Staying Safe In Bear Country

Above, a mother bear and her cub in Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The first time I've ever seen a bear in the wild was in 1998 in Sequoia National Park. In a meadow near the Dorst Campground, a mother and her cubs were in a meadow about 100 yards away.

Since then, I've seen bears in the wild a few other times. Many national and state parks have bear-proof storage containers for campers to store their food and other items that may give off an odor that would attract them (they can even smell Chapstick!).

Above, a bear-proof storage container at the Manzanita Campground in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

RV Life has some tips on how to stay safe while camping and hiking.

They begin with:

Although most people might enjoy glimpsing a bear while RVing through the forests, bear encounters while camping have the potential for turning very dangerous (to both humans and bears) quickly. 

Bears are large, fast, and generally hungry.  They spend their time scavenging, looking for an easy meal, with their highly sensitive noses leading the way to smells that could potentially be food sources. 

If those smells lead a bear into your campsite, bears have the strength and speed to do significant damage to vehicles, trailers, and humans.  Sadly, bears that learn to associate humans with potential food sources can be seriously dangerous, and usually the end result is that the bear is euthanized.  Bears are much better off relying on their natural food sources, without human involvement. 

After talking with wildlife officers from both Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Alaska Fish and Game, these are some precautions and considerations for those RVing in bear country to keep in mind.

To read more, go here.