BEARS, BEARS, AND MORE BEARS

One of the advantages of being a volunteer in Glacier (other than free entrance to the park), is that I was allowed to take some training with the rangers. And one day that I wouldn't miss was BEAR TRAINING. Yipee! So it was a full day at the St. Mary's Visitor Center. It was me and about 100 rangers in the room (and that wasn't even half of them).

NOTE: Even if you don't want to read about the bears, scroll through to look at the pictures. I can only hope to take pictures like these (which is why I'm taking a photography course) someday. But they are beautiful.

I now know how many different types of rangers work in the park. There are bear rangers, interpretive rangers (the group I volunteer with), law enforcement rangers (and they carry REAL guns), trail rangers, back country rangers, biologists (don't know if they are rangers, but the wear the "green and grey" of the rangers). I'm sure there are more classifications I've not heard of yet. My understanding is there are 300-400 rangers working in all areas of the Glacier million acre park.

Meeting a Bear in the Wild
(Picture from the National Park Service)

This was the last session of the day, but I thought I would put the information first, as it is often asked in the Visitor Center. So if you are reading this and plan to visit Glacier, here is some information you should know.

Meeting a bear in the wild -- my "net take away" from this session was to only see a bear from a great distance -- and preferably in a solid vehicle. I have now purchased a can of bear spray -- a must if you are hiking in the back country. There are 2 important things I learned about bear spray in our sessions: first, always make sure it is where you can reach it (not much good in your back pack if you run into a bear), and second, spray it at the bear's feet, as the air will carry it upward towards the bears face.

We watched a very interesting film showing us what to do and how to react when meeting a bear in the wild. It was interesting because it looked like these people in the film were actually meeting real wild bears. I didn't know how they filmed it, but it did catch my attention.

I'll try to make this short -- bears can either be reacting defensively or aggressively. As you walk on the trails, make lots of noise -- talking, laughing, clapping hands, singing -- all are good. Remember a bear doesn't hear any better than you do. If you are near a roaring river and you can't really hear the people around you -- neither will the bear. And if the bear hears you, they do try to avoid you. If you startle a bear, they will act defensively, which could include charging. So.....you should stop, put your hands in the air (also make sure your bear spray is well within your reach), lower your face (don't stare down a bear -- you will lose), and talk quietly to the bear. Start to back up SLOWLY (in other words, don't run -- the bear IS faster than you). If the bear starts growling, snapping his teeth, shaking his head -- STOP. Keep talking quietly and see if the bear calms down. If he does, start backing slowly away again.

Bears will charge each other, but rarely make contact. If the bear charges, STAND YOUR GROUND. I'm thinking this is easier said than done. My head would say stand, my legs would start beating a fast retreat.

If the bear is still charging, try to hit him with bear spray. If still coming, quickly throw yourself on the ground, face down (to protect your vital organs), hands behind your neck to protect your neck/head, and lay still -- even if he is biting you. In other words, play dead. If the bear rolls you over, keep rolling till your head is facing the ground again. Since this behavior defensive, and you look uninteresting or non-threatening, the bear will leave.

If a bear is stalking you or being extremely agitated and aggressive....this is a different situation. The bear has decided you are lunch, and you now need to FIGHT. Get the bear spray out, and if/when the bear attacks, hit him with the bear spray. Then hit, punch, kick, pick up a stick and hit him, etc., etc., etc., You have nothing to lose -- except your life.

As far as climbing trees.....all bears can climb. Grizzlies have very long claws for ripping and tearing, so they are not great for climbing, and they are more unlikely to climb than a black bear. Black bears are great climbers, so going up a tree won't save you, but may give you the upper ground, where you can spray the bear with the bear spray. Unfortunately for me, at 62 with not much arm strength, poor ankles....probably not going to make it up the tree any way. Maybe the adrenaline will kick in.

Bears 101

John Walker, the Chief Park Biologist, gave us the "Bears 101" course, and I was fascinated.

(Photograph by Dmitry Azovtsey at www.daphoto.info)

There are 8 species of bears worldwide -- the Grizzly and the Black bear are 2 types. The Grizzly is the most widely distributed bear across the globe. Black bears are only found in North America.

It is a good thing to know how bears evolved, which determines much of their behavior. Grizzly bears evolved in open areas and plains, so they are more defensive as there was not a lot of cover. Black bears, on the other hand, evolved in forested areas, and they are more timid and more likely to run and hide from humans.

Both types of bears are territorial and Grizzly bears have large home ranges. The females may cover 200 square miles of territory, while a male has a larger range which can cover 1200 square miles. Black bears have smaller home ranges. In Glacier National Park, there are approximately 350 grizzly bears in the 1,500 square miles of the park. That is about one Grizzly for every 5 square miles. And there are about 600 Black bears....so guess what -- even more of those cute, cuddly 500 lb. bears.

John Walker started off his presentation by showing us pictures of bears and asking us to identify it as a Grizzly or Black. Now you would think this would be easy -- Grizzlies are brown and have a hump behind the neck. Black bears are -- well, black. Of course, it is not that easy. Black bears do come in brown colors, and depending how they are walking or lying, they can look like they have a hump. And in the back country, it is important to tell the difference -- the type of bear can determine the type of behavior (remember how they evolved).

So John gave us some tips for identification.

Grizzly Bears:

• Claws are over 1 inch, and they are white (you can see this when their foot comes up to smack you across the face)
• Grizzlies have a concave face, and they do normally have a hump behind their neck
• Grizzlies have smaller ears than a black bear
• Grizzlies usually have a lighter stripe down their back, and around their girth
• Grizzlies are also known as a "silver tip" so you may see silver highlights, also black legs
• Grizzlies also have a wide space between the toes and the pad of their foot (can see this in their prints)

Black Bears:

• Black bear claws are dark, and usually less than an inch (this is why they climb trees well)
• Black bears have rounder faces, and have no hump behind their head
• Black bears have larger ears
• A black bear print will have a toe dropped down on one side

(Wish this was my photo)

Both types of bears hibernate, but the Grizzly hibernates at higher elevations, and usually carve their den out of the dirt. They can also go in and out of hibernation during the winter. While they are in hibernation, they don't loose muscle mass or bone density (imagine yourself in a bed, not moving for 4-5 months -- you would not have muscles when you got up).

Black bears usually hibernate at lower elevations, under tree roots (or sometimes up in a tree -- they had pictures). They go into hibernation in November or early December, usually for 6 months. During this time they don't eat, drink, pee or poop, and their metabolism doesn't really drop.

Grizzly bears breed in June or July. The sows have cubs every 3rd hear, as their cubs stay with them for 2 years. Black bears usually have a cub every other year, and the cub stays with the mother for a year.

Bears eat both meat and plants. They like cow parsnips, Huckleberries (be careful if you are picking them -- bear might want to object), Buffalo berries, Mountain Ash, Service berries, ants, grubs, etc. They are carnivores, and they will bring down live prey, or eat on a carcass that might have been killed by other animals (wolves or mountain lions -- both found in Glacier), or might have been killed in an avalanche or starved during a particularly tough winter (like the one we just had in 2010-11). You will see the most bears in late summer (August here), as they are eating continuous to prepare for hibernation.

Bear Management

Gary Moss, District Ranger, gave a presentation on how the park and the National Park Service manages the approximately 1,000 bears in the park.

If you have visited Glacier or Yellowstone, you have probably participated in a "bear jam". If someone sees a bear, their foot automatically hits the brake, and they stop in the middle of the road. We tell visitors not to stop, but heck.....I wouldn't just keep driving, so I can hardly expect them to. But this is BAD....not only because it stops traffic, but also because it "habituates" the bears -- they become very use to seeing cars and people, and are not afraid. That can lead to bears heading into camp grounds, nosing around in your back pack, etc. If the bear becomes "conditioned", it could lead to the euthanasia of the bear. So you are helping the bear if you don't stop and don't get out of your vehicle.

The rangers do everything they can to make a habituated bear afraid of humans. After capturing the bear, they take them to locations to release, and use non-lethal means to scare the bear, and combine that with the human voice (rangers yelling at the bear). The bear needs to associate pain with the voice. The rangers will shoot off cracker shots to make noise, bean bags and rubber bullets which hit the bear (but don't hurt the bear), and sometimes chemicals.

Part of their management is to educate and "train" us humans as well. If they train us to store our food and garbage, our BBQ grills, etc., properly, the problem can go away. No food....no bear. Pretty simple. But humans are often harder to train than the bears.