Backcountry Bear Basics: The Definitive Guide to Avoiding Unpleasant Encounters

Under the heading "Feminine Hygiene and Bears," Glacier National Park's current website claims, "although evidence is inconclusive, sexual actitivity or a woman's menstrual period may attract bears." Women who are concerned about warnings like this should read Backcountry Bear Basics. Instead of repeating or embellishing Glacier Park's menstrual warning (as far too many writers have done over the years), Smith reviewed the evidence and found it wanting. He devotes eleven meticulously documented pages of Backcountry Bear Basics to the menstrual myth. After a graduate student did a study on polar bears and menstrual odors in 1980, the superintendent of Glacier wrote a memo that said the results of the study "were inconclusive and the applicability of the thesis to Glacier's grizzly and black bears is questionable." So why does Glacier continue to post menstrual warnings? Smith says park officials are "in a quandry. Because of 'liability implications,' NPS officials felt they had to warn park visitors that it might be dangerous for menstruating women to travel in bear country. At the same time, the NPS had to tell employees that it was safe for menstruating women to work in bear country. It was clear there would be lawsuits for sexual discrimination if the NPS refused to hire women for jobs in bear country." Whether the topic is menstruation, food storage, or pepper spray, Dave Smith really did his homework. You get practical advice in this book that you won't find anywhere else.

This daring book challenges conventional wisdom about bears, it's well-documented, it provides safety tips you won't find anywhere else, and it's written with style. Reading Bear Basics is like sitting around the campfire and chatting about bears with a witty outdoorsman who has years of first hand experience with bears, and an encyclopedic knowledge of bear literature.You casually mention that bears eat anything and everything; John Muir wrote that to bears, everything is food except granite. "John Muir was wrong," says author Dave Smith. "When it comes to natural foods, bears are rather finicky. Out of 1,000 types of plants in a given area, they might only consume 100-250, and each of those will be eaten during a particular season." To reduce the risk of encounting a bear, Smith suggests contacting land management agencies before you take a hike: "Resource management experts can often predict when and where to expect bear because the bruins are so keyed in on seasonal food sources."X-C skiers generally don't give much thought to bears during the winter, but Smith says, "When I worked as a winterkeeper in Yellowstone, I often saw my first grizzly tracks in March. During the unusually mild winter of 1995-96, winterkeeper Steve Fuller saw grizzly tracks in February. No matter where you're going, you should be aware of bear hibernation patterns.You ask if bears have good vison or poor vision, and Smith replies, "A 1937 report from Europe noted that brown bears in a zoo could see people at 120 yards, and recognize their handler at 60 yards." He then relates an anecdote by a bear researcher in Colorado who was spotted by a black bear from a distance of 800 yards. He closes by noting that Yellowstone Grizzly Foundation research director Steve French has an "excellent rule of thumb regarding the vison of bears: if you can see a bear, you should assume the bear can see you."Backcountry Bear Basics is filled with useful information like this. Now if I see a grizzly 150 yards away, I'll assume the bear can see me and I won't move around unless the bear is preoccupied. Although many books discuss bear vision and other topics that are covered in Bear Basics, Smith consistently gives the most thoughtful, pratical information on each subject. In addition, he debunks a lot of myths about bears. This is the ultimate book on bears and bear safety.

I have lived in Yellowstone NP for 25 years. Dave Smith's book , in my opinion, is the backcontry bear bible. Dave's knowlege and research on the subject is outstanding. I insist that my employees are familiar with this book before heading out for a back country experience. Well researched and informative. A must read for any serious backcountry camper.

As a wilderness guide I have read other books, brochures, and articles about traveling and camping in bear country, but none focuses in on the most relevant, practical, current information like Backcountry Bear Basics. Dave Smith backs up his sometimes unconventional assertions with cogent arguments and scientific references for those who want to know more, and he debunks the myths that have plagued bear literature for decades.I found the book engaging and entertaining as well as informative. I don't know what the reviewers who called it "dry" were expecting -- juicy blood and guts anecdotes a la Alaskan Bear Tales? Those are fine for scaring each other around the campfire but the purpose of Backcountry Bear Basics is to bring the reader's fears into line with reality and avoid problems for people and bears.My advice to anyone who will be hiking or camping in bear country without a guide: Read this book and carry it with you -- and follow its advice about securing your food!

Careful readers will notice important differences between Backcountry Bear Basics, Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance, Bear Aware, and Safe Travel in Bear Country. When you compare the books topic-by-topic (human sexual activity attracts bears, bears have poor vision, never make eye contact with a bear, bears eat anything and everything, etc.) Bear Basics is the most accurate, practical, up-to-date book. Biologist Stephen Herrero's classic Bear Attacks was published in 1985; coverage of topics like pepper-spray defense is out-dated. Compared to Bear Attacks or Bear Basics, Bear Aware and Safe Travel In Bear Country are cliché-laden lightweights. Neither book includes substantive quotes from bear experts, or reference notes. Consider the cliché that you should beware of sows with cubs. Bear Aware states, "female bears fiercely defend their young," and Safe Travel in Bear Country states, "nothing prompts a full-clown charge by a bear more quickly than the bawl and commotion of a cub." In Bear Basics, biologist Lynn Rogers states, "Unlike grizzly bear mothers, black bear mothers seldom attack people in defense of cubs . . . the ferocity of mother black bears is one of the biggest misconceptions about this species." Bear Basics is thought provoking and well documented. Women should read Bear Basics just for the lengthy chapter that debunks the myth bears are attracted to menstrual odors. No other book discusses the ethics of wearing bear bells and making lots of noise in grizzly country. No other book about bears comes close to giving you the quality information Bear Basics provides about bear behavior. Bear Aware says "If you see a bear at close range . . . try to identify the bear as a black bear or grizzly. Both are dangerous, but grizzlies are usually more ill-tempered." Bear Basics explains that since "black bears and grizzly bears walked along different evolutionary paths the two species often have a different response to what biologists call the `fight' or `flight' question: How do you respond to a threatening situation? Do you fight, or do you take flight?" Bear Basics provided a sound biological explanation for grizzly and black bear behavior during surprise encounters; it changed my preconception about grizzlies being the ill-tempered grumps of the animal kingdom. What if you're charged by a grizzly? Bear Basics has the best information on using pepper spray or firearms. If you're forced to play dead, Bear Attacks recommends "the fetal position" adding that "Lying flat on the ground, face down, with your hands locked behind your neck is another possibility." Bear Aware and Safe Travel in Bear Country recommend curling up in the fetal position, but don't discuss playing dead by lying flat on the ground-which is the technique Herrero advocates in several recent magazine articles and the 1997 Discovery program "Bear Attacks." Bear Basics is the only book that gives your up-to-date facts on how to play dead: "It's best to lie face down .