“I want to see a bear!”

When tourists first walk into the M&M Tour booth, they’re often overwhelmed by the large number of different local tours we offer. To help them narrow their search, we often ask, “What do you most want to see on your Alaska vacation?” The number-one answer is, “I want to see a bear!”

You better believe the bear wants to see you too!

While we can’t guarantee that you’ll see a bear while you’re in Skagway, we can offer you some advice to maximize your chances while keeping you safe from a horrible bear mauling.

First, we need to know what type of bear you want to see

Alaska has three bear species – black bear, brown (grizzly) bear, and polar bear. There are no polar bears anywhere near Skagway, so we can scratch that one off the list. However, there are resident black bears and brown bears around Skagway, but you have to know where to look.

Let’s start with black bears

Black bears are the most common bears around Skagway. Sometimes black bears can be seen downtown walking up and down the boardwalks on Broadway in broad daylight, but this is more of a wintertime occurrence. Your best bet to spot a black bear would be on one of our Yukon tours, especially during May and early June.

During the spring, black bears come out of hibernation and begin to feed. They don’t often drink from streams and lakes because they hydrate by eating plants. One particular plant is high in water content and plentiful during the spring – the dandelion. Dandelions also like to grow right alongside the highway where they get plenty of sunlight, which means the bears are often spotted feeding on the shoulder of the road. If you happen to pass one, your Alaskan dreams will come true.

Black bears are gentle creatures, but they will kill you

Let’s take a moment to talk about bear safety. If you see a bear on the side of the road, you should remain in your car. Getting out of your car for a better look at the bear could result in premature death, dismemberment, permanent disability, nasty scars, PTSD, or decapitation. Worse, they will likely have to put down the bear because of your silly mistake.

Never run from a bear unless you’re faster than your hiking partner.

Another thing to remember is that bears eat plants, berries, and other animals. They don’t eat leftovers from the cruise ship, Burger King Whoppers, or your leftover chicken bones. Don’t feed bears. If you feed a bear, it will become familiarized with human food. Then when it travels by a populated area and smells human food, it will do what bears do. Then the bear will have to be put down because you didn’t listen.

“What about brown bears?”

They will kill you even faster than a black bear, so don’t feed them either. Spotting a brown bear can be tricky because they tend to be more reclusive. The best place to spot a brown bear is on the Dyea Flats in the late summer or fall when there is a big run of pink salmon. To find out whether bears are being spotted in Dyea, just ask your tour salesperson.

Brown bears are also spotted on Yukon tours, but not very often. You may encounter a black bear or brown bear while hiking a local trail, so it’s good to understand how to react if you encounter a bear while on foot.

Being bear safe is your responsibility

If you’re going to go traipsing about in bear country, you need to prepare for an unexpected encounter. The bear lives there, so you can’t really expect him to get online and read up on tourist safety. We recommend carrying bear spray and knowing how to use it. No, you don’t spray yourself with bear spray because it is not repellent. It is a highly concentrated pepper spray that bears hate. You only use it as a last resort if you’re being charged by the bear.

If you end up getting mauled after doing this, people will be less sympathetic to your demise.

If you encounter a mother bear with cubs, just slowly walk away and NEVER get in between the mother and her cubs. She doesn’t like that and will rip off your face. If you come face-to-face with a bear and have no way to get out of its way, slowly raise your arms to make yourself bigger and firmly yell at the bear to leave you alone while backing away. No, the bear does not speak English, but it will likely react by turning around and going away.

Other essential bear safety tips

Never carry around honey or fish in your pockets when hiking around Skagway. Always hike with other people. Make noise as you hike by wearing a bell, talking about something, or singing your favorite Miley Cyrus song. I like to change the lyrics to something more bear specific, like, “Go away Mr. bear. I don’t taste good. If you try to eat me, I will cryyyyy.” Something like that.

Seeing a bear is a great thrill and we will do our best to help you spot one, but remember that they are wild animals and keep their own schedule. If anyone tells you that they guarantee you’ll see a bear, they’re either lying or own a zoo. Whether you see a bear or not, we can help you find a tour you’ll thoroughly enjoy.

“Will I see a polar bear?”

You did NOT just ask me that.