New York Times Bear Quiz

What should you do if you see a bear when you’re hiking on a trail? Or when does it begin to charge? Which non-lethal method of bear repellent is the most successful?

This Bear quiz, which was published in The New York Times Wordle was created with the intention of fostering a relationship with bears that is based on knowledge rather than fear. Utilize it in the next wildlife lesson that you teach or interpretive program that you run.

New York Times Bear Quiz Questions & Answers

1. You’re out walking with your kids and dog in your leafy suburban neighborhood, just miles from downtown Manhattan, when you spot a bear in the park across the street! What do you do?

1. Get closer to take a selfie
2. Stop and enjoy it
3. Shout loudly to scare the bear away
4. Try to pet the bear

Ans: Stop and enjoy it

2. In any given year, given the averages, you are least likely to die from a:

1. Bear attack
2. Shark bite
3. Snake bite
4. Lightning strike

Ans: Bear attack

3. Most bear attacks occur when people are engaged in this activity:

1. Hunting
2. Camping
3. Hiking
4. Fishing

Ans: Hiking

4. Just your luck: You’ve set out for a long-planned hiking trip to Yellowstone and are now getting a little worried. To help avoid a run-in with a bear, you should plan to hike in groups of:

1. One
2. Two
3. Three
4. The more, the better

Ans: The more, the better

5. True or false? Most bear attacks occur when someone has gotten within about 50 yards of a bear.

1. True
2. False

Ans: True

6. When hiking in bear country, experts advise making lots of noise to alert bears to your presence. This noise-making method may be least effective in alerting bears to your presence.

1. Clapping and shouting
2. Blowing a whistle
3. Setting off an air horn
4. Wearing bear bells

Ans: Wearing bear bells

7. Fina Kiefer was lost in the Alaskan wilderness in June after being chased off a trail by a bear. Fortunately she was carrying this, which experts say is the most effective bear deterrent in backcountry:

1. A gun
2. Flares
3. Bear spray
4. An air horn

Ans: Bear spray

8. While hiking in Yellowstone, you should perhaps be most worried about a sudden encounter with a:

1. Black bear
2. Brown bear
3. Polar bear

Ans: Brown bear

9. The bear stops grazing and stands on its hind legs, its nose in the air. It has clearly noticed you. It puffs itself up and begins moving toward you. The worst thing you can probably do at this point is to:

1. Stand your ground
2. Run!
3. Yell loudly
4. Make yourself look as big as possible, waving your arms over your head

Ans: Run!

10. So you’ve learned a lot about bear safety and are feeling somewhat emboldened. You decide to take a trip to the town of Churchill in northern Manitoba, Canada, the self proclaimed “polar bear capital of the world.” In recent years, dangerous encounters between people and polar bears have been:

1. Increasing
2. Decreasing
3. Staying about the same

Ans: Increasing