Discussion with local park and forestry officials has taught me that negative bear encounters in any form are an exceedingly rare event - with only four or five occurrences in the entire province of BC in any given year, and then mostly in the northern regions involving Grizzly bear; a breed that we rarely see in the Okanagan.

Traveling the trails listed in this book will definitely place you in black-bear country, and the mounds of bear-scat which you’ll see on-trail are visual testament to their trail-use.  Bear-scat generally appears as a lopsided pile or patty of irregularly shaped, short cylinders approximately two to three centimeters in diameter.  Scat often contains a high vegetative content; partially digested berries in summer or fall, and perhaps rodent fur during the spring.

Since this book will find more people wandering around in bear country, I thought that I would provide a brief overview of the rare, but potential danger which back bears in our forests might pose under special circumstances, and what do if in such a situation.  Keep in mind that many of the trails that appear in this publication are nothing more than cattle and game-trails.
Even the biggest and best trails in the forest generally began as one of the former and nearly every cow-trail is also used by wild game.  You are therefore traveling on routes frequented by most of the forest’s denizens whenever you venture into the woods on singletrack trail systems.

What follows is a boiled down version of three books (see bibliography) and one instructional DVD that I’ve studied on the subject.  In the majority of cases, black bears will make great efforts to avoid you.  In perhaps sixty-plus encounters I have personally had with black bears in various locations across Canada, they ran off as soon as we spotted one another.  Who knows how many times they’ve seen me in the forest and I didn’t notice their presence.

In the extremely unlikely case that one decides to stalk and attack you, as opposed to a sow defending her cubs or you happening upon it as it feeds, be aware that the age-old adage of playing dead isn’t an advisable strategy in every case.  If a black bear stalks and attacks you, and you’ve seen no signs of cubs or a kill nearby before or during the attack, chances are that you are going to be mauled badly, if not to death.

If attacked in this manner, and you don’t have any deterrents as described below, you need to fight back with all you have at hand.  Hit the bear with anything you can grab; sticks, stones, camping implements - anything that you can hold or throw.  Focus on the eyes and nose as these are the animal’s most sensitive zones, and the only ones you have any chance of inflicting damage upon.  There exist several documented cases of people diffusing black bear attacks by viciously punishing these parts of a bear’s anatomy.  Be aware that your face, head and neck are areas that the bear is going to attack if given the opportunity as this is what it instinctively goes after when it fights with one of its own species.

How does one know when a black bear is guarding its young, a fresh kill or is just in a bad mood vs. a bear that is actively contemplating you for its next meal?

Cub-protection will generally be obvious.  Unless you surprise her at very close range, a sow will generally tree her cubs and stand on-guard at the base.  If in this case the sow turns and charges you; stand your ground.  She may attempt several bluff charges to get rid of you.  Don’t attempt to outrun her as, unless your safe haven is very close at hand and she is quite far away, you are guaranteed to lose the foot-race.  Bears can run faster than mankind’s swiftest athlete - up hill or down.  The old adage of bears running slower downhill is a myth.

Back away slowly, talk calmly and return up or down the trail from whence you came.  If attacked, try dodging the bear by using a tree or large object between yourself and the animal in an effort to ward it off.  In the case of protecting her young, the sow only wants to fill you with fear so that you will leave her and her young alone.  Unfortunately, if she catches you, she will likely inflict minor injuries in the process.

If you decide to climb a tree, do so immediately and climb as fast as possible, to the highest point.  Black bear are excellent tree climbers, but don’t deal well with the thinnest parts of the tree.  This way, you can also kick at it from above; in many cases histories, this action has dislodged the pursuing bear.  Make every effort to avoid it grabbing your foot, as numerous people have been dragged out of trees by bears in this manner.

If cubs or food is evident prior to the attack, and a bluff-charge turns into an assault, then you may be facing a non-predatory attack, and playing dead could be an effective strategy.  Lay face-down with your fingers laced behind and covering your neck, guarding what will surely be the attack zones.  Keep your legs parallel and feet crossed.  If the bear rolls you over, continue the roll until you are once again face down. Try not to make any noise, though the pain or fear might make you wish to scream out; you are supposed to be ‘dead’ after all...

Remember that playing dead is reserved for mother and cub situations or stumbling upon a feeding bear; not bears attacking you for no apparent reason (predatory action).  If the attack goes on for more than 30 seconds, you are being mauled; perhaps to risk of death.  In this case, fight back with everything you have and as violently as possible, remembering to focus on the eyes and nose.

Deterrents; since this publication is directed at recreational trail users in Canada, it is doubtful that you will be carrying a firearm with you as you navigate back-wood trails.  I do however recommend that you carry some form of defense, be it a decent sized buck-knife or my favorite; a large can of bear-spray in an easy to access holster.

I generally carry a 30cm serrated hand-saw (for trail maintenance) and a bottle of bear-spray when I travel back-woods trails with my dog or with a small group of people. There are no recorded cases of bears attacking a group of five or more adults, so there is truly safety in numbers.

Real-world trials on both grizzly and black bear show bear-spray (pressurized cans of liquefied capsicum) to be an extremely effective deterrent, even on the most aggressive bears of either species.  Some very determined or stalking bears have however, been shown to return to a campsite or area of pervious attack even after being sprayed; often more than once.  As such, if you find yourself in a position of having to spray a bear, clear the area as soon as possible and report the event to the local authorities such as the RCMP or a BC Parks ranger.

An unfortunate aspect of bear-spray is that areas sprayed on purpose have in some cases shown to be an attractant to bears, apparently because of the strong scent and its relationship to food; capsicum is a vegetable, albeit, a very hot one.  Because of this, don’t use it as a perimeter marker and assume that you’ve created a barrier around an area by doing so.  The only reason that capsicum based sprays are a deterrent is because of their painful stinging and asphyxiating nature.

In order to be truly effective it must be sprayed directly in the face of the bear.  In the best case scenario, the bear catches a blast not only into its eyes, but also its lungs during an inhalation.  This will cause it serious but temporary pain, and provide you a brief window of opportunity to beat a hasty retreat from the area.

If you enjoy back-country camping in bear-country, be it here in the Okanagan or elsewhere, and seek a measure of comfort for 'things that go bump in the night', you may wish to purchase a portable electric bear-fence kit, batteries for which last several days.  These lightweight units provide much peace of mind, especially when every noise in the woods finds you 'bearanoid' in your tent.  See the manufacturer’s site; www.udap.com

Keep your bear-deterrent close at hand or hip.  It needs to be in a position that you can access in mere seconds.  The vast majority of bear-attacks occur without warning and from relatively close proximity.  As noted, bears are extremely fleet of foot, so they close distance in a few heartbeats.  If everyone in your group is armed with bear-spray, you have little to fear even in the most heavily bear populated areas.

While navigating trails detailed in this publication you will find yourself in locations where bear-scat and bear-markings are evident in great quantity; you’ll feel much more confident if carrying a can of capsicum spray.

Not only that, but capsicum works on any animal that breathes and has eyes; which is pretty much everything out there...

Here are the most common signs of bear activity in an area;

Dense thickets of berry bushes  Bears know where local food sources are; they spend the better part of each day mapping them out and eating. Keep your eyes peeled and make noise in order to alert any bears that may be feeding nearby of your presence, allowing them time to move off.  The more berries you find in one spot, the higher the chance that bears also know about the feeding ground.  In the spring you’ll find bears on the south and southwest lowlands seeking early food supplies.  Keep your eyes peeled for movement in dense shrubs

If you smell the unmistakable odor of decaying flesh  There is a chance that you are nearing a kill, possibly a bear-kill or claim.  In these circumstances, take note of the wind direction and navigate away from the origin of the scent.

Scavenging marks  Medium to large rocks moved or flipped over for no apparent reason as well as logs ripped apart, trees with scarified bark, clawed topsoil and of course, bear scat; especially large amounts such as that witnessed around Mt.McLellan, Mt.Hawthorne and Green Mt.

My advise is that you carry bear-spray with you into the back-woods.  Don’t buy the cheapest stuff you can find, or the small cans that are designed for use against dogs.  Pick up a large container, along with a chest or hip holster.  Sure your friends will say “don’t waste your money” or “you don’t need that stuff around here”, but guess who they would be looking toward in the rare chance of a bear encounter.

The odds of injury at the hands of a bear is very low, but I like the fact that you can reduce it to nearly zero by carrying spray.

This chapter barely skims the surface on the topic of bears.  I cannot stress enough the need to educate yourself on the world of the bear.  They are in the forests all around us, some 100,000+ in BC alone.

The single best source of comprehensive knowledge on the subject that I have run across is a book titled Bear Attacks – Their causes and Avoidance – by Stephen Herrero.  It’s packed with everything you’d ever want to know on the subject and is dirt-cheap at only $25.00.  Grab a copy, its a real eye-opener.

Here is some (low resolution) footage of Stephen speaking; he's easily the world's foremost authority on bears. Low-resolution, but a good listen...