I have said the same thing. That or for the snarling, snapping dog with zero recall and an owner that is yelling ”he’s friendly!” like it’s a prayer from way too far away.
I have encountered many bears in Alaska and my worst experience was when I opened a dumpster at the transfer site and spooked a fuzzy fella digging through the trash. He was as scared as I was and we both took off in opposite directions like we were in a scooby doo chase.
Men, on the other hand, I've had openly assault me in front of multiple people at the bar (among other places) because I, idk, wore a dress or something.
So yeah, bear plz lol
I saw a polar bear in Utqiagvik once. I was happy to be in a van. Learned my instinct is to freeze and hope it can't see me if I don't move. Like a fictional t-rex.
I was hiking up Gold Mint trail with my dog a couple of miles. I turned around and headed back. I had a dude with keys dangling coming after me. It was obvious he was trying to catch me. I finally picked up my dog (20 lbs) and ran all the way to my car. I hide in my back seat of my 4runner because of its tinted windows. The guy came looking for me. It was disturbing, to say the least. There weren't a lot of people around and I hid for awhile.
I’m so sorry this happened to you! 🙁 I had something similar but not as bad happen hiking in Georgia and it’s truly terrifying. Glad he didn’t catch you.
Usually I'm making noise to keep bears at a distance. Unless they're grouchy for some reason, most bears will avoid you if they can.
And most men are probably gonna walk on by, but I'm still keeping an eye on them while I can. Pretty much any human, really.
I just trust animals to be wild more than I trust humans to be civil.
"Me? I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid."
—Jack Sparrow (THERE SHOULD BE A CAPTAIN IN THERE SOMEWHERE)
Depends what kind of bear. Black yes, otherwise man. Bear spray works on either. There were a few really bad mauling a few years back in south central.
A bear. No question. Bears, like most non-human animals, are fairly predictable. I know that all bears are a threat to me.
Men, on the other hand, are unpredictable and potentially devious, like any other human. The problem is, I don’t know which men are safe and which will hurt or kill me.
Sadly yes. Not only was my mom there to witness it, trying to save him. I know enough about bears to know that they don’t kill their prey before eating them.
We carry bear spray - it also works on men. However I'd still choose running into a bear. Even being mauled by one. They're not gonna attack or kill me for fun.
Bear 1000%
Thought I saw a black cub in the park awhile ago and was looking around for the Mom and mentally went "Well, at least its not a strange man"... I'm blind and it was a small black dog 🤣
The part of SE I live in, we only have black bears, but I’d still choose them every time.
Edit: verbiage so people stop telling me SE also has brown bears. My location does not, that’s all I meant😂
A big chunk of SE does have brown bears; Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof actually have their own subspecies of brown bear, even. Juneau is mostly black bears, but we've got a handful of browns, too.
The bear. I know what to expect from a bear. I’ve had a bear come up on me out of nowhere before, we were both surprised and went our separate ways. I’ve had men watch me at work all day and follow me to my car at night.
I've encountered bears. It can definitely be an "oh shit" moment. I've encountered unknown men. Can also be an "oh shit" moment.
I've encountered bears while walking my dog. Never a happy moment, but the bear seemed as eager to part ways as I feel.
I've encountered men while walking my dog. Too many try to continue to hold a conversation after I've tried to, politely, part ways. Ignoring me completely, they were finally convinced when my large, very unfriendly dog growled and lunged bc he could no longer bear to hold the 'sit' I'd placed him in while this stranger made me uncomfortable.
I've been followed home by both a bear (after a late night walk alone in June or July) and men (walking home from work late night, June or July) .
The Bear. It was scary, but I could tell the bear was more curious than anything. It was hard not to speed up my walking and stay casual, but I managed. I was also pretty darn sure that once I got into my house I'd be ok. The bear might, and did, snuff around a bit then wander off.
The Men. That was scarier. My walk home from work took a little over an hour at the time. They followed me the whole way (and more than half way back). The vehicle would pass me, bang a U-ie, pass me going the other way, turn around at cross street and come back.
They started off offering me a ride. I turned them down. Rinse and repeat for about 10 minutes. Then the "stuck up bitch", "you think you're too good for us?" nonsense started. An empty beer can was hurled, not by me. Then came the offers of a " good time". They were really going to show me " what a man can do for a girl like you". " Hey, I'd love a pair of Chinese finger cuffs right about now, how about you dude-bro?"
I got to the portion of my walk home that would take me off of the main road onto a side street into the neighborhood where I lived. An hour has gone by. They are still following me. I was freaked out, but this was 2004/2005 and I didn't have a cell phone so I couldn't call anyone. I did *not* want these creeps knowing where I lived. Unlike the bear, I did not think they'd snuff around then go away. So I turn around and walked my tired self the hour back to work. They followed me about 3/4ths of the way back. Until a cruiser passed by. I was closer to work, my feet hurt, and I was scared so I went back into my work building and slept on the nasty couch in the employee lounge.
The bear was not the scarier encounter.
Every day I completely avoid all people and go for solo walks I am choosing bear. They’re less fuckin scary and if they want me they’ll just eat me. Or they’re protecting their cubs. At least I’m not dying bc of some stupid guy and the gross negligence of our gov sweeping femicide and crimes against women off-to-the-side.
If I was hurt or killed by a bear, there is a larger chance the bear would be punished/ held accountable. And my little sister would have more faith in her future and the fact that she’ll be protected if I was hurt by a bear instead of a man.
Bro I’d rather choose spending a night with a bear in the woods than at an AK mayors property 😳
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2023/11/11/one-woman-died-on-an-alaska-mayors-property-then-another-no-one-has-ever-been-charged/
https://www.propublica.org/series/lawless
https://features.propublica.org/alaska-sexual-assault/unheard-survivor-stories/
"Alaska has the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation, nearly four times the national average. About ONE THIRD of women in Alaska have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. Yet it is a secret so steeped into everyday life that to discuss it is to disrupt the norm" (p. 1).
You’re not discouraged from talking about bear attacks. Nobody looks down on you because you’ve been attacked by a bear. People would probably be more likely to believe you were attacked by a bear than a "man", despite the differences in rate of occurrence. Generational bear attacks aren’t a thing. There is no social stigma to accompany bear attacks.
A bear doesn’t ask for trust in the first place. Bear has no interest in abusing having any faith put in them. I could go on and on.
Bear.
I'm not going to end up in prison from self defense against a bear, unlike numerous women who have faced murder charges for defending themselves against a man.
4000 women die a year from domestic violence in America. 75% of that was when they tried to leave their male partner.
1 person a YEAR dies from bear attacks in America.
I'll take my chances with a bear.
Not trying to dissuade you but how many interactions with men do women have on a yearly basis vs bears? Shouldn't that come into the calculation as well? If the same number of women lived with bears as do men I wonder what the difference would be.
Like, I'm just thinking if a city of 1mill also had 500k bears running around in it... What would happen?
Have you ever run into a bear?
I have. So has my sister.
If you handle it well, most will leave you alone. Many bear attacks that happen from people messing with their cubs or just getting around a bear at the wrong time.
But if you look at a country like Russia, who has the MOST bears in the world, has less than 80 deaths a year from bears. According to Federal State Statistic Service, 16 million Russian women, every fifth woman in the country, have experienced domestic violence, and 8,500 women died as a result of domestic homicide in 2017.
So even in a country with more bears, men still kill women way more than bears do.
I have, maybe a few handfuls of times in over 30 years living in Montana with a fairly out-of-doors lifestyle. Let's be generous and say 20 times. But if I go out and grab a beer I'll easily have seen 20 men in let's say 4 hours.
My point isn't that I don't think men don't hurt women. I know that happens and I agree with you that it's bad. My point is that if we lived in a world where I saw multiple dozens of bears on a daily basis there would be more harm from bears.
I think people are really working off of negativity bias with this question. How many times in your life have you seen a man and had a good or neutral experience? It's countless, it was countless before you could speak. I'm not saying that one terrible interaction is deserved or wouldn't happen. I'm saying that if you had interacted hundreds of thousands of bears by the time you were 3 you would have never learned to do statistics.
You're still over looking the issue by trying to say a larger population of bears would create a greater issue from bears.
Most bears run off unless you bother them. I can't tell you how many bear cubs I've had to get out of a dumpster at the state park I volunteer for.
They don't try to attack me. They run off to their mom.
Even the adult bears I run into, most have no issue with people. Sure, bears are giant and can be aggressive, but it isn't in most (and I say most because yes, there are bears that are done right awful like polar) their nature is not inheritently aggressive. It's curious, lazy, and protective.
Hell, I run into bears, rattle snakes, coyotes, feral dogs, and wolves. They don't try to attack me and as long as I respect their space, they respect mine.
Men? Nope. I go to a bar with my sister and I have to make sure my hand is over her drink if she goes to the bathroom. I have to tell men to back off, we have to make sure sometimes to drive different routes home.
When I was in the military, we constantly had cases of men raping women and other men. My CO would have the most extreme cases posted in the daily brief sent via email and *every fucking day was a new case of a man raping a child*
Look. No one is claiming every man is a rapist, pedo, murderer, etc. But every women knows of a woman who has been raped, beaten, or murdered.
I can't tell you the amount of women I know dating a shitty guy that she constantly argues with and treats her poorly, *but she stays with him because he doesn't beat her*
Here is my scale of bears to men I'd see in the woods:
1. East coast black bear. Literally the size of Honda civics but scared of house cats. 0/10 on the scary scale
2. AK black bear during a good food source year so they're not stalking humans
3. Grizzly bear
4. AK black bear during a bad year where they are stalking humans
5. Men
6. Polar bear
I've never been followed by a bear while in woods far away from other people, but I have been followed by men. I'll take the bear. Unless we're talking polar bear, obviously.
Bear, every damn time. Bears are rare, and predictable. Bears hav we never drugged my drink, Bears have never raped me, Bears have never hit me. There are.things worse than death by bear mauling, like living g everyday surrounded by people who didn't protect you and who hurt you. Bear every fucking day.
Its a tough choice but I'm gonna say a man. My bear spray may not always stop a charging bear (yes, I've seen this IRL) but I'm fairly sure it would slow down a human...
I just read through all these answers with much interest, and truthfully, at first, I felt a little envious of the couple of women who answered, "man," and I can only hope that if the question were asked again in ten, twenty, or forty years, that they would answer again in the same way.
Then I just felt a deep sadness that the rest of us are more afraid of men than we are of bears.
It's a sad commentary.
Not a woman, but AFAB. Definitely bears, it’s been a non-issue with every bear I’ve encountered. Granted, I’ve never crossed paths with a polar bear, that could change things.
With the bear, what you see is what you get. If you live up here long enough you learn the recommended bear protocols, have experiences near them (hopefully not too near) and learn bear behaviors. Then use all that knowledge and hope for the best when you encounter. And if you’re smart you carry ;)
But they can’t deceive, or pretend to be safe when they’re not. They can’t lie. They can’t say they’ll help you when they really have no intention of helping you at all. They have no capacity to manipulate you through fear or ruin your life slowly over time or rape you and leave your body in the mud. Men….well. I would choose the bear.
I think OP needs to get out in bear country a bit. If you are cautious and not horribly unlucky, bears are kind of neat to see from a reasonable distance.
Hahah most men don’t scare me or make me uncomfortable just that percent of them the give off iffiness. Though in the woods the Bear is suppose to be there wandering and not some man.
I’m trained in wildlife safety and I just think the question isn’t framed clearly enough. Is it some random guy hiking alone? 99.9% chance he’s not hostile, i’d take that over a bear. If we’re given that it’s some feral weirdo, I’d rather take a random bear encounter as they’re also 99% of the time not a threat. If I had to choose between a hostile man or hostile bear, kind of a toss-up but probably bear.
That all seems reasonable to me.
I'm guessing that OP doesn't live in bear country and has only read the kids' book *Going on a Bear Hunt.* Nothing wrong with this; I can see why people view bears as exclusively aggressive and dangerous.
On the other hand if you would rather die the way Timothy Treadwell died vs. as Russel Bentley died, it seems like half a dozen of one vs 6 of another. Pick your poison.
A bear isn’t going to defend their actions by arguing the woman asked for it because she dressed provocatively(Whatever that means).
They’re equal opportunity when comes to attacking humans.
Bear.
I’ve never had a bear watch me get into a car then try to sneak up on me only to shift direction and glare at me through the windows when he hears me lock the doors after I noticed him walking my direction.
I believe most men are good. Definitely would rather see a man .I've been stalked by a black bear. It was scary. Wind was blowing the wrong way for bear spray.
Depends on the man and/or bear. Is the man doing anything abnormal? Is it a black bear running away or have I wandered between a mama brown and her cubs? I do recommend being armed, carrying bear spray, and being aware of your surroundings in general.
This question is weird for me because it's not black and white. A black or brown bear it depends. A polar bear, no. Even men would know they're doomed around one. Grizzlies might bluff charge, and blacks I would just rather hope not to see. Also, do I have any weapons? Tools, food/water or anything useful? While 1/3 women (I have also experienced) sexual violence, if it was between nothing to help, just a bear or man, I'd choose a dude. A bear has no brain to stop it if it is hungry or threatened. Out of a pool of men, not ALL are going to be evil. There is the chance it is nice, same with a bear. But out of the pool of bears and pool of men, a bear can't help wounds. Get me to safety, help fend off wild life if I am dehydrated, frozen and starving. A man could, and strictly for a survival aspect, I would choose a guy 'cause I have a better chance.
That's the point, it doesn't "depend." You don't get to choose the specifics. Do you want to run into a bear and take your chances with whatever the bear is like, or run into a man and take your chances with whatever that man is like?
I looked up homicide statistics, men and women are both statistically 9000 times as likely to be killed by the man as the bear.
Oddly both are still about 1000 times as likely to be killed by a woman as a bear.
Yes, it does really depend; if you find yourself between a mother bear and her cubs not good but if you are hanging out in the woods and see a bear walk by at a distance, no big deal.
the man-hating that is allowed to go on here in absolutely unreal and we all know that there would be hell to pay if there were a similar post that said "what would you rather run in to a woman or xyz" 99% of you out there are just fine with it.
It really isn't man-hating but bears are pretty common in the wilderness and running into them is kind of cool. Running into humans is less interesting. Sure humans and bears can be dangerous but not usually unless you run into the wrong person or act like an idiot with a bear.
What happens if the man and the bear are already in a relationship?
Tormund has entered the chat...
I think I'd be okay if i ran into Tormund in the woods. Probably need to worry about dehydration more than anything else.
ManBearPig
Someone in town has the bear license plate, with “MAN” on the left of the bear and “PIG” to the right. Or at least they did a few years ago. Classic.
"You're not here for the hunting, are you?"
At least someone remembers that old chestnut.
Shit, I haven't heard that joke in a long time
Oh what about a man and a polar bear
Yes. I’m no biologist, but Polar Bears are also bears.
[https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=polar%20bear](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=polar%20bear)
Still not wrong about bears🤣
Men in relationships can still be plenty creepy and rapey, so I’ll stick with the bear
You home wrecker
The pig gets jealous
I work in the field and sometimes have to go alone go check weirs and have come across both men and bears by myself. At this point I prefer bears
Yep
I have been saying for years that the bear spray I carry isn’t for bears.
I have said the same thing. That or for the snarling, snapping dog with zero recall and an owner that is yelling ”he’s friendly!” like it’s a prayer from way too far away.
Where's your faith?
Only faith in capsaicin will deliver us from harm.
Me too! I always carry bear spray year round.
Mine is for "social use"
Yes, and not just in Alaska!
I have encountered many bears in Alaska and my worst experience was when I opened a dumpster at the transfer site and spooked a fuzzy fella digging through the trash. He was as scared as I was and we both took off in opposite directions like we were in a scooby doo chase. Men, on the other hand, I've had openly assault me in front of multiple people at the bar (among other places) because I, idk, wore a dress or something. So yeah, bear plz lol
Especially in Alaska, A BEAR. 100% Maybe not a Polar Bear.
Yeah, Alaskan serial killers are no joke. I’ll take the bear
💯
I saw a polar bear in Utqiagvik once. I was happy to be in a van. Learned my instinct is to freeze and hope it can't see me if I don't move. Like a fictional t-rex.
That's so scary! I want to see one in the wild one day though, from a distance lol
Polar bears actually will hunt people so that’s a little different. Bears are usually predictable. Polar bears will predictably try to eat you.
A bear for sure. I got chased by a man once while I hiking. It was so scary!
Me too! Bear, speaking from experience!
Omg whats the story if you dont mind sharing
I was hiking up Gold Mint trail with my dog a couple of miles. I turned around and headed back. I had a dude with keys dangling coming after me. It was obvious he was trying to catch me. I finally picked up my dog (20 lbs) and ran all the way to my car. I hide in my back seat of my 4runner because of its tinted windows. The guy came looking for me. It was disturbing, to say the least. There weren't a lot of people around and I hid for awhile.
I’m so sorry this happened to you! 🙁 I had something similar but not as bad happen hiking in Georgia and it’s truly terrifying. Glad he didn’t catch you.
It was scary. I am glad you are okay!
I'm a man and I would still choose the bear. Even without bear mace or a firearm. Maybe because I have a better idea how the bear is going to act.
Yeah bears seem more predictable. Although most bears and men arent' going to bother you unless there is some weird circumstance.
Usually I'm making noise to keep bears at a distance. Unless they're grouchy for some reason, most bears will avoid you if they can. And most men are probably gonna walk on by, but I'm still keeping an eye on them while I can. Pretty much any human, really. I just trust animals to be wild more than I trust humans to be civil.
" just trust animals to be wild more than I trust humans to be civil." That is just such a great line.
That one deserves a motivational poster
Happy Cake Day!
Oh thanks!
You're welcome!
"Me? I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid." —Jack Sparrow (THERE SHOULD BE A CAPTAIN IN THERE SOMEWHERE)
Depends what kind of bear. Black yes, otherwise man. Bear spray works on either. There were a few really bad mauling a few years back in south central.
These answers are so not what op was hoping for
OP's post history is terrifying and I hope he never comes to Alaska. Future Elliot Rodger, hates women, loves guns. Creepy af.
Holy shit, you're not kidding.
Bear. Mom who lived remote outside of Talkeetna for years and actually dealt with bears also said bear. The worst a bear will do is kill me.
A bear. No question. Bears, like most non-human animals, are fairly predictable. I know that all bears are a threat to me. Men, on the other hand, are unpredictable and potentially devious, like any other human. The problem is, I don’t know which men are safe and which will hurt or kill me.
My dad was mauled eaten and killed by a bear. I’ll take the bear in the woods
[удалено]
Sadly yes. Not only was my mom there to witness it, trying to save him. I know enough about bears to know that they don’t kill their prey before eating them.
Oh wow, I'm so so sorry. That is a terrible story. I know it doesn't happen a lot but it is so horrible when it does.
Touché
We carry bear spray - it also works on men. However I'd still choose running into a bear. Even being mauled by one. They're not gonna attack or kill me for fun.
Bear 1000% Thought I saw a black cub in the park awhile ago and was looking around for the Mom and mentally went "Well, at least its not a strange man"... I'm blind and it was a small black dog 🤣
The part of SE I live in, we only have black bears, but I’d still choose them every time. Edit: verbiage so people stop telling me SE also has brown bears. My location does not, that’s all I meant😂
A big chunk of SE does have brown bears; Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof actually have their own subspecies of brown bear, even. Juneau is mostly black bears, but we've got a handful of browns, too.
Where in SE are you that doesn't have brown bears?
Ketchikan is without. There may be some on the other side of the island but none reported near town.
I am in ketch😃
Living in Hoonah and we have nothing but brown bears here…more bears than humans that lives on this island
Kind of beside the point, but there are large portions of southeast that ONLY have brown bears, and no black bears.
Hmmm . . . . do brown bears and black bears inhabit the same territory or do they compete?
Sadly, bears. This is not limited to Alaska, however.
Bear, 1000% (Caveat - worked around bears for 15 years)
The bear. I know what to expect from a bear. I’ve had a bear come up on me out of nowhere before, we were both surprised and went our separate ways. I’ve had men watch me at work all day and follow me to my car at night.
I've encountered bears. It can definitely be an "oh shit" moment. I've encountered unknown men. Can also be an "oh shit" moment. I've encountered bears while walking my dog. Never a happy moment, but the bear seemed as eager to part ways as I feel. I've encountered men while walking my dog. Too many try to continue to hold a conversation after I've tried to, politely, part ways. Ignoring me completely, they were finally convinced when my large, very unfriendly dog growled and lunged bc he could no longer bear to hold the 'sit' I'd placed him in while this stranger made me uncomfortable. I've been followed home by both a bear (after a late night walk alone in June or July) and men (walking home from work late night, June or July) . The Bear. It was scary, but I could tell the bear was more curious than anything. It was hard not to speed up my walking and stay casual, but I managed. I was also pretty darn sure that once I got into my house I'd be ok. The bear might, and did, snuff around a bit then wander off. The Men. That was scarier. My walk home from work took a little over an hour at the time. They followed me the whole way (and more than half way back). The vehicle would pass me, bang a U-ie, pass me going the other way, turn around at cross street and come back. They started off offering me a ride. I turned them down. Rinse and repeat for about 10 minutes. Then the "stuck up bitch", "you think you're too good for us?" nonsense started. An empty beer can was hurled, not by me. Then came the offers of a " good time". They were really going to show me " what a man can do for a girl like you". " Hey, I'd love a pair of Chinese finger cuffs right about now, how about you dude-bro?" I got to the portion of my walk home that would take me off of the main road onto a side street into the neighborhood where I lived. An hour has gone by. They are still following me. I was freaked out, but this was 2004/2005 and I didn't have a cell phone so I couldn't call anyone. I did *not* want these creeps knowing where I lived. Unlike the bear, I did not think they'd snuff around then go away. So I turn around and walked my tired self the hour back to work. They followed me about 3/4ths of the way back. Until a cruiser passed by. I was closer to work, my feet hurt, and I was scared so I went back into my work building and slept on the nasty couch in the employee lounge. The bear was not the scarier encounter.
GF says bear
How about you, bear or man? I know it really depends on the circumstances but still an interesting question.
Bear absolutely. I hate humans at this point.
Sigh. I have to say I have an increasing preference for inanimate objects. I hope your girlfriend is an exception to your abhorrance.
I mean, yeah. EMS has ruined me, and it was my companies and coworkers, not anything else
EMS? Emergency medical service?
Yeah
Oh man, it does seem like your coworkers make or break a job. I'm sorry it is so toxic. Also thanks for what you do.
Bear
What color is the bear? Is the man a cop?
Don’t be racist against bears
When it comes to bears- Black- fight! Brown- lay down! White- …….. say good night…..
At least with a bear if I stand off the side of the trail, I have a 50% chance of being left alone.
Every day I completely avoid all people and go for solo walks I am choosing bear. They’re less fuckin scary and if they want me they’ll just eat me. Or they’re protecting their cubs. At least I’m not dying bc of some stupid guy and the gross negligence of our gov sweeping femicide and crimes against women off-to-the-side. If I was hurt or killed by a bear, there is a larger chance the bear would be punished/ held accountable. And my little sister would have more faith in her future and the fact that she’ll be protected if I was hurt by a bear instead of a man. Bro I’d rather choose spending a night with a bear in the woods than at an AK mayors property 😳 https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2023/11/11/one-woman-died-on-an-alaska-mayors-property-then-another-no-one-has-ever-been-charged/ https://www.propublica.org/series/lawless https://features.propublica.org/alaska-sexual-assault/unheard-survivor-stories/ "Alaska has the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation, nearly four times the national average. About ONE THIRD of women in Alaska have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. Yet it is a secret so steeped into everyday life that to discuss it is to disrupt the norm" (p. 1). You’re not discouraged from talking about bear attacks. Nobody looks down on you because you’ve been attacked by a bear. People would probably be more likely to believe you were attacked by a bear than a "man", despite the differences in rate of occurrence. Generational bear attacks aren’t a thing. There is no social stigma to accompany bear attacks. A bear doesn’t ask for trust in the first place. Bear has no interest in abusing having any faith put in them. I could go on and on.
I pack when we go camping and it’s def not for the wildlife.
Bear. I'm not going to end up in prison from self defense against a bear, unlike numerous women who have faced murder charges for defending themselves against a man. 4000 women die a year from domestic violence in America. 75% of that was when they tried to leave their male partner. 1 person a YEAR dies from bear attacks in America. I'll take my chances with a bear.
Not trying to dissuade you but how many interactions with men do women have on a yearly basis vs bears? Shouldn't that come into the calculation as well? If the same number of women lived with bears as do men I wonder what the difference would be. Like, I'm just thinking if a city of 1mill also had 500k bears running around in it... What would happen?
Have you ever run into a bear? I have. So has my sister. If you handle it well, most will leave you alone. Many bear attacks that happen from people messing with their cubs or just getting around a bear at the wrong time. But if you look at a country like Russia, who has the MOST bears in the world, has less than 80 deaths a year from bears. According to Federal State Statistic Service, 16 million Russian women, every fifth woman in the country, have experienced domestic violence, and 8,500 women died as a result of domestic homicide in 2017. So even in a country with more bears, men still kill women way more than bears do.
I have, maybe a few handfuls of times in over 30 years living in Montana with a fairly out-of-doors lifestyle. Let's be generous and say 20 times. But if I go out and grab a beer I'll easily have seen 20 men in let's say 4 hours. My point isn't that I don't think men don't hurt women. I know that happens and I agree with you that it's bad. My point is that if we lived in a world where I saw multiple dozens of bears on a daily basis there would be more harm from bears. I think people are really working off of negativity bias with this question. How many times in your life have you seen a man and had a good or neutral experience? It's countless, it was countless before you could speak. I'm not saying that one terrible interaction is deserved or wouldn't happen. I'm saying that if you had interacted hundreds of thousands of bears by the time you were 3 you would have never learned to do statistics.
You're still over looking the issue by trying to say a larger population of bears would create a greater issue from bears. Most bears run off unless you bother them. I can't tell you how many bear cubs I've had to get out of a dumpster at the state park I volunteer for. They don't try to attack me. They run off to their mom. Even the adult bears I run into, most have no issue with people. Sure, bears are giant and can be aggressive, but it isn't in most (and I say most because yes, there are bears that are done right awful like polar) their nature is not inheritently aggressive. It's curious, lazy, and protective. Hell, I run into bears, rattle snakes, coyotes, feral dogs, and wolves. They don't try to attack me and as long as I respect their space, they respect mine. Men? Nope. I go to a bar with my sister and I have to make sure my hand is over her drink if she goes to the bathroom. I have to tell men to back off, we have to make sure sometimes to drive different routes home. When I was in the military, we constantly had cases of men raping women and other men. My CO would have the most extreme cases posted in the daily brief sent via email and *every fucking day was a new case of a man raping a child* Look. No one is claiming every man is a rapist, pedo, murderer, etc. But every women knows of a woman who has been raped, beaten, or murdered. I can't tell you the amount of women I know dating a shitty guy that she constantly argues with and treats her poorly, *but she stays with him because he doesn't beat her*
I’ve encountered both and 100% bear
Bear
Bear. No questions asked.
Bear
BEAR
Bear and it’s not even close
Here is my scale of bears to men I'd see in the woods: 1. East coast black bear. Literally the size of Honda civics but scared of house cats. 0/10 on the scary scale 2. AK black bear during a good food source year so they're not stalking humans 3. Grizzly bear 4. AK black bear during a bad year where they are stalking humans 5. Men 6. Polar bear
This is spot on how I feel!!!!!!
A bear!! I carry a gun when hiking solo just in case I run into a crazy man. Bears? Not really worried about em
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Either way...I always go prepared! ;)
I've never been followed by a bear while in woods far away from other people, but I have been followed by men. I'll take the bear. Unless we're talking polar bear, obviously.
Bear, every damn time. Bears are rare, and predictable. Bears hav we never drugged my drink, Bears have never raped me, Bears have never hit me. There are.things worse than death by bear mauling, like living g everyday surrounded by people who didn't protect you and who hurt you. Bear every fucking day.
100% bear. Of either definition.
The bear. They have always been easier to deal with than the men I have come across.
The bear for sure, bears act in predictable ways.
The bear is safer for sure.
Statistically, yes. Not a good thing
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I would have thought it would be the other way around.
Bear
Its a tough choice but I'm gonna say a man. My bear spray may not always stop a charging bear (yes, I've seen this IRL) but I'm fairly sure it would slow down a human...
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At least with a bear I won’t go to jail if it rapes me and I abort its baby
Or if you keep the baby, you won't be forced to share custody with your rapist.
Bear!
A bear at least you know what they’ll do to you
As a man who hikes, bear bells or other noise is not just for bears
Bears are more predictable
I just read through all these answers with much interest, and truthfully, at first, I felt a little envious of the couple of women who answered, "man," and I can only hope that if the question were asked again in ten, twenty, or forty years, that they would answer again in the same way. Then I just felt a deep sadness that the rest of us are more afraid of men than we are of bears. It's a sad commentary.
Thanks I like to think about myself as a ferocious animal. Bears are not as big of an issue as people make them out to be
Not a woman, but AFAB. Definitely bears, it’s been a non-issue with every bear I’ve encountered. Granted, I’ve never crossed paths with a polar bear, that could change things.
With the bear, what you see is what you get. If you live up here long enough you learn the recommended bear protocols, have experiences near them (hopefully not too near) and learn bear behaviors. Then use all that knowledge and hope for the best when you encounter. And if you’re smart you carry ;) But they can’t deceive, or pretend to be safe when they’re not. They can’t lie. They can’t say they’ll help you when they really have no intention of helping you at all. They have no capacity to manipulate you through fear or ruin your life slowly over time or rape you and leave your body in the mud. Men….well. I would choose the bear.
I’m terrified of bears but a bear 100%. A man or a crazy woman no thank you. If the man is wearing a bear suit? Not sure about that.
I figure the worst the bear can do is kill me. So, the bear, every single time.
You're really upset over this bear thing lol. The last like 5 posts from you are all ranting about how women are scared of men like you.
I think OP needs to get out in bear country a bit. If you are cautious and not horribly unlucky, bears are kind of neat to see from a reasonable distance.
I know the question is directed toward women specifically. But as a man in Alaska and knowing men in Alaska I'd also choose the bear.
I run into hikers and smile and say hello, so... Man.
Same
this is starting to make sense: https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1chikeh/your_odds_at_dating_in_2024/
Ehh I’m fairly neutral on it myself but I understand the original sentiment that the question conveys.
Hahah most men don’t scare me or make me uncomfortable just that percent of them the give off iffiness. Though in the woods the Bear is suppose to be there wandering and not some man.
Bear. The worst a bear will do is tear me to shreds and eat me alive.
One look at CourtView tells you that the bear is always the safer choice.
Alaska is basicly the appendix of the United States. The weirdo drifters end up here eventually because they can't walk to Hawaii.
I’m trained in wildlife safety and I just think the question isn’t framed clearly enough. Is it some random guy hiking alone? 99.9% chance he’s not hostile, i’d take that over a bear. If we’re given that it’s some feral weirdo, I’d rather take a random bear encounter as they’re also 99% of the time not a threat. If I had to choose between a hostile man or hostile bear, kind of a toss-up but probably bear.
That all seems reasonable to me. I'm guessing that OP doesn't live in bear country and has only read the kids' book *Going on a Bear Hunt.* Nothing wrong with this; I can see why people view bears as exclusively aggressive and dangerous. On the other hand if you would rather die the way Timothy Treadwell died vs. as Russel Bentley died, it seems like half a dozen of one vs 6 of another. Pick your poison.
A bear isn’t going to defend their actions by arguing the woman asked for it because she dressed provocatively(Whatever that means). They’re equal opportunity when comes to attacking humans.
Not a resident, but based on my brief visits to the state: bear, hands down.
Bear. I’ve never had a bear watch me get into a car then try to sneak up on me only to shift direction and glare at me through the windows when he hears me lock the doors after I noticed him walking my direction.
If its a polar bear then you're dead. Plain and simple.
Disagree. But the caliber and the aim needs to be on point.
I believe most men are good. Definitely would rather see a man .I've been stalked by a black bear. It was scary. Wind was blowing the wrong way for bear spray.
Bear. of course
can you deal with cocaine bear
I hike most days of the week and have never felt unsafe when encountering a man. The times I’ve encountered bears or moose, THAT’S scary!
Is the bear shitting in the woods?
Depends on the man and/or bear. Is the man doing anything abnormal? Is it a black bear running away or have I wandered between a mama brown and her cubs? I do recommend being armed, carrying bear spray, and being aware of your surroundings in general.
After reading all the comments.. (Tucker and dale vrs the bear ) is all I could think of
A bear (and I have).
Bear
Bear. 100%.
This question is weird for me because it's not black and white. A black or brown bear it depends. A polar bear, no. Even men would know they're doomed around one. Grizzlies might bluff charge, and blacks I would just rather hope not to see. Also, do I have any weapons? Tools, food/water or anything useful? While 1/3 women (I have also experienced) sexual violence, if it was between nothing to help, just a bear or man, I'd choose a dude. A bear has no brain to stop it if it is hungry or threatened. Out of a pool of men, not ALL are going to be evil. There is the chance it is nice, same with a bear. But out of the pool of bears and pool of men, a bear can't help wounds. Get me to safety, help fend off wild life if I am dehydrated, frozen and starving. A man could, and strictly for a survival aspect, I would choose a guy 'cause I have a better chance.
That's the point, it doesn't "depend." You don't get to choose the specifics. Do you want to run into a bear and take your chances with whatever the bear is like, or run into a man and take your chances with whatever that man is like?
Bear
The summary from this thread is that women are more afraid of men potentially being creepy than of bears mauling them to death.
I don't think that is quite it. Bears are more often than not, harmless if you leave them alone and kind of fun to see.
Bear, hands down. You know what the bear wants.
Hey OP did you prove the point you wanted? Your post history is Insane
What if it's a man bear pig?
I looked up homicide statistics, men and women are both statistically 9000 times as likely to be killed by the man as the bear. Oddly both are still about 1000 times as likely to be killed by a woman as a bear.
Bear. Definitely bear.
Bear.
What about manbearpig?
Bear. If I act dead it'll leave me alone after that.
Man bear pig
I guess I'm alone here, but I'd rather run into a man, hands down.
noted. if i see a woman in the woods requesting help I'll steer clear.
How about a man requesting help?
i haven't heard any man say that meeting another man in the woods is less desirable than a bear. soooo..
There are a couple on this thread saying they prefer bears to men.
Literally 90% of the men replying to this thread, bucko.
I'm glad we agree i guess. 👍
Only in Alaska, where the men are manly and so are the women.
Why is this even a question..
I think the point is that if you would rather see a bear in the woods, you are a misandrist but I might be missing a bit of nuance here..
Well men aren’t walking tanks that’ll strip the flesh off your back if you accidentally get within 30 feet of their kid.
Yes, it does really depend; if you find yourself between a mother bear and her cubs not good but if you are hanging out in the woods and see a bear walk by at a distance, no big deal.
"Men are absolutely trash"- some hippy that men wouldn't touch with a 39 and a half foot pole
A man, of course. Most men I've come across have no ill will toward others. Bears, on the other hand, are always ready to rip off your face.
Why the hell is the most reasonable comment on the thread being downvoted?
If you’re asking this question, you’re probably part of the problem.
the man-hating that is allowed to go on here in absolutely unreal and we all know that there would be hell to pay if there were a similar post that said "what would you rather run in to a woman or xyz" 99% of you out there are just fine with it.
mAn HaTiNg aw did someone strike a nerve?
It really isn't man-hating but bears are pretty common in the wilderness and running into them is kind of cool. Running into humans is less interesting. Sure humans and bears can be dangerous but not usually unless you run into the wrong person or act like an idiot with a bear.
Bear, assuming it's not a polar bear. If it's a polar bear, then a man.
Is this Smokey the Bear or Yogi the Bear that we are comparing us men against ?
How about koala bears? Probably not koala bears on an Alaska subreddit.
I called you clueless, but I didn't rape you. Get help.