As title says.
In: Other
Black bears aren’t as big as you might expect and you can possibly scare them away. Polar bears are the biggest and they are the apex predator of their environment and you cannot scare or beat them, only avoid them. Brown bears I’m less sure of. They’re inbetween but I don’t think the play dead thing is the best idea. Probably better to try to scare them away?
But the best plan is to have bear spray or some other weapon if you’re in an area with bears.
I live and hike in an area with black and brown bears. The safety guides here don’t actually make a distinction between black or brown bears. A black bear is just as dangerous, and just as fast. A brown bear will often try to avoid encounters with humans as much as the black ones do. It really depends on the moment and on the bear.
The assumption is that if you are hiking in bear country you will have a bear spray. So in reality the instructions are more like back away slowly, talk to it, don’t act like prey. If it comes at you, use bear spray.
If you didn’t have bear spray or it didn’t work, playing dead is the last resort. This should work for defensive encounters, when it feels threatened. You shouldn’t play dead as your first response to a bear encounter. And if its hunting you, then playing dead will just make it easier for the bear.
I’ve seen white bears at our zoo, they are the size of a car. I don’t think it cares that you are human, or that you have bear spray.
Short answer: It’s a rule of thumb to help guage how to react with a scary predator 80% of the time. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. You should act based on how the bear is behaving (defensive vs. curious vs. predatory) more than its color.
Long answer: The rule of thumb is due to typical bear behavior and evolution.
Black bear habitat is heavily wooden areas where they evolved to run away or climb up trees to escape threats rather than fight. They are also comparatively smaller and more easily intimidated.
Brown bear habitat is typically more wide open areas where retreat is more difficult. They are larger and more commonly resolve conflicts by stand offs and eliminating the threat. If you tried to stand off with a brown bear, you will likely lose. By pretending to be dead, you show the threat has been eliminated already, and the bear doesn’t need to keep attacking. Importantly, if the bear starts trying to eat you at this point, you SHOULD fight back.
Polar bears evolved in expansive wide open areas where any source of food is few and far between. They are massive and skilled predators. Few people have encountered a polar bear and survived without a weapon, vehicle, or structure. If a polar bear has found you and decides it wants to eat you, your best bet is to hope it ends your life quickly rather than be eaten alive. [There was one person who survived an encounter by stripping their clothes,](https://nypost.com/2020/08/29/get-naked-how-to-fend-off-a-polar-bear-attack/) but that doesn’t rhyme as well.
The motivation of the animal matters.
Black bears typically just want food. If you play dead, you look like an easy meal. If you wave your arms, shout, take a swing at them, then they might decide you’re not worth the hassle (predators hate prey that fights back!) and leave.
Brown bears are typically territorial. They want you to get the hell out of their territory. If you play dead, you’re not a trespasser you’re just a corpse. If you try and fight or scare them they will always pick the first option when their Fight or Flight triggers.
Polar bears want food, so playing dead will get you eaten. They are also the biggest bears on the planet, so attempting to fight back will achieve nothing – you’re not capable of hurting them and they know it.
Black Bears, despite their size and strength, are typically very skittish and are not usually predatory, more being foragers and scavengers. In the majority of cases a black bear will choose to flee from an encounter with a human or even a dog immediately or can be easily convinced its not worth it, one notable exception usually being a mother with cubs which will fight to the death to protect them.
Grizzly Bears are more aggressive and are not likely to run from a threat, however they also don’t often prey on large animals unless they are rather hungry, so in the event that a violent encounter with a Grizzly is because you threatened it rather than its hungry, its most likely to leave you alone if it thinks you’re incapacitated. Its not very reliable though, especially with cubs around, but you’re unlikely to outrun or outmaneuver a grizzly in open terrain either. I’ve seen a lot of people suggest instead trying to slowly back away while seeming big but not provoking. The chances are about as good, but really you should always be armed in grizzly territory.
Polar Bears are very large, fully predatory, and not picky. They will almost always attack you on sight because food is scarce in the arctic, will pursue you, and where they live there almost never is cover of any sort so unless you are armed you are pretty much a goner.
Latest Answers