There’s a Bear in My Backyard

Sure, we love bears when they show up in books or cartoons. But what if one is outside our window? Human-bear encounters are becoming far more frequent as development continues to spread and people and bears seek similar resources of food, water, and shelter. National Geographic Explorer and large-carnivore ecologist Rae Wynn-Grant dispels a few myths about bear behavior, describes what it’s like to cuddle a bear cub, and offers tips on what to do if you find a bear in your backyard—or bump into one in the wild.
For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard (nationalgeographic.com/podcasts/overheard).
Want more?
If you haven’t seen the viral Instagram video of Rae Wynn-Grant cuddling with bear cubs for science, you can watch that here (instagram.com/reel/CZcZd-4qWgV/?utm_source=ig_…).
And you can keep up with her adventures with more species, like ring-tailed lemurs and African lions, on her website, raewynngrant.comhttps://www.raewynngrant.com.
Or you can also listen to her podcast, Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-wild-with-…), where you can hear her interview fellow conservationists about their work, from studying hyenas in Kenya to coyotes in California.
Also explore:
Read Christine Dell’Amore’s piece about how bears and other wild animals have adapted to urban areas (nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/why-ur…) across the U.S.
If you like what you hear and want to support more content like this, please consider a National Geographic subscription. Go to natgeo.com/exploremore to subscribe today.

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