Say what you will about Joe Rogan. While you might find his opinions on COVID and politics questionable, you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who speaks with more enthusiasm about animal attacks than him.
During a recent podcast, Rogan interviewed Sal Vulcano, one of the members of the Impractical Jokers team, and they brought up the topic of what should you do during a bear attack. Vulcano asked: "Would you be able to play dead?"
Rogan responded with what sounded like a fairly grounded view. "It depends on what the bear wants," he said. And added, "You see, there are two types of bears. Black bears and brown bears."
"Black bears are more likely to try to eat you . . . they're more likely to bite you and kill you to eat you," Rogan said. Then he added that brown bears are "actually less likely to try to go after you because they have an abundant food source."
Rogan argued that bigger bears, such as grizzly and Kodiak bears, often "want nothing to do with you" because they already eat so much. He added that playing dead might work if you encounter a mama bear with cubs because she'll just try to protect her cubs.
The only exception, Rogan said, is if a bear has "bad intentions." It doesn't matter what kind of bear you encounter, if it wants to eat you, it'll try to eat you. "They're bears. We don't have like a treaty with them," he said.
How accurate is Joe Rogan on bears?
According to the National Park Service, most bear attacks by black or brown bears happen because they're trying to protect their food, cubs, or space. With that said, most encounters, when handled appropriately, do not result in an attack. However, you never can know their intent until they start to charge or attack you.
If they do attack, bear experts have an expression: "If it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lay down." What that means is you should fight a black bear if it attacks you. The main reason why is that they're attacking out of fear, so a defensive blow could send them retreating or give you time to escape.
Experts say if a brown bear attacks you, you should play dead. While it's most likely attacking for the same reason as the black bear, the average 600-pound grizzly will not respond to your blows. And if you try to run, they'll think you're prey.
While Rogan and Vulcano floated the idea that the only real way to stay safe from bears is to avoid areas where bears live. You certainly cannot argue with the logic, but you won't be able to enjoy the outdoors either. Plus, there are a series of rules you can follow to navigate a bear encounter successfully.
