Why grizzly bears are dangerous

Miraculously, Messenger survived to tell the tale and went on to work as a wilderness guide and search and rescue volunteer. Now he knows a little something more about bears and, more importantly, how to avoid and survive an encounter with an animal at the top of the backcountry food chain.

Not only did he survive, but despite large wounds on his leg, immense pain, and having lost the tips of two toes, he escaped the ordeal without any life-threatening injuries.

Grizzlies, after all, are large animals with built-in defenses: claws up to 4 inches long as long as a human finger and a body weight of up to pounds. They can run as fast as 35 miles per hour—faster than the top speed of an Olympic sprinter—and stand as tall as 8 feet when on their hind legs.

They are definitely not the sort of creature you want to meet in the woods. A lot of it. Still, bears rarely attack humans. In fact, in , most backcountry fatalities in North America 83 were due to falls , and 12 people died from simply getting lost, whereas only two were related to grizzly attacks. But if bears feel threatened, they will defend themselves. Naturally, the objective is to avoid a grizzly confrontation altogether.

Most hikers will go their whole lives without spotting one in the wild, let alone meeting one on the trail. Click here for more information. Fact: Because black bears can tree their cubs, it is rare for them to attack a person in defence of cubs. The chances are good that she will just bluff charge and stop well short of physical contact.

You need to do whatever you can to show her that you are not a threat, otherwise the consequences could be tragic. Be quiet, make yourself smaller and retreat. Fact: Bear attacks are extremely rare. Although there are thousands of human-bear encounters every year, only a very few result in personal injury. Most bears will actually retreat before you are even aware of their presence. It is still important, however, to stay alert and know what to do. Fact: Current evidence suggests that menstruation does not increase the likelihood of an attack by a black or grizzly bear, but tampons are recommended over pads.

They may be disposed of by burning and then packing out the remains. If a bear attacks particularly a black bear in an offensive manner and physical contact is made, fight for your life.

Kick, punch, hit the bear with rocks or sticks or any improvised weapon you can find. A predatory bear usually stalks its prey and attacks from behind. It is often silent and the bear does not exhibit any defensive behaviors like huffing or slapping the ground.

Its ears may be laid back and its head held low, with its intent focused directly on you. Lynn Rogers Bears have fascinated humans for millennia. The analysis by Smith and Herrero also revealed that things don't always end well for the bear: In physical run-ins with people, bears died 34 percent of the time from injury incurred during the incident or from subsequent management actions. For instance, if you're a homeowner and like to put out birdseed, consider doing it in the winter, when birds really need it and when bears are hibernating—otherwise you could have an unwelcome visitor.

Also remember that bear encounters can be enjoyable, as long as you keep your distance. See National Geographic's best bear pictures. All rights reserved. Living With the Wild. As bear populations rebound across the United States, and as people increasingly move into their habitat, bear-human run-ins are inevitable. This is one of several stories asking: How do we live with the predators?

This photo was submitted to Your Shot, our photo community on Instagram. Follow us on Instagram at natgeoyourshot or visit us at natgeo. Todd Wilkinson is an environmental journalist. Follow him on Twitter.

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A bear seeking food may be deterred by dogs and loud noises. A predatory bear could be attracted to dogs, noise, or just your smell. Do those motivations and the actions you might take to avoid an encounter sound confusing and contradictory? They are. I used to be one of those people, and let me tell you, trying to effectively employ bear spray during a simulated bear attack was an eye-opening experience.

Just like a firearm, bear spray is both dangerous and ineffective in untrained hands. Forrest put together a moving target that replicates the speed of a charging bear and the distance one might surprise you from—just 20 feet. You can and should order a few cans of that inert training spray right now. Same controls, same capacity, same spray force and distance. When you get it, go outside and spray a can. I was surprised by the incredibly limited range just a dozen feet or so and how short the duration of available spray lasts less than ten seconds.

I was also disappointed by the narrow spread of the spray. My takeaway from spending most of an afternoon trying to hit a moving target with the inert spray was that most of us probably place way too much trust in bear spray. It may help deter a curious bear, but I would not want to rely on it as my only means of defense if I ever do experience an attack.

Just throwing a can on your hip when you head into grizzly country is by no means capable of guaranteeing your safety. Tactic also teaches its students how to use marine flares.

Those have recently found favor in Alaska, where anglers have been using them to deter brown bears that get overly interested in their catch. Unlike bear spray, marine flares have the benefit of working longer and having a farther reach. Pop a flare, and an incredibly bright flame roars to life, burning for 60 seconds or more. Apparently all that light and noise is enough to scare bears at at a distances in excess of yards.

I encourage you to seek training with flares before carrying one into the wilderness. All grizzly fatalities are the subjects of exhaustive investigation by state and federal law enforcement agencies. And having completed the course, I know that gun might be the only tool I have capable of stopping a determined attack.

A bear charged his hunting partner, who immediately deployed his bear spray. Unfortunately, the direction the bear was coming from was upwind, and the spray had no effect on the grizzly. Seeing that, the instructor drew his handgun and shot the bear dead. An investigation the next day ruled that shooting justifiable.