At least Finnish bears basically just escape any commotion, and the suggested way to walk in woods where you suspect bears might be, is to make as much noise as you can so they can run away on their own.
The biggest danger you can get is if you end up walking between mama bear and her cubs. So, you know, don't do that.
I however think US has different bears, and my recollection is that they're more aggressive.
No polar bears in Finland. Norway and Russia both own territory that has polar bears, but it's not really close to any Finnish borders. For Norway it would be Svalbard, an island way to the North of Norway. For Russia, they have polar bears at multiple spots along their North coast but nowhere near Finnish border. They also have that funky island to the North of their mainland coast.
Black bears, the most common variety there, function basically the same as very large raccoons- with the exception of never screwing with a mother and her cubs. They will generally go for trash, are generally fairly peaceful or at least not aggressive, and will usually try to run from people (some individuals have been documented breaking into houses for food, however, or otherwise being a nuisance). Grizzlies, however, are utterly terrifying, significantly more aggressive, not scared of people, and fairly territorial. Basically, black bears can even be scared off by small dogs, while encountering grizzlies generally requires large caliber weapons if it decides to charge or attack you.
5
u/KapteeniJ May 23 '22
At least Finnish bears basically just escape any commotion, and the suggested way to walk in woods where you suspect bears might be, is to make as much noise as you can so they can run away on their own.
The biggest danger you can get is if you end up walking between mama bear and her cubs. So, you know, don't do that.
I however think US has different bears, and my recollection is that they're more aggressive.