Fear of nature

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

By Franz Camenzind

We are the lucky ones- living in this great land teaming with wildlife, sharing with those that have first claim. We hike, hunt, fish and float- we enjoy in our own way the riches of this land. But for some, venturing into the wild comes with a degree of fear. Grizzly bears, wolves, and black bears represent such a level of danger to some folks that it infringes upon their ability to enjoy our wild lands. As with so many fears, truth is often the first victim, and by most accounts it appears to be the only victim.

Make no mistake, bears, wolves and other large animals should always be viewed as being potentially dangerous, and should never be approached and always be given wide berth. The overwhelming majority of actual encounters occur when people get too close to wild animals either by accident or design. The animal’s response is nearly always “flight,” only rarely is it “bite” and then “flight.”  Cases where actual human predation appears to have been the intent are virtually non-existent in the wild.

Searching the many records of wildlife-human encounters reveals some interesting facts.  Since becoming the first National Park in 1872, Yellowstone has recorded five human deaths caused by grizzly bears- the exact same number as killed by lightening in the park during the same period. Yes, history shows that the odds of being killed by a grizzly in Yellowstone are the same as being killed by lightening.

Based on data collected from 1980-2005, a park report states: “The chance of being injured by a bear while visiting the park is approximately 1 in 1.93 million.”
By comparison, from 1982 to 2004, a total of 46 children under the age of 16 were killed in ATV accidents just in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming (161 total deaths).

And on average, about 110 people die while riding snowmobiles each year in the U.S.A.

In recent years, much has been said about the dangers posed by wolves. Only two human fatalities are attributed to wolves in recorded North American history, and the circumstances surrounding one of the cases is still being hotly debated. In a rigorous study of the 80 wolf-human encounters reported in the 20th-century from Alaska and Canada (with an estimated wolf population of 59,000 – 70,000) it was determined that 39 involved healthy wolves actually showed aggressive behavior, with 16 of these resulting in people being bitten, none life threatening, but 6 were considered severe. No physical contact occurred in the other 23 cases. With six of the 39 cases, the people were accompanied by domestic dogs.

Twelve of the 80 encounters investigated were considered to involve rabid wolves, but none of 16 bite incidents involved rabid wolves. Twenty-nine encounters involved wolves that came into very close proximity to the humans but showed no aggressive behavior. These were considered to be wolves that became habituated to people and simply lost their fear of humans.

By contrast, in 2007 there were 33 human deaths in the U.S.A. caused by domestic dog attacks (average annual fatalities is 17). In one recent 16-year period, a total of four people were killed by dog attacks in the three northern Rocky Mountain states. On average, 4.6 million people are bitten annually by domestic dogs with some level of reconstructive surgery required for 31,000 of the victims. 

The word is simply this: be careful out there, in all of the “out there,” the most familiar activities are often the most dangerous- and the ones we fear the most are often the safest. We live in a wonderful region- get out, be alert, act smart, enjoy and be thankful. JHW


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Fear of nature | Planet JH News Article: Near JH

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