All jokes aside, do you know what to do if you spot a bear at work?

A project along the borders of Wayne & Monroe counties in PA brought our team to a site with hundreds of acres of dense vegetation, water sources and limited sight lines. Access to the property was restricted and required a guided tour of the trail network. Through the property owner, a guide was setup for our crew. Shamus shared stories about the kinds of wildlife on site and cautioned us to be extremely mindful of the bears. He mentioned a mother bear and her cub recently seen on the property. After the initial tour, it became apparent that we were in their territory. We observed fresh scat and flipped-over logs. As a result, the question arose among the survey crew: “Are we prepared for a possible encounter with a bear?”

The job began with the use of our drone, equipped with LiDAR, to capture the topography and physical features of the property. This allowed us to gather the data quickly and safely. However, we still needed the boundary recon. This required us to be on the ground, traversing through and along the dense vegetation and water sources.

With stories of recent bear sightings still fresh in our heads, we set out to complete our mission, equipped with bear spray, bright clothing and our survey instruments. To avoid inadvertently approaching wildlife at close range, we made plenty of noise as we located boundary evidence and, of course, told lots of bear jokes along the way.

Although there were signs of bears nearby, we ended the job without any actual sightings. I’ve only had one bear encounter in my lifetime, which was the result of careless food storage at a campsite. The chance of being attacked by a bear is very low, with estimates ranging from one in 2.1 million to one in 750,000. However, it is always best to stay aware and cautious. Traveling in pairs, making noise, storing food properly and having your bear spray ready will keep you “bear aware”. Of all the environmental dangers in surveying, you never want to be left in a situation where you “bearly escape”.

Thanks again Shamus!