Freda D. CuevasIt has been the summer of bears in Idaho. It seems that every week, we’re reading reports of bears gone wild in the Gem State. Then again, bears do live in the wild. We now have a report of a bear chasing a biker in Idaho, according to a Facebook from The U.S. Forest Service for Caribou-Targhee National Forest that KSL picked up on.
Fortunately for the biker, the bear did not catch him or her. Authorities speculated that the ‘Mama Bear’ was protecting her family of cubs.
Earlier this year, we did a report on a number of bear sightings in urban areas including Boise. You can read that story here. Here is an excerpt from that article on what to do if you’re confronted by a bear of any size.
- Stand your ground: Never back up, lie down or play dead. Stay calm and give the bear a chance to leave. Prepare to use your bear spray or another deterrent.
- Don’t run away or climb a tree. Black bears are excellent climbers and can run up to 35 mph — you cannot outclimb or outrun them.
- Know bear behavior. If a bear stands up, grunts, moans or makes other sounds, it’s not being aggressive. These are the ways a bear gets a better look or smell and expresses its interest.
- If a black bear attacks, always fight back. And never give up! People have successfully defended themselves with almost anything: rocks, sticks, backpacks, water bottles, and even their hands and feet.
Here are some more tips courtesy of the US Department of Agriculture. Let’s hope all of us can avoid the fate of an Idaho man who was mauled by a bear but lived to tell his story here.
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