Friday, March 6, 2015

Another Burden to Bear

by David Carroll


This is a good article for people who love to go for a run, since it prepares the reader for the risk of running on Canadian trails during bear season. 

In his article David Carroll talks about the risk of encountering a bear while running in Canada and he provides the reader with useful and common tips how to avoid them. Furthermore his article gives advice what to do when you actually run into a bear.
The article is introduced with the story of an ultra-marathon runner who came to face a bear while she was running. Her story gets resumed in the developing of the article and the author uses it as an example for possible bear behavior. Carroll also included more detailed information on bear's behavior and provides general statistics which clarify the unlikeliness of an actual bear attack.  

I personally liked the article because it teaches the reader that he shouldn't be afraid of bears, since they have a mostly non-meat diet and usually prefer to stay away from humans anyways. It clarifies that in any case fear is nothing you want to show a bear. I am not planning to take a run in bear territory, but I like to hike with my parents and this article made me feel more confident in being able to handle a situation like that. This article matches my preference of non-violent handling of situations, by considering the bears "needs" as important as the human ones. 

Carroll, David. "Another Burden to Bear". Canadian Running. Trail Special 2009. (p. 60 f.)Print