Being knowledgeable and educated about bear safety in BC is crucial to ensure wildlife safety. In British Columbia, it’s important to be careful while camping, hiking, or simply discovering stunning wildlife. With wildlife’s amazing nature and unparalleled adventure, bears, wolves, and other wild animals that live in these places can pose a threat. Getting to know these fascinating spices that you may come across during your visit will help keep you safe.
The incredible natural beauty of wildlife makes it both adventurous and breathtaking. Travelers, campers, hikers, adventure seekers, and outdoor enthusiasts head towards British Columbia for a life-changing adventure. Taking online training courses on bear safety is vital to be highly trained when encountering a bear. There is plenty of important information you have to know about bear safety in British Columbia to have a safe and fantastic trip.
Understanding Bear Identification and Behavior
Bears are curious, strong, and dangerous animals. Being knowledgeable about bears’ species aids greatly in understanding their behaviors. There are two bear species found in British Columbia, black bears and grizzly bears. Differentiating between bear species can help save your life. Color isn’t reliable to differentiate between black and grizzly bears as both have various color phases but different physical characteristics. Black bears are much smaller than grizzly bears, with fairly straight-facial profiles, tall ears, short claws, and no bumps on their shoulders. As for grizzly bears, they are much larger in size compared to black bears along with concave facial profiles, small rounded ears, long claws, and prominent shoulder humps.
Black bears are less aggressive and more tolerant of people while grizzly bears are solitary and avoid human settlements. Black bears are found all over BC except Prince Edward Island. Forests are where they typically reside, but they can also be found in mountains and swampy areas. so there’s a good chance you’ll see one at a certain point if you go hiking a lot. On the other hand, grizzly bears are more common in lower-elevation wetlands, upper-elevation slopes, and avalanche chutes. Both bear species are less active in Autumn and Winter while more active in spring and summer. Learning basic defensive measures associated with wildlife is a must for safety.
Basic Defensive Measures
To ensure safe wildlife in BC, there are some basic defensive measures travelers have to take. While hiking it’s very important to make noises to disturb and keep bears away. If you are camping, hang your food in a tree to avoid attracting bears through food odor. Never leave food uncovered or out. Storing food in a safe and secure place is a must. Cook your food away from your tent to avoid attracting bears to your sleeping place. Change clothes to enter your tent after cooking and washing the dishes to keep the odor away from your sleeping area.
In bear country, you must ensure that your garbage is placed in wildlife-proof containers, and make sure that they are always tightly closed to avoid attracting bears. Bears will approach human communities to seek non-natural food sources if they are exposed to human-generated refuse. This will highly threaten human lives. Encountering a bear requires training and knowledge to save your and other people’s lives.
What to Do in a Bear Encounter?
When encountering bears, there are various significant steps to take. Don’t run, stay calm and slowly back away. You have to determine whether the bear is aware of your presence or not. If the bear doesn’t notice your presence, try to leave the area quietly without making any noise while keeping an eye on the bear. When the bear is aware of you but doesn’t react, you can speak softly to assure you are not a threat and back away slowly. As when the bear notices your presence and starts to encounter you, don’t run and stay calm while speaking softly, back away slowly, and avoid eye contact. You have to differentiate the bear species to ideally react when they encounter you.
When a black bear encounters you, act aggressively and strongly to scare it off. Try to seem larger by raising your hands. Make noise by yelling or banging objects together. Use sticks or any near object for defense while keeping your bear spray ready for usage. Keep the bear away from your food by covering it and storing it properly. However, if the bear is more interested in your food than you, throw it to the bear, but only as a last resort. Be aware if a black bear attacks you, never play dead; instead act aggressively and fight back as it will treat you as prey.
As for a grizzly bear, if it approaches you to stare and have a look at you, it simply assesses you. Avoid appearing as a threat through staying calm, talking softly, and backing away slowly without making eye contact. As you are trying to scare a bear away, a grizzly bear will do the same. It may run toward you and huff to scare you away. Avoid panicking, stay calm, and show you are friendly by talking to the bear softly. Keep bear spray in hand to act if the bear attacks you. When a grizzly bear attacks you, play dead by lying on your stomach and covering the back of your neck with your hands. Avoid being flipped using your elbow and spread your feet slightly apart.
Bear body language helps in determining the level of danger. An agitated bear with a predatory manner will start woofing, moaning, teeth popping, huffing, bluff charge, and stomping the ground with its head up and ears erect. These signs show that the bear is ready to attack. If the bear is encountering without showing any sign of a predatory manner, it’s a non-attack encounter. You have to stay calm and don’t panic while backing away slowly.
Bear Safety Practices
To assure safeness in bear country, travelers have to carry bear spray and be knowledgeable about using it effectively. Bear spray affects the eyes and upper respiratory system of bears to back off. Respect bears and only use bear spray in emergencies and high-threatening situations. Start by releasing the spray’s safety clip then hold the spray tightly with both hands, one hand on the spray and the other on its trigger. Avoid spraying upwind to protect yourself from backfire. Point the spray slightly downward when the bear is within 30 feet and then press on the trigger to release the entire contents of the spray.
Camping in bear country requires some bear safety precautions to enjoy a secure trip. To stay safe while camping, you have to check bear activities, make noise, stay in groups and be alert for bear signs, keep food well stored and covered, and use bear-resistant containers in bear habitats. These guidelines and precautions for bear safety are essential when camping in a bear country. Traveling in groups is safer than traveling alone as groups are less likely to be attacked. Staying alert for bear signs such as up-turned rocks aware campers to be ready for any bear encounter while backing away before it’s too late.
Bear Safety in BC – Stay Safe and Have an Outstanding Adventure
Coexisting with bears in their natural habitat is threatening especially if you are unconscious of bear safety. Having a strong knowledge of bear safety in BC is a lifesaver. You can take online training courses to be fully aware of wildlife safety measures and precautions to ensure a secure, memorable, and outstanding trip. You have to respect bears and avoid encountering them. By following some crucial guidelines and precautions, you will protect yourself while having an adventurous and stunning trip without putting your and others’ precious lives in danger.