Bear Encounters: What to Actually Do (Black vs Grizzly)
The advice changes completely depending on the species. Knowing which is which can save your life.
Bear attacks are rare — fewer than one fatality per year in North America — but they're survivable if you know the species and follow the right protocol. Get them backwards and you make things much, much worse.
Prevention beats response. Make noise on blind corners, hike in groups, store food in approved bear canisters, and carry bear spray where it's actually reachable (chest strap, not buried in your pack).
BLACK BEAR encounter: stand your ground, make yourself large, speak in a firm low voice. Do NOT run. Do NOT climb a tree (they climb better than you). If a black bear attacks, FIGHT BACK — punch, kick, hit the nose with rocks or sticks. Black-bear predatory attacks are rare but real.
GRIZZLY (BROWN) BEAR encounter: speak calmly, avoid eye contact, back away slowly. If charged, stand your ground — most charges are bluffs. If contact is made, PLAY DEAD: lie flat on your stomach, hands behind neck, legs spread to make it hard to flip you. Stay still until the bear leaves the area.
The exception: if a grizzly attack becomes prolonged or it starts eating you, switch to fighting. A predatory grizzly is the rarest scenario but treat it like a black-bear attack.
Bear spray works. Studies from the Brown Bear Project show it's more effective than firearms at deterring attacks — roughly 92% success rate. Practice deploying it before you ever need to.