## Bear Safety Quiz 

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

## ![](media/image1.png)

## Name\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

## Circle the best answer

1\. You are bushwhacking through dense alders and you surprise a bear at
50 feet. The bear sees you and you see the bear. What is the first thing
you should do?

A.  Shoot your firearm into the air

B.  Stand your ground and talk to the bear

C.  Turn back and move away, looking over your shoulder

D.  Pepper spray the bear

E.  Shoot the bear.

2\. You are bushwhacking through dense alders and you surprise a bear at
50 feet. The bear sees you and you see the bear. You don't know whether
it is an adult female or an adult male, or whether it has cubs. What is
the first thing you should do?

A.  Immediately pursue the bear

B.  Stand your ground and talk to the bear

C.  Turn back and move away, looking over your shoulder

D.  Pepper spray the bear

E.  Shoot the bear.

3\. You are walking up a narrow salmon stream in thick forest, counting
salmon as you go. You hear the splash of footsteps of footsteps behind
and you look to see a bear absorbed in chasing spawning salmon. You
didn't see the bear well. What is the first thing that you should do?

A.  Get out of the stream and walk into the forest

B.  Follow the bear

C.  Shoot your firearm into the air

D.  Call for a helicopter

E.  Yell and wave your hands

4\. You decide to continue along the salmon stream described in #3. All
of sudden you are knocked to the ground and a bear has your shoulder in
its teeth and is shaking you. It's happening so fast that you can't tell
whether the bear is black or brown. What is the *immediate* thing you
should do?

A.  Play dead

B.  Fight back

C.  Scream

D.  Lay on your stomach with your hands behind your neck

E.  "A" and "D"

5\. The attack described in #4 persists for what seems like a long time.
The bear is slowly and deliberately sniffing and licking you between
bites. What is the next thing you should do?

A.  Play dead

B.  Fight back

C.  Scream

D.  Lay on your stomach with your hands behind your neck

E.  "B" and "C"

6\. You are walking on open tundra. You see a brown bear about 100 yards
away and it stands on its hind legs and looks at you while sniffing the
air. What is the first thing you should do?

A.  Turn and walk away quickly

B.  Move to the closest high ground

C.  Yell and wave your hands

D.  Avoid eye contact with the bear

E.  Hide behind the nearest obstacle

7\. The bear in #6 drops down to all four feet and begins to walk toward
you, in no apparent hurry. Its ears are up and it is sniffing the air
and looking at you. It has no cubs. What is the next thing you should
do?

A.  Shoot into the air with your firearm

B.  Yell and wave your hands more vigorously

C.  Shoot the bear

D.  Avoid eye contact with the bear

E.  "B" and "D"

8\. The bear in #7 has walked to within 50 feet of you. Its ears are
still forward and it is looking at you. The bear takes a few quick steps
toward you. What is the next thing that you should do?

A.  Take a couple of steps toward the bear

B.  Yell and wave your hands

C.  Shoot your pepper spray at the bear

D.  Drop to the ground on your stomach

E.  Shoot the bear with your firearm

9\. It's midnight on an Alaskan summer day, and a black bear sow with
cubs has been circling 30-50 feet of your base camp for the past hour.
You've tried to shoo it off by yelling and banging pans but these have
no effect. What is the next thing you should do? *(More than one answer
is appropriate)*

A.  Shoot your pepper spray at the sow

B.  Throw rocks at the sow

C.  Shoot the bear with your firearm

D.  Chase the bears 100 feet away from camp

E.  Leave your camp and get help

10\. You are hiking on the open tundra and you see a bear at a distance
of 300 feet but it does not see you. What is the first thing you should
do?

A.  Yell and wave your hands

B.  Shoot into the air with your firearm

C.  Move to the closest high ground

D.  Get your pepper spray ready

E.  Change your route to avoid the bear

11\. You are following game trails in dense alders. You have your
firearm ready in case you surprise a brown bear. Sure enough, you hear
loud crashing off to your right and see a bear rushing at you, ears
back. Your weapon is immediately ready. You've already decided that
you'll shoot a charging bear at:

A.  75 feet (25 yards)

B.  50 feet (17 yards)

C.  25 feet (8 yards)

D.  15 feet (5 yards)

E.  10 feet (3 yards)

**Answer Key**:

## ![](media/image2.png)

### 

### Key

1\. You are bushwhacking through dense alders and you surprise a bear at
50 feet. The bear sees you and you see the bear. What is the first thing
you should do?

#### B. Stand your ground and talk to the bear

A bear needs to know what type of animal it has encountered. By standing
and talking to the bear you are letting it know you are human. The bear
is likely to leave the area to avoid you.

A.  Shooting a firearm in the air may confuse the bear because the
    report of the shot reverberates and the bear may not recognize that
    the shot is coming from you. Also, firing into the air is unsafe.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
C.  Moving away from the bear may denote that you are submissive; you
    may stimulate the bear's interest and entice it to follow you.

D.  Pepper spray is not accurate at distances less than 25 feet.

E.  The bear is not charging, so a "Defense of Life" shooting is not
    warranted.

2\. You are bushwhacking through dense alders and you surprise a bear at
50 feet. The bear sees you and you see the bear. You don't know whether
it is an adult female or an adult male, or whether it has cubs. What is
the first thing you should do?

#### B. Stand your ground and talk to the bear

A bear (of either species) needs to know what type of animal it has
encountered. By standing and talking to the bear you are letting it know
you are human. The bear is likely to leave the area to avoid you.

A.  Shooting a firearm in the air may confuse the bear because the
    report of the shot reverberates and the bear may not recognize that
    the shot is coming from you.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
C.  Moving away from the bear denotes that you are submissive; you may
    stimulate the bear's chase instinct and entice it to follow you.

D.  Pepper spray is not accurate at more than 25 feet.

E.  The bear is not charging, so a "Defense of Life" shooting is not
    warranted.

3\. You are walking up a narrow salmon stream in thick forest, counting
salmon as you go. You hear the splash of footsteps of footsteps behind
and you look to see a bear absorbed in chasing spawning salmon. You
didn't see the bear well. What is the first thing that you should do?

##### Get out of the stream and walk into the forest

If you have an opportunity to avoid confronting a bear before it detects
you, then change your route.

B.  Following the bear is the same as pursuit. A bear is more apt to
    react aggressively when it feels threatened.

C.  Shooting a firearm in the air may confuse the bear because the
    report of the shot reverberates and the bear may not recognize that
    the shot is coming from you.

D.  Calling a helicopter in thick forest isn't practical for you or the
    helicopter.

E.  Yelling and waving your hands would force an interaction with the
    bear that you can avoid by changing your route.

4\. You decide to continue along the salmon stream described in item #3.
All of sudden you are knocked to the ground and a bear has got your
shoulder in its teeth and is shaking you. It's happening so fast that
you can't tell whether the bear is black or brown. What is the
*immediate* thing you should do?

#### E. "A" and "D"

If a bear without any previous interaction suddenly attacks you, chances
are that you've surprised a bear at close distance. The bear is
overwhelmed by a defensive urge and has attacked you to alleviate the
threat that it imagines. Your best defense is to become less threatening
by playing dead while protecting your vital organs. Note that this
defense posture is [only]{.underline} applicable to a bear that is
attacking you.

B.  Fighting back a fearful and defensive bear is may escalate its
    defensive attack.

C.  Screaming might indicate to the bear that you could still be
    threatening.

5\. The attack described in item #4 persists for what seems like a long
time. The bear is slowly and deliberately sniffing and licking you
between bites. What is the next thing you should do?

#### E. "B" and "C"

This bear seems to be treating you like a potential meal and has ceased
to see you as a threat. Your best defense method is to become VERY
aggressive to the bear: scream, fight back, get on your feet, throw
objects at the bear, and chase it away if you must.

A.  Playing dead in this situation tells the bear that you're ready to
    eat. The bear may treat you like a carcass of some animal that it
    has killed.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
D.  Curling into a ball signals submissiveness to a bear that may be
    preying on you.

6\. You are walking in open tundra. You see a brown bear about 100 yards
away and it stands on its hind legs and looks at you while sniffing the
air. What is the first thing you should do?

#### C. Yell and wave your hands 

Bears stand in order to get more sense information. A standing bear is
probably trying to see and smell you. If you yell and wave your hands
you are letting the bear know that you are human. The bear is likely to
try to avoid you, especially at such a large distance.

A.  Moving away from the bear denotes that you are submissive; you may
    stimulate the bear's chase instinct and entice it to follow you.

B.  See above re: moving away. If you can move to a higher place without
    moving directly away or directly toward the bear (i.e., move
    diagonally), then you should do so. Being tall signals dominance and
    may convince a bear that it shouldn't mess with you.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
D.  Making eye contact with a bear has not been shown to stimulate
    aggression. In fact, it is prudent to watch what the bear is doing
    so that you can react.

E.  See "A" above re: moving away from a bear. Hiding may stimulate
    pursuit by a curious or predatory bear.

7\. The bear in item #6 drops down to all four feet and begins to walk
toward you, in no apparent hurry. Its ears are up and it is sniffing the
air and looking at you. It has no cubs. What is the next thing you
should do?

#### B. Yell and wave your hands more vigorously

The bear is acting curious and is not threatened by you...yet. If you
continue to hold your ground and act formidable, the bear will likely
lose interest and move away.

A.  Shooting a firearm in the air may confuse the bear because the
    report of the shot reverberates and the bear may not recognize that
    the shot is coming from you.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
C.  The bear is not charging, so a "Defense of Life" shooting is not
    warranted.

D.  Despite folk wisdom, making eye contact with a bear has not been
    shown to stimulate aggression. In fact, it is prudent to watch what
    the bear is doing so that you can react.

E.  See "D" above.

8\. The bear in item #6 and item #7 has walked to within 50 feet of you.
Its ears are still forward and it is looking at you. The bear takes a
few quick steps toward you. What is the next thing that you should do?

F.  **Take a couple of steps toward the bear, OR**

##### Yell and wave your hands

The bear in this scenario is probably curious to see how you'll react if
it makes a short "rush" towards you. This is typical "testing" behavior
by adolescent bears and is not usually dangerous. If you react by
holding your ground and yelling, or taking a few steps toward the young
bear you are letting him know that you are formidable and will not allow
him any closer. The bear will very likely walk away.

C.  Pepper spray is not accurate at more than 25 feet.

D.  Dropping to the ground and curling into a ball invites the curious
    young bear to approach and sniff you. If you don't react
    assertively, the bear might assume that you are prey.

E.  The bear is not charging, so a "Defense of Life" shooting is not
    warranted.

9\. It's midnight in an Alaskan summer day, and a black bear mom with
cubs has been circling between 30 and 50 ft. of your base camp for the
past hour. You've tried to shoo it off by yelling and banging pans but
these have no effect. What is the next thing you should do?

**B. Throw rocks or spray pepper spray at the mom. OR**

**D. Chase the bears 100 feet away from camp**

It is important to protect yourself and your camp from curious or
opportunistic bears, even if you have to stay awake all night to do it.
You should not be submissive to the opportunistic bear. The presence of
cubs should not deter you from asserting yourself to the degree that you
are comfortable, though you should try to direct your assertiveness
toward the mother and not the cubs.

A.  If the bear comes CLOSER than 30 feet, pepper spray may be
    effective.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
C.  Shooting the bear is an extreme response when all other tactics have
    failed.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
E.  By leaving your camp without anyone to protect your food and
    belongings, you are rewarding the bear. The bear will eat your food
    and learn that approaching camps and acting assertive will result in
    a high quality meal.

10\. You are hiking in the open tundra and you see a bear from a
distance of 300 feet but it does not see you. What is the first thing
you should do?

#### E. Change your route to avoid the bear

If you have an opportunity to avoid confronting a bear before it detects
you, then change your route.

A.  Yelling and waving your hands would force an interaction with the
    bear that you can avoid by changing your route.

B.  Shooting a firearm in the air may confuse the bear because the
    report of the shot reverberates and the bear may not recognize that
    the shot is coming from you.

C.  If you can avoid the bear by changing your route, then you don't
    need to worry about moving to higher ground.

D.  If you can avoid the bear by changing your route, then you don't
    need to worry about using pepper spray.

11\. You are following game trails in dense alders. You have your
firearm ready in case you surprise a bear. Sure enough, you hear loud
crashing off to your right and see a bear rushing at you, ears back.
Your weapon is immediately ready. You've already decided that you'll
shoot a charging bear at what distance?

**There is no "right" answer here. However, people with a lot of
experienced outdoor people recognize the following conditions**

-   **The greater the distance to the charging bear, the more apt they
    are to stop before reaching you. A bear charging from 75 feet is
    likely to change its path or stop before it contacts you.**

-   If you don't have your weapon up and ready, charges happen so fast
    that you won't have time to get a shot off.