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The bottom line is: Use common sense. All forests command respect. Go and enjoy yourself, but do so with care and stay alert. Inviting woods may seem simple enough when you’re standing on the border that separates civilization from the wild. But once inside those woods, different trees may all look familiar when in fact they’re not, and being cocky about hiking could get you in trouble.
What To Do When You Encounter Potentially Dangerous Wildlife
While a hike through virgin forest sounds just peachy, remember that to bear, deer and moose, it’s analogous to what a home invasion is to us, the only difference being that none of them have opposable thumbs so they can’t fire a gun to protect their turf. They do, however, have ways to protect themselves and their young, so the best defense for hikers and campers is avoidance.
While encounters with bear, deer and moose are more rare than not, it’s helpful to know how to handle stumbling upon one of them, and you need to know how to respond if you’re unceremoniously invited to leave.
Hiking and Camping in Black Bear Country
In truth, none of the larger mammals in our woods want anything to do with us. We’re in their neighborhood, likely in their territory, and our presence is unwanted. Nonetheless, as long as we’re far enough away from them, they’ll likely take off in the opposite direction before we know it. But if they feel threatened or cornered, it’s a whole different story.
In the U.S. we have black bears, grizzly bears, Kodiak and polar bears. The only bear you’ll encounter in New England is the black bear (even though they are sometimes more brown than black in color). You won’t find grizzly, Kodiak or polar bears in New England. They bother the good folks in the West and in Alaska. The black bear, however, you might see, and like its forest mates, it is watching its habitat shrink and is now becoming more and more fearless about raiding our garbage cans and anything else that contains food. They’ve even been known to enter cabins and automobiles to raid food storage bins and make off with whatever they can.
In general, black bears are far more afraid of you than you are of them, and if you make a lot of noise as you hike or set up camp, you’ll very likely drive any nearby well away. But if you do come upon a bear unexpectedly, you need to know what they’ll get peeved about and how to properly handle an unexpected encounter, especially if a bear stalks or charges you.
Situations triggering aggression are usually surprise encounters. For instance, you round a corner only to find a black bear standing nearby with two cubs, and—uh oh--you’re between mom and her babies. That scenario is probably the worst “how do you do?” of any other meeting in the woods.
 The second greatest danger area is a bear’s kill site. If you’re hiking or looking for a good place to camp, be on the lookout for scavenger birds, such as ravens and crows, congregating in a specific area. If you see them huddled together, you may be near a kill site, so keep moving on well away from it.
Finally, bear leave any number of signs that they’ve been around. They range from tree scratch marks to scrape marks in or near a fire pit. Should you see any a-bear-has-been-here signs, or if you’re near a game trail, find another spot to camp.
When you do set up camp, make sure that you set up your outdoor kitchen well away and downwind of your campsite. While bears cannot see well, their sense of smell is many times stronger than that of mankind’s, so when you cook a meal, it’s a good idea to:
- Cook only as much food as you plan to eat. Anything left over can be a bear magnet. If you do have leftovers, triple bag them in Ziploc plastic bags and place them in a tote or duffle bag with your other food and store the bag on a tree branch that’s well out of a bear’s reach (see below).
- Change your clothes after cooking and put them in a heavy-duty plastic bag. Bears can pick up the scent of food from the clothes you were wearing when cooking.
- Never store food in your tent or even your car. The best way to store it is to use a bag fastened to a rope that you throw over a tree branch that’s too high for a bear to reach. Tie your food to one end, then grab the other end, pull the bag up and tie the loose end to the tree trunk or something else that’s sturdy.
If you see a bear, but it has not seen you, quietly back away from it and give it space. If it’s headed toward you on a trail, get downwind of it and let it pass, or take an off-trail detour, again downwind.
If a bear does see you and it’s a good distance away, you want to make sure it knows that you’re human and not a threat. Bears are badly in need of optometrists. Because they may not be able to figure out what you are by spotting you, talk calmly to it and slowly wave your arms above your head. That makes you look bigger and tells the bruin that you’re human. When it figures that out, it’ll likely do it’s best to get away from you as quickly as it can. If it doesn’t move, keep backing away slowly.
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