A few days ago, my friend and her two boys were over visiting. All four boys started out playing in my boys’ room (an amazing chance for us mamas to catch up!), and then decided to head outside to play. A minute or two after they all ran out the door, it occurred to me to ask, “Do your boys know what to do if they encounter a predator in our yard?”

Now, you may look at this and think it is a strange question, but in the last week we’ve seen four black bears in our yard: one day we saw a single bear, and another day we saw a mama bear with two cubs. I needed to know that my friend’s boys knew how to respond.

You see, even before seeing the bears, we’ve rehearsed numerous times with our boys what to do if they ever come upon a wild animal (and more specifically a large predator such as a mountain lion or a black bear). That’s simply part of growing up living in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

While her boys don’t live in the mountains, she assured me that they’d been briefed on how to react (after all, even down in town, schools get put on lock-down due to wild life coming on campus).

So when the boys came back in, I asked my 6-year-old what advice he’d give to people if they encountered a predator in the wild. His advice summed up what you should do pretty well, so I’ll repeat it here:

1. Don’t Run. Not even if you’re really scared, don’t ever, ever run.
2. Make yourself look big. You can use your jacket or shirt or just your arms.
3. Don’t look away. Keep your eyes on the animal.
4. Call Mama or Dad.
5. Back away slowly until you can get back inside the house.

So if you ever find yourself near an animal predator while you’re going about your day, keep these tips in mind.

Have you ever talked with your children or your children’s friends about what to do if they encounter an animal predator?