COLORADO – Adam Parkinson was hiking in the in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness when he ran into two black bear cubs and their mother. The sow bear is extremely defensive, appearing to actively search for Parkinson as he was crouched behind a fallen tree. One thing lead to another, and the bear charged towards him, forcing him to use his bear spray.
“Of the 80+ encounters I’ve had with black bears the last 8 years (and at least a dozen with grizzlies) – this was the only time a bear actually charged me. Its almost unheard of. In fact, I once blundered into a sow with cubs at a similar distance, and stood my ground as she bluff charged me (without having to use my bear spray).
This incident was different: I had the camera on me while I was literally hiding behind a log while the bear had charged up looking for me. The ground had lots of debris and was loud to move around in. The bear was just on the other side of the log I was hiding behind, pacing back and forth. The reason I did not immediately back out of there is because she had me pinned, and I was hoping she would leave without a confrontation. Had I moved backwards in retreat, I risked her charging me anyway.
When I finally stood up and yelled at the bear it was because she was too close and I was now risking her walking directly on me while i was crouched down. When I did yell at the bear, she immediately charged me with her ears flattened (the time I was bluff charged by another sow a few years ago, that bear did not have her ears down). She stopped as soon as the orange cloud of bear mace hit her in the face.“
In any bear encounter, even in ones where the person acted near 100% perfectly, there will be ways to criticize the person’s actions. In this case, you might say Parkinson should have identified himself as a person, rather than hiding until the bear got close enough. But the bear was clearly hostile from the get go, and Adam succeeded with the most important step of them all: carrying bear spray in a location where it can be easily accessed, and using it quickly and correctly.
Bear spray might not be as common in Colorado as it is in the further north states, where grizzly bears present most of the danger rather than black bears, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a very effective and important tool to keep on your hip. Black bears can still charge and can still do some serious damage. Plus bear spray works quite well on mountain lions.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife on what to do if a black bear approaches:
- A bear knowingly approaching a person could be a food-conditioned bear looking for a handout or, very rarely, an aggressive bear. Don’t feed this type of bear: instead, stand your ground. Yell or throw small rocks in the direction of the bear.
- Get out your bear spray and use it when the bear is about 40 feet away.Â
- If you’re attacked, don’t play dead. Fight back with anything available. People have successfully defended themÂselves with pen knives, trekking poles, and even bare hands.