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Q:
I have a huge black bear in my woods and I would like to know what to do if it attacks me?
Question by Archery 101. Uploaded on September 03, 2009
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Answers (41)
If you are unprepared,and don't have any "Bear Spray"or a handgun/weapon,fall to the ground and cover your head,neck,and play dead. If the bear senses you are not a threat, he may just leave you alone.
If not,fight for your life ... yelling,screaming,kicking,whatever it takes to survive!
http://artofmanliness.com/2008/01/30/how-to-survive-a-bear-attack/
http://www.arcticwebsite.com/BearSurvival.html
Blackie is likely more afraid of you than you are of him. Having said that though, I don't go to the tall timber unarmed anymore. Friend of mine had a close call once with rabid animals, sow bear with cubs, coyotes that think your leg looks good, two legged predators, I'd rather carry it a million miles and never need it, than to need it once and not have it.
The black bear should not be problem to you. If he does follow the advice above.
A black bear shouldn't bother you unless you mess with its cubs
well black bears normally attack with the intentions of eating you . where grizzles will normally maul and leave you alone if they think your no longer a threat to them . black bears are normally making you a food source . it is best to fight for your life with a black bear .
that being said i live in the adirondacks mountains with lots of black bears and see them every year out in the woods . and have never had an encounter with one that was bad for me . and only know one guy that ever had a run in with one , a sow with cubs . she bluffed charged a few times he backed off slowly they both went on with their day . you stand a much better chance of falling out of your tree stand and dieing than you do getting attacked by a black bear .
You don't have anything to worry about. There has been a half a dozen times where I was less than 10 feet away, twice I was in a corn field and the very next row the bear ran past me. So if does not have cubs nothing to worry about. But if has cubs and you try anything stupid let trying to pet them then momma will defend her cubs.
You dont have anything to worry about...bears and many other predators are more afraid of you then you are of them...but if you want him or her gone you could always see if its legal in your state to trap him or you could try to go bear hunting with some hounds...if you tree him you should let him go but if its legal and you think you have to you can shoot him..but i wouldnt
Just shoot it.
Sign the WA Mtnhunter-Ursus Peace Accord.
Translated: I leave the bears alone and they leave me alone. I don't hunt them and they don't hunt me. Good treaty so far. I think I have scared more of them than they have me.
My brother actually came within feet of the bear that I wrote about and I also witnessed it run right through our cow pasture.
if it is a bear that has gotten too used to humans, a bear that has been fed, you might have something to worry about. Otherwise not much to worry about. If it does attack, I have heard what Cooner says, that you better fight for your life. This is the opposite of the Grizzly, when it attacks you do the fall to the ground and cover up bit ... these are two different bears.
yeah i heard the same grizzlies fight because they think your dangerous blackbears are just hungry act like prey and you'll become it
WA Mtnhunter has it about right
Run!
And for all you folks who gave rocketman121 a negative vote, I gave him a plus. Screw any animal or human that is going to attack me. Hopefully I'm armed and able to protect myself and family. JMO
I do believe that you have little to fear and usually it's a great experience to see a black bear in the wild. That being said, I believe that I would carry an adequate rifle if I were walking or working in the area. 007 said it pretty good-always better to have it!!
If you don't have any weapons, and if the bear gets on top of you, when it's mouth is open, shove your fist down its throat. When you do that, its gag reflex comes into play and you'll have a few seconds to regain your composure. It sounds like a crazy idea but if your life depends on it, do it.
shoot him
id say actually mke yourself look as big a possible, and if it charges than lye down covering your neck with your hands.
Since you have already encountered it, I would invest in some bear spray. It is not very expensive, and will not make you feel as helpless should you be confronted.
I've had two black bear encounters. Both times they were more interested in departing than confrontation. Unless you have one cornered, or are suddenly really close to a sow & cubs, or you have a sirloin steak on a lanyard around your neck I don't think you have much to worry about. +1 on the bear spray and if you can legally carry a pistol, consider doing so. Having a pistol saved a friend of mine from a Brown bear.
P.S. Don't carry Nutter Butter cookies into the woods.
cooner is right if a black bear attacks you and doesnt have cubs its attacking because you look like a good meal fight back make it decide your to much work to make it worth while on the other hand if u get between ma and her cubs i would play dead she just thinks your a possible threat to the cubs and dead things cant hurt her cubs i have had multiple run ins with bear while armed only with a fishing rod while trout fishing and have never had a problem with them getting aggressive even when i ran into sows with cubs just dont get inbetween them mostly they just want distance between you and them
cooner said it all. grizzlies will bat u around a bit and leave you alone if they think u aint a threat, but if a black bear messes with u his intentions are sportsman stirfry. fight for your life. take out your knife(if u go in the woods with no knife then u have no business on this website) and try and stab it in the face,throat, and vitals if he gets on top of u. but no matter what, DO NOT RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that only tells the bear that u are prey and will egg him on....or just take a gun in the woods in the first place.
I wouldn't leave without a rifle. You can never fully trust that any predator type animal will be fully safe.
If a bear attacks you its ethier because it's scared,defending it's young,or it's food. The best advice is to make a lot of noise and if the bear charges then yell at it and make yourself bigger. If it mauls you lay still but if it keeps attacking you then fight back. ALWAYS CARRY BEAR SPRAY OR A GUN.
with the bear population explosion in New England we teach our hikers/campers/hunters to "stop" thinking like humans when dealing with wildlife. "more afraid of you than you are of them," is an old wives tale. Wild animals don't feel human 'fear'. They react to survive. If there is an escape route from a larger, dangerous animal, they will take it. Without weapons a human is just another potential food source. The "east of the Mississippi" human/bear encounters this year are phenomenal as populations rise and humans invade even more habitat for residential construction. As competition for food increases, these encounters will become moreserious over the next several years. They dislike loud noise, and their eyesight allows you to raise your hands while standing up, appearing to be much larger. If that doesn't work, and they come in, fight for your life...because that's exactly what you will be doing.
Ditto to "cooner" and "GreenMountain" WILD ANIMALS are just that; WILD...think,and plan, to survive an attack not a casual meeting with an "animal more afraid of you"; thinking black bears are disney play toys will get you hurt to killed!
Skeeb,
YEAH RIGHT, and he'll just stand there and let you choke him to death with your fist! That might be something that would happen on a 3 Stooges episode, but this is a wild animal, you think he's not going to try to get away from your hand, and you think he'll also passively not do anything with those front paws? You'd best stay out of the woods and at the Mall.
boys, boys, boys, you do not have to worry about black bears, If you do something to provoke him to attack you then you should not be in the woods!!! Then will run right by you if you don't anything!!!!He is more affriad of you than you are of him. Most be a big old city slickers that think the bears are terrorosit. LOL (Oh my god it looked at me its going to attack me!!!!) LOL City Folks crack me up
don't feed bears or come betwwen mamma and her cubs and you'll be fine
If it was a Brown Bear then you should play dead. But always fight back against Black Bears. I live in Alaska and we deal with Black bears weekly. They are very timid when confronted and will only fight when cornered or have their offspring endangered.
BOth points of view, Ignore or be ready to shoot have merit, but NEVER EVER go into the woods with out the means to defend yourself, there are many things out there that can and will kill you many without a warning of provocation, that can also happen in cities too. Always be prepared.
Keep at least a can of bear spray with you if not a gun.
with a black bear you want to fight it. black bears have a tendancy to eat you if they dont think you are a threat to them anymore. If a griz gets ya that when you want to get face down and cover your head and neck. but if you are in bear country and NOT hunting make your self known and there usualy wont be a problem.
Stay armed it may just be better for you and/or ur family if u bought some tags and kill it.
Wow! Thanks for the posts boys. I like your ideas and hopefully they will help me if I get in a dangerous situation.
788Ham. When your fist gets in the back of it's throat, its gag reflex would cause it to lose its death grip on you. You best think before you try to talk trash!
I think that you may be right Skeeb. I do believe that I have heard that before.
Some good suggestions and some bad. The black and brown are completely different but in an attack they will act the same if they feel threatened. First, there are two kinds of attacks, offensive and defensive. Defensive is a good time to lay down and be still. If you are not a threat, it should move away. Offensive is pure predator mode, and it sees you as a meal. How do you distinguish? Who really knows. Factors like its health, diet, fear of man, etc. can answer that. Best advice if you are attacked and you choose to fight back is EYES, NOSE, EARS, and MOUTH. MOUTH only as a last DEFENSE. If it clamps down on your hand, it will be broken faster than you can feel it, and it will then be a limp useless clump of flesh.
If it charges ya, shoot it.
Carry around a fully automatic shotgun, that should do the trick.
fight back to stay off the menu. black bears attack as a predator.
If your with your buddy shoot him in the foot then you shouldnt have to run very fast or far
Post an Answer
well black bears normally attack with the intentions of eating you . where grizzles will normally maul and leave you alone if they think your no longer a threat to them . black bears are normally making you a food source . it is best to fight for your life with a black bear .
that being said i live in the adirondacks mountains with lots of black bears and see them every year out in the woods . and have never had an encounter with one that was bad for me . and only know one guy that ever had a run in with one , a sow with cubs . she bluffed charged a few times he backed off slowly they both went on with their day . you stand a much better chance of falling out of your tree stand and dieing than you do getting attacked by a black bear .
If you are unprepared,and don't have any "Bear Spray"or a handgun/weapon,fall to the ground and cover your head,neck,and play dead. If the bear senses you are not a threat, he may just leave you alone.
If not,fight for your life ... yelling,screaming,kicking,whatever it takes to survive!
http://artofmanliness.com/2008/01/30/how-to-survive-a-bear-attack/
http://www.arcticwebsite.com/BearSurvival.html
Blackie is likely more afraid of you than you are of him. Having said that though, I don't go to the tall timber unarmed anymore. Friend of mine had a close call once with rabid animals, sow bear with cubs, coyotes that think your leg looks good, two legged predators, I'd rather carry it a million miles and never need it, than to need it once and not have it.
The black bear should not be problem to you. If he does follow the advice above.
Sign the WA Mtnhunter-Ursus Peace Accord.
Translated: I leave the bears alone and they leave me alone. I don't hunt them and they don't hunt me. Good treaty so far. I think I have scared more of them than they have me.
My brother actually came within feet of the bear that I wrote about and I also witnessed it run right through our cow pasture.
I've had two black bear encounters. Both times they were more interested in departing than confrontation. Unless you have one cornered, or are suddenly really close to a sow & cubs, or you have a sirloin steak on a lanyard around your neck I don't think you have much to worry about. +1 on the bear spray and if you can legally carry a pistol, consider doing so. Having a pistol saved a friend of mine from a Brown bear.
P.S. Don't carry Nutter Butter cookies into the woods.
A black bear shouldn't bother you unless you mess with its cubs
You don't have anything to worry about. There has been a half a dozen times where I was less than 10 feet away, twice I was in a corn field and the very next row the bear ran past me. So if does not have cubs nothing to worry about. But if has cubs and you try anything stupid let trying to pet them then momma will defend her cubs.
You dont have anything to worry about...bears and many other predators are more afraid of you then you are of them...but if you want him or her gone you could always see if its legal in your state to trap him or you could try to go bear hunting with some hounds...if you tree him you should let him go but if its legal and you think you have to you can shoot him..but i wouldnt
if it is a bear that has gotten too used to humans, a bear that has been fed, you might have something to worry about. Otherwise not much to worry about. If it does attack, I have heard what Cooner says, that you better fight for your life. This is the opposite of the Grizzly, when it attacks you do the fall to the ground and cover up bit ... these are two different bears.
yeah i heard the same grizzlies fight because they think your dangerous blackbears are just hungry act like prey and you'll become it
WA Mtnhunter has it about right
I do believe that you have little to fear and usually it's a great experience to see a black bear in the wild. That being said, I believe that I would carry an adequate rifle if I were walking or working in the area. 007 said it pretty good-always better to have it!!
If a bear attacks you its ethier because it's scared,defending it's young,or it's food. The best advice is to make a lot of noise and if the bear charges then yell at it and make yourself bigger. If it mauls you lay still but if it keeps attacking you then fight back. ALWAYS CARRY BEAR SPRAY OR A GUN.
with the bear population explosion in New England we teach our hikers/campers/hunters to "stop" thinking like humans when dealing with wildlife. "more afraid of you than you are of them," is an old wives tale. Wild animals don't feel human 'fear'. They react to survive. If there is an escape route from a larger, dangerous animal, they will take it. Without weapons a human is just another potential food source. The "east of the Mississippi" human/bear encounters this year are phenomenal as populations rise and humans invade even more habitat for residential construction. As competition for food increases, these encounters will become moreserious over the next several years. They dislike loud noise, and their eyesight allows you to raise your hands while standing up, appearing to be much larger. If that doesn't work, and they come in, fight for your life...because that's exactly what you will be doing.
Ditto to "cooner" and "GreenMountain" WILD ANIMALS are just that; WILD...think,and plan, to survive an attack not a casual meeting with an "animal more afraid of you"; thinking black bears are disney play toys will get you hurt to killed!
If it was a Brown Bear then you should play dead. But always fight back against Black Bears. I live in Alaska and we deal with Black bears weekly. They are very timid when confronted and will only fight when cornered or have their offspring endangered.
I think that you may be right Skeeb. I do believe that I have heard that before.
Run!
And for all you folks who gave rocketman121 a negative vote, I gave him a plus. Screw any animal or human that is going to attack me. Hopefully I'm armed and able to protect myself and family. JMO
If you don't have any weapons, and if the bear gets on top of you, when it's mouth is open, shove your fist down its throat. When you do that, its gag reflex comes into play and you'll have a few seconds to regain your composure. It sounds like a crazy idea but if your life depends on it, do it.
id say actually mke yourself look as big a possible, and if it charges than lye down covering your neck with your hands.
Since you have already encountered it, I would invest in some bear spray. It is not very expensive, and will not make you feel as helpless should you be confronted.
cooner is right if a black bear attacks you and doesnt have cubs its attacking because you look like a good meal fight back make it decide your to much work to make it worth while on the other hand if u get between ma and her cubs i would play dead she just thinks your a possible threat to the cubs and dead things cant hurt her cubs i have had multiple run ins with bear while armed only with a fishing rod while trout fishing and have never had a problem with them getting aggressive even when i ran into sows with cubs just dont get inbetween them mostly they just want distance between you and them
cooner said it all. grizzlies will bat u around a bit and leave you alone if they think u aint a threat, but if a black bear messes with u his intentions are sportsman stirfry. fight for your life. take out your knife(if u go in the woods with no knife then u have no business on this website) and try and stab it in the face,throat, and vitals if he gets on top of u. but no matter what, DO NOT RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that only tells the bear that u are prey and will egg him on....or just take a gun in the woods in the first place.
I wouldn't leave without a rifle. You can never fully trust that any predator type animal will be fully safe.
boys, boys, boys, you do not have to worry about black bears, If you do something to provoke him to attack you then you should not be in the woods!!! Then will run right by you if you don't anything!!!!He is more affriad of you than you are of him. Most be a big old city slickers that think the bears are terrorosit. LOL (Oh my god it looked at me its going to attack me!!!!) LOL City Folks crack me up
don't feed bears or come betwwen mamma and her cubs and you'll be fine
Keep at least a can of bear spray with you if not a gun.
with a black bear you want to fight it. black bears have a tendancy to eat you if they dont think you are a threat to them anymore. If a griz gets ya that when you want to get face down and cover your head and neck. but if you are in bear country and NOT hunting make your self known and there usualy wont be a problem.
Wow! Thanks for the posts boys. I like your ideas and hopefully they will help me if I get in a dangerous situation.
Carry around a fully automatic shotgun, that should do the trick.
Skeeb,
YEAH RIGHT, and he'll just stand there and let you choke him to death with your fist! That might be something that would happen on a 3 Stooges episode, but this is a wild animal, you think he's not going to try to get away from your hand, and you think he'll also passively not do anything with those front paws? You'd best stay out of the woods and at the Mall.
BOth points of view, Ignore or be ready to shoot have merit, but NEVER EVER go into the woods with out the means to defend yourself, there are many things out there that can and will kill you many without a warning of provocation, that can also happen in cities too. Always be prepared.
Stay armed it may just be better for you and/or ur family if u bought some tags and kill it.
788Ham. When your fist gets in the back of it's throat, its gag reflex would cause it to lose its death grip on you. You best think before you try to talk trash!
Some good suggestions and some bad. The black and brown are completely different but in an attack they will act the same if they feel threatened. First, there are two kinds of attacks, offensive and defensive. Defensive is a good time to lay down and be still. If you are not a threat, it should move away. Offensive is pure predator mode, and it sees you as a meal. How do you distinguish? Who really knows. Factors like its health, diet, fear of man, etc. can answer that. Best advice if you are attacked and you choose to fight back is EYES, NOSE, EARS, and MOUTH. MOUTH only as a last DEFENSE. If it clamps down on your hand, it will be broken faster than you can feel it, and it will then be a limp useless clump of flesh.
If it charges ya, shoot it.
fight back to stay off the menu. black bears attack as a predator.
If your with your buddy shoot him in the foot then you shouldnt have to run very fast or far
Just shoot it.
shoot him
Post an Answer