A Worried Mother Learns about Bears

Now that the camping trip is over, I feel a bit silly that I was actually worried about us encountering a bear. It didn’t help that just last spring there was a fatal attack by a black bear in the Cherokee National forest, which was where we were to camp. A 6-year old girl was killed after her mother and 2-year old brother were seriously injured by the bear.

I’ve found that instead of worrying, it’s best for me to do some research and learn what I can. That usually puts things into perspective, weakens the irrational fears, and empowers me. So, I headed to the computer to learn about bears.

Maybe most of you are not worry-warts like me, but for those of you who are, here are the more pertinent things I learned.

• Make some noise when walking in the woods to alert bears of your presence. They don’t want to run into you either.
• Keep all food away from your tent. Don’t eat or brush your teeth or store/use perfume in your tent.
• Pepper spray is helpful if sprayed directly in a bear’s face during a bear attack. But do not use it proactively by spraying your tent, pack, clothes, etc. The pepper spray has been shown to actually attract bears when accidentally sprayed on the ground.
• If you happen to encounter a bear, make sure you are not between a bear and its cub or its food. Also, like with an aggressive dog, do not run. Slowly back away. If the bear approaches you, stop retreating, look the bear in the eye, and try to make yourself as big and tough as possible while keeping a calm voice. Stand up straight and wave your arms – preferably with large sticks in your hands.
• If attacked, play dead. Then if the bear doesn’t leave you alone, fight like crazy.

We encountered no bears on our trip. I’m sure it helped that Thunder Rock campsite was well occupied with several other campers with their cars and RVs. The place had “people here” written all over it. The above points would be more applicable to parties that are camping in the wilderness.