After a few days of wilderness camping, I camped at an established campsite and had my first close encounter with a (black) bear over the weekend. The bear came into our campground and sniffed around our tents, which was a little nerve racking, for about 20 minutes then moved on. I figure it was there out of habit, looking for anything that may have been left out. My camping partner did not hear the bear and never woke up. I remained quiet in my tent, holding my bear mace. Like I said, the bear eventually moved on.

The question I have is should I have made a noise (a loving whisper, throat clearing, yelling, air horn) to alert the bear to our presence? I know the rules when encoutering a bear in the open, but I was in my one person tent and not very mobile in the unlikely event I would need to defend myself.

Should I have done something differently? Thanks guys! Sonny.....

The bear knows you are there. Sounds like you did fine.

You didn't get attacked or have any gear damaged, so I'd call that correct.

I would've done the same thing as you, except that if the bear sniffed within 10 feet or so of the tent for more than a minute or so, I'd start talking loudly and suddenly. I had the same thing happen to me in the Smokies long ago, except the bear never came very close to the tent, that I know of anyway.

Did you cook in camp by any chance? Maybe a previous camper did.

Over the years I have driven off several bears by making noise both in populated campgrounds and in the backcountry. Some could not be scared off.

From the SIBBG website:

If a bear enters your area:

* Check to make sure all your food and food-related items are stored properly.
* Get everyone together (especially kids) and look really big and make lots of noise (e.g., yelling, banging pots, clapping, etc.).
* Never surround a bear--they need an escape route!
* Never separate a sow from her cubs (sometimes cubs are up a nearby tree).
* If a bear huffs at you and shows its profile, it may be ready to bluff charge. Stand your ground or back away slowly. Do not run.
* Never try to take food back from a bear!