As polar bears enter peak feeding season, experts offer tips on how to avoid meeting them in the wild [Video]

Sea ice forming later in the spring can force polar bears onto land for longer periods of time, leading to more encounters between bears and people. (Submitted by Andrew Derocher)

With climate change causing more polar bear encounters, one expert has advice on how to decrease the odds of coming into contact with the animal.

Duane Collins is a certified polar bear guard, someone who has training to detect polar bears as well as monitor areas for possible activity. He says one of the public’s biggest misconceptions is that polar bears hunt humans.

“Like most wild animals, a polar bear simply wants to be left alone,” Collins told CBC News in a recent interview. “Probably the best advice for living in and around polar bear country is leaving them alone.”

While it’s true they are potentially dangerous animals, he said humans aren’t a natural part of their diet. Instead, they …