Bear Attacks – Killer Statistic That May Surprise

A view from Alaska, from a couple of years ago.
Bear Attacks – Killer Statistic That May Surprise You

I always carry an epi-pen when leading backcountry trips. Always make sure everyone has a properly fitted life jacket on raft trips. However there is often resistance by those in charge to bringing bear spray or firearms when in bear country. I have been in only one situation where we needed an EPI-Pen, but nearly a half dozen where bears were threatening. It all depends on where you visit or live. Bow hunters in Western Montana should have a firearms or bear spray. Backcountry skiers there can substitute an avalanche beacon.

Do some research into the media. There are some good resources. Drama and sensationalism ALWAYS wins over fact. That is regardless of the subject area, I might add.

I realize bear attacks are pretty rare statistically. But of course the stats don't matter much if you're the one getting attacked. There have been four Grizzly bear attacks within 70 miles of my front door in the last two weeks! The bear is believed to have been shot during the last attack (yeah, officials think all four attacks were by the same animal) so it may either be dead or wounded and even more dangerous. Regardless of the specific figure one wants to assign to the odds I'll be toting bear spray and a firearm until the risk of running into a bear drops a bit more (ie later in the winter).

It's not the odds, it's the stakes. Warning! Do not click on the link unless you have a strong stomach.

The article referenced talks about the most common problem: trips, stumbles, and falls. I had linked to stats that give the common occurrence of falls into hot springs in Yellowstone, an issue relatively unique to that region.

Here is another hot spring occurrence: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/man-su...yser/ar-AAI5JeI

Notable in this instance is likely involvement of alcohol, something I have seen repeatedly in incidents in which I have been involved. I drink a whole lot less than I used to.

I quit drinking almost seven years ago (in a few days it will be seven ). Drinking was at the root of a good amount of the stupid things I've done. Lots of things in the woods that can injury you- falls, water, animals, fire, etc and all are more likely to harm you if you're drunk.

There is plenty of misdirection from the other side of the bear argument, despite their efforts to appear to be purely data driven.

- Cardiovascular disease is listed as more deadly than bear attacks. True enough. But people are subject to disease 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, every year of their lives. All Americans are subject to cardiovascular disease, but only a tiny minority are exposed to bears. What is the exposure time to bear country, even by hardcore hunters in Montana? 5 days a year? 3 days a month? But when you ARE exposed, there is a nontrivial risk. Comparing bear attack rates with disease rates, without a corresponding correction for the difference in exposed population, is a slight of hand trick.

- Slips/trips/falls are certainly more common than bear attacks. But beyond a risk's frequency, you must also assess its impact. If I slip on the trail, it's likely not a big deal. If a griz comes up on my elk kill, won't you agree that the stakes are far higher?

- The article lists DEATHS by bear attack per year. But you can have your life ruined without dying. In between the two extremes of "I was unscathed" and "I died", there is a very wide spectrum of "I was mauled and my life will never be the same, physically and emotionally".

- "A cruise into any outdoors related online forum and there will be hundreds upon hundreds of threads about bear attacks, bear defense weapons or bear defense strategy for every fatality." Really? There are HUNDREDS of threads on ANY outdoors forum about bear attacks? Hyperbole much? That's a bad look for a supposedly rational and data driven author.

I've spent 4 seasons in Montana and Wyoming during the bears' hyperphagic phase, where they are especially assertive about food and space before the onset of winter. I practice all the bear-aware methods and have still found myself within 20 meters of a huge griz. We managed to exit safely. But part of my toolset was a can of bear spray on every member of the party, prior live fire practice with the spray, and an effective firearm that I am expert with. It's not a guarantee but I won't operate in that environment without those tools.

And I'm not wrong for making that choice.

Well said, Robert McCall. Most folks I know that have spent their entire lives in Montana or Idaho that spend a lot of time in the woods have had a run in or encounter with a bear or lion. A buddy of mine worked for the forest service for just three or four years yet still had several close encounters. As you say, the fall and spring can be especially interesting as bears are coming of or preparing to hibernate.

I don't want to exaggerate the risk but you make a great point. Heart disease is a risk 24/7/365. Most folks spend hundreds or even thousands of hours per years their vehicle driving so that risk is obvious. You can only be at risk of a bear attack while you're on their turf...at least most of the time. In Missoula a 900 lb Grizz was tranked in the garage of an urban home. While I lived in Coeur d'Alene, ID a mountain lion was treed in a park downtown and had to be tranked (after which it fell out of the tree and died, much to the angst of the local tree huggers).

It feels to me like present management practices are bringing bears and humans into contact a lot more than in the past. Part of this is politics so I won't go there but it's something to aware of. Especially in Montana, Wyoming, and parts of Idaho and CO.

Very true. I don't mean to be a sensationalist and I have posted it before but check out this story! Harrowing! CAUTION- The link contains graphic pictures of the victim, and you may not want to them. Be warned!

A great deal of the problem is the growing urban-wild land interface. just as people are building further into wild lands and increasing their exposure to fires, they are also in closer contact with the wild life, whether it be chipmunks or bears. The basic problem is too many people on a non-expanding planet. And that is the basis for many of our difficulties.

Just tacking this on here, FWIW: https://www.backpacker.com/survival/myths-about-bears