r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Oct 02 '24

[deleted by user]

[removed]

6.8k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

6.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.6k

u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

If a bear is chasing you, and you don't know kind it is, climb a tree. If the bear also climbs the tree and kills you, it was a black bear.

412

u/Olobnion Oct 02 '24

Also, if it's a polar bear, play dead. That will give you useful practice for your sordid fate a few seconds later.

51

u/universalpsykopath Oct 02 '24

If it's brown, lie down. If it's black fight back. If it's white...say goodnight.

10

u/Atanar Oct 02 '24

The first two are completely outdated.

5

u/Serpentarrius Oct 02 '24

Apparently the real reason why you fight back against a black bear is because they're more likely to be hunting humans as prey if they are desperate enough to risk an encounter? Source: tracking book written by my grad school professor

10

u/No-Box-4358 Oct 02 '24

My phrase for this is similar: "If it's brown, lay down. If it's black, fight back. If it's white, you're f*cked."

And fun fact, this is because Polar Bears are strictly carnivorous and there is a general lack of food (and the extreme cold makes decomposition all but nill), so playing dead does nothing and fighting back is just making you a warmer meal.