How to Say Hi to a Polar Bear

During his studies of snow geese in the Arctic, Wildlife Ecology and Physiology Professor Scott McWilliams has had numerous encounters with Ursus maritimus. He sees the massive animals almost every day he works along the coast of Canada’s Hudson Bay, but usually from a considerable distance—which is how he prefers it. He and his research colleagues have developed a few strategies for not becoming lunch:

BE VIGILANT. Never travel in bear country alone, and always designate one member of your group as the bear guard, carrying a gun with live ammunition and noise-making cracker shells. Always have a two-way radio available—there’s no cell service in the area—to communicate with base camp.

STAY DOWNWIND. If you can’t, make sure the bear sees you, so it can avoid you. If it comes toward you, do your best to intimidate the animal by yelling at it and making yourself appear larger. McWilliams says that 99 percent of the time, polar-bear encounters never go beyond this step. 

MAKE SOME NOISE. If the bear continues toward you, shoot a cracker shell in the air; the loud noise should scare it away.

DON’T CHANGE YOUR SOCKS. McWilliams says his closest polar bear encounter occurred while he and his colleagues were napping in their tents. One of them was awakened by a polar bear sniffing his toes. The man’s frightened scream was enough to scare the bear away—or maybe it was the smell of his feet.