Denali National Park and Preserve is home to both black bears and grizzly bears. Black bears inhabit the forested areas of the park and are rarely encountered. Grizzly bears live mainly on the open tundra. Most bears seen by visitors along the park road are grizzlies, or brown bears.

The bears of Denali are wild creatures, free to behave as they wish. If annoyed, these solitary animals can be very dangerous to intruders. For your own protection, as well as to keep the Denali bears healthy and wild, please carefully read and abide by the following rules:

• Be alert at all times, in all places. Bears are active both day and night and
  can be found anywhere. Watch for their tracks and scat.
  
• Avoid surprising bears. They may perceive you as a threat if you startle them.
• Sing, shout, or make other loud noises as you walk to warn bears of your
  presence. Be especially careful in dense brush, where visibility is low,
  and along rivers, where bears cannot hear you over the noise of the
  water.
  
• Never intentionally approach a bear. Bears should live as free from human
  interference as possible, so give them space. It is illegal to approach
  within 1/4 mile (0.4 km) of a bear.

If You Encounter a Bear (Close Encounters of the Bear Kind)

• DO NOT RUN ! Running may elicit a chase response from an otherwise non-aggressive bear. Bears can run faster than 30 mph (50 km/hr) -- you cannot outrun them. If the bear is unaware of you, detour quickly and quietly away. Give the bear plenty of room, allowing it to continue its activities undisturbed.
• BACK AWAY SLOWLY if the bear is aware of you but has not acted aggressively. Speak in a low, calm voice while waving your arms slowly above your head. Bears that stand up on their hind legs are not threatening you, but merely trying to identify you.
• SHOULD A BEAR APPROACH OR CHARGE YOU, DO NOT RUN -- DO NOT DROP YOUR PACK ! Bears occasionally make bluff charges, sometimes coming within ten feet of a person before stopping or veering off. Dropping a pack may encourage the bear to approach people for food. STAND STILL until the bear moves away, then slowly back off.
• IF A GRIZZLY MAKES CONTACT WITH YOU, PLAY DEAD. Curl up into a ball with your knees tucked into your stomach, and your hands laced around the back of your neck. Leave your pack on to protect your back. If the attack is prolonged, change tactics and fight back vigorously.
• FOR MORE INFORMATION on human-bear encounters, read Bear Attacks: Their Cause and Avoidance by Stephen Herrero.

  Please report all bear incidents and encounters to a ranger. Park rangers and biologists need this information to document bear behavior for research and management purposes.

  A Fed Bear May Become a Dead Bear

  Allowing a bear to obtain human food or garbage, even once, may cause it to seek out more human food. Eventually, if the bear becomes a threat to human safety, it will be killed. For this reason, it is against the law to feed bears in Denali, either on purpose or by carelessly leaving food or garbage where bears can get to it.

  Campgrounds

  • All food, food containers, coolers, and dirty cooking utensils must be stored, whenever not in use, in a closed, hard-sided vehicle, or in campground food-storage lockers. This includes freeze-dried and canned foods, as well as beverages and odorous items such as soap and toothpaste.
  • Keep a clean camp. Trash and garbage must be stored in the same manner as food or else deposited in a bear-resistant garbage can located in the campground. Scrape unwanted food from pots and plates into a bear-resistant garbage can.
  • Never leave food, containers, or garbage unattended for even just a few minutes.

  Backcountry

  In most of Denali's backcountry units, all food and garbage must be stored in special Bear Resistant Food Containers (BRFCs). Issued at the Backcountry Desk with your backcountry permit, these containers are lightweight, cylindrical canisters specifically designed to keep bears from obtaining food and garbage from people in the backcountry. Since the introduction of mandatory BRFC use in 1984, there has been a 95% reduction in bears obtaining backpacker's food and an 88% decrease in property damage.

  • All food, including freeze-dried and canned foods, beverages, and odorous items such as soap, toothpaste, and sunscreen must be kept in the BRFC when not in use.
  • Cook and store food at least 100 yards (100 m) downwind from your tent in an area with good visibility in all directions. Keep an eye out for approaching bears while eating, and be prepared to put all food away in a hurry.
  • Avoid cooking greasy or odorous foods. Do not sleep in the same clothes you wore while cooking.
  • Keep a clean camp. Pack out all garbage; do not bury it.

  As visitors to this wildlife sanctuary, each of us has an obligation to respect bears and their habitat. The rules listed above are strictly enforced in Denali. Failure to observe them may result in citations and fines.

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