Learn the “stop — assess — back away” sequence and the key fork: show you're not a threat, or show you're not prey.
Stop — assess — back away
An algorithm for every encounter
The encounter has happened. From here on, the order is always the same.
1. STOP. Freeze. No sudden movements, no shouting. The main prohibition is running: running triggers a predator's chase reflex, a running person looks like prey, and every predator runs faster than you.
2. Assess. Has the animal noticed you? Are there young or a kill nearby? Does the animal have an escape route — and do you?
3. It hasn't noticed you: quietly leave the way you came and give the place a wide berth. It has: speak in a calm, low voice, slowly raise your arms to look bigger, and back away slowly, at an angle, without turning your back. By default, don't stare it in the eye — to most animals that's a challenge (wild cats will be an exception).
4. If the animal attacks, the fork decides. Defensive attack (you came too close, there are young nearby): become NOT A THREAT — back away, and if a brown bear makes contact, play dead. Predatory behavior (the animal stalks, circles, pursues): become NOT PREY — be big, loud, and a costly opponent: shout, fight back.
The only forest animals you can run from are large herbivores: a moose or a wild boar doesn't hunt, it just wants you gone. There's a separate unit on that.
Lesson notes
An algorithm for every encounter
The encounter has happened. From here on, the order is always the same.
1. STOP. Freeze. No sudden movements, no shouting. The main prohibition is running: running triggers a predator's chase reflex, a running person looks like prey, and every predator runs faster than you.
2. Assess. Has the animal noticed you? Are there young or a kill nearby? Does the animal have an escape route — and do you?
3. It hasn't noticed you: quietly leave the way you came and give the place a wide berth. It has: speak in a calm, low voice, slowly raise your arms to look bigger, and back away slowly, at an angle, without turning your back. By default, don't stare it in the eye — to most animals that's a challenge (wild cats will be an exception).
4. If the animal attacks, the fork decides. Defensive attack (you came too close, there are young nearby): become NOT A THREAT — back away, and if a brown bear makes contact, play dead. Predatory behavior (the animal stalks, circles, pursues): become NOT PREY — be big, loud, and a costly opponent: shout, fight back.
The only forest animals you can run from are large herbivores: a moose or a wild boar doesn't hunt, it just wants you gone. There's a separate unit on that.