NOLS Bear Essentials: Hiking and Camping in Bear Country
By John Gookin and Tom Reed
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NOLS Bear Essentials - John Gookin
NOLS
Bear Essentials
Copyright © 2009 National Outdoor Leadership School
Published by
STACKPOLE BOOKS
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
www.stackpolebooks.com
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Stackpole Books, 5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055.
First edition
Cover design by Caroline Stover
Cover photograph courtesy of Thomas D. Mangelsen, www.mangelsen.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data for the Print Edition
Reed, Tom, 1961–
NOLS Bear Essentials : hiking and camping in bear country / John Gookin and Tom Reed. John Gookin and Tom Reed. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8117-3549-0 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8117-3549-4 (alk. paper)
1. Black bear—Behavior. 2. Grizzly bear—Behavior. 3. Camping—Safety measures. 4. Hiking—Safety measures. 5. Bear attacks—North America—Prevention. 6. Outdoor recreation—North America—Safety measures. I. Gookin, John. II. Title.
QL737.C27R44 2009
796.5028’9—dc22
2008051645
eBook ISBN: 978-0-8117-4117-0
QED stands for Quality, Excellence and Design. The QED seal of approval shown here verifies that this eBook has passed a rigorous quality assurance process and will render well in most eBook reading platforms.
For more information please click here.
NOLS
Bear Essentials
Hiking and Camping
in Bear Country
John Gookin
and Tom Reed
STACKPOLE
BOOKS
The print edition of this title was manufactured to FSC and Rainforest Alliance standards using paper from responsible sources and sustainable practices.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
CHAPTER 1
Bear Habitat & Identification
CHAPTER 2
Bear Behavior
CHAPTER 3
Bear Awareness & Avoidance
CHAPTER 4
Food Storage
CHAPTER 5
Fishing & Hunting in Bear Country
CHAPTER 6
Bear Confrontations
CHAPTER 7
Leave No Trace & Bear Camping Essentials
About the Authors
Additional Resources
Index
THIS BOOK cannot and does not alert you to all the hazards of the mountains. It is a learning tool and should be read and studied as a supplemental source only. It is not a substitute for professional instruction, an experienced mentor, or, most importantly, the wilderness experience itself. If you decide to participate in the activities described in this book, the risk and responsibility for the outcome are solely yours. No one associated with the publication of this book, including NOLS, John Gookin, and Tom Reed, accepts responsibility for any injury or property damage that may result from participation in such activities.
Acknowledgments
Sincere thanks to our colleagues in the field of bear management for their help in reviewing the text of this book. Any errors in combining their various expert opinions are ours, not theirs.
Tom Smith, Brigham Young University, Bear Researcher
Brian Debolt, Wyoming Game & Fish, Bear Management Officer
Mark Bruscino, Wyoming Game & Fish, Bear Management Officer
Bill Stiver, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Wildlife Biologist
Victoria Serer, Yosemite National Park, Bear Manager
Ben Tabor, New York Department of Environmental Conservation, Wildlife Technician
Introduction
Welcome to bear country! Bears are clever, powerful, and magnificent animals. Like people, each bear is unique, so the advice in this book is general in nature and can’t prepare you for every behavior of every bear. Since 1965, NOLS has camped in bear country for over three million nights with only one injury directly caused by a bear, so the practices used by NOLS to camp and hike in bear country are based on significant experience. We also stay in touch with some of the world’s top bear scientists and have taken a leadership role in developing techniques that help us coexist with wild bears. But even with this cumulative expertise, we still consider ourselves to be constant students of bear behavior.
Our most important attitude is one best explained by the Koyukon people of Alaska. Anthropologist Richard Nelson’s book Make Prayers to the Raven: A Koyukon View of the Northern Forest portrays the Koyukon people living harmoniously with bears for thousands of years. We are visiting bears in their home, and if we learn about bears and respect them in their natural habitat, our two species can coexist.
Your decision to camp in bear country comes with responsibilities to camp and hike in ways that respect the natural activities of bears. This isn’t as complicated as it might seem. It takes a little knowledge about bears and a lot of self-discipline. Campers who respect the natural habits of bears can usually coexist with bears with few problems. Keep the following points in mind:
A fed bear is a dead bear. Bears that receive food from humans, intentionally or not, develop dangerous unnatural habits and are often destroyed. In some areas, wildlife managers try moving them away from human activity first,