Registration
Print
BE PREPARED

A Summer Survival Guide

Learn some basic rules for getting along with nature.
By Tiffany Sharples, June 2006 issue |

First Sight: Keep 300 feet away, stand tall, and flail your arms. Retreat slowly, never turning your back. Make loud noises and throw objects if it continues to approach or otherwise acts aggressively.

Last Resort: Use pepper or bear spray on a wolf that comes within 10 feet or so. If you're attacked, punch, kick, or swing tree branches or a hiking stick--whatever you can do to keep the wolf's jaws from latching onto you.


MOOSE

Avoidance: Moose aren't naturally aggressive, but may charge or kick when threatened or surprised, so make noise in areas where they live. Be especially wary of females during the spring, when they're calving, and bulls during the fall mating season.

First Sight: Give a moose plenty of space, and walk so that a tree, boulder, or other large object is between you. Moose aren't agile, so you should be able to run around the object more quickly than it can. Run like the wind from a moose that charges; it probably won't follow.

Last Resort: If a moose knocks you down, it may stomp or kick until it feels that the threat (you) has been quashed. Curl up in a ball and protect your head with your hands. Don't move until the moose is a safe distance away.

ALLIGATOR

Avoidance: Avoid shorelines with thick vegetation. Keep a close watch on young children and small pets; they're similar in size to gators' usual prey. Be careful in particular during early evening, which is when they normally feed.

First Sight: Get out of the water now. Gators tend to stalk victims, using the element of surprise; if you flee, they won't necessarily give chase.

Last Resort: Kick, punch, and poke. Gators often mistake a human limb for a small animal--when they realize it's part of a larger creature, they generally unclamp their jaws.

Note: This story was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Print

Get E-Newsletters
Subscribe to the magazine now!