WARNING: THERE ARE BEARS IN THE BIG DIPPER.
It is summer so camping is going on and I want to encourage everyone to please be careful of bears. I really love you all but sometimes people do dangerous things around bears because they don't know bear safety. I don't want that to happen to any of you.
Also if bears attack people it makes bears look bad and that is dangerous for the bears because then people might be allowed to kill them. 
Ursus (mammal) - Wikipedia
3 Ways to Escape from a Bear - wikiHow
Bears are among nature's most majestic creatures, and seeing one in the wild is an unforgettable experience. Get too close, however, and your encounter with a bear can be more terrifying than awe-inspiring. Fortunately, despite humans'...
www.wikihow.com
Bears and You
Nothing will guarantee your safety in bear country, but knowledge of bears and proper behavior greatly reduce your risk. For years people have believed that the one thing predictable about bear behavior is that it’s unpredictable. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists disagree. "Bears have reasons for doing things. It’s only from our lack of understanding that their behavior seems unpredictable," says John Hechtel, a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He has 18 years’ experience studying bear and human encounters.
Hechtel’s job has placed him in potentially dangerous situations numerous times but he doesn't tell gruesome stories of being attacked, mauled, swatted, or stomped. Because of his understanding of bear behavior, Hechtel is able to use simple, respectful tactics and avoid dangerous encounters.
People who have many years’ experience dealing with bears often have few, if any, life-threatening encounters to report. One example is Sandy Jamieson, an Alaskan bear guide for 30 years. He has guided hunters in to some of the most remote and heavily populated bear areas in Alaska and has encountered these animals more times than he can remember. Yet, in all of his experiences, he was forced to kill only one bear in defense of life and property.
Hechtel claims that most confrontations between bears and humans can be avoided when people have a firm understanding of bear behavior and reasons for bear-human conflicts and show the bears respect. Unfortunately, he sees people behave inappropriately with these animals far too frequently. "I’ve seen people do stupid things to bears," Hechtel says. "I’ve seen people throw rocks at a grazing bear from 2 feet away just to get a better picture." Hechtel emphasizes that 95 percent of the time, people are responsible for determining whether the outcome of a bear encounter will be good or bad.
Most bears tend to be wary of humans and often will do anything to avoid them, Hechtel explains. Hechtel describes the few exceptions as the "food-conditioned" bear. A bear that has had previous contact with people and was rewarded with food or trash is considered a food-conditioned bear. The result is bad for the bear and for people. "A fed bear is a dead bear," Hechtel says. He explains how ninety-five percent of food-conditioned bears will eventually become nuisances and have to be killed.
Dick Shideler, also a biologist with the Department of Fish and Game in Fairbanks, says that once a bear associates people with food, it becomes a potential threat to all people in any future encounters. Such food conditioning is entirely preventable, however. Shideler believes that by modifying camping practices and by using proper food storage and trash disposal, people can eliminate ninety percent of the risk of wilderness bear confrontations.
Knowledge of bear behavior also helps prepare a person in the event of a confrontation. Don’t panic if you see a bear and the bear eyes you intently. The animal is just surveying the situation, trying to identify what sort of creature it has encountered, and whether it might be in danger. Once the bear realizes it has happened upon a person, the bear usually moves off to more important things - the daily business of being a bear.
The Bear Necessities
You can avoid them, or make your encounter a safe one, by following these safety tips.
Travel Smart
Always be "bear aware". At trailheads look for posted signs about recent bear activity. Watch ahead for bears or for tracks. Don’t surprise bears. Make plenty of noise when traveling. Hiking in groups is safer than hiking alone.
Dogs can be trouble in bear country. Their curiosity has brought back bears to their owners more than once. It is best to leave your dog at home or keep it on a leash.
Know the difference between black and brown bears. Both black bears and brown or grizzly bears live in areas where there are state parks. Use more than the fur color for identification. There are cinnamon black bears and black brown bears.
Camping
Please help prevent trouble for those who will follow you!
In a Campground:
Never leave food out when not in use. Store food in your vehicle or a bear-proof locker.
Use bear-proof garbage cans or dumpster for your garbage.
Keep your camp clean and odor free.
In the Backcountry:
Choose your campsite carefully. Do not camp near a trail, salmon stream, animal carcass, garbage, or any backcountry metal fire pit (others may have left food odors). Do camp in a tent in an open quiet area where you can see and hear nearby wildlife and where they can see and hear you.
Cook at least 100 feet away from camp, downwind. Do not cook near your camp, cook smelly foods, sleep in clothes with food odors, or bring any food or lotions into your tent. Store food, pots, lotions, clothes with food odors, and trash away from camp. If there are trees, cache your food out of a bear’s reach (see below). If there are no trees, hang food off of a rock face or a bridge, or store it out of a bear’s sight off the trail and downwind of camp.
Pack out all trash. Do not bury garbage, bears have very keen noses and can find buried garbage.
Use a tent. Do not sleep in the open.
Food Cache - All you need is 100 feet of light line, a small weight to attach to the end of it (a plastic bag with a rock in it works fine), and food bags that you can tie to the line. You’ll never have to climb a tree again!
1. Select 2 trees at least 20 feet apart. Throw the weighted end of the rope over a branch about 17 feet above the ground.
2. Tie the line to the trunk of the first tree. Throw the weighted end of the line over the branch of the second tree.
3. Attach your food bag to the middle of the line, and pull it up and adjust so it is centered, at least 12 feet above the ground.
4. Tie the other end of the line to the second tree. To access food, just let it down. To re-cache it, pull it back up.
Close Encounters
Statistics show the best ways to react to bears when you see them:
If you see a bear that is far away or doesn’t see you...
turn around and go back, or circle far around. Don’t disturb it.
If you see a bear that is close or it does see you...
STAY CALM. Attacks are rare. Bears may approach or stand on their hind legs to get a better look at you. These are curious, not aggressive, bears. BE HUMAN. Stand tall, wave your arms, and speak in a loud and low voice. DO NOT RUN! Stand your ground or back away slowly and diagonally. If the bear follows, STOP.
If a bear is charging...
almost all charges are "bluff charges". DO NOT RUN! Olympic sprinters cannot outrun a bear and running may trigger an instinctive reaction to "chase". Do not try to climb a tree unless it is literally right next to you and you can quickly get at least 30 feet up. STAND YOUR GROUND. Wave your arms and speak in a loud low voice. Many times charging bears have come within a few feet of a person and then veered off at the last second.
If a bear approaches your campsite...
aggressively chase it away. Make noise with pots and pans, throw rocks, and if needed, hit the bear. Do not let the bear get any food.
If you have surprised a bear and are contacted or attacked...
and making noise or struggling has not discouraged an attack, play dead. Curl up in a ball with your hands laced behind your neck. The fetal position protects your vital organs. Lie still and be silent. Surprised bears usually stop attacking once you are no longer a threat (i.e. "dead").
If you have been stalked by a bear, a bear is approaching your campsite,
or an attack is continuing long after you have ceased struggling, fight back! Predatory bears are often young bears that can be successfully intimidated or chased away. Use a stick, rocks or your hands and feet.
Protection
Most people who hike in Alaska’s wilderness don’t carry a weapon. They know that the best defense is common sense. Traveling and camping carefully are all that they need. If you feel the need for additional protection, consider carrying "pepper spray", a bear deterrent made from the juice of red-hot peppers. This incapacitating spray teaches bears a lesson without permanently maiming them. It’s available at local sporting goods stores and at visitor centers. Be familiar with the characteristics of the brand you choose and its warnings.
You are allowed to carry a gun for protection in state parks. Remember, though, that more people are hurt by the guns they carry than are hurt by bears. Select a gun that will stop a bear (12-gauge shotgun or .300 mag rifle) and practice firing it at a rifle range. Any bear shot in self defense must be salvaged and turned over to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Avoid close encounters. If you can prevent an encounter with a bear, the rest of the steps are unnecessary. Bears are reclusive creatures, and they generally prefer to steer clear of humans. You can help them to do so by announcing your presence when you’re exploring their home environment: talk loudly, sing, or carry "bear bells" so bears have time to escape you. Read up on bear behaviour to decide which of the "noise" methods you are comfortable with as there are different views by professionals on the effectiveness of making noise. Be sure to heed local bear advisories and practice proper food storage techniques while camping, and try to hike in open areas so that a bear can see you (or you can see it) from a distance. Leave dogs at home or keep them leashed. If you see bear tracks, make a detour or leave the area. Avoid surprising bears.
2Keep your distance. If you see a bear from a long distance (greater than 300 feet), leave the area. If you need to continue on, make a wide detour around the bear. If the bear has not seen you, do not disturb it: retreat calmly and quietly, and then make ample noise when you are well away to prevent future chance encounters. If the bear sees you, begin speaking in a low, calm voice (it doesn’t matter what you say) and retreat slowly, keeping an eye on the bear but avoiding direct eye contact. Your goal is to communicate to the bear that you are human (i.e. that you can defend yourself and are not frightened) while also letting it know that you are non-threatening, and that you are leaving its territory.
3Stand tall, even if the bear charges you. If the bear sees you and is closer than 300 feet, or if the bear is approaching you, remain calm and try to look as large as possible. Stand your ground and try not to look frightened. Try to back away slowly—do not run—and speak softly. If the bear continues to approach as you back away, stop and stand your ground. Speak more loudly in a deep, calm voice, and wave you arms to make yourself look bigger. Keep an eye on the bear, but avoid direct eye contact, this can be interpreted as a challenge by the bear. Do not be aggressive, but do not crouch down, play dead or otherwise show fear or vulnerability. If the bear charges you, muster all your courage and stay where you are: the charge is most likely a bluff, and if you stand your ground the bear will turn away.
4
Grizzly bear: Note the prominent shoulder hump.Know your bear. The steps you take to survive an encounter with a bear will depend in part on the type of bear. North America has three kinds of bears: brown bears, black bears, and polar bears. Polar bears, of course, are easily recognizable, and their range is limited to the far northern latitudes. Grizzlies and black bears cannot necessarily be differentiated by their colors. Grizzly bears can weigh up to and over 800 lbs., and they are distinguished by a prominent shoulder hump and a rump lower than the shoulder. Black bears are typically smaller (up to 400 lbs.), and have a rump higher than or at roughly the same level as the shoulder. If you see tracks, grizzly bears have claw marks well separated from the paw imprints, while black bears’ claw marks will be quite close to the paw imprint.
5Understand the bear's motivations. A little bear psychology can go a long way—your response to an attack should be shaped by the bear’s motivations. First, if a bear appears to be stalking you (disappearing and reappearing, for example), or if a bear attacks at night, it most likely sees you as food, and any attack will be predatory. If you surprise a bear on the trail, if the bear has cubs, or if the bear is eating from or protecting a carcass, the bear will most likely be acting in self-defense.
6Respond appropriately based on the situation:
If a grizzly or polar bear makes a non-predatory attack: Play dead. If the bear (other than a black bear) is attacking you in self-defense, you can put it at ease (and possibly save yourself) by playing dead by lying completely flat on the ground. Do so only after the bear makes contact with you or tries to do so. (In the past, bear experts recommended that one fall to the ground in a fetal position but researchers have since proven that doing this only allows the bear to easily flip over the human in question.) To play dead, lie flat on the ground protecting your vital parts with the ground, and your arms protecting your neck with your hands laced behind the neck. Keep your legs together and do not struggle. Once the bear leaves your immediate vicinity, wait several minutes before carefully looking to see if the bear is still around. A bear may look back and may return if it sees you moving.
If any bear makes a predatory attack or you receive any attack from a black bear: Fight back. Fight a black bear attack or any predatory attack. If the bear is a black bear, or if you have determined that the bear sees you as food (this is actually quite rare, and more common with black bears and, some say, polar bears than with grizzlies), your only chance of escape is to fight it or scare it away. Hit the bear with rocks, pots, pans, sticks or fists—anything handy. The odds may seem against you in a fight, but bears generally do not see humans as prey, and a bear that makes a predatory attacks is usually immature, starving, or wounded, and may easily be scared away if you hit it.
7Consider last minute escape techniques:
Climb a tree only under the right circumstances. Black bears are adept climbers, so climbing a tree will do you no good with one of them. Grizzlies, too, can climb a little, and they can reach up to 12 feet into the tree from the ground. Only consider climbing a tree if you encounter a grizzly and you are confident you can make it well up (at least 15 feet, but preferably 30 feet) into a sturdy tree by the time the bear reaches you. Bears are incredibly fast, so do not try to race a bear to a tree—you will lose. This approach is usually only viable if you are right next to the tree, and you’re a good climber.
Sidestep advances if they're closing in within a relatively short distance (<8 feet). Bears and other 4 legged animals have a wider center of gravity, and hence can't make turns quite as sharp as you or me. Don't just run in circles however, but if engaged in an open area (plains or field), do not run directly away from the bear as they're generally faster. Move left and right where applicable to force the bear to change direction. Do not abuse this, however, as it drains vital energy.
