Does standing your ground against a bear work?

If a bear charges at you, then your best chance against a grizzly is to stand your ground, says Kerry Gunther, Yellowstone Park's bear management leader. Most charges are a bluff and usually the bear breaks off.

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Does standing still work against bears?

Identify yourself by talking calmly so the bear knows you are a human and not a prey animal. Remain still; stand your ground but slowly wave your arms. Help the bear recognize you as a human. It may come closer or stand on its hind legs to get a better look or smell.

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Can you survive a bear attack by standing your ground?

Bottom line: If you're in the presence of a bear, you're either going to be calmly backing away, calmly sidestepping away or standing your ground. Standing one's ground against a 400-pound bear may sound dumb, but it works.

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Why stand still if a bear is charging you?

Stay still and don't make any noise—you're trying to convince the bear that you aren't a threat to it or its cubs. Do not get up right away because the bear may still be in the area.

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Why don't bears attack when you stand still?

a bear can still attack you if they smell you but by standing still gives you a better chance of being overlooked. it is movement that will catch a bears attention. that applies to all animals. if one stands still many animals can overlook the person and the person can actually observe the animal in it's natural state.

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How to survive an encounter with a bear

19 related questions found

Does yelling scare off bears?

To scare the bear away, make loud noises by yelling, banging pots and pans or using an airhorn. Make yourself look as big as possible by waving your arms. If you are with someone else, stand close together with your arms raised above your head.

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Why do you avoid eye contact with bears?

If you encounter a black bear, do not make eye contact. If you make eye contact, black bears will take this as an act of aggression.

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What gun will stop a charging bear?

Premium magnum slugs are probably your best bet for stopping a charging bear. A shotgun with a short barrel and a long magazine works best for bear defense. The popular Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 pump-actions are perfect for the job.

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Can I shoot a bear if it charges me?

Firearms are not recommended for stopping an attack.

It's also harder to hit a charging bear with a firearm rather than bear spray, and a firearm can be dangerous to any hiking partners. While firearms have been effective at stopping an attack, they aren't recommended.

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Where do you aim on a bear?

Once you've determined the bear is one you want to harvest, let the bear settle down at the bait site. Regardless of your choice of weapon--bow, rifle, handgun or muzzleloader--the most effective shot will be into the heart/lung area. Consider the bullet or arrow's angle of entry.

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Can you fight off a black bear?

Make as much noise as possible by yelling, banging pots and pans or using other noisemaking devices. If the bear approaches and you have bear spray, spray the bear as he approaches. In the very rare case that a black bear does attack you, fight back (don't play dead).

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How do you stop a bear attacking you?

Pepper spray is the best defence – it's delivered from an aerosol canister and is easy to use. If you don't have spray and a brown bear is coming at you like an express train, don't run. Instead, play dead by laying face down with your hands over the back of your neck.

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Can you shoot a bear if it breaks into your house?

Existing law allows any owner or tenant of land or property that is being damaged or destroyed or is in danger of being damaged or destroyed by specific animals, including bears, to request from the Department a permit to kill the animal involved. This ability has existed for Californians since at least 1957.

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Should you turn your back to a bear?

Whether the bear appears calm or agitated, speak in a low, monotone voice and slowly back away. Never turn your back to a bear. Do not run—doing so could trigger an attack and bears can easily outrun humans. Avoid direct eye contact.

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Has a man ever fought a bear and won?

Kendell Cummings did not think he would fight a bear on a weekend and live to tell the story. But when a grizzly bear attacked his wrestling teammate Brady Lowry, Cummings leaped in to save him.

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Do you play dead with a brown bear?

Myth #15: Play dead during an attack.

Fact: Playing dead will work if you're being attacked by a mother grizzly defending her cubs. But it is the wrong thing to do if you're being attacked by a predatory bear.

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Is bear spray better than a gun?

No deterrent is 100% effective, but compared to all others, including firearms, proper use of bear spray has proven to be the best method for fending off threatening and attacking bears, and for preventing injury to the person and animal involved.

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What happens if you Taser a bear?

That zap causes involuntary muscle contractions, essentially freezing them up, but does not affect the central nervous system. So people or animals can still breath and think but can't move. The later work on bears showed that Tasers may also have some success on bruins as a hazing tool.

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Can bears survive headshots?

But bears have thick, strong skulls shotgun slugs or even rifle bullets may not penetrate. The weakest part of a bear's skull is behind the face, in a small triangular shaped area roughly bounded by the eyes and the tip of the nose.

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Will a Taser stop a grizzly bear?

Neither wasp spray nor Tasers are considered proven bear deterrents. (A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles.

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Will 10 mm stop a bear?

If you body-shoot an attacking bear front-on, those 10mm bullets must be chosen for extremely deep, straight-line penetration to compromise as many vital organs as possible, and they must shrug off any bone—no matter how massive and dense—encountered along the way.

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What is the most effective weapon against a bear?

The best weapon to survive a bear attack isn't a gun

Fact: Rifles and guns are statistically unlikely to stop a bear attack, but bear spray will. In fact, gun-toting hikers may even increase the odds of serious injury to themselves when attempting to use lethal force on an oncoming bear.

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Are bears afraid of human pee?

Stephen Herrero's book Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance, considered the definitive work by many authorities, says “human excrement/urine attracts bears and should not be near your campsite.” The National Park Service promotes that belief as well, adding that the salt in urine attracts wild animals (including ...

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What color do bears not like?

What color do bears not like? Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. Black bears are fast learners when it comes to finding food. If a bear has found food in a yellow tent it will associate that color with food.

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Are bears afraid of human voices?

Credit: Pixabay. Bears, wolves and mountain lions are some of the fiercest predators on earth. But the human voice terrifies them all. A new study found that when researchers played Rachel Maddow, Rush Limbaugh, or even someone reading poetry, those voices sent predators running for the hills.

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