By Libby B Bushell

Special to the Homer Independent Press

Hello from Hallo Bay, Homer! 

Picture this: the glaciated massif of Kukak Volcano jutting 6,000 feet above the massive (albeit shrinking) Hallo Glacier. The ice terminates in a smoky blue lake that snakes past the emerald ridge to the south, winding through sea-level meadows of sedge, lupine, iris and fireweed before emptying into an islanded bay full of sea otters, seals and sea lions. Onshore, the locals are foxes, wolves and of course, the highest density of brown bears in the world. 

This is my office. I am a bear guide. I am the luckiest girl in the world.

And I want to share this world with you. Hallo Bay is, after all, only 120 miles from Homer. An hour in a beaver with a tail wind. So, I’ll be writing “Dispatch from Katmai” this summer. It is a biweekly column, where I’ll tell of the goings-on across the Inlet. I’ll dispel some myths about bears and share my experiences on the ground in Katmai. Got bear questions? I’m happy to answer them. My contact info is at the bottom. And so for this first installment of “Dispatch,” the topic is: “Safety in Bear Country.”

When in Bear Country: 

• Travel in groups
• Be visible or loud 
• Carry bear defense
• If you see a bear, DO NOT RUN.
  
  

Travel in groups

When I’m out on the meadows of Hallo Bay, walking between dozens of grazing, mating, playing and displaying brown bears, I am always traveling with a group of tourists. Although I’m not relying on the tourists’ skill or savvy to help defend me from an aggressive bruin, I am confident that their presence alone is keeping me safe. There has never been a bear attack on a group of six or more humans. Ever. Even having a second person in bear country with you dramatically increases your odds of avoiding a negative encounter with any kind of bear. Bears are smart. They can count enough to know when they’re outnumbered. 

Over Memorial Day weekend this year I was training some new guides on a camping trip in Hallo Bay. At one point, I had to go to the bathroom. And being a human, I wanted to do it in private. So, I walked down to the beach alone, but there was a bear out there sniffing the tideline for sea snacks. When she smelled me approaching, she stood up on her hind legs (a stance of curiosity, not aggression). Then she started to approach me. I wasn’t terribly afraid of attack, because Katmai bears are habituated to humans (more on habituation in future “Dispatches”) but it was certainly unnerving to be one-on-one with those 3-inch claws and 500 pounds of muscle (she was a smaller bear). I spoke calmly to her and radioed my team to come join me. As soon as they arrived, the bear lost interest and moved on. I found a different spot to do my business. Strength in numbers, see? 

Be visible or loud

I am the founder of HoWL (Homer Wilderness Leaders), and during the seven years I was running expeditions for teens and pre-teens into Kachemak Bay, I saw less than a dozen bears. There are tons of bears across the bay, but the presence of ten tweens speaks (or caterwauls or howls) for itself. Being loud is excellent bear defense. The vast majority of bears do not want to disturb you or be disturbed by you. They generally only charge when startled or threatened. So announce yourself to avoid startling a bear. Sing, clap, talk or yell when you are in dense foliage or near loud rivers. You can avoid threatening a bear by moving slowly in areas where you see bears or bear sign. Do not approach potential food sources (berry patches, dead animals, fish) without making sure there is no bear nearby. Do not approach cubs. 

Bears do not defend a territory, but they will defend their own personal space. Every bear’s personal space bubble is different, but in Katmai, where bears have salmon-a-plenty and are accustomed to being in close proximity to each other, we generally say 50 yards is an average safe distance. In Denali, where the bears have much less food and are therefore keener hunters and more solitary animals, we give the bears 300 yards of room. On the Kenai Peninsula, the bears’ spatial needs probably fall somewhere in between the two. If you get within their personal space, you risk threatening the bear or startling it at close range. 

Carry bear defense

If you do startle or unintentionally threaten a bear, you’d better be prepared to defend yourself. Your first line of defense? Talk to it. Bears are highly communicative animals (more on this in future “Dispatches”). Speak in a low, normal voice. Bears often mirror the moods of those they encounter, so if you’re calm, the bear might be calm. But if it is not calm, and it is approaching, increase your volume and your size. Stand tall, clap your hands, yell at the bear and stomp. NEVER RUN FROM A BEAR. All bears are faster than you. Don’t climb a tree either. It’ll get you. If the bear is charging, you might be too late to deter it with body language alone, so this is when you might want to use your bear defense. There are three tools people generally carry to deter bears: guns, bear spray and flares. You should know how to use your tool of choice and choose based on the area you’re visiting.

Guns can kill a bear, but they don’t always. If you wield a gun as bear defense, you must be prepared for combat shooting, because if your first shot doesn’t instantly kill the bear (which is unlikely), now you have an angry, wounded, thousand-pound carnivore with a good reason to kill you, still charging. Statistically, people who defend themselves against bears with guns suffer injury in 50% of encounters with aggressive bears. Those are not good odds. I’ll opt for something safer. 

People who employ bear spray as defense escape injury from aggressive bears 90% of the time. Those are good odds. Bear spray does not require combat shooting skills. Anyone who can point a can of spray paint can point a can of bear spray. Bear spray temporarily inhibits a bear’s ability to see and smell, which typically makes the bear run away from the encounter. The downside of bear spray is that it must be employed at close range and if there is wind, you risk getting in the backdraft and temporarily blinding yourself. Not fun.

In Katmai, I carry a handheld marine flare for bear defense. This is a pull-string-activated fire stick that burns super hot for 90 seconds. It is blindingly bright and loud and smoky. They were created to signal distress in stormy seas, but on land, they are very effective at deterring an approaching bear from any distance. They do not harm the bear, only warn it that you carry an instant magical firestick in your hands. This translates to dominance in bear language. This will most likely make a bear stop its charge. The downside of flares is that they drop sparks. So, if it is a dry summer and there is risk of forest fire, DO NOT use a flare. That will create a bigger problem than the approaching bear. 

What do you do if you don’t have bear defense and the bear charges?

First and foremost, DO NOT RUN. Running will provoke an attack. Stand your ground if a bear is charging. Most likely it is bluff charging, and will stop if you remain where you are. If not, it’s good to know if you’re dealing with a brown bear or a black bear. Brown bears have large humps on their backs and are larger than black bears. Black bears have pointier faces and are generally smaller. In Kachemak Bay we mostly have black bears. In Katmai we have brown bears. In the hills behind Homer, we have both. 

If it’s a black bear attacking you, fight back. Black bears know that they’re not the apex predator. So if you respond to an attack with an attack, a black bear might flee. Use whatever weapons you can find — rocks, sticks, your fists and feet. 

If a brown bear attacks, it’s best to play dead. Roll over so your face and belly are on the ground. Spread your legs so it’s hard for the bear to flip you over. Brown bears typically stop attacking when they think their victim is dead. 

But enough about worst-case scenarios. For every one bear attack, there are thousands of peaceful bear-human encounters. Bears are not blood-thirsty devils. They are spirited animals with a full range of emotions. They express what can easily be translated as love, longing, joy, sassiness, silliness, frustration, anger and fear. Only the latter emotions will provoke a charge. In the “Dispatches” to follow, I’ll dive into the rest of what makes a bear a bear. 

Got questions about bears? I’ll try to answer them in future columns. My contact information is on my website: libbybbushell.com. 

For more information about bear safety, I recommend “Backcountry Bear Basics” by Dave Smith. For tons of information about the brown bears of Katmai, I recommend our local author Derek Stonorov’s book, “Watch the Bear.” Both are available at our local bookstores. Thanks for reading and look forward to the next “Dispatch from Katmai: Emerging from Hibernation.”

Libby B Bushell is a local author and wildlife guide. She spends summers in Katmai with the bears and winters (the austral summer) in Antarctica with the emperor penguins. She is the founder of HoWL and is passionate about helping people get outside. It’s better out there!