Essential Tips for Encountering Bears in Yellowstone National Park
As national parks across the US begin to reopen following coronavirus closures, the National Park Service has issued some humorous yet important advice for what to do if you encounter bears while exploring the wilderness. When venturing into nature, it is critical to prioritize safety and understand how to handle bear interactions.
According to the NPS’ official account on social media, it is essential to “please don’t run from bears or push your slower friends down in attempts of saving yourself.” Their guidance emphasizes: “Do NOT run, but if the bear follows, stop and hold your ground. It is vital not to push down a slower friend (even if you think the friendship has run its course).” This emphasizes the importance of remaining calm in stressful situations.
Furthermore, the area around has experienced an unprecedented number of grizzly bear encounters this year. The increase in interactions could be attributed to more people looking to enjoy the outdoors during socially distanced summer vacations. To date, there have been seven reported incidents involving grizzly bears resulting in injuries, which is significantly higher than the average of one in previous years.
Despite a slow start to the summer season, visitor numbers at Yellowstone have surged, even surpassing last year’s statistics for the same timeframe. Some rangers express concern about the potential for visitors to bring coronavirus into the park; there have been reports of COVID-19 among staff and visitors, as well as traces of the virus found in the park’s sewage.
Although the tone of the advice shared by the National Park Service may be light-hearted, it contains valuable strategies for safely handling bear encounters. The agency advises to “stay calm and remember that most bears do not want to attack you; they usually just want to be left alone.” This is an important reminder for all outdoor enthusiasts.
With safety in mind, hopefully, no individuals were harmed during the humorous crafting of this post. The NPS concluded: “P.S. We apologize to any ‘friends’ who were brought on a hike as the ‘bait’ or were sacrificed to save the group. You will be missed.”
