Encountering Black Bear in the Ozarks

Perhaps you, like me and my family, have encountered black bears tumbling through your neighborhood. We live just outside the Mark Twain Forest and have sighted two bears. We watched one walk down our road and another we spotted walking in a field getting some water out of a pond. We welcome seeing them in and around the Ozarks where we live, play, and enjoy the outdoors.

With summer here and in full swing, I thought I would share some information that I have found helpful. If you are going to be out and about this Father’s Day weekend or this summer, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) provides some great advice for keeping yourself safe from bears.

You will find the following three sections below: 1) the frequency of bear sightings (with graphs and video), 2) precautions around bear for hikers and campers, and 3) warnings on feeding bear.

Frequency of Bear Sightings

On the two graphs below, you can see how often people are reporting seeing bears in the state of Missouri. According to the MDC, the bear population in Missouri is between 600-1000 bear. They have approved the first bear hunt this year in three areas by permit only in October. They project that Missouri’s population of bear increases at 9% each year and should double in less than a decade. Here are two graphs and a brief video.

 

Precautions around Bear for Hikers and Campers

The following precautions are provided by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Camping in Black Bear Country

Keep from Attracting Bears to Your Camp

• Keep a clean camp. Thoroughly clean all utensils and cookware immediately after use. Never deposit food residue, such as cooking grease, in campfires.
• Plan your meals, and generate as little food garbage as possible.
• Never leave garbage out overnight. Place it where bears cannot smell or gain access to it, either in bear-proof containers or dumpsters. Do not burn or bury garbage. Bears will dig it up.
• Do not eat or cook in your tent. Avoid storing food or attractants in tents, sleeping bags, or backpacks. Place these items in plastic or burlap bags and suspend the bags from trees at least 10 feet high and at least 5 feet from the nearest tree trunk.
• Treat nonfood items such as gum, soap, toothpaste, or deodorant as food. They are attractive to a bear’s acute sense of smell.
• Immediately store food articles (including pet food, livestock feed, and garbage) in airtight containers after every use. Coolers are not airtight, and bears often associate them with food. Secure food containers in a locked trunk or truck cab concealed from view.
• Never attempt to feed a bear or any other wild animal.
• Never approach wildlife, especially black bears. They are wild animals and can be dangerous.
• Keep pets on leashes, and clean up leftover food and scraps after your dog has finished eating.

If a Bear Comes into Camp

• Remain calm. Make the bear aware of your presence.
• Do not feed the bear! Bears leave more easily if they have not obtained food.
• Make sure the bear is not cornered and has an escape route.
• Yell, throw rocks, wave your arms, or use an air horn to scare the bear away.
• If the bear utters a series of huffs or snaps, or pops its jaws and swats the ground, you are too close. Slowly back away.
• If the bear will not leave, move to a car or building, if possible. Notify authorities immediately if you encounter an aggressive or non-yielding bear.
• If a bear stands on its hind legs or moves closer, it may be trying to get a better view or detect smells in the air.

Hiking in Black Bear Country

• Normal trail noise should alert bears to your presence and prompt a bear to leave before you ever see it. Bears usually run and hide from people.
• If possible, travel in groups of three or more people. Typically, larger groups of people make more noise and appear more formidable to bears. Keep your group together and make sure children are close to you at all times.
• Use caution in areas like berry patches where bears are likely to venture for food.
• Never approach a bear — observe it only from a distance. If you encounter a bear at close range, remain standing upright, try to look as large as possible, avoid direct eye contact, back up slowly, and speak in a calm and assertive voice.
• Carry bear spray — but know how to use it. Bear spray is extremely effective to deter bear attacks. Bear spray is a non-toxic and non-lethal means of warding off aggressive bears that temporarily affects the bear’s respiratory system and mucous membranes. Keep bear spray immediately available on your belt or your pack’s waist strap, not inside your pack. Use only bear spray — self-defense spray meant for humans is not effective.
• If a bear approaches while you are eating, put food away and slowly retreat a safe distance. Never abandon food because of an approaching bear. Always take food with you.
• Never throw your pack or food at a bear in an attempt to distract it.
• If a bear moves toward you or charges you, do not run!
• Some bears will bluff their way out of a threatening situation by charging but will swerve off or stop suddenly before reaching you. Bear experts generally recommend standing still until the bear stops and then slowly backing away. Use bear spray if you have it.

Great List of Reminders

I found this great list of reminders from Outdoor Life from Instagram:

🐻 Properly store ALL food AND scented products (like lotions or toothpaste) in bear boxes or canisters.
🐻 Travel & hike in groups.
🐻 Make noise while you hike, or carry a bear bell. Have a bear cannon.
🐻 Carry bear spray & know how to use it.

What NOT to DO if you see a bear:
❌ Do not approach a bear.
❌ Do not startle the bear.
❌ Do not scream or run.
❌ Do not turn your back on a bear.
❌ Do not get between a bear & her Cubs.
❌ Do not use bear spray as repellant.
❌ Do not make eye contact with a grizzly.
❌ Do not feed the bear or throw food as a distraction.

What to DO if you see a bear:
✅ Stay calm.
✅ Pick up small children.
✅ Let the bear know your presence & that you’re human (not dinner).
✅ Slowly move back away from the bear & sideways.
✅ Make yourself look as big as possible.
✅ Have your bear spray out & ready with the safety cap removed.
✅ If a brown bear or grizzly attacks, play dead. Lay face down with legs spread covering your neck with your hands. If a black bear attacks fight back.

 

Warnings on Feeding Bears – Avoid Attracting Black Bears

MDC offers these tips to avoid attracting black bears to possible food sources:

• Don’t leave pet food sitting outside. Feed pets a portion they’ll eat at each meal and remove the empty containers.
• Store garbage, recyclables, and compost inside a secure building or in a bear-proof container until the day of trash pick-up.
• Keep grills and smokers clean and store them inside.
• Only use birdfeeders in bear country when bears are typically hibernating — from early December through early March — or hang them at least 10 feet high and four feet away from any structure.
• Use electric fencing to keep bears away from beehives, chicken coops, vegetable gardens, orchards, and other potential food sources.
• Keep campsites clean and store all food, toiletries and trash in a secure vehicle or strung high between two trees. Do not burn or bury garbage or food waste.
• Report bear sightings by calling MDC at 573-522-4115, ext. 3080.

 

 

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