Bears are probably the most feared of all dangers in Alaska, yet in reality one of the least common causes of death. Many more people die in Alaska each year from avalanches and drownings, by snow machines and small watercraft. Across the US, more people die each year by lightning strikes and bee stings--but such stories don't sell newspapers. In fact, of all animal related deaths in the country, bears (at about one death a year) don't even rank in the top ten. Remember, one only fears what one does not understand. The goal of this brochure is to spread more knowledge of bears and their behavior so they are understood more and feared less. Personally, I have a few bear encounters every summer. Both black and brown bears are present where I backpack (mostly grizzly bears), but never polar bears.

Most brown bears run away when they see me (wouldn't you?). One time, while hiking along a trail in the Talkeetna Mountains, I unknowingly walked within 40 feet (12 meters) of a female grizzly bear as she nursed her three cubs. When I realized that the sound I heard came from a bear, I turned around. I had been facing the wind, so maybe I could retreat before she caught my scent. When I looked up and saw her head, surrounded by three little heads, I knew I was in trouble. Immediately, the cubs ran into the woods, as the mother jumped over bushes, heading straight for me. It was a bluff charge. She stopped short, about ten feet (3 meters) away, looked up at me, then ran back to join her cubs.

In Alaska, I would rather run into a brown bear than a black bear. Brown bears are much larger and therefore the dominant species. They get their choice of habitat, so black bears have to settle for what remains and are thus more desperate. When they encounter humans, black bears often don't run away. Once a large one chased a friend and I off a mountain. On another trip, while four of us were away from camp, one trashed all of our tents and destroyed some other gear. And one night, as I slept, a black bear stole my food bag. After I awoke and packed up my gear, I chased him off by walking toward him, yelling at him and banging on my cooking pot with a rock hammer. It's all just a bluff to see who can act fiercer and intimidate the other more. I won and was able to get back what remained of my food bag.