You’ve encountered a dangerous animal in the wild, now what?

With summer comfortably nuzzled into the Okanagan, camping, hiking and other fun outdoor activities are becoming a weekly event - but if you get caught in a dangerous situation with a wild animal in the woods, how do you respond?

Some people say you should play dead in the presence of a bear, others speculate that you should scream, yell and stamp - two very different choices on how to deal with a life or death situation.

So, how do you react when you come face-to-face with a lion, tiger or bear? Oh, my.

In B.C., the most common wildlife you will encounter are bears, snakes and cougars.

Black Bear

Black bears, despite their name, can bear various shades of colours, including black, blue-black, brown, cinnamon and white. Characterized by their straight face, tall ears and lack of shoulder hump, the Black Bear is generally significantly smaller than a Grizzly.

Grizzly Bear

Defined by their brown fur and “grizzled” appearance, Grizzlies (or brown bears) differ from black bears with their short, rounded ears, shoulder humps and dished (or concaved) face.

Despite the established myths, grizzlies and black bears do not differ in how to react in an open setting. There is no universal rule on how to deal with a bear, the correct reactions are circumstantial.

There are two situations when encountering a bear: defensive and non-defensive.

When a bear responds defensively, it will make lots of noise: huffing and puffing, clacking its jaws and hitting the ground. It doesn’t want to hurt you, explains Frank Ritcey, Provincial WildSafeBC Coordinator, it is trying to scare you off.

“Make yourself look non-threatening, give the bear lots of room, step back, avert eye contact, show the bear that you're not a threat,” explains Ritcey.

"If it does make contact you don't fight, you curl: you get down on the ground, spread your legs [so the bear can't flip you] and clasp your hands behind your neck. The idea is that you're trying to protect your vital organs."

If it responds non-defensively, that’s when you are tasked with fighting back. The best form of aggressive defense is bear spray, which is almost twice as effective as a rifle, explains a report from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Don’t run from a bear, or turn your back and regardless of your climbing abilities, it is probably best not to scale a tree, says Ritcey.

“Most likely, if you can climb the tree, a grizzly can climb the tree,” he said, adding that Black Bears are incredible climbers.

Cougars

Very few people are killed by cougars. If the human has the potential to fight back the cougar will leave.

Ritcey explained you don’t need to watch the skies in fear of a cougar, despite myths that they hunt from trees, cougars stalk prey from the ground.

"The big thing with cougars is you always fight back and you always make yourself look as imposing as possible: raise your arms up, yell at the animal, walk towards it, make it understand that you're not going to be an easy meal."

Rattlesnakes

Ritcey’s advice was simple, if you don’t bother them (or step on them) they won’t bother you.

Be safe in the wilderness this summer and visit WildSafe BC for more information on how to act in the wild! For information on bear sightings in B.C. click here.