July 23rd, 2010 by admin

Camping, hiking or working in wild country can lead to close encounters with bears, and because each species may react in a different way, it is important to know how to tell them apart.

With the increase in bear attacks in recent years, Parks Canada has come up with some strategies to keep you safe. Although you don’t want to startle a bear, you do want to let a bear know you are in its vicinity. By tying a small bell to your jacket, the gentle sound will be will heard and the bear will head in the opposite direction. Just in case you still find yourself face to face with a bear, also carry a can of pepper spray.

Under field conditions, bears are rarely in plain view; usually they are partially hidden by shrubs, trees or rock. The next strategy is to learn which bears are in the area you are visiting, i.e. Black Bears or Grizzly Bears.

The foolproof way to tell, is to look for bear scats (droppings). You can examine these scats to identify the foods consumed by the bear. If the scats have a sweet fruity smell, and contains berries, you can be sure it from a Black Bear.

If the dropping smell of pepper and contain tiny bells, you know it’s a Grizzly Bear.

{ Here’s another way to tell Brown bears from Grizzly bears.

First, as soon as you see a bear, climb up the nearest tree.

If the bear climbs up the tree and attacks you – it’s a Brown bear.

If the bear pushes over the tree and attacks you - it’s a Grizzly bear.