*Most of this information will be shorter in terms, but will make sense to a young child!
Adaptations for Seasons of Food Scarcity |
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- A stocky body for carrying fat and minimizing heat loss in winter
- Ability to grow dense insulating fur
- Ability to accumulate excess fat when food is available and remain healthy doing so
- Ability to reduce their metabolism (hibernate) in seasons of scarcity.
- Ability to mate when food is scarce in late spring and early summer, delay implantation of the blastocyst until November, give birth in the den in mid-winter, and in many ways arrange their annual life cycle of behavior and physiology to maximize efficiency of feeding during the time of year when food is most available.
Vision: Bears see in color and have good close-up vision. Distance vision (over 200 yards) untested.
Hearing: Exceeds human frequency ranges and is probably twice the sensitivity.
Smelling: Smelling ability extremely good. Limits untested. Their nasal mucosa area is about 100 times larger than in humans.
Intelligence: One of the more intelligent mammals. Navigation ability superior to humans. Excellent long-term memory. Can generalize to the simple concept level. Large brain compared to body size.
Running Speed: Lean bears can exceed 30 mph. Can run uphill, downhill, or on level ground. Fat bears with winter coats overheat and tire quickly.
Swimming Ability: Can swim at least 1.5 miles in fresh water. One swam more than 9 miles in the Gulf of Mexico. Speed and distance limits untested. Can swim to island campsites.
The bear on the left is a medium-sized male reaching for the backpack is taller than most female black bears. He stands about 6 feet to the tip of his up-stretched nose and is reaching to maybe 7 feet. Adult bears are not good at vertical jumping, so anything above 7 ½ feet would be out of reach for this bear and most bears. 
The huge wild male on the right with the 6-foot researcher is about as large a black bear as a person could hope to see. At 876 pounds, he is only 4 pounds short of the world record for a wild bear. He could not reach above 9 feet. The U.S. Forest Service recommends hanging food above 10 feet, which undoubtedly will put food beyond the reach of any black bear.
| Spray more effective than guns against bears: study |  |  |  |
Last Updated: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 | 3:09 PM CT CBC News
Despite doubts among hikers and campers, you're better off with an eight-ounce can of bear spray than a gun, according to 20 years of data (Smith et al., 2008).
Canadian and U.S. researchers announced Wednesday that the spray stopped aggressive bear behavior in 92 per cent of the cases they investigated, whether the behavior was an attack or merely rummaging for food.
Guns were effective only 67 per cent of the time because shooting accurately during a grizzly charge is difficult, and it takes an average of four hits to kill a charging grizzly bear.
Most of the incidents involved grizzlies. The remainder involved black bears and polar bears.
The research dealt with concerns that wind can interfere with accuracy and can blow the spray back on the user. In 71 incidents studied, wind interfered with accuracy 5 times, caused minor irritation to the user 10 times, and caused near incapacitation twice. The spray was used at an average distance of 12 feet.
There were no reports of the spray malfunctioning unless one considers 11 additional incidents where it was applied to objects like tents. When used in that way, the spray attracts bears to roll in it.
Smith et al. concluded that bear spray is an effective alternative to lethal force.
How to survive a lightning storm on a mountainside
1. recognize the signs of an approaching storm
2.break away from group, if your in a group
3. remove any jewelry or metal on your body.
4. seek a dry, safe shelter
5.seperate yourself from ground
6. make yourself as small a target as possible
7. After the storm passes, assess whether anyone in your group has been hit, if you are in a group
SHOCK-ABSORBING HIKING STICKS
-with 2 sticks, 250 tons of pressure is transferred from the back, knees, and legs to the arms, if the hike is up to 8 hours.
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Berger, Karen. Hiking & backpacking a complete guide. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995.
Borgenicht, David, and Trey Popp. The Worst Case Scenario Almanac The Great Outdoors (Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbooks). New York: Chronicle Books, 2007.
"Boy Scouts of America Historical Highlights." Highlights. 26 Mar. 2009 .
"A Brief History of the Boy Scouts of America." Adventure Troop 97 Scouting Home Page. 26 Mar. 2009 .
Lange, Julie, ed. The Bear Book. San Ramon: Falcon Books, 2007.
Lloyd, Julie. A Pocket Guide to Weather. United Kingdom: Parragon, 2007.
North American Bear Center - Home. 26 Mar. 2009 .
"Pennsylvania political news, commentary, elections updates and polling results from The Harrisburg Patriot-News - PennLive.com." Central PA Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - PennLive.com. 26 Mar. 2009 .
"Yellowstone National Park - Firewood Permits Available Soon (U.S. National Park Service)." National Park Service - Experience Your America. 26 Mar. 2009 .
"Yellowstone National Park - Yellowstone Bears are Waking Up (U.S. National Park Service)." National Park Service - Experience Your America. 26 Mar. 2009 .
