You Just Encountered a Black Bear. Here’s How to Avoid a Potential Attack.

black bear

Despite the cuddly image portrayed by Smoky, Yogi, and the Charmin bears, running into a bear when you're out in the woods is anything but cute. Especially if you are miles away from your vehicle and have no cell phone reception.

While many people think the best thing you can do is play dead, this will only help you if you are being attacked by a brown bear. If it's a black bear, this may only exacerbate the problem.

Knowing how to avoid an attack in the first place is key, and keeping yourself out of that situation will ensure you never have to put your skills to the test.

Luckily, black bears are much more skittish than people often imagine, and chances are you'll never have to actively avoid an attack by one.

In the off chance this becomes a possibility, there are a few things you should remember on the next page.

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18 Comments

  1. Tony Pittman said:

    Best way to stop a bear from killing you is the same way you stop a man from killing you. Kill the$#%&!@*out of it first. At least you can eat the bear and not feel wierd about it.

  2. Stevie Ray said:

    Actually, a Panda will mess you up if you got near one in the wild. They aren’t as cuddly as you might think.

  3. Joseph Perretta said:

    Black bears are no where’s near as dangerous as brown or grizzly bears. The 5 encounters I’ve had with black bears, 2 male and 1 female with 2 cubs, have all been fine. When the bears got too close I just made my self known and the bears all took off running. One of the males I ran into was a bit more stubborn and bluff charged me. I stood my ground and took a step closer to the bear, he instantly turned and bolted into the woods. Black bears are more timid than most bears and would rather run from a human than attack. Early spring and fall are the most dangerous times to run into a bear. The spring they emerge from their dens and are hungry, and in the fall they are filling up for the winter. I’m not saying that you should risk your life to get as close to a bear as possible. If you encounter a black bear don’t run. If you run you become something to be caught and is the reason most people are killed by black bears. Slowly back away till it’s safe to turn and walk away. If a black bear charges it’s most likely to be a bluff charge, just to scare you. And if a black bear does charge you make yourself as large as possible and yell like you’ve never yelled before, if you appear to be more than the bear can handle he will more than likely leave you be. But of course bears are still wild animals and sometimes you get a black bear that just has no fear or is starving and will eat whatever it can get a hold of. I’d rather live in a black bear infested forest than a grizzly infested forest any day.

  4. Robert Huskey said:

    Pee your pants and that will turn off the perpetrator… Oops that’s rape not black bears?

  5. Paul Wolf said:

    Joseph Perverts, I agree. Every encounter I’ve had with a black bear, here in the Eastern U.S. has been rather timid. The only exception was about 35 years ago in Northern Pa. Mom and her cubs at our families hunting cabin. Some people were washing in a creek using apple scented shampoo. Cubs came down to the creek and the people got between them and mom. She charged us but we ran back to the cabin and stayed close to it. Overtime we went off of the porch she charged, but only so far. Eventually she rounded up the kids and with a swipe of the paw away they went. Usually seeing a black bear in the woods is a rare treat. One that should be savored with wonderment, respect and caution. The Pennsylvania Game Commission made s video years ago on the Pennsylvania Black Bear.

  6. Brooke Hartigan said:

    Peter wtf you’ve never encountered any bears in your life lol. Wow I’ve been with you for 5 years and never once have you EVER mentioned coming in contact with bears!!! I think your getting your life mixed up with tv life

  7. Ben Simpson said:

    I camp in breast country a couple tonnes a year and I’ve had a couple black bear encounters. They’re pretty much harmless, they don’t like people or noise. Most of the time you can shoo then off by simply talking. The only way a black bear is attacking you is #1 you get in between a bear and it’s cubs. #2 you get in between a hungry bear and it’s food and #3 if a bear is cornered and feels threatened. They’re much more scared of you trust me.

  8. John James said:

    Had a dream about a black bear last night I totally forgot about this reminded me

  9. Frank Gallegos said:

    Bullshit panda bears are no different ,from black,bears ,grizzly bears, when it is predation..or a saw protecting there young there all just as lethal … a camping trip almost a month ago it was bear country but what i tracked that was active in the area was a mountain lion with the same lethal power as a bear

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