear spray. This encounter, however, is something that can happen to anyone. It shows how some very common advice about dealing with bears can lead to a dangerous escalation. As mentioned below, this is not a personal critique of anyone involved. They were all competent people acting in good faith and following common advice. But it does show that there are still improvements that needs to be made in getting the proper word out about bear safety. Overly simple instruction can make matters worse, as is shown here.
Friends,
If you have a moment, take a look at this video of Maxine's first encounter with a bear. It took place on a trail near Seward. It can be seen here:
Maxine is relatively new to Alaska. It speaks volumes that she refused to let this encounter define her relationship to bears, and instead booked a slot in the campground at Brooks Camp during the bear peak (having never camped before) as soon as she had the opportunity.
While it worked out alright, this was a dangerous situation. When I first saw the video at Brooks Camp, I thought it involved a lone bear. But after receiving a copy the video from Maxine and giving it an obsessive amount of study, I noticed that there is a second bear behind the one that comes close to her (keep looking, it may take a while to see it). I now realize that the lead bear was either feeling “squeezed” between humans and the second bear, or feeling protective of a cub. I'm almost certain that it was a cub that was following, but I’m interested in others’ interpretations. Either way, it upped the stakes for all involved.
This shows the seriousness of our failure in the world of bear safety to get the word out about when it’s proper to speak or yell aggressively toward bears and when it is not. This was definitely a situation in when it was not a good idea to be assertive. This is not the fault of the people involved. The very fact that Maxine chose to come to Brooks for the reasons she did, combined with my conversations with her at camp, made it obvious to me that she has a deep commitment to doing the right thing by bears. I’m sure that was the case for all involved. But when able and well-intentioned people do what they are told by friends is the right thing to do, but end up unintentionally making the situation more dangerous, there is an education failure taking place.
This was not a predatory bear, or one trying to assert dominance just to be dominant. So the right thing would be to give the bear as much space as possible by getting off the trail (if practical), and to talk quietly and reassuringly, or if that feels awkward then just be quiet. The conventional advice, often given by people with considerable backcountry experience, to simply “make noise” or "yell at the bear" just isn’t adequate, and can escalate the danger in some situations.
We need to be aware of the distinction between a bear that is being predatory or dominating and one that is defensive or “commuting", and with the former be assertive and the latter reassuring. This advice is well known in some circles but has not made it out to the general public as much as it needs to.
Some advise getting off the path of a predatory/dominating bear and see if it follows before yelling, throwing sticks, etc.. I think that is good advice if the bear isn’t moving too quickly and you still have enough room between the two of you. I’m more skeptical if you don’t see the bear until it is close, or you are in terrain with a lot of potential tripping hazards. In that case it is best to just stand your ground and be assertive.
Nonetheless, the most important thing is to not panic, and no one in Maxine’s incident did.
Many thanks to her for sharing her experience and the video.
Carl
P.S.
Some resources for determining whether or not a bear is being predatory or defensive are here and here.
The one thing that is rarely discussed is habituated bears commuting on trails, that is, just going about their business. These bears are moving at a casual pace and are not focused on you. In some places like Brooks Camp you may also encounter bears that are running toward you but are neither defensive nor aggressive. They are in all likelihood just running from another bear. The simplest way to tell the difference is that an aggressive or defensive bear is focused on you. A commuting bear or one being chased by another bear is looking around or past you. If you can tell the difference between a dog on a trail that is running toward or past you should be able to do so with bears, but keep in mind that bears take up a lot more of the trail!
Carl,
ReplyDeleteI have looked a few times and I am not spotting a second bear. That does, however, look like a sow and the fact that the bear returned to exactly where it came from strongly suggests a sow protecting cub(s). I am wondering if Maxine being behind the tree had any effect on the encounter at all. I assume that the bear could see the bright color of that top in addition to seeing Maxine.
I have worked extensively with animals, especially cats and have tamed down two feral cats. I was lucky enough to meet a bunch of yearling hyenas and pet them through a fence. I think my approach would always be low voice and soothing. If it became clear that 909 or 902 was messing with me in a walking charge, I would go to the lowest pitch I could make and be as firm possible. I am not sure when yelling at a bear that already knows where you are is really useful. Unless it is you and Eric and the noisemakers exerting dominance over a passel of swirling subs. I am interested in your thoughts on that.
~ Birgitt
Thanks for your response Birgitt. Unfortunately the format that Youtube now puts short videos into makes it impossible (as far as I can tell anyway) to slow down to the equivalent of "frame by frame" so that the cub can be seen without ambiguity. At normal speed it is just a bit of movement passing through the alders back on the trail, to the left, and not easy to see.
DeleteThat's a good question about Maxine being behind the tree. I have pondered that a lot. So much depends on how much the bear had been around people, the bear's individual temperament, and the location of Maxine's daughter (who took the video) and the man whose voice you hear in the background, that it's hard to give any definite answer. As a general rule, however, it is certainly best to be as visible as possible in that kind of situation. Easier said than done of course, especially for someone like Maxine at the time, who was new to Alaska and bears. So I can't fault her personally. Ultimately, however, it made it harder for the bear to figure out what was going on and offered no real protection, which I suspect is what you were thinking as well.
Thank you for bringing up the issue of the "walking charge." That's not a distinction that many people make, but I think it's an important one. I've developed a classification system for charges that I hope to discuss on the blog at some point. (I'm not an ethologist and have no ambitions for formal publication, but I would like to see a practical classification get out there since the casual terminology is ambiguous at best.) Half of the bears I've had to spray have been walking in the manner you describe. I almost never spray hop lunges at all, or true (galloping) charges unless they are quite close. But for too many reasons to go into here, I'm getting to the point that I don't put up with much when it comes to this kind of walking "charge."
I think that starting off with a low, firm voice is a good idea unless the available reaction time is short. It rarely stops the approach in my experience, but it helps in making sure that the bear really is being aggressive. Generally speaking, however, I ramp up very quickly and go into full Drill Sergeant mode, and I don't hesitate to yell and yell aggressively. Back when I was more reluctant to spray the bears, they would always break contact and go past me in an ostentatiously casual way. Sort of their way of saying "Okay, I'm not going to mess with you, but I'm not afraid of you."
Yelling like that is also a way of letting them know that I'm not interested in playing. At least within the context of bear management, I've had times when I was (and still am) convinced that they thought I might want to play fight, and yelling aggressively makes it a little more clear that it's not what I'm looking for.
That said, none of that matters if one is not resolute on the inside. Given your background, I'm sure you are aware that many species are keenly attuned to how we feel, whether they let us know it or not. Without a firm resolve to stand ground, etc. all the voice and gesture in the world won't help that much.
Btw, I should mention to that I've learned the hard way to never try to de-escalate by backing down once an outright confrontation has kicked in. Probably the closest I've ever come to actually being mauled was with one of 409's yearlings, when I thought I'd try backing off to de-escalate. Never, ever again.
DeleteLow and soothing is, as you know, great for dealing with animals that are be aggressive out of fear. I have a video of me talking Holly and two yearlings down when they were feeling surrounded and were quite stressed. (I would love to share it but I got it after it was airdropped around camp and don't have any way to contact the folks who made it.) But one thing I've learned with Brooks bear management is that you have to be able to go from being a drill sergeant to being a child psychologist in terms of demeanor, and sometimes very quickly. In any case, low and soothing would have been the better approach in Maxine's incident.
"Walking charges" however, like predatory responses, are the exact opposite of a fear response. They are cocky to the core and deserve a diametrically opposite response, albeit a gradated one when possible.
I hope that wasn't too lengthy a response, and that it makes sense. Thank you for your thoughtful comments. Btw, I envy you the opportunity to have met hyenas like you did. I have only seen them in passing from a Land Rover.
Carl - your blog posts are very interesting and informative. I’ve read all of your posts and followed all of the embedded links to other resources. I’m making a trip to Brooks Lodge in July of this year. I think I understand your -general- philosophy about bear spray, but my questions are about bear spray and noise making specifically at Brooks. Do you recommend Brooks visitors bring bear spray? Do you recommend any specific bear spray? Aside from talking on the way between the falls and the lodge, how else should visitors make noise? Use bells? Drag feet? Anything else?
ReplyDelete~ Kent
Good questions, Kent. My attitude toward visitors bringing bear spray to camp is a lot like what my attitude would be toward someone wearing a crash helmet for a weekend trip to visit family. I would certainly think it was overdoing it, but on the other hand I'd be hesitant to say an absolute "Don't" to them as an individual, since I would feel pretty awful if they ended up being in that highly improbable accident where the helmet might have been the thing that would have saved them. Nonetheless, I think wearing a crash helmet for a weekend family trip is overdoing it.
DeleteI don't mean to make light of your question at all. I almost always carry bear spray when traveling in bear country. But the bears at Brooks who travel in places where they are likely to meet people (some of the big males religiously avoid people trails) are so used to human contact that I certainly wouldn't take it if I were traveling there on my own.
The rangers, including those who are not in bear management (which is most of them) do carry bear spray. But in the nine years I've been coming to Brooks I know of only one bear sprayed outside the context of bear management (i.e. us hazing bears out of camp). That is with well over 10,000 people visiting every summer, most of them completely clueless about bears.
Keep in mind too that my attitude toward bear spray is also based on a management perspective. The unfortunate reality is that if most people at Brooks Camp carried, a lot more bears would be sprayed by panicky people. Unlike the bears sprayed by bear management in camp, who basically "know" that they are in a place that is claimed by humans, bears sprayed on the trail to the falls, etc. would not be able to make heads or tails of why it was happening. This might well make them more nervous around people. I think you can take it from there to see why, in the long run, this could easily make camp less safe, not more for people. Certainly it would make life more stressful for the bears, esp. for the lower status bears.
Given that you are the kind of person who is conscientious enough to take the time to ask such a question, you are very unlikely to use bear spray inappropriately. So in your case it's hard to see a problem with bringing it. But on top of everything else, airlines will not let you fly with bear spray to King Salmon. You can rent it in King Salmon or (I'm guessing) Homer, but most of the float planes that come to Brooks don't allow it. (Some do and carry it in the floats.) So it can be a significant logistical hassle on top of everything else.
The general advice is just to talk as you walk around Brooks. In reality, few (including me) do it unless we're going off one of the roads or primary trails. Then I will certainly do it. Anywhere that people regularly travel around Brooks absolutely reeks of human being to bears, and they are not going to be surprised by you.
Bear bells are a long discussion, and something I go a little bit against the grain with in regard to many in the world of bear safety, who regard them as a bit of a joke. They certainly don't hurt and, within the context of Brooks Camp I have no doubt they signal the presence of humans to bears even if the bears don't respond in a measurable way. If they help you relax and enjoy your visit more, bring them. But they are inferior to voice, and as mentioned above if you are off trail in a place where you really do need to talk, focus on talking.
DeleteDo *not* scuff your feet or break sticks unless you are dealing with a predatory or status-asserting bear. These are aggressive sounds in general to bears, and since bear management uses scuffing a lot, and I am known for a pair of escrima sticks I strike together, bears have very specific associations with those sounds at Brooks that in most situations you do not want to evoke.
It has been decades since we have had a mauling at Brooks Camp, and the ones we had were back in the bad old days of people bringing food into tents, etc.. This in spite of all kinds of brazenly foolish behavior by visitors (the worst thing about working there). At some point something is going to happen to end that record, to be sure. But if you continue to be as thoughtful as you are in doing your research and asking questions, and simply pay attention while going to the falls, etc. the odds of something bad happening to you are very, very small. Almost certainly your odds are much worse driving to the airport than walking to the campground or Brooks Falls.
Hope that helps. If you have any more questions please let me know.
One last thought, since you've read all my posts: Bear management can be a very, very distorted lens through which to view life at Brooks. Coastal brown bears are amazingly tolerant animals. They certainly are not "safe", but I've lasted five seasons with not infrequently dozens of confrontations in a single day. Were I doing the same job against humans, or chimpanzees for that matter, I doubt I would have made it two weeks.
DeleteCarl, your comments on human and bear behavior is so valuable. I worked with the PA Game Commission as a Wildlife Rehabilitation and Capture/Transport = EMT for critters.
ReplyDeleteI had over 14+ years experience with Black Bears. Their body language along with their huffing, puffing, and tree slamming is pretty clear. Get too close, first thing the black bear does is raise its hackles. They'll often smack a tree or log to let you know too close. You have to practice harmlessness and control your fear. They can smell it. In Veterinarian offices, peppermint candies are offered to folks afraid, it masks the smell of fear for dogs and cats. This cannot be done for bears, they love peppermint.
Sorry for being personal but if a woman is near a bear in June and she has her monthly visitor, please use internal protection or better, stay out of the woods. The bear thinks you're in estrus and will chase you. Especially if you are camping and decide to urinate in the woods. Wrong mating species but bears don't know that. So, women beware.
Black bears respond well to an Alpha voice. Loud and demanding. If you can make them think you are bigger and badder than they are, they will leave. I've come face to face with a 7' tall, standing on his hind legs bear. He weighed over 700 lbs. Luckily I had a bucket filled with muffins. Don't ask why, not important but sure came in handy. I dumped them out facing Goliath, I named him, I backed up slowly until I was far enough away that I could turn and return to my house. He stayed all season for the muffins.
I also became friends with a yearling who's mother was put down for being a nuisance bear. He learned commands like sit, stay, wait, and I'll meet you downstairs. So smart and loved black oil sunflower seeds. I don't endorse feeding bears. Certainly not by hand, or near your home. This young one needed some help his first year and he habituated to me. I never touched him but we came to an understanding so we got along just fine. For 10 years he was around my home and never did any damage to anything.
Fact, the entire mountain and all the people who lived there loved this bear and knew he wasn't a problem. He even got through his teen years without incident. His name was Hoover and he and Goliath made a pact. One stayed on one side of my home and one stayed on the other side.
Often people would come to see the bears and I'm still astounded at the ignorance of humans with children. Screaming humans, adult or child is a no no. It means you're hurt and easy picking. Don't scream, use an alpha voice, deep and loud. If you can believe you are bigger and badder than they are, they'll believe it and leave you alone.
Humans need to learn to live with the animals not the other way around. We have eyes and brains that when used properly can save you. Bears and other animals run on instinct. They know their jobs from birth. We're the ones that need to learn to live with them.
Thank you for your information, l hope mine with help others with black bears. Annie