Bigfoot: More On Squatching Safety From A Reader

Someone posted some good advice under the comments on Sasquatch"ing" Tips: Safety First

Anonymous said...

"Regarding the topic of Sasquatch field research safety I have a few thoughts to add.

I base the following on a wealth of personal experience in the deep wilderness, much of it rifle and bow hunting in pursuit of elusive big game. I have spent entire seasons off the grid and apart from civilization for seasons on end. BTW I make no apologies for hunting, it is an honorable pursuit and I have never taken any trophy animals that were not eaten either by my family or donated to a food bank. For the record too; I am of Algonquin descent.

The preceding post on safety afield is all good advice—but I would add the following in regards to dangers often underestimated or even made light of.

Bear safety; This subject is misrepresented by many outdoor “experts”. I frequently see comparisons made between the chances, (probabilities), of being killed by a bear and say; being killed by a bee or lightning strike. In making such statistical arguments (comparisons) the “experts” are comparing “apple and oranges” instead of making factual statistical comparisons. Every human in the U.S. is exposed to common dangers such as lightning strikes, dog attacks, motor vehicle accidents and bee stings etc. Only a tiny sampling of US residents avail themselves of the possibilities of a bear attack. The two sample groups cannot be equitably compared in the same statistical grouping since they are not evenly populating the sample studies. When accurately compared the probability of being attacked, injured, fatally injured changes dramatically. This is one of the common misunderstandings that lulls people into a set of careless behaviors in the woods.
Another common misrepresentation is the arrogant “Timothy Treadwell” attitude fostered by nationally televised “nature” specials” so popular with today’s armchair naturalist.

Timothy Treadwell (not his real name) held himself out as a protector of Katmai’s coastal brown bears, supposedly protecting the bears from “poachers”. What poacher ? Since the mid 1950’s the Katmai National Park has never had a single incident of poaching. Treadwell was but a fraud; guilty of negligent homicide, in the case of his girlfriend Amie. Treadwell and Amie were both killed and devoured by a large brown bear he had named “Satan”. But all that’s another story.
The point is bears are totally unpredictable. Their also cunning, highly intelligent, thoughtful, vicious predators capable of running in excess of 35 miles per hour.

Surprisingly more people are severely injured , killed and eaten by black bears than brown or grizzly bears. There are reasons for this and the field expedition member should understand the entire topic of bear attack before going into the woods, (especially overnight)

While the scope of this post is well beyond the brevity of what I can write here: there are ways to minimize risks inherent to sharing the woods with these magnificent creatures; such as: Each field researcher should always carry a large can of bear spray such as UDAP’s 13.4 oz. product. Practice cans with inert product are available as practice is paramount to using it effectively in an emergency. There are many other easy, cost effective precautionary measures regarding bear safety. There is a wealth of information available to anyone so interested, and good, factual information is the best defense available.

All field researchers should read Steve Herrero’s well researched book; Bear Attacks: their Causes and Avoidance. The book is still considered to be the best available text regarding the subject."

I do carry a can of Bear Spray. It is a great piece of advice that I forgot to mention.

Thanks for the comment.