Bear And Mountain Lion Proof Your Next Outing

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Bears and mountain lions generally prefer to avoid humans, and many potential encounters go unnoticed by the person involved.

Other times an encounter can be threatening to all involved, for example when a female bear feels called on to protect a cub, a lion to protect a kitten, or when food-conditioned bears grow bold.

To ensure an encounter with a bear or a lion is only an encounter—not a conflict—it helps to learn more about the behavior of these wild animals and to take steps to prepare yourself to see one.

"Bear and lion behavior may seem unpredictable, but it is possible to get a sense of whether they are curious, threatened, or preparing to attack by observing the situation and taking the season, food sources and other factors into account," said Rich DeSimone, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wildlife biologist in Helena.

Being able to recognize animal behavior helps too. For example, bears and lions will eye a human intently and may demonstrate a natural curiosity until they identify what it is they are seeing. Once the bear or lion realizes it is looking at a person, they most frequently will move off, unless the person’s behavior is threatening to them or their young. However, bears and mountain lions have very unique behavioral characteristics and it is useful to learn as much as possible about these two commonly occurring creatures.

The FWP web site has useful species-specific information about bears and mountain lions in the Animal Field Guide, or look under Online Services. Information about bears and mountain lions can also be found on the Living With Wildlife web page.

Human behavior is the other half of the equation in a positive wildlife encounter. Here are some tips on human behavior that will help you prepare for safe outings this spring and summer.

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