Planning which camping gears to bring with you is a very important aspect before going camping. These important camping equipments comprise of tents, sleeping bags, food, and miscellaneous essentials such as insect repellants, flashlights, and celphones in case of emergencies.
The said camping gears are the conventional items related to camping but when spending time in the wilderness, individuals need to be aware regarding the possible dangers. Gophers, deers and squirrels maybe aren’t the form of wildlife campers need to be troubled about but other predatory creatures like bears is a different matter.
Although bear attacks are not as common as traffic accidents, being unaware and ill-equipped of all possibilities involving camping in the wilderness could add any person in the bear attack statistics.
Bear encounters take place because of a number of reasons. The most common is bears getting attracted to the smell of camper’s food. When bears think they are threatened, they often attack and the most dangerous of all are mother bears whose cubs are close or wild bears who are not afraid of people. Bears seeing people as food could also occur mainly if those bears are in their young adult stage and have not seen people before.
Before setting up camp on a specific spot, be watchful of your surroundings first and look for any bear activities like bear paw-prints or leftover carcasses left by a predator. The possibility of the animal coming back to feed on the leftover is likely.
In a spot where there are ample berries, getting far from such a location because bears are also voracious feeders of berries. Bears also like to be near water, dark and thick forest, and rock faces.
As soon as you setup your campsite, make sure to minimize your food scent emission or, if possible, hang your food high up on a tree where bears can’t get to it. As you cook your food, have a good distance between your tents and from where you’re cooking and you may also want to change clothes later on to get rid of the smell of cooked food on you.
Eating your food inside your tent could also invite a bear encounter. If you do come across a bear because it was attracted by your food, you can attempt to make it go away by making noises or shining your flashlight in its eyes. If these actions don’t work, however, let it delve on your food or try to climb up a tree if you can. Making yourself alive in such a situation should be your focus.
Camping with other people with you is also much safer in plenty of ways. The more you are in a group, the less chance of bear encounter could happen. If you have children with you, always keep an eye on them and never let them wander by themselves.
Bringing a bear deterrent spray when you go camping is also a good move. You can get bear sprays on most camping equipment stores.
If a bear visit your campsite and you don’t have a bear spray, climb a tree if you can or if you have bonfire, pick up a torch to discourage the bear to come near you but don’t make any aggressive movements unless the bear is really coming after you. You should also stay put and not run away because doing so will only make the bear chase you and you don’t have a chance of outrunning it. Your best option is to stand your ground.
If worse comes to worse and a bear is already trying to maul you down, curl up in a fetal position and protect your neck and face with your arms and hands. If you have an opportunity to hurt its eyes, go for it.
Being prepared and aware is the key to having a safe camping experience.