If you are camping in a country where there are bears, take the right precautions to make your camp less attractive to them. It is essential to keep food out of the reach of bears, while cooking, eating, snacking, sleeping or doing other camping activities.
Steps
Step 1. Keep food in a suitable shelter or container
It's the easiest way, as long as the place you put food is safe and bear proof. Good examples of food storage methods that prevent bear attacks include placing food:
- In metal food cabinets. Some campsites provide them. Use them. If they are full, ask the neighbors if they can share some space with you.
- In a cabin. Some campsites provide cabins with shelves or food lockers and a locked door. Put all the food there and make sure the door is always tightly closed. Label food if the area is shared.
- In a bear resistant jar. Some parks require the use of bear-resistant food bins. If you are hiking, these jars can be a great buy and are often packed on hiking routes. Put the food in the jar and close it. Keep it away from the sleeping area.
Step 2. Create a hanging bag
If you don't have a shelter or bin available, a hanging bag is the best choice in many cases, although bear resistant jars are preferred in many parks because bears have often figured out how to get to the hanging bag. If it's okay to use hanging bags in your area, follow these steps:
- Choose a suitable area between two trees, at least 91 meters from your tent. Do not hang it on the spots where berries are found, which are obviously frequented by bears.
- Stretch a rope between two trees that are not too close together. To make the rope stretch as high as possible, hang a stone or other weight at either end to create upward extension. The bag should be at least 4 meters high and 1.4 meters away from each tree.
- Hang a sealed bag in the center of the string.
- Pull the string and tie it tightly to the other tree.
Step 3. Handle food carefully
As a bear deterrent action, follow these points:
- Cook at least 91 meters from your tent.
- Change your clothes after cooking and keep them away from the sleeping area.
- Never leave food unattended, not even for a moment to fetch water. Make sure it is watched by others at the campsite or secured.
- Never bring food to your tent. This is essential, otherwise the bear may be tempted to tear the curtain to rummage. Check the children's backpacks, pockets and other containers to make sure there are no hidden or forgotten candies or cookies. It is very easy to forget about strong smelling candies, gums and chocolates.
- Do not eat or cook in the tent.
Step 4. Avoid cooking strong smelling foods
Strong smelling foods are very attractive to bears. Bacon is notoriously very attractive to bears. Probably any food that makes you watery due to its smell also attracts bears. Be careful with your food choice, especially when heat intensifies odors.
Step 5. Dispose of all waste, particles, debris and food containers properly
- Use bear-proof litter bins.
- Wash the dishes, pots and utensils at least 91 meters away from your camp and get rid of all bits of food by disposing of them in appropriate baskets.
- Leave the camp clean. Do not leave any food residues, rubbish or empty cans on the camp. Leave everything clean, as and more than you found it.
Advice
- Speaking of the camp, never leave a backpack unattended! In many areas, bears now associate backpacks with food and if they see one unattended, they may be tempted to investigate. Avoid encouraging them by always keeping your backpack with you.
- Put electrical tape on food and also on bathroom items (toothpaste, deodorant, etc.) - the smell of some products attracts bears because they consider them potential food sources.
- When hiking, don't forget to take precautions. Don't leave any food residues lying around. They will attract bears and lead them along the way, threatening other hikers.
- All of these rules also apply to any pet food. Don't leave dog food lying around, it would mean looking for trouble. And don't feed the birds. It can be tempting, but any food attracts bears, seeds, nuts, dried fruit, etc.
- To reduce the potential damage to property done by bears against items that do not contain food, it is recommended to keep the camp open with free access; for example, leave the curtain open to allow curious bears to put their heads in, and leave bags and containers open as well. Bears are naturally curious and if they roam your encampment, giving them the opportunity to browse unhindered can help keep the place intact.
Warnings
- Never feed a bear. Do not throw food at a bear to bring it closer to take pictures or for any other reason. A fed bear is a dead bear because bears tamed with food are often aggressive and lose their natural fear of humans.
- Beware because in some parks the bears have learned to break car windows to get access to food. Always keep food out of sight and the windows closed. Ask the park authorities if other measures are needed.
- The car is the last resort. Make sure you close the doors and leave no food in sight. If the bear is hungry enough it is very likely that it will break windows and doors to get food (especially sweets) in the car, even if it cannot see it, because it can hear it. Make sure you clean the child seats of any traces of sweet that are dropped, because the bears will break the car just because of the good smell. (This happened to me and my friends once camping.) But if the bear isn't looking for food there should be no problem.
- Do not leave ice boxes unattended. Bears know what they are and they bite and open them with ease. They are attractive, not deterrent.
- Don't be naive. Bears could wander around the campsite at any time, never leave food unattended. Always think of a place to store it.
- Black bears who start eating on our campsite can be hard to get rid of.
