Be Wildlife Smart When Working in the Woods Guidelines for Timber, Power, Agriculture, Fire Prevention and Natural Resource Workers If you work in the woods in Oregon, you work in wildlife habitat. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has prepared these guidelines to help you stay safe while keeping Oregon’s animals healthy and where they belong – in the wild. Don’t Feed Oregon is • Stay calm. Do not run or make the Animals Black Bear Country sudden movements. Bears, squirrels, In most cases, a bear will avoid • Back away slowly. raccoons and human contact and attacks are • Avoid direct eye contact with other species are opportunistic uncommon. However, it is never the bear. feeders. If they see or smell food, safe to approach a bear. • If a bear stands on its hind legs, they will try to get to it. Once • Make noise when walking it is trying to detect scents. habituated to humans and human through the woods so as not to It is not necessarily behaving food, animals can become safety surprise a bear. aggressively. problems and often must be destroyed. This is especially true • Leave dogs at home. In the • In the unlikely event you are for bears. To protect both yourself forest, keep them in a car or attacked, fight back. Shout, be and Oregon’s wildlife: truck, or leash them. A loose dog aggressive, and use rocks, sticks may lead a bear back to you. and tools to fend off an attack. • Never feed a wild animal. • If you see bear cubs, leave • Report the incident immediately • Store all food and garbage in the area. to the Oregon Department of bear-proof containers and Fish and Wildlife or the Oregon pack it out. • Never pick up a bear cub – its mother has left it there and State Police. • Don’t bury garbage; bears will will return. dig it up. If you encounter a bear: • Keep scented items – suntan lotion, soap and toiletries – in ● Give any bear you see a way bear-proof containers or in the to escape. trunk of a vehicle. • Try to appear larger than the cougar by getting above it. Raise your arms. • Do not take your eyes off the animal or turn your back. Do not crouch down or try to hide. • If the cougar becomes aggressive, shout, wave your arms and throw tools or rocks. You are trying to convince the cougar that you are Cougars and Other a potential danger. Usually if you Carnivores are aggressive enough, a cougar will flee. Mountain lions, also called • If the cougar attacks, fight back cougars, are native to Oregon. aggressively. Cougars are solitary animals not often seen. Mainly active at dawn In addition to black bears and and dusk, cougars feed on deer cougars, the other carnivores in and elk, but also eat raccoons and Oregon are coyotes. Gray wolves other small mammals. may appear in Oregon during the To avoid encounters with cougars: next few years as they disperse from Idaho, where they were reintroduced ● Manage food and garbage safely. in the 1990s. While coyote and • Be aware of your surroundings, wolf attacks on humans are rare, use particularly when hiking in caution, manage food and garbage dense cover or when sitting safely, and leave dogs at home or quietly. keep them leashed and near you at all times. • Do not leave a dog tied outside; it may attract a cougar. • Stay in a group. For more information, visit www.dfw.state.or.us or call a local In the unlikely event you come ODFW office. face to face with a cougar: • Stop, stand tall and do not run. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife • Face the cougar and talk to it while slowly backing away. 3406 Cherry Avenue NE Salem, OR 97303-4924 • Always leave the animal an 503-947-6000 escape route. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.