Black Bear Attacks Hiker

By Kevin O'Donnell
Environmental News Script
September 10, 2000

This past May, a hiker in the Great Smoky Mountains National park -- along Little river trail, near Elkmont campground -- was apparently attacked and killed by a 111-pound female black bear and her 40 pound yearling.

The tragic incident was widely reported in the news media, along with the disturbing detail that the bears had, indeed, eaten parts of the hiker's body.

But it's important to keep this incident in perspective. Black bear attacks on humans -- especially fatal attacks -- are extremely rare. This incident was the first deadly black bear attack in the sixty-six-year history of the park. It was the first EVER in the southeastern United States. And, in all of North America, only 43 black bear mauling deaths have ever been recorded.

Nonetheless, black bear populations appear to be on the rise in the southeast. About 1800 black bears live in the Smokies alone. So it can't hurt to think ahead about what you should do, in the highly unlikely event that you find yourself in a tight spot with a black bear.

Stephen Herrero, in his book, Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance, says that the best thing to do if you find yourself facing a black bear is to make noise, while slowly backing away.

Do NOT run, because running could provoke a charge. Also, do not block the bear's escape route. And NEVER place yourself between a sow and a cub.

If a black bear DOES start to approach you, stand your ground, make noise, and wave your hands to make yourself appear as big as possible.

In the extremely rare case where a black bear actually charges, the best thing to do, according to Herrero, is to fight for your life. Use all your resources -- fists, feet, sticks, whatever you have, to fight the critter off.

That's how you deal with a BLACK bear, according to the experts.

However, do not confuse that with how you handle a Grizzly Bear. There are no Grizzlies in the east, of course. And the Grizzlies in the American Rocky Mountains were largely wiped out by the early 20th century. But Grizzly populations out west have rebounded somewhat in the past few decades. And Grizzly fatalities, though very rare, do occur. According to Herrero, Grizzlies killed an average of two people per year in North America during the 1990's.

A U.S. Forest Service pamphlet entitled "Living with Grizzlies" says that if you encounter a grizzly, you should "stay calm, drop something like your hat or gloves on the ground in front of you and slowly back away, speaking in a soft monotone."

If the Grizzly charges you, stand still, because it may turn out to be a "bluff charge." If the grizzly keeps charging, roll up in a cannonball and play dead.

Whatever you do, don't even THINK about yelling at a Grizzly, much less fighting one. Unlike the black bear, the grizzly is just too massive and ferocious to mess with. Oh, and make sure not to look the grizzly in the eye, because that will only make the bear mad. And you do not want to do that.

Article source: http://www.etsu.edu/writing/enews/bears.htm

Click below to download a printable report that
includes this and other bear attack news articles:

Bear Attacks