Why Is Bear-Human Conflict Rising on the Appalachian Trail? A Bear Researcher Explains

Of all of the hazards {that a} hiker could face on the Appalachian Path—late-season storms, busted ankles, these pesky shelter mice—bears in all probability aren’t high of thoughts for most individuals. However encounters with bruins have been trending up alongside the AT in recent times, with the Forest Service warning of habituated animals within the Smokies and alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway and an growing variety of wilderness areas on and close to the path requiring hikers to make use of bear canisters. For Bear Month 2026, we requested Wes Larson, host of Tooth and Claw Podcast and a bear biologist who has labored with 4 of the world’s eight bear species, for his take. —Adam Roy, Editor-in-Chief

Transcript

Hello, my title is Wes Larson, I’m a bear biologist. I’ve labored with 4 of the world’s eight bear species, together with polar bears, black bears, grizzly bears, and sloth bears over in India. I’m additionally the host of Tooth and Claw Podcast, which is a podcast the place we discuss animal assaults and the issues that we are able to be taught from these sort of encounters. After we’re wanting into potential episodes for Tooth and Claw, we have a look at completely different developments across the globe. A latest instance could be the uptick in assaults in Japan from Asiatic black bears. And I’ve seen increasingly information popping out of the Appalachian Path, popping out of locations the place traditionally there wasn’t that a lot bear exercise. Bear encounters did improve dramatically on the AT in 2025. The Appalachian Path Conservancy’s survey discovered that hikers’ tally of bear encounters rose by 75 % in 2025. In order that totals about 42 bear reviews that had been made on the AT final yr.

For my part, regardless that a 75 % improve looks as if so much, 42 bear reviews isn’t actually a considerable quantity or a quantity to be involved about. It’s one thing that we have to take note of, however I don’t suppose it’s a trigger for concern. I feel anytime we’re speaking about American black bears and an increase in encounters, there’s two actually necessary issues to remember. And people two issues are that we’ve got a number of this bear. Black bear conservation efforts have been extremely profitable. We expect there are over 800,000 American black bears within the wild, which is greater than double the variety of all the opposite bear species mixed. After which the opposite actually necessary factor to recollect is that there are much more folks recreating today than there was. So with extra bears and extra folks sharing house, you’re certain to have extra encounters.

Now if you see an enormous improve from yr to yr like this—a 75 % improve in a single yr—there’s a number of various things that might be at play. A kind of issues is there could have been a pure meals supply that failed. So typically you’ll see dangerous climate or completely different climactic results that result in berry failure or any sort of different crop failure {that a} bear sometimes goes to make use of, and that places them extra out on the panorama. They’re searching for different alternate options; typically they flip to extra sort of risk-prone conduct the place they’re truly searching for human meals as a result of they’ll’t get the pure meals they’re so used to. One other issue right here, and I feel this one might be fairly possible, is that you might have one or a number of people of a black bear that simply sort of grew to become extra habituated to human presence on this path. And so you might have a number of teams of hikers which are seeing the identical animal and reporting it, however it’s actually only one or two bears which are being seen by lots of people.

Once you have a look at these encounters, there’s two issues additionally that it is best to take note of, and that’s habituation and meals conditioning. So habituation is when a bear sort of simply decides that it’s okay being considerably near folks, however it’s nonetheless utilizing pure meals sources, it’s nonetheless doing just about pure bear conduct. It’s simply tolerating the presence of people. We don’t have a tendency to actually fear an excessive amount of about habituated bears. Now meals conditioning is a complete different factor. Meals conditioning is when a bear has been fed by folks or it has gotten into human meals. And for a bear, after they get our meals, it’s such an enormous quantity of energy that they’ll get in such a small package deal that they begin taking larger and greater dangers to get at that sort of meals. And so these are bears which are going to start out performing outdoors of their pure conduct. These are the bears that may observe folks, that may strategy folks searching for handouts. And in the event that they don’t get it, then they may get a bit upset, and so they would possibly maul somebody or they may find yourself biting somebody or getting scared. So that could be a very harmful scenario.

So there’s a statistic on the market [from The Trek’s Appalachian Trail thru-hiker survey] that exhibits that solely 13.6 % of thru-hikers are utilizing bear canisters, after which a 3rd of hikers are literally sleeping with their meals of their tent. That, to me, is regarding. The primary factor with this species, with black bears, isn’t giving them human meals. As soon as they do get into human meals, you might have completely modified that bear’s conduct. I actually urge hikers to be as accountable as potential relating to meals safety. It is advisable to use these canisters. I perceive that, , packing a canister or no matter is a few additional weight and it’s sort of a ache. Hanging your meals is de facto arduous to do with black bears. It’s arduous to get a dangle {that a} black bear can’t get to. A canister’s actually one of the simplest ways to go. Holding it in your tent is a recipe for catastrophe. If the bear smells it, reaches into the tent attempting to get your meals, you could get scratched up, you could get bit, after which wildlife officers are in all probability going to kill that bear. And that’s on you as a hiker since you determined to sleep together with your meals in your tent.

And I feel it’s necessary that hikers notice that after a bear has injured somebody, that bear turns into a legal responsibility on the panorama. As a result of if it goes and hurts another person, that particular person has authorized precedent to sue. So these bears should be faraway from the inhabitants. I feel it’s necessary that hikers do not forget that if you’re irresponsible or if you’re not correctly educating your self, you could result in the demise of a bear, and I don’t suppose anybody desires that.

Folks typically get a bit confused relating to the completely different species and what it is best to do should you encounter one. So what I actually love to do is simply give folks three items of recommendation that work for each species. So that is going that will help you with grizzly bears and it’s going that will help you with black bears. And people three issues that it is best to do should you encounter a bear at shut distance are group up—bears actually don’t wish to assault a gaggle of individuals, each species. It simply sort of confuses them. It’s a a lot larger menace than one particular person alone. So grouping up, get your bear spray out and get it prepared. I feel that individuals on the AT must be climbing with bear spray. After which slowly again away. And the explanation for that final one is that bear could have cubs close by, it might have a meals supply close by that it’s defending, and also you getting out of there slowly and backwards is simply giving the bear the house that it wants. Simply keep in mind these three issues and it’s going that will help you out of 99.9% of adverse encounters with both species.

One among our greatest objectives at Tooth and Claw Podcast is to provide folks which are out of doors recreating—everybody from identical to households which are automobile tenting to AT thru-hikers—actually good details about wildlife that they may encounter so that you just’re correctly ready for these sort of encounters and which you could get pleasure from them moderately than being terrified if you see a black bear or a moose or a mountain lion or no matter else you would possibly run into. Additionally, there are some actually enjoyable, in style sorts of media which have nice bear info, Backpacker being one in all them. Should you’re searching for different good sources of details about bear security, the Nationwide Park Service usually updates their bear security messaging. Get on Google Scholar, kind in ‘Grizzly bear assault messaging’ or ‘Black bear assault messaging’ and also you’ll get some up-to-date scientific literature on what it is best to truly do in these sort of encounters.

I wouldn’t count on to see one other 75 % bounce like we noticed on this final yr, however I do suppose we are able to proceed to count on to see the pattern go up. I feel we’ll proceed to see increasingly encounters as a result of we’ve got extra bears and extra hikers. And that’s why I feel it’s actually necessary that hikers are ready for a possible encounter.