Human-Bear Encounters

The brown bear is a large carnivore and its size, strength, speed, and explosive power mean it can potentially be very dangerous to humans. Thus, brown bears conjure awe, respect, and often fear across their range in the northern hemisphere, including in Scandinavia. People in Scandinavia have been both injured and killed by bears (1, 2), and many people in Norway and Sweden are reportedly afraid of encountering bears and potential bear attacks (3, 4). The SBBRP has explored how many people are injured or killed annually by bears in Scandinavia and the context surrounding those attacks. We have also studied how brown bears react in close encounters with humans and how this knowledge can reduce human injuries and help reduce fear among people so that humans and bears might coexist better in the landscape.

Bear attacks in Scandinavia

Brown bears in Scandinavia are usually very shy, avoid people and are generally not aggressive when encountered in the wild. The actual risk of being attacked by a bear is quite low in Scandinavia, for example, people are much more likely to be injured or killed by domestic animals, such as dogs, horses, and cattle, than by bears (1, 2). For example, between 1977 and 2016, only 44 encounters between bears and people resulted in attacks that caused injury (42) or death (2). The vast majority of these incidents included adult men (42). One incident included a woman doing forestry inventory and one incident a young boy falling into a den while skiing off-piste (1). The majority of cases surrounded hunting activities, including bears, moose, or small game hunting (33) and 62% of all attacks (26) were associated with a hunter shooting at or shooting the bear at relatively close range, about 8-9 m (1).This is relevant because bears are especially dangerous when they are threatened or wounded (1, 2, 5).

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Outside of hunting activities, only 16 attacks on individuals occurred over nearly 40 years. Among 11 non-hunters that were attacked by bears, eight of the incidents involved females with young cubs. This is a pattern observed worldwide, where most attacks are defensive and are the result of a female defending her cubs, especially cubs of the year (5). Historical records from the period between 1750 and 1962 when the bear population was higher but diminishing due to bounty hunting, a total of 75 attacks were reported that caused injury (48) or death (27) (2). Again, the majority (52%) of these instances were associated with bear hunting or hazing (39), with the second-most common being livestock herding (13) (2).

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The likelihood of encountering a bear in the wild within Scandinavia, and such an encounter leading to an attack or injury, appears to be extremely low, despite the potential for such encounters having increased due to the bear population tripling over the last fifty years in Scandinavia (1, 2, 5). Nonetheless, the incidence of bear encounters resulting in attacks has risen in parallel with the growing bear population. The primary factor contributing to the increase in encounters leading to injuries is the rise in bear hunting, which has increased in tandem with the bear population size (1, 2). Conversely, the rate of non-hunters sustaining injuries, despite increases in both human and bear populations, does not exhibit a similarly strong correlation (1).

Bear behaviour when encountering humans

In 2006, the SBBRP began several studies exploring how bears would behave when they encountered people in the forest. During these studies, one or two researchers would approach GPS collared bears on foot (exhibiting normal hiking behavior) to within ~50 m and assess the bears’ reactions using fine-scale GPS positioning and visual cues if seen. Over the course of six years, researchers approached bears almost 300 times, including females with cubs (6). Bears were only seen or heard by the researchers in 14-26% of all approaches (6-8). In other words, in the large majority is instances, the approaching people would have never known a bear was nearby without the benefit of GPS technology. Throughout the studies, no bear ever acted aggressively towards the approaching researchers, i.e., threatened, bluff charged, or attacked (6-8). Altogether, this confirms that the Scandinavian brown bear is both shy and non-aggressive.

In the most cases, the bears left the area immediately upon being approached (single bears left 80%-89% of the time, females with cubs 95%) while the remaining bears stayed in place and hid (7, 8). The average flight distance i.e., the distance to the approaching humans when the bears flee, was between 69 and 115 m, depending on whether the bear was up and active or not (8). Active bears (e.g., bears that were traveling or foraging) were more likely to flee when people were farther away than resting bears, meaning active bears fled more quickly upon approach then resting bears (8). Young bears were more likely to flee than older bears and bears were more likely to hide if they were located in more dense vegetation (8). Bears in Scandinavia generally either flee or hide from humans when they approach, and the encounter can have an effect on the bears behavior for several days (see Human disturbance and brown bear behavior for more details).

Managing fear of bears

Many individuals in Scandinavia experience fear of brown bears, which may cause them to reduce their outdoor activities in areas with bear populations. A crucial question for management is how to assist these individuals in managing their fear, enabling them to continue engaging with regular outdoor activities despite the presence of bears. The main reason people are afraid of bears seems to be the perception that bears are dangerous, uncontrollable, and unpredictable (9). Potential intervention methods include information and education, exposure to bears and their habitat, collaboration and participation, and financial incentives (10). In collaborations with psychologists, we have explored the effectiveness of several of these proposed interventions.

Individual exposure to bear habitat with a guide informing them about bear biology, the danger of bears, and how bears normally behave when encountering humans seems to be a viable method for decreasing fear (11, 12). Here, the guide serves as a role model for the participants about how to think about bears and behave when meeting a bear. Some of the exposure studies also included either a bear approach, i.e., joining researchers in the field who then approached a radio-collared bear within 50 m (11, 12) or a guided walk in a park with captive bears. All three exposure methods reduced peoples fear (12). The bear approach had the strongest effect, however a guided walk in bear habitat is the most practical method as an intervention and does not involve captured or radio-collared animals.

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We also evaluated whether informational meetings, for example after a bear has approached a village, might reduce fear and increase social trust (13). This study found that the people who found the information credible reported a decrease in fear towards bears and increase in social trust, suggesting informal community meetings may prove a useful intervention tool as well (13).

Management recommendations

Although the probability of being attacked and injured or killed by a brown bear in Scandinavia is extremely low, there are several strategies managers might implement to further mitigate this risk. The most efficient mitigation to reduce injuries by bears is to educate hunters about how to avoid dangerous encounters with bears. This includes both bear hunters and how they might hunt bears in a safe manner as well as other game hunters on how to behave if they encounter bears. In terms of mitigating fear of bears, we have made a handbook for how to address concern or fear of bears including practical advice and the scientific knowledge base for the recommendations that might be practical for managers to use when people express fear of bears that impede their daily life (14).

References

1. Støen O-G, Ordiz A, Sahlén V, Arnemo JM, Sæbø S, Mattsing G, et al. Brown bear (Ursus arctos) attacks resulting in human casualties in Scandinavia 1977–2016; Management implications and recommendations. PloS one. 2018;13(5):e0196876.

2. Swenson JE, Sandegren F, Soderberg A, Heim M, Sφrensen OJ, Bjarvall A, et al. Interactions between brown bears and humans in Scandinavia. Biosphere conservation: for nature, wildlife, and humans. 1999;2(1):1-9.

3. Røskaft E, Bjerke T, Kaltenborn B, Linnell JD, Andersen R. Patterns of self-reported fear towards large carnivores among the Norwegian public. Evolution and human behavior. 2003;24(3):184-98.

4. Ericsson G, Sandström C, Kindberg J, Støen O-G. Om svenskars rädsla för stora rovdjur, älg och vildsvin. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden [In Swedish] Report. 2010;1.

5. Bombieri G, Naves J, Penteriani V, Selva N, Fernández-Gil A, López-Bao JV, et al. Brown bear attacks on humans: a worldwide perspective. Sci Rep-Uk. 2019;9(1):8573.

6. Ordiz A, Støen OG, Sæbø S, Sahlén V, Pedersen BE, Kindberg J, et al. Lasting behavioural responses of brown bears to experimental encounters with humans. Journal of Applied Ecology. 2013;50(2):306-14.

7. Sahlén V, Ordiz A, Swenson JE, Støen OG. Behavioural differences between single Scandinavian brown bears (Ursus arctos) and females with dependent young when experimentally approached by humans. PloS one. 2015;10(4):e0121576.

8. Moen GK, Støen O-G, Sahlén V, Swenson JE. Behaviour of solitary adult Scandinavian brown bears (Ursus arctos) when approached by humans on foot. PloS one. 2012;7(2):e31699.

9. Johansson M, Karlsson J, Pedersen E, Flykt A. Factors governing human fear of brown bear and wolf. Human dimensions of wildlife. 2012;17(1):58-74.

10. Johansson M, Ferreira IA, Støen O-G, Frank J, Flykt A. Targeting human fear of large carnivores - Many ideas but few known effects. Biological Conservation. 2016;201:261-9.

11. Johansson M, Støen O-G, Flykt A. Exposure as an intervention to address human fear of bears. Human Dimensions of Wildlife. 2016;21(4):311-27.

12. Johansson M, Flykt A, Frank J, Støen O-G. Controlled exposure reduces fear of brown bears. Human Dimensions of Wildlife. 2019;24(4):363-79.

13. Johansson M, Frank J, Støen O-G, Flykt A. An evaluation of information meetings as a tool for addressing fear of large carnivores. Society & Natural Resources. 2017;30(3):281-98.

14. Støen O-G, Johansson M, Frank J, Flykt A. Håndbok for å imøtekomme bekymring og frykt for bjørn og ulv-praktiske råd og vitenskapelig kunnskapsgrunnlag. Norsk institutt for naturforskning (NINA); 2022.