Travel Tips for Grizzly Country

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Fortunately, grizzlies and humans tend to avoid each other. If you pay attention to what you're doing, you will frequently notice grizzlies before they're aware of you. And grizzlies are aware of their surroundings enough that they often detect people before we're close enough to pose a threat. Contrary to popular belief, grizzlies don't want trouble. That's really what the statistics from Yellowstone tell us. Between 1980 and 1994, there were more than 600,000 visitor-use nights in the backcountry and thousands of people went for day hikes, yet there were only twenty-one grizzly bearrelated injuries. Grizzlies don't want trouble with you or with other bears — they want food. They're experts at avoiding confrontations and fights.

Just as grizzlies try to avoid confrontations with each other, they generally try to avoid us. Humans rely primarily on sight to detect grizzlies from a safe distance. Grizzlies depend on their nose but have good vision and hearing, too.

Grizzlies don't always flee from humans, so if you spot a bear that's more than 100 yards away and not aware of you, don't immediately draw attention to yourself. Think about your situation. At that distance, you're not a threat to the bear. There's not much chance it's going to look up, see you, and charge because it feels threatened.

Whether you decide to take evasive actions or stay and watch the bear for awhile, you need to ask yourself a few questions. Which way is the wind blowing? Can the bear smell me? Can I slip away unseen when the grizzly drops down into a ravine 150 yards away? If it moves closer, what will I do?

If there's a route that simply allows you to avoid the bear, use it before the bear gets within 100 yards of you. If you can't get away undetected and the bear starts heading in your direction, I suggest that you alert the bear to your presence in a non-threatening way when it's 100 to 150 yards away. Just clap your hands and say,"Hey bear." If it seems inevitable that the bear will become aware of you, the farther away from you this occurs, the better. This gives the bear options.

It can leave. It might decide you're not a threat and keep going about its business. It may rush toward you, but, because of the distance, this action is more likely to be prompted by curiosity than fear. It may stop, stand on its hind legs, and try to smell or see you better. It might ignore you and keep feeding or doing whatever it was doing. Because the bear is now aware of you, it may only be pretending to ignore you — so leave.

Once the bear is no longer moving toward you and is doing something besides looking at you, quarter away from it until you're a safe distance apart. By not moving directly away, you give the bear a better chance to see that you're a human; you don't give the bear the impression that its presence is the reason you're retreating. You can still keep an eye on the bear, but don't hang around. Don't risk another encounter with a bear you've already agitated once. Clear out of the area.