Continuing with last week’s up north animal feature about black bears, you may think this week’s topic is a little extreme but keep reading and you might agree with me. Normally bears will avoid people when possible and even the DNR states “BLACK BEAR ATTACKS ON HUMANS ARE EXTREMELY RARE”, but I’m here to tell you, THERE HAVE BEEN black bear attacks in the past and I believe encounters with black bears will be increase in the future for this reason. Over the last 30 years there has been a huge number of homes/cottages built away from towns in the Northwoods and this has interfered with the natural habitat for not just bears, but ALL wildlife.

As I mentioned last week, sense the late 1980s Wisconsin black bear population has grown from 9,000 to over 25,000 today, with the majority of that bear population in the northern half of the state. So, more dwellings, smaller habitat and a much larger number of bears, do you believe bear attacks could happen? Maybe not many, but I think we could be reading about bears attacking someone. The good news is no one has ever been killed by a black bear in Wisconsin, but there has been NINE encounters where bears have injured people, most recent being in 2022, when a bear broke through a window of a house with a couple inside.

There are reasons for these encounters, and many can be avoided, but depending on the availability of natural food each year, bears will travel to find food. Bears are very intelligent, have a great memory and over the years, not only associate people with food, but some bears have lost the fear of people. Bird feeders, compost areas, garbage containers and even gardens will attract bears to your home/cabin. Normally, bears are not aggressive, but will attack a person if startled, protecting the food they found or if they believe their cubs are in danger. I will tell you that MOST bear attacks in Wisconsin have involved dogs confronting a bear and the owner coming to the dogs’ aid.

So, what should you do if you come close to a bear?
If you’re not too close, the DNR says, change direction to give the bear his/her space, but keep watching it as you leave the area to make sure it is not following you.

What if you unexpectedly come up on a bear?
Experts say, you should stop and while still facing the bear, slowly start backing away while talking in a stern voice and these people believe the bear will most likely do the same.

What if the bear keeps coming towards you or you come in close contact and surprise a bear?
Everything I have read on this says, put your arms above your head to look bigger and start yelling as you keep backing up and making sure the bear has an escape route.

How to tell if a bear is going to attack you?
Bears can/will clack their jaws and or look like they are yawning, can/will paw the ground and huff.

What if a black bear attacks you?
Don’t play dead, this is not a grizzly bear, so fight back with all your strength because this bear wants to kill you. Once again, these experts say to go for the bear’s face (nose/eyes) by kicking and/or hitting it with anything you can find, like a big stick or rock.

Black bears or any wild animal for that matter are unpredictable, but odds of anyone getting hurt or killed by a black bear is extremely high. I’m ending this with the biggest reason for a bad black bear encounter. That would be surprising a sow with cubs, because mama will instinctively protect her babies at any cost.