Being bear aware is important this time of year

The forests around us can be a great place to be, until you meet a bear. Doing the wrong thing in front of a bear could cost you your life. U.S. Forest Rangers gave a quick lesson on what to do. Make noise when hiking, always travel in groups and be sure to have your bear spray.

“They just need to carry that bear spray where it’s accessible,” said Randy Scarlett, a wildlife biologist with the Custer Gallatin National Forest. “On your body in either a chest harness or on your hip, on the front of your body. And always carry it in the same place.”

They gave lessons on how to get your bear spray ready in a surprise encounter. Having that ready can save your life.

“Ideally you have time to get the bear spray out and see what the bear does,” Scarlett said. “The bear spray itself will spray about 30 feet. So if a bear is coming at you, you know, full speed at 25-30 miles per hour, they can cover that ground pretty fast. You actually want to spray a little bit beyond 30 feet when they make it. say 40-45 feet, then you start spraying. That way the bear has time to hit that cloud of spray and it’ll get in their nose and in their throat and can affect them before their momentum can actually carry them to you. If you wait until right at 30 feet, their momentum might actually carry them all the way to you by the time they hit the pray.

They also say a mistake people often make is making noise once in front of a bear. While you want to make noise while hiking before you see a bear, it is best to stay quiet once one has noticed you.

“In the past, some of the instructions that were given for bear encounters was you make noise, let the bear know you’re there, that can actually escalate the situation,” Scarlett said. “The bear might see you as a threat at that point and then engage in an encounter that could go bad. So we just tell people, stand your ground, be quiet, see what the bear does, have your bear spray out, you know get it out of the holster and have it ready and then go from there.”

The Forest Service rangers say bears could come up on you at any time. They also said one of the biggest times of year they have issues is during bow hunting season.