How to Survive a Bear Attack, According to Science

Bears can be cute. But for most people, bear encounters aren't anything like that.

Here's how to meet a bear and come out alive... according to science.

Statistically, bears shouldn't be your biggest concern while hiking in the forest. They don't normally attack people for no apparent reason. Not unless they're startled... or starving.

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[fbonta]

Me : meets a bear in the forest
Me : Heyy bear wassup hold on don't attack me yet let me just measure your body length

[HumanBeing-zndn]

Faces a bear in a jungle
Me : *pretends to be dead
Bear : *Gets closer
Bear *whispers in my ear :
*Thats an old trick, This is 2020 BABY!!*
Me : °⊙°

[NOFORTNITE]

Dont worry about polar bears, a humble offering of a Coca Cola should make it happy

[pedrovanot]

Faces a bear in a jungle
Me : *pretends to be dead*
Bear : *Whispers in my ear*
Me : starts to laugh
Bear : *so you've choosed death*

[joepjansen]

Remember:
There are no rules in bear fighting

[yohanjamotuya]

How to survive a bear attack:

Bear: *growls*

Me: *no*

Bear: *understandable, have a great day*

Ctto (not mine)

[whitemountainshikes]

Thank you! A completely accurate video here. In the White Mountains of NH, where I often hike, we have a population of black bears, but not as extensive as more remote areas, especially in the Mid-Atlantic states. However, due to the large amount of people who hike and camp here, our population is becoming habituated to humans, and many of these bears become "nuisance bears". That's when they become dangerous. A couple points I would add:
1- When in the wilderness, don't smell like a kitchen. Keep all foodstuffs in an odor-proof container. This includes mints and toothpaste.
2- It's always best to hike in a group. Bears will rarely attack a group of people. If you're a solo hiker like me, make a little noise while hiking. You WANT the bear to know you're coming, so as not to surprise him.
3- Guns- a lot of people stand by their firearms as a first line of defense, but it should be known that even the Alaska Fish and Game Department recommends them only as a last resort after spray. Stephen Herrero, in extensive study, found spray to be effective in stopping or lessening the severity of an attack 95% of the time; firearms, only 50%. Only a penetrating round from a large caliber firearm to the skull is going to stop a bear. When they attack, they are different from the cat family, whose heads stay still. A bear's head is swaying from side to side at a forward speed of up to 35 mph. It's doubtful anyone can hit a target like that. Me, I play the odds and carry spray!
4- Sows with cubs aren't really that much more dangerous. They have a degree of protectiveness toward their cubs, but are not the fierce protectors they are made out to be (unless you somehow end up between them). Generally, they will lead their cubs away from an encounter, and have even been known to desert them!
5- Regarding attacks from the different types, there's an old adage. "If it's black, fight back. If it's brown, stay down. And if it's white...goodnight!"

[sheddu]

Why i am watching this
We don't have a bear in my country

[maestrulgamer]

Grizzly bear logic:guns are too weak, but the spray is more dangerous.

[jacoboq]

Him: *Should you attack the bear b4 it attacks you?*
Bears jaws: Am I a joke to you?

[itsVilu]

Identifying the 'attack type' can also help, in some cases, sometimes. Like, is it a defensive/territorial or predatory attack? Grizzlies/brown bears usually make a lot of noise when it's defensive attack (see videos of 2 bears fighting, they growl and make a lot of noise to try and intimidate the other), while predatory attacks are mostly silent where their breathing is the only noise they make (see videos where bears are in it for the kill. for example the video where grizzly attacks a black bear and it's 3 cubs in their den. you can only hear the cries of the cub from the forest, with no growling or anything coming from the grizzly).

While it doesn't help much to know that the 500 pound grizzly on top of you is in it for the meal, it may be helpful to be able to identify defensive/territorial attack when it happens.

[nojorooney]

You forgot the deadliest bear of them all, the sea bear, if you don’t have a stick to draw a circle with and to go in you’re dead. They hate pretty much everything you do, and if you draw an oval you’re getting killed.

[TheHaelwyphn]

Remember, we already jumped of a plane without a parachute, then survived being lost in a forest, now we are learning how to fight a bear

[johnclofine]

I was juggling a soccer ball in my backyard a month ago and a black bear legit walked passed me maybe like 20 feet away so I screamed and ran into the house

[halaalnasser]

I never realized how scary I am because my spirit animal is a black bear

[Devilish__]

The way bears walk makes it considerably simple to assume that they are slow moving animals. Yet, when they run it is extraordinary to see how fast they can propell themselves at whatever they are aiming for.

[lodielieb]

I don’t know if I will ever find myself in the Artic but I still want to know what I can do

[imjustconf_used]

It would be weird taking a second to measure and investigate what bear it is in a fight

[icommandyew]

I say for the polar bear one that your best bet is to run if you don’t got bear spray. Polar bears can run 25 mph max while humans maximum is 28 mph. Plus you’ll have loads of adrenaline.

[caillou]

How to survive a fart apocalypse

Like, so he can see