With his sympathetic humour, David Bittner inspires a wide audience. Since his successful roadshow with renowned event organizer Explora, for the best multimedia travel and adventure shows in Switzerland, in 2010, the biologist has been a sought-after speaker. Depending on the audience, he is able to adapt his speech according to particular needs or wishes. In case you are interested in a rather short business conversation on “Respect” or an evening multimedia show or even a presentation for children in schools, please do not hesitate to contact us and we can discuss the various possibilities
” I will never forget the summer of 2002. I was stunned by this spectacular scenery and the experiences I had on that very first trip to Alaska – to step into a world that few people have probably had the chance to see in such an intense way. Especially to have experiences with wild bears that I previously thought were impossible. It is an inexplicable experience to be accepted by these magnificent animals into their home.
Sometimes it’s even more, which means feeling like you’ve earned her trust, but that takes time, a lot of time. Bears are wild animals and if you encounter one it will behave the same as encountering one of its kind that it has never encountered before. The bear will try to sense the unknown to observe your movements and listen for noises. »
Patience leads to trust
At first, the bear is very cautious and keeps its distance. Therefore, if I see a bear for the very first time when I am alone, we both behave very similarly. We are both cautious and watch each other. Sometimes the bear approaches, sometimes it leaves. Who knows, maybe he had bad or good experiences with human beings before or maybe not at all. You need a lot of patience and staying in a certain place for an extended period of time for the bears to get used to your presence. Some bears always keep their distance, others are curious and with each encounter they come a little closer until they no longer feel threatened by my presence. However, very few bears show such behavior. Keep in mind that for yourself you are not allowed to approach a bear within 50 meters and a sow with cubs is even 100 meters.
It’s always the bear that approaches
Over the years and after spending several months with literally hundreds of encounters with sometimes the same bears, some of them feed and sleep beside me. But to get there, it takes time, a lot of time, and when you see photos showing me near a bear, you have to know that it is a special bear, one of the few, in which I ‘have confidence. believe me. Now the time has come when I can observe a single bear for hours and even days. I have my camera handy and am able to document their lives in certain places. The days go by quickly and since I am not allowed to stay more than 2 consecutive weeks in one place due to minimal impact on vegetation and bears according to the Park Service, I have to move camp and paddle to the neighboring bay.
After many trips back and forth to the same place year after year, I got to know many bears individually and my favorites I gave names like Balu, Bruno, Luunie or Luna. It is very important to remember that it is always the bears that approach me and never the other way around. If you get close to a bear you get a bear reaction, but if you sit passively for hours in one place you are predictable to the bears and they know I won’t make a sudden move when they approach at a close distance. I repeat that the rules of the park are that you are not allowed to approach any wild animal within 50 yards. I consider it much safer to hold your ground when an animal approaches. As a biologist, I care about the welfare of bears, and in the event that I notice my presence encroaching on or even pushing a bear away from its food resource, I quietly step back and give the bear more space. It is very important to know that I adapt my behavior according to the behavior of the bears. However, I was surprised at the number of bears who obviously don’t seem to mind the presence of not just myself, but everyone who visits the Katmai coast year after year.
Close-up of still images
Sometimes bears relax nearby. In one case, a mother with her cubs built her daybed near my camp and used it for days. Her cubs inspected my camp while the electric fence was off until she called them back. There are so many beautiful encounters and experiences and I really feel like I’m part of the whole world. This “relationship” with bears is only possible because of the highly concentrated food resources in these areas of Alaska. Here, a bear uses a tiny home range for a long period of time, totally different from for example the European brown bear, which usually has very large home ranges (hundreds of square kilometres, compared to only a few in bears Alaska Coastal Browns). When you spend a lot of time with the same bears, you get to know them by their behavior but also by the distinct markings on their face or on their body. You can distinguish females from males and know their dominance status and hierarchy.
For me, nature cannot demonstrate individuality more impressively. Each bear is an individual and being able to tell them apart makes me feel good. Their behavior may be similar or very different. Even in the case of cubs, if you only spend enough time with them, it is not difficult to tell them apart, even though they are of the same sex and look very similar. For me, nature cannot demonstrate individuality more impressively. Each bear is an individual and being able to tell them apart makes me feel good. Their behavior may be similar or very different. Even in the case of cubs, if you only spend enough time with them, it is not difficult to tell them apart, even though they are of the same sex and look very similar. For me, nature cannot demonstrate individuality more impressively. Each bear is an individual and being able to tell them apart makes me feel good. Their behavior may be similar or very different. Even in the case of cubs, if you only spend enough time with them, it is not difficult to tell them apart, even though they are of the same sex and look very similar.
Acknowledgement
In the same way that a bear can recognize its fellow bears and also other bears, I have a feeling that some bears are also able to recognize this two-legged animal that they see year after year for a while. The nose is the window into a bear world and in the same way that a dog is able to recognize a human being even after years without contact, I believe bears are able to do the same. Besides smell, I also believe that noises (I often talk to bears) are also important for an individual bear for recognition. Anyway, the voice is a very important ‘tool’ when dealing with bears. Depending on your tone, you can either make a bear respect you and keep their distance, or you can calm the bear and show it that you are not a threat to it.
Even after all these years and countless encounters, there are dangerous situations that remind me to never lose respect for these potentially dangerous animals. When you are in bear country, you have to make sure you never surprise a bear and worse a mother with cubs nearby. Always make bears aware of your presence, especially when in unopened country or walking through thick brush, which is sometimes the only way to get around. I’ve never had to use flare or pepper spray so far, but it’s also important to know that I behave very carefully around bears. I really try to be on the safe side using electric fencing around a well-chosen campsite away from highly concentrated bear feeding areas, being very careful with food in camp (storage in containers outside bear proof, etc.
Dangerous situations
I’m convinced that in human-bear interactions where something happens, in most cases it’s because of the error of the humans themselves that got them into trouble. Bears do not normally consider humans as a potential food resource. If that were the case, there would simply be many more fatal attacks, because thousands of people encounter bears each year and many of them don’t show them much respect when taking pictures of them and /or approach them. Also, never feed a wild animal or run away from a bear. In case of serious trouble, after the bear makes contact (which is very very rare, as bears usually run away), protect your head and play dead. But if the bear won’t let go, fight for your life with everything at your fingertips if it’s not already too late. For me, it really makes a huge difference whether or not I individually know the animal I have in front of me. This greatly influences my behavior towards the bear. After all, in both cases (when I know the bear or when I don’t) I never lose respect.
Respect
I would never touch a wild animal either. It’s something like an invisible boundary, I believe, that you just shouldn’t like to cross, because it would be disrespectful to wild animals as a whole. I don’t doubt at all that with certain individuals this is possible, but when they get too close (within a few meters), I tell them in a somewhat direct tone in my voice that it’s close enough now . For me, the relationship with a few bears is the reason to come back year after year. I just wonder how they are doing and what has changed since I last saw them. Encountering the same wild animals year after year in many cases is simply magical. And I hope I can continue to visit these places and observe the bears that I have known so well for many years.
Research project: Bear dream
These beautiful animals really mean a lot to me and I can’t imagine a life without them. However, in my everyday life, I work as a biologist for the Hunting Department and Peach from the Land of Aargau, here in Switzerland and I am a happy father of two children. Although I am involved in the management and even more in the educational publicity of the return of brown bears to Switzerland, I am not at all a bear biologist. However, I have lots of questions and lots of possible research ideas with bears in the Alaskan wilderness. It’s definitely been a dream of mine to try to lay out the groundwork that hopefully one day I can have my own research project with the bears I’ve known so well.